Verse: 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NLT)
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.
Devotion
If you were active on social media in the evangelical community last year you probably know it was a year filled with prophecies. Election outcomes, COVID, political and social unrest, you name it… no matter what the issue, there was probably a YouTube video of a guy filming himself in his car telling you about a dream he had that spelled out exactly what was going to happen! While I can understand why those prophecies were so popular– they offered a feeling of certainty in radically uncertain times — they come quickly to mind when I read this passage and remind me that I need to approach the prophetic humbly and carefully.
God is ultimately powerful, and that includes Him being fully capable of sending His Spirit to speak through us to our communities to warn and/or encourage us. The fact that God can do that is something I (as a generally skeptical person) need to remind myself of regularly. When I draw firm lines in the sand and say “God doesn’t do that anymore” or “Anyone who does that is crazy” I’m shutting myself off to some awesome ways God can speak in my life… I’m throwing cold water (“quenching” the Spirit’s fire) on the work that God wants to do. So I need to often check my heart and humble myself; recognizing that God can and does often use radical means to instruct and direct people.
However, that doesn’t mean anyone claiming to be a prophet is actually a prophet (queue all those “viral” prophecies I was alluding to above). It’s important to test them. That includes confirming that the prophecy does not contradict scripture and is consistent with God’s character (Acts 17:11, Gal 1:8-9). It also means testing the speaker to make sure their character and motivations are good, which involves looking deeply into the fruit of their lives (Matt 7:15-20) which I really don’t think is possible to do over social media. Another (and maybe obvious) way to test a prophecy is to check that it’s speaking to things truly happening in my life (if it’s a personal prophecy) or confirm the prophecy actually ends up taking place (for those larger event-based prophecies). If the time for the prophecy passes and nothing happens, and the speaker starts moving the goalposts or explaining away why their prophecy didn’t happen, then it’s likely their motivations were to get fame and attention rather than to edify the church.
Prophecy is powerful, God uses it for strengthening, encouraging and comfort (1 Cor 14:3) and sometimes even as a miraculous sign for unbelievers (1 Cor 14:24-25). But as powerful as prophecy can be, false prophecy can be just as destructive. It can be used to lead people astray and it will harden hearts when it’s revealed to all be a lie. False prophecy really is evil, it’s used to manipulate people’s trust in the Lord for the false prophet’s personal gain. No wonder Paul says to reject that kind of evil!
Prayer:
Dear God,
Please open my heart to the awesome works you wish to perform in my life. Help me to not grow cynical, help me to not treat the prophetic with contempt. Rather, please give me wisdom and knowledge in the ways I can test prophecy so that I may accept what is good and reject what is evil. Please, Lord, speak words of encouragement into my life that I can hold onto in times of uncertainty. In Jesus name, Amen.
Author: Matt Hale
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