Is Prophecy a real gift of the Spirit?
In most modern churches and congregations the gift of prophecy is either completely ignored or too deeply embraced.
As someone that has (according to the demands of my own faith) carried out ‘prophetic’ works, I find it strange that many churches ignore prophetic teaching. This is because it is not just a part of Christian faith but a key pillar of that faith. If you do not believe in prophecy (as a Christian) then you do not believe in God, or the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. If you are a Jew or a Muslim then you too have prophecy as a key pillar in your faith through what Christians know as Old Testament prophets.
The ancient Israelites had a simple test for if someone is a ‘prophet’. Did what they say come true? If it did, then great, they are sent by the Lord. If it didn’t? Well, execute them of course. So it was no light thing to claim to be a Jewish prophet. As for Muslim prophets, we have what they claim to be THE Prophet Mohammed. Otherwise, they also claim the Jewish prophets were the real deal. This would include the Evangelical favourite Isaiah.
That is because Isaiah's prophecies relate to a Jewish Messiah being born. Christians claim that these prophecies are fulfilled through Jesus. So without these prophecies being true, Jesus doesn’t really have any scriptural authority. He must be foretold. Therefore prophetic works are essential to any Christian faith. So why are bible prophecies not discussed more widely outside of the Evangelical and a few other denominations?
Because the prophecies themselves can be uncomfortable. Just like many of Jesus’ words can be uncomfortable for rich, middle class Christian believers.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Mathew 7:21-23
These are uncomfortable words for those who deem themselves as ‘faithful’ to God and to Jesus. As Jesus themselves predicts that he will disown them. These are not conversations that happy clappy preachers want to have at the pulpit. Jesus is love. Jesus is prosperity. There is not room for wrath from Jesus in nearly any congregation except perhaps ultra-Orthodox ones.
I am not saying this is a good or a bad thing. There is no requirement from God that we should worry each day about the end times, Jesus’ second coming, or any of the prophecies from the New or Old Testament. However, there is a requirement in Christian faith to accept prophetic words and works as ‘gifts of the spirit’.
That doesn’t mean everyone that says they are a ‘prophet’ is one. No, believers still need to practice discernment when it comes to religious fortune tellers. Just like in Jesus’ time, most of them are false and simply repeating things from their imaginations or simply mimicking “bible speak”.
My own experience with ‘prophecies’ came through one of my creative series. The idea itself came from what I call “the spirit” - or the “ether” if you prefer. That great place where God dwells and from where all of our creative drives come from. The idea of the series was to use music videos to create a series that included prophetic sections. Even some of the music videos I used contained (what I would find out later) were prophetic meaning.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying every music video clip has a prophetic meaning, rather that I used particular clips to “prophecy” about particular things. This included creative “warnings” just prior to Covid-19 coming onto the world stage, the Russia - Ukraine war, and even the Australian Federal election results. Now, I’m not claiming to be any kind of prophet. I created these series as much for fun as for the parts of propheticness that it contains.
I just wanted to share my own experience as I don’t think there was anything special about any of the world’s religions “prophets”. Rather, that they may (or may not) have been given special information from God to share with the world. Who can say? I know for sure though that “the Spirit” or whatever you call it yourself. Intuition? Maybe. I can’t say for sure as I don’t understand it myself.
The “spirit” is wherever inspiration is. That’s why I had to revisit my long completed series to see what it had to say about Israel. With the Gaza Israel war a long running saga I had actually put the piece together during a conflict in the area in 2021. Now, the strange thing is that looking at it in 2023 I had made sure to include a verse:
“If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity they will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword they will be killed.” This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.
Revelation 13:10
It seemed to really speak of the abductions and massacre endured by Israel and the onslaught that followed from the Israeli defence forces desperately trying to retrieve captives. If you want to view the piece in it’s entirety, you can visit it here.
Have you ever had any experiences with prophecy? Do you see the prophecies of the bible as coming true?
Thanks for reading and please subscribe for my latest writing! Blessings and love to all of you in your spiritual (or non-spiritual!) journey!