Last week, I wrote a blog post surrounding a recent video from Rediscover Bethel where the topic of prophetic ministry was discussed in house among two leaders affiliated with Bethel church in Redding, California. Today, I want to continue looking at the remaining teaching in this video on the office of a prophet, judging prophecy, and false prophets, to name a few. The goal of this post as well as the previous one is to evaluate the teaching and to see if Scripture agrees with what is being presented. This is to be the standard by which we test everything.

When segueing into the office of a prophet, The distinction was made that the gift of prophecy is given by the Holy Spirit, which is supported by 1 Corinthians 12:11, and that all can prophesy based on 1 Corinthians 14:31-33. The first Scripture referenced with regards to prophets was Ephesians 4:7, formulating the basis that this is something you are rather than something you do. It was also stated that the five-fold equips the saints with grace, citing Romans 12:6-8 and tying in Ephesians 3:10 to say that God’s manifold grace alludes to being multicolored. These facets of color were used to describe how each office of the five-fold releases a color of grace to equip the saints in doing the work of the five-fold, meaning the prophet releases a color of grace to people so that they link up to God in a similar fashion likened to a cell phone tower and a cell phone.

I listened to this particular section of the video several times because it seemed convoluted. There was agreement with the gift of prophecy being given by the Holy Spirit, but the context of 1 Corinthians 14:31-33 seemed to be addressing the prophets who were to prophesy in an orderly way rather than addressing the entire congregation. To say all can prophesy would also negate 1 Corinthians 12:29, and Paul stating he wished all of the people would prophesy is not the same as everyone being gifted to do so.

When looking at Ephesians 4:7 and Romans 12:6, we find that God is the One who gives the grace and not the five-fold. An example to support this would be from Paul himself, “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.” (Ephesians 3:7) As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul was given the grace by God to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, thereby revealing the mystery of the gospel and the multifaceted wisdom of God in this mystery and plan of salvation. (Ephesians 3:10) It is also worth noting that faith referenced in Romans 12:6 in conjunction with the grace gift of prophecy is not speaking of a belief in personal ability. Rather, it is speaking of “the faith”, or the gift to convey the gospel in accordance with Scripture.

Impartation and Gifts

The next topic discussed was the value of imparting gifts and learning how to prophesy, referencing 1 Timothy 4:14-16. From their perspective, a gift was “air dropped from the prophetic leadership team into Timothy’s spirit”, and Paul was encouraging him in this gift.

Paul was most assuredly encouraging Timothy to continue in his gift, but what was his gift? His gift appears to be in teaching and ministering the Scripture. If we read 1 Timothy 4 in context, we find that false teaching was abounding and that Paul encouraged Timothy to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” (1 Timothy 4:13) Timothy was strong in his faith in God because of his upbringing (2 Timothy 1:5). Paul was even present in laying hands on him along with the elders to acknowledge the gift in him. The gift seems to be teaching the Word of God so that others would hear and know the truth rather than to follow after doctrines of demons and departing from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1).

The mention of this example is said to correlate with their model of imparting gifts to students in their school of supernatural ministry. They also touch on the importance of practicing these gifts in order to get better at them and that they encourage taking risks while telling students, “You’re going to miss it.” I pose some sincere and simple questions at this point as someone who once held to this teaching. Where are we told in Scripture that we are to practice hearing the voice of God or the spiritual gifts? Where are we told we will error in prophecy?

It was also mentioned of Timothy being an apostle. I tried to search this out and could not find verifiable evidence in Scripture. Though he traveled with Paul on missionary trips and he served in areas to assist converts, as well as in Ephesus as a pastor, there is no mention of him as an apostle. I am not sure why this was stated. However, given the belief held by some that God is restoring apostles and prophets today, it would seem this may correlate in offering a belief for apostles continuing past the apostles of Christ. It is worth noting after Judas was replaced, the apostles of Christ did not appoint successors as there were criteria to be an apostle of Christ.

What about False Prophets?

The topic of false prophets was addressed to some degree, highlighting the difference between Old Testament and New Testament individuals. It was said that Old Testament people got the word right because “they were not living with a righteous human spirit but a bad heart and a bad mind.” The only way people could judge prophecy rested in it coming to pass or not because they were spiritually dead, citing Isaiah with saying none are righteous. Interestingly, this same passage is quoted by Paul in Romans 3. Spiritual death is not exclusive to the Old Testament.

With regards to New Testament prophecy, the discussion circled back to 1 Corinthians 14:29-30, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.” From their perspective in the current prophetic movement, Paul is saying to judge the spirit in operation or to “judge the source”. The following is a quote from this discussion, “If it is the Holy Spirit, then God cannot lie. So, if the word is about the future, and I judge this was rooted in the Holy Spirit, I don’t have to know it is going to come to pass because God cannot lie. Therefore, it will come to pass given the circumstances.”

There are a few things to note here. First, infallible prophecy among true prophets of God was present in the Old Testament, a time when the Spirit of God did not indwell men as He does today. However, the Holy Spirit now indwells those who are regenerated at the moment of salvation while some believe prophecy can possibly be fallible and acceptable. Second, if prophets today are to judge the source, then those who say Agabus erred in the prophecy to Paul are attributing error to the Holy Spirit because Agabus came to Paul with this word saying, “Thus says the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 21:11) This is a serious problem. Finally, the statement of saying we do not have to know if it is going to come to pass if fellow prophets judge it to be from the Holy Spirit seems to be creating loopholes in avoiding accountability and for moving the goalpost on prophetic words.

The final part to discuss was the topic of the “R & D culture” they have created in the prophetic. According to them, this aspect of research and development in the prophetic allows for learning how to hear the Holy Spirit and that failure is not final. During this topic, it was stated that Jesus had and R & D culture with His disciples, touching on one particular aspect of the sons of thunder wanting to call down fire on others and Jesus telling them they did not know what spirit they were. I found it interesting and troubling that 1 John 4:1 was linked to this example with the statement being made that John saying to test every spirit to see if it is from God because of many false prophets in the world was John essentially telling fellow believers, “Hey, beloved, test the spirits so that you don’t become a false prophet.” This is not what John is saying here, as he is warning fellow believers to test those in his time who were coming with beliefs denying the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to read 1 John 4:1-6 to gain the context of what John says to the people. There was also a comment made alluding to the belief that failure does not make one a false prophet. I appeal to Scripture in this belief and to see what the Bible has to say about what constitutes a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:1-1-3, Deuteronomy 18:20-22, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 23, Ezekiel 13, Zechariah 10:2, Matthew 7:15-18, 2 Peter 2:1-3).

There were more areas of concern worthy of discussion, especially pertaining to their view of prophetic ministry and it being the ministry of reconciliation discussed in 2 Corinthians 5:17-20. One of the greatest concerns I noticed was the lack of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this entire discussion. It was absent. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the core of 2 Corinthians 5:17-20. Jesus brought the ministry of reconciliation to us as sinners, and Jesus Christ is the only way to be reconciled to the Father. That is the more sure word we all need, and this ministry of reconciliation is what all need to hear. People need to hear the gospel and to understand that the treasure is not within one’s self. The treasure is Jesus Christ, and the testimony of Jesus Christ is truly the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). I encourage you to search these things out on your own time and to test teachings in accordance with Scripture. The Bible has the final say.