The Latest Rumor out of Hollywood

Some screenwriters are planning on quiting their union, and starting up a street gang instead.  They plan to call themselves the 'Scripts.'

Hmmm, Martians?

If there were marshes on Mars, and people lived in those marshes, would they be called marshian Martians, or Martian marshians??

PROPHETS, PROPHECY, AND PROPHESYING.

I see a lot of confusion about these topics.  While this article is not going to go in depth, I hope it brings some clarity.

Throughout history, prophecy is the speaking or delivery of messages from the supernatural realm.  It mostly has been redarded a form of divination, a means to gain information about future events, or the outcome of planned events.  When one was curious about such things, they would seek out a prophet, a seer, a fortune teller, or a shaman, or some other kind of mystic.

Prophets in Christianity

We do see prophets in the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments.

Are prophets in the Bible the same as they are outside the Bible?  Yes and no.  In the early OT books, people viewed all prophets the same.  But the further we look forward through the Scripture, the more we see God speaking through His prophets, men who spoke only for Him. Those who spoke their own thoughts, or thoughts of unclean spirits, were exposed as false prophets.

Now, I am speaking in generalities here, because to provide chapter and verse for every act or word of an OT prophet would require a book.  We already have that Book; we just need to read it and pay attention.

God used the OT and NT prophets primarily to provide direction to His people.  Sometimes that meant information about upcoming events, but it often came down to one word: REPENT!

In the NT, things start out the same.  John the Baptist came preaching a message of repentance.  He preached it to the people.  He preached it to priests and Pharisees.  He preached it to King Herod.  The only one he didn't preach it to was Jesus.

After Jesus rose from the dead, things changed, even for prophets.  God still uses them to give direction.  However, the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul has given clarity.  After the Gospels, the prophets spoke to the body of Body of Christ.  When prophesying to believers, the guideline is now this:

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation.  1 Cor. 14:3 NASB.

So, if you hear someone prophesying, or preaching, and their messages do not edify (build you up), exhort (tell you to do the right thing), or console (remind you of God's grace when things go wrong) anybody... Well, I'm not going to say they are a false prophet, but you will be right to not believe what they say, no matter what title they may hold, or how many visions, dreams, or angelic visits they claim to have had.

PROPHETS TODAY?

The previous paragraph brings up a point of controversy: Does the Body of Christ have prophets today.  Many believe not, but I do.  I could go into the Scriptures predicting restoratation, but I will leave that for another article.

I will address one question relating to this issue: do we need prophets today?

Jesus served as a prophet.  During his life, the Old Covenant was still in effect.  Through His life, death, burial, and resurrection, He fulfilled the requirements of the Old Covenant to establish the New one, which granted access to everyone, and not just the Jews.

In the time between His resurrection and ascension, He served as a prophet of the New Covenant.  So, He was the last OT prophet, and the first NT prophet.  Since Christ has the preeminence in all things (Col. 1:18), some say He is the last prophet they need.

But, the real question is: Is He the last prophet His Body needs?

Remember (or go back and read for yourself in John 13:26 - 17:26), what Jesus said about sending the Holy Spirit:

I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now...  John 16:12 - 15 NASB

We do see prophets in the Acts of the Apostles.  So the ministry of prophets was a real thing back then.  The early saints must have needed them.

But do we need them today?  Look at the news and social media.  Preachers accused of, and even arrested for, sexual or financial offences. False doctrines proclaimed from pulpits and over the airwaves, allowing for occultic practices to come into worship services and the personal lives of believers.  Shrinking attendance and donations lead to staff layoffs.  Even popular Christian singers have become embroiled in scandal.  Scandal has even touched a church related university.

Quite a number on ministers today claim to be prophets.  I doubt the validity of most of them.  WHERE ARE THE TRUE PROPHETS?

In The Very Early Days of Rock & Roll...

Many bands that later became famous started out playing in nightclubs.  Some of those clubs were owned by the Mafia.

Also, some of those bands changed members, so the lineups they became famouswith were not always the lineups they started with.  So, some musicians never became famous, even though they were once part of a famous band.

This one band had put on an awful show at one mob owned club, due to the antics of a couple of members.  The manager of the club swore to get them.

But, he didn't want to use any of his own hitmen.  He heard that one member of a rival band had a reputation as a tough guy.  So, the mob boss hired him to do the job.

The mob boss also had connections with the police and the press, so it never got reported.  If it had, the headline would have read, MOB KILLS TWO BYRDS WITH ONE STONE!

WHY TALK ABOUT CULTS?

The answer is quite simple.  Cults usually don't draw in a large number of people, as in a large portion of the population, so they might not seem to be a big threat.  But, these groups might promote false doctrines that could be adopted by other groups.  Those other groups might or might not become a cults, but the ones that don't become cults could still develop cultish traits.

Today, church scandals make the news almost every day.  Scandals are nothing new in Christendom, but they have become more common.  When you look at the history of cults, you can see how they can be a breeding ground for scandalous behavior.

Some time ago, a video popped up on my YouTube feed that caught my attention.  It was about William Branham.  I had heard that Branham had operated in miracles, but had taught false doctrine towards the end of his ministry.  The truth about this man turned out to be much worse.  In short, he started a cult that still exists.

That video was a podcast, part of a series on William Branham.  The host had grown up in the cult, but left as an adult.  He had questions, and began to research.  The result of his research was not just the podcast, but some short documentaries, a website, and a few books.  If you want to know more -

William Branham Historical Research