True Prophet

Dear Victorious,

We just moved to Atlanta earlier this year and started attending a new church. The preacher is very charismatic and the church seems to be very Spirit-filled. But something bothers me and I'm not sure what to do about it. The preacher (Senior Pastor) commonly refers to himself as a "prophet." He seems to put himself in the company of the Biblical prophets, and says he speaks for God. Isn't this a bit of a stretch? I'm not entirely comfortable with this kind of perspective.

Harrold J. - Atlanta, GA

Dear Harrold,

A true prophet does actually "speak for God." Remember that in Biblical times, especially the Old Testament, people didn't have the written Word. There was no Bible of any kind. So the prophets took the place of the Bible we have today. In a sense, all of the preachers today are serving as prophets. I can refer you to a couple places in the Bible that help you develop your thinking about this.

First read Deuteronomy 13 and 18:20-22. This is where I believe God laid out the criteria for a true prophet. A true prophet's "predictions" will come true and his or her words will never contradict previous revelation(s) from God (including the entire Bible).

Second, look at Mark 9:40. This is where the disciples were fretting about some acting as prophets without the actual ordination and anointing from Jesus Himself. Jesus essentially told the disciples not to sweat it. He pointed out that if they (those who were acting as prophets) weren't against us (i.e., the cause of Christ), then we could consider them allies.

I don't know if your preacher is truly a modern day prophet. But I would listen to what he preaches and test everything against the Word of God. If it lines up, then I wouldn't worry about it. If it doesn't, then you are listening to the wrong man. Don't try to think about it in any other way. For if you do, you'll no doubt be distracted from the real issues here. Whether he's a prophet or not is not the point. Rather the point is whether he preaches God's truth.