Apologia! Every word of God is tested… Proverbs 30:5

Examining Bible Prophecy What is a prophet? One chosen by God to speak His will to others. One chosen by God to speak of future events of importance to His people. One chosen by God to communicate His moral truths to His people.

The First Ever Prophecy Genesis 3:15 – “…And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” A prophecy of the Christ and His crucifixion.

Who Were The Earliest Prophets? Enoch – Genesis 5:22,24 – “Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters….Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Jude 1:14 – “…Enoch…prophesied saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones.”

Hebrews 11:5 – “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and He was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”

Abraham Genesis 20:7 – [God to Abimelech, King of Gerar}: “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live….” Land/Seed/Nation prophesies made by God to Abraham

Moses Exodus 33:11 – “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend….” Numbers 12:6-7 – “…If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak to him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth….”

Prophets Of Divine Origin 1 Samuel 9:9 – (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, ‘Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer.”

2 Samuel 24:11-12 “When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, ‘Go and speak to David, “Thus the Lord says, ‘I am offering you three things….’”

Not Of Pagan Origin Deuteronomy 18:10-12a – “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord….”

Test For Authenticity Deuteