Understanding False Prophecies • Deshen Daily

I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. (Jeremiah 23:21 KJV)

speak prophesy unto us smooth things showing a preacher with a bible

Jeremiah gives us a vivid definition of false prophecies in the verse above. The LORD said about the false prophets “I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied”. Prophecy in essence is the human delivery of divine words. That implies the origin of prophecy is God. God speaks first, and the human vessel first perceives what God has said and then speaks it forth. This is the operational chain of the prophetic, which gives us a blueprint for understanding the origins of false prophecies.

One of the most important yet often neglected factors in the prophetic today is the failure to recognize God’s dealings in the prophetic in the New Covenant as opposed to the Old Covenant. In fact, failure to recognize that the role and the modes of operations of the prophetic in the New Testament have shifted from what it was in the Old Testament and is responsible for many of our problems with prophecy today. It will not be possible to fully deal with this subject in a brief devotional like this one.

The prophetic chain noted above gives us a blueprint for understanding false prophecies or where problems arise: God speaks, the prophet perceives (hears or sees) and then declares it. It is important that every single believer understands not only “the prophetic” but the origins of false prophetic. We will continue with the subject in Deshen Daily tomorrow.

MEDITATE

What is the operational chain of the prophetic described above? What are the similarities and differences between prophecy in the Old Testament and in the New Testament?

APPLY THE WORD

Satan will fight prophecy until his very last breath for obvious reasons. Prophecy is the divine instrument that brings God’s word to earth. Grow in this wonderful grace.