Chapter 10
The Prophetic Reformation
The Elisha Commission is a solemn, divine charge to the Church
in
Over the past
several years, Christians throughout the Body of Christ have demonstrated an
increasingly growing hunger for more and varied supernatural manifestations. This hunger may stem from mere boredom with
the overall lack of supernatural power manifested by many of our “status quo”
churches, or from a sincere desire to see God’s power change the lives of
saints and sinners alike. However, to
more accurately pinpoint the source of much of American Christianity’s
obsession with supernatural manifestations, we need to look no further than the
current prophetic movement.
Since the
beginning of the restoration of the prophetic office in the 20th
century, the ministry of the prophet has strayed further and further from the
New Testament standard. Prophets have
gone from preaching repentance, to offering personal prophecies to crowds of
expectant Christians, to advertising gold dust, heavenly gems, stigmata,
angelic encounters, and journeys to the third heaven. Over time, a growing number of prophets have
conformed to this new, unscriptural paradigm for prophetic ministry. Instead of endeavoring to turn the hearts of
wayward saints and sinners back to God, many prophets have succumbed to the
increasing demands of mystical and carnal Christians. Indeed, the current state of a large segment
of the prophetic movement in
The foundation
of this prophetic reformation must be built upon the rock of Scripture and the
premise that a hunger for the supernatural does not necessarily equate to a
hunger for God. Indeed, if our desire
for the supernatural exceeds our desire for the Lord Himself, the supernatural
we encounter may be completely devoid in origin and nature of anything divine.
Matthew 24:24 “For false christs and false
prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
Our insatiable
spiritual hunger must be for God alone and not the works or manifestations of
God. Indeed, if our spiritual appetites
are misplaced, we become candidates for deception. In recent years, many with reckless abandon
have run with spiritual fork and knife to everything and anything that looks
like or sounds like revival. Even some
of the elect in the Body have foolishly thrown caution and spiritual discernment
to the wind and jumped on the “revival” bandwagon before carefully examining
the fruit. Many Christians later grieve
over their deception and fall into even deeper disillusionment when touted
revivalists, evangelists and prophets are exposed as renegade adulterers, liars
or thieves.
Many of these
ministers have a genuine gift from God, but do not possess the character
necessary to steward such a gift.
Indeed, some have received authentic miracles under their
ministries. However, when their
ministries are later uncovered to be essentially a sham, the damage incurred
and reproach brought to the Body far outweigh whatever good they
accomplished. Therefore, it is
imperative that the Body of Christ learn to exercise the gift of discerning of
spirits and choose not to ignore the grieving of the Holy Spirit, no matter who
endorses a ministry.
On the other
hand, it is also very important that we don’t become cynical, critical or
suspicious of ministries in general either.
Heresy hunting is not a ministry, and those who spend their lives discrediting
and maliciously judging other ministries are in danger of forfeiting their
eternal reward. There are times however
when spiritual authorities have a responsibility to protect their sheep,
providing instruction regarding potentially harmful doctrines or ministries
when absolutely necessary.
Nevertheless,
the Lord in this hour is preparing and promoting a new breed of genuine,
God-fearing prophets, evangelists and revivalists. These will be the vessels of
honor through which the Lord will not only pour out His new wine, but also turn
the heart of our nation back to Him.
Indeed, the fulfillment of the Elisha Commission
will be evidenced by a transformed
The Treasure of Heaven on Earth
The treasure of heaven on earth is the Holy Spirit. As the Governor of the
John 14:16-18 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.”
A sure sign of ignorance and immaturity is when Christians begin seeking
the communion of angels over the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, many in the Church today, in
search of the latest spiritual enigma, are enamored with the possibility of entertaining
an angel. A segment of the current
prophetic movement is chiefly to blame for misleading the Body in this regard,
as some prophets have attributed entire moves of God to angels instead of the
Holy Spirit. There is a scriptural
precedent regarding certain angelic activities, however, our desire for
spiritual intimacy should be fulfilled by the indwelling Holy Spirit, not
angelic encounters. (II Corinthians
13:14).
Colossians 2:18 “Let no one cheat you of
your reward, taking delight in false
humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has
not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.”
Similarly, it grieves the heart of God when undiscerning Christians
participate in activation exercises, where they supposedly are taught to access
the third heaven through their imagination.
Once again, a sector of the current prophetic movement, that has
targeted a growing contingency of spiritual thrill seekers, is responsible for
such deception. I have read testimonies
of duped Christians who were tormented by demons as a result of participating
in such New Age practices and later had to receive deliverance.
