Red heifers. Nuclear war. Financial crisis. Midterm elections. A 1990’s action film about a Russian submarine headed for the United States bearing the name of the prophetic words God allegedly spoke to an individual leaving the gym. It was a lot of information to consider while listening to a recent prophetic word for the month of October. You may or may not be familiar with this type of activity, but in the modern prophetic movement, it is not uncommon for individuals who claim to receive fresh prophetic words from the Lord to go online and to share them in some capacity. I know this because I used to be one who did such things. If I heard something internally or if I had a thought cross my mind, I would attribute it to God speaking something to me and trying to tell me something needing to be shared with the masses, either in writing or in verbal communication.

One of the things quite common in this movement is releasing a word for a particular month. This sounds silly now, but I had my limits even then as a “prophet”. Somehow, I viewed giving a word for a specific month went too far. Knowing this practice occurs, it was not surprising to come across a prophetic word claiming God said to be ready for a Red October. It was also not surprising to have heard words like this in the past. Apparently, there have been numerous red Octobers to recognize. Unfortunately, like these self-professing prophets, I engaged in speech where I seemingly spoke to God like a buddy. It was something I noticed in this prophecy as well and the lack of reverence for a holy God. It made me realize that if God had truly spoken to this individual and had given him a word to speak with sobriety, he would not have responded to God with such irreverence and flippancy.

Why would I listen to such a thing knowing it is leading others into distraction and away from sound Biblical truth? I listen and evaluate these words to help other women in particular in thinking Biblically and in using discernment with an open Bible in the hopes that they will cease listening to these things and placing so much weight on them. It also helps others who are trying to find ways in reaching out to loved ones who put great stock in such things. Biblical testing should be done when someone claims to be speaking for God. Our concern for truth being presented and honoring God and His Word should take precedence over honoring a man/woman and their ministry.

You do not need to be prophetic to know there are crises on the horizon. You also should not be expecting God to tell an individual the name of a secular movie starring Sean Connery as a prophecy for October 2022. There is a pattern quite often with the modern prophetic words, bearing the title of this particular topic. One thing I noticed in this prophecy was the use of a shotgun or what I like to call buckshot approach. Several things were stated for the month of October in this word, spraying them into the spiritual ether with the intent one of them hit something so that the individual could claim God confirmed what they heard.

However, there is a problem. Prophecy in Scripture was not vague or generalized. Even when the Old Testament prophets foretold of the Messiah, it was specific. If God was speaking of a red October, why would He not be specific in what that meant? Why would He leave someone to Google the possibilities? During this word, the call to the church was to pray and that if a large portion of the church did not pray and turn these situations around, October “would not be fun.” What percentage of believers would it take to turn around a red October? I hope you see the issues arising from such vague and burdensome statements.

As believers, we have been given the instruction and the wonderful privilege from the Lord to go to Him with our petitions and to trust Him in all things. We are to pray according to His will. Telling people, the prophetic word is dependent upon them praying enough seems to be a way for the person claiming to be a prophet to avoid accountability for failed and false prophecies. This tactic has been used before in this movement, as well as telling people they did not believe the words of the prophets as they should. The sovereignty of God is also disregarded. People have been told they have the power and authority, and God needs our permission to do anything legally in this world. What misguided and sinful thinking!

Another issue to consider is in claiming to speak for God and stamping His name on the words coming out of one’s mouth. Here are some things to consider: when does God speak unauthoritative? At what point do we not have to follow instructions and prophetic words stated to be given by the Lord? Is it not reckless and rebellious to tell people God told you something, only to follow it with the option to follow it or to discard it? Let me state again, these were practices I once engaged, and coming on the other side of this brought clarity, correction, and repentance. It is not a light thing to claim God said specific words.

There are other areas of concern we could consider, including the double speak to test what is said by taking it to the Lord in prayer or to see if it bears truth with your spirit. However, when the Bible meets the prophetic word, testing is generally not welcome. One of the greatest areas of concern comes with many putting stock in prophecy with or without a buckshot approach. The craving for a fresh word from the Lord is a great temptation. We are more like the Israelites despising the manna in the wilderness than we realize when this desire supersedes our love for His written Word and in being content that God has spoken to us. This does not mean the Holy Spirit is inactive in the life of a believer. Far from it.

We simply cannot know God’s heart and His ways without knowing the Word He has already spoken. I love what this one author said about the Word being written on our hearts, “God’s Word is the agent of His Spirit used to cleanse the hearts of all who believe in Christ and are saved. And it is through keeping God’s Word securely planted in our hearts and living according to what it says that believers continue to walk in holiness.”

My concern as a Christian having come out of the hyper charismatic movement is that many suffer from Biblical illiteracy as I did, and rather than desiring God’s inerrant and true Word, they follow and seek after words tickling their ears and distracting them from understanding and cultivating true spiritual maturity. They are being deceived by those who would use a shotgun approach and who would present their spiritual experiences and revelations rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I hope to offer some encouragement. People do not need a “fresh word” coming from vain imaginations or reports from a news article online. People need to hear the more sure word of prophecy being taught and preached in corporate gatherings. Believers need to be in the Word, reading it, studying it, talking about it, and meditating on it. When we do that, we are growing in fellowship with God, having His Word written on our hearts. People need to hear the good news to their bad news, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Far worse than the threat of natural nuclear war is eternal judgment and the second death. Though there are most certainly concerns in our present time, and we certainly should be praying for these situations and for leaders while serving others and glorifying Christ, there is hope in Christ alone for salvation and eternal life. We are to minister the gospel, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have a hope the world does not possess, and it is not found in the prophetic word of the month. Let’s prophesy this glorious gospel testifying of our Prophet, Priest, and King every chance we are given by God.

Listen to this in-depth episode from The Lovesick Scribe podcast evaluating the prophecy of the red October: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: The Buckshot Red October Prophecy on Apple Podcasts