Nevertheless, genuine third heaven experiences are scriptural and divine
in origin. The Apostle Paul speaks of
one such divinely initiated spiritual journey in his second letter to the
Corinthian church. However, experiencing
the third heaven can neither be taught nor initiated by man’s will or
imagination. Human attempts at such
spiritual journeys have the potential of exposing one to demonic attack. Why seek a journey to the third heaven, when
we have the privilege of journeying through life with the third Person of the
Trinity? He is the One we should be
pursuing (II Corinthians 12:1-4).
“the
treasure of heaven on earth is the holy spirit.”
The Body of Christ’s infatuation with angelic activity and extra-Biblical
heavenly experiences has become unhealthy at a minimum. The Bible clearly states that God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”, not angelic
messengers or third heaven experiences.
It is not only time for the church in
The treasure of heaven, the Holy Spirit, was also given to us by the
Father to not only commune with us, but also transform us into Christ’s
image. As we continually fellowship with
the Holy Spirit, we partake of His fruit and are transformed by Him from glory
to glory into the image of Jesus. Only
then can we accurately and faithfully represent our King as His ambassadors to
a lost and dying world (Galatians 5:22, 23, II Corinthians 3:18).
An inaccurate paradigm of prophetic ministry in the Church has excused
prophets from walking in love and the other fruit of the Spirit. I believe that prophets, as much or more than
any other five-fold ministry office, should be characterized by mercy and
gentleness, primarily because of the corrective nature of their ministry. A few years ago, after conducting a prophetic
ministry training seminar where I made this point, I was approached by a woman
who said, “Maybe only West Coast prophets are to be compassionate and gentle,
because the ones I know on the East Coast are insensitive and harsh.” I told her that all prophets need to walk in
the love of God. Surely,
The Holy Spirit was also sent to empower us with His gifts, that we might
be faithful witnesses for Christ, demonstrating His power, expanding His
kingdom and fulfilling His Great Commission.
In their pursuit of the supernatural, many Christians have lost their way and
need to refocus on the Great Commission in order to get back on track (Mark
16:15-18, Acts 1:8).
Matthew 10:7, 8 “And as you go, preach,
‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal
the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
demons. Freely you have received, freely
give.”
The power of the Holy Spirit is
manifested through the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts include the word of wisdom, the
word of knowledge, the gift of faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles,
prophecy, discerning of spirits, the gift of tongues, and interpretation of
tongues. Without these gifts, Christians
are devoid of the supernatural power needed to heal the sick, raise the dead,
cast out demons, work miracles, or administer life changing words of wisdom,
knowledge or prophecy. Surely, Jesus did
not intend for us to covet spiritual gifts to fulfill our own selfish desires
for supernatural experiences, but instead to transform the lives of those
around us (I Corinthians 12:8-10).
In
The Price of Pure Prophetic Power
There are three
primary reasons why Christians, for the most part, do not operate in spiritual
gifts. One simple reason is that we fail
to ask the Lord for them. I’ve heard
many Christians say they are “open” to being used in spiritual gifts, but that
is not enough. The Apostle Paul
instructed the Corinthians to not only pursue love, but also to “earnestly
covet” spiritual gifts. Unfortunately,
many in the Body of Christ today are not earnestly seeking spiritual gifts and
are content with sitting on the sidelines (I Corinthians 14:1).
John 16:24 “Until now you have asked
nothing in My name.
Ask, and you will receive,
that your joy may be full.”
A second
principal reason why Christians do not operate in spiritual gifts is that many
have hidden, impure, selfish motives, and as a result God cannot trust
them. Pride and a lust for prestige,
power and profit disqualify many from operating in a pure prophetic flow.
James 4:2, 3 “You have not because you do
not ask. Or you do ask God for them and
yet you fail to receive, because you ask
with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. The
Amplified Bible
A prime example of such a person who
disqualified himself from receiving and operating in the gifts of the Spirit is
Simon the Sorcerer. He previously
practiced sorcery to astonish the Samarians and “claimed that he was someone
great”. He was lauded as “the great
power of God” until Phillip, Peter and John came into town. Although Simon himself became a believer, he
was poisoned by bitterness. Jealous of
their apostolic, prophetic power, Simon even offered them money in exchange for
“the gift of God”. We will never operate
purely in spiritual gifts unless we selflessly focus on edifying the church,
and like Jesus, are moved with compassion for the hurting and needy (Acts
8:9-23, I Corinthians 14:12).
“in
and
therefore have very little true spiritual power.”
A third fundamental
reason why Christians do not flow in spiritual gifts is that the price is too
high. Operating consistently and
powerfully in spiritual gifts comes at a high price, requiring sustained,
fervent prayer and sacrificial fasting.
In
The New Mystics
Unfortunately,
Simon the Sorcerer’s descendents are with us today, not only astonishing great
crowds in
A modern day
example of a mystic is Criss Angel “Mind Freak”.1
This occultist magician, who overwhelms multitudes
throughout
Truly, the
Satan, on the
other hand, will entrust his limited power with those who will serve him, that
he might lead them and others down the road of deception to perdition. The devil will even target unwary Christians,
who have an extreme lust for supernatural power and will do almost anything to
get it.
II Thessalonians 2:8-10 “The coming of
the lawless one is according to the working
of Satan, with all power, signs, and
lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception.”
Divination is a
counterfeit of the gift of prophecy which is inspired by the Holy Spirit. A spirit of divination is a demon that allows
mediums and psychics to communicate with familiar spirits. Familiar spirits are demons that are cognizant
of the historical events of people and their families. Therefore, when psychic mediums like John
Edward, host of “Crossing Over”, provide intimate details about deceased loved
ones, they are simply communicating with familiar spirits.2 The
Bible clearly warns against divination and the defilement that it brings. In fact, mediums in the Old Testament were
sentenced to death (Leviticus 19:31; 20:27).
The operation
of familiar spirits can be very difficult to detect. Even the Apostle Paul for
many days was deceived by a Philippian slave girl who
had a spirit of divination. By speaking
the truth, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who
proclaim to us the way of salvation.” she was able for a time to cloak the
spirit of divination through which she was operating (Acts 16:16-18).
However, there
are a few tell-tale signs that characterize a prophet that has crossed over
into divination. One indicator is the
grieving of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle
Paul became “greatly annoyed” or distressed with the slave girl and cast the
spirit out of her. Also, prophecies that
predominantly reveal details about one’s past could be sourced by familiar
spirits. Another indicator of the
potential operation of familiar spirits is when “words of knowledge” are
numerous, disjointed and confusing. A
red flag should be raised when a prophet says things like, “It’s all coming to
me so fast that I cannot process it all.”
For instance, one prophetic minister I observed had called out about
twenty five consecutive words of knowledge in one service. The ministry was so confusing, interruptive,
and incomplete that by the end of the meeting over half of those called to the
platform never received ministry.
Instead of hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, false prophets listen
to the competing voices of familiar spirits.
The Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion or disorder, but of peace
(I Corinthians 14:33).
Sadly, there
are prophets in the Body of Christ today that have crossed over into
divination. Like Simon the Sorcerer,
many have a lust for prestige, power and profit. Although they may possess a genuine prophetic
gift, at times they communicate with familiar spirits, revealing intimate
details about people’s past. As a
result, captivated crowds throng them, seeking a “word from God”. Ironically, their projections about the
future rarely are fulfilled, because familiar spirits can only communicate
about the past. On the contrary, the
Holy Spirit will “guide you into all truth” and “He will tell you things to
come”. These false prophets often obtain
the prestige and secure the large offerings they greedily seek after. However, if they don’t repent, they will
incur a more severe eternal judgment for deceiving and defiling the innocent
(John 16:13).
At one point in
my ministry I was earnestly asking the Lord for greater detail and accuracy in
my prophetic ministry, similar to that of a particular prophet I was associated
with. After months of petitioning the
Lord in this regard, He finally stopped me and said, “Don’t ask Me for something that I cannot give you.” I then realized that the source from which
this particular prophet was prophesying was not always divine.
There is
neither scriptural precedent nor place for mystics in the Body of Christ. Those who adopt this title and receive that
mantle are endangering and deceiving themselves and those who partake of their
ministry.
Heavenly Tokens
A subset of the current prophetic movement is also promoting
manifestations of gold dust, angel feathers, heavenly gems and fragrances at
their meetings. Some of these heavenly
tokens and signs may be divine in origin, serving as mementos of His grace, presence
and love.
However, other tokens are either counterfeit or demonic in nature and
serve to mislead and defile Christians.
For example, some are manifesting stigmata, which are demonic, bloody,
body markings resembling the wounds Jesus incurred during His crucifixion. Truly, Jesus shed His blood one time for all
mankind, and all such satanic demonstrations only serve to captivate, deceive
and defile people.
Although signs do follow believers, Jesus clearly teaches His disciples
not to seek after signs, but instead His kingdom, righteousness, holiness,
peace and spiritual gifts.
Matthew 12:39
“But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil
and adulterous generation seeks after a sign.’”
Sign-seekers walk by sight, not by
faith. Faith is the evidence of the
unseen, and Jesus called those who believe without witnessing signs
“blessed”. Sign-seekers are not only
displeasing to God, but also are in sin (Matthew 6:33, John 4:48; 20:29, Romans 14:23, I Corinthians 14:1, II Corinthians
5:7, Hebrews 11:1, 6; 12:14).
“sign-seekers
walk by sight, not by faith AND
are not only displeasing to god, but also are
in sin.”
Unfortunately, some today are building their prophetic ministries on
heavenly tokens, enticing curious, spiritual thrill seekers to their meetings,
who hope to witness some supernatural sign or receive a heavenly token. These types of meetings are often little more
than mystical, magical side-shows. Recently
a staff member of a relatively well-known prophetic ministry was reportedly
found planting small gem stones throughout the sanctuary before a meeting. When questioned about it, they indicated that
they were in essence seeding the atmosphere for even greater signs from heaven
during the meeting. Talk about deception
“going to seed”!
There is one
primary difference between heavenly treasure and heavenly tokens. Heavenly treasure bears lasting fruit, where
heavenly tokens do not.
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and
bear fruit, and that your fruit should
remain.”
Fruit that remains includes souls saved,
bodies healed, minds transformed, marriages salvaged, destinies embraced,
relationships restored, and societies transformed. What lasting fruit has gold dust ever
yielded? Jesus said that we would know
false prophets by their fruit. Lasting,
abundant fruit is indicative of true prophetic ministry, whereas false prophets
are characterized by deception and depravity (Matthew 7:15, 16).
Holy Fire, Wild Fire & Strange Fire
John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would baptize believers not only
in the Holy Spirit, but also in fire.
Holy fire is an agent of judgment and purification that burns up the
chaff of sin and also sanctifies us for the glories of revival (Matthew 4:11,
12).
During the time of Moses, he and his brother Aaron shed the blood and
burnt the flesh of bulls and goats as an atoning offering for the sins of
Leviticus
9:23-24 “And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out
and blessed the people. Then the
glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire
came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat
on the altar. When the people saw
it, they shouted and fell on their faces.”
Holy fire comes from a holy God.
Indeed the Spirit of judgment and burning brings conviction regarding
sin and sanctifies a holy people prepared for His glory (Isaiah 4:3-6).
Leviticus 10:3
“Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who
come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and
before all the people I must be glorified.’”
Therefore, holiness is undeniably one of the key characteristics of true
revival. Without the fruit of holiness,
we will neither see the Lord nor experience revival in its truest sense (Hebrews
12:14).
“Holy Fire comes from A holy God!”
In contrast, wild fire is conceived out of human emotion. Wild fire is usually fueled out of a sincere,
reminiscent desire to experience God as in a previous revival or
outpouring. However, without sustained
corporate intercession and repentance, emotional attempts at reigniting dying
embers of preceding revivals usually produce little fruit. Wild fire is usually harmless, and may even
provoke those having no fire at all to sincerely seek the Lord.
Strange fire, on the other hand, is birthed out of lawlessness or rebellion. According to the King James Version of the
Bible, Aaron’s sons, out of presumptuous disobedience offered “strange” fire before
the Lord, and it cost them their lives.
Leviticus
10:1,2 “Then Nadab and Abihu,
the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it,
and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded
them. So fire went out from the Lord
and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.”
The word
“profane” in the passage above literally means “irreverent, blasphemous, or
wicked.” Genuine anointing mingled with
lawlessness or rebellion yields an unholy mixture of deceptive signs, lying
wonders and witchcraft. When corrupted
vessels realize that their spiritual gift continues to operate despite their
rebellion and carnality, they take many on a journey with them down the path of
deception that eventually leads to destruction.
II Thessalonians 2:8-10 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of
Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception.”
I Samuel 15:23 “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
Therefore, it is imperative that apostolic authorities in the Body of Christ not only discern strange fire, but also judge and eradicate it. In other words, instead of tolerating a mixture of holy fire and strange fire, a banner of holiness must be raised as the standard for true revival, so that wild fire is quickly contained and extinguished.
“Wild Fire is CONCEIVED out of human emotion
and Strange
Fire is birthed out of lawlessness.”
A significant aspect of the prophet’s mission is to raise the banner
and standard of holiness in the Church.
Without a radical reformation of the prophetic movement in
Prayer: Lord, forgive us
for seeking the supernatural and not You alone. Forgive us for our pursuit of signs and
angels and for neglecting the treasure of heaven, Your
precious Holy Spirit. Forgive us for
allowing mystics to defile the prophetic movement and for permitting strange
fire, disguised as holy fire, to deceive Your people. Rally your prophets to raise the banner of
holiness over Your Church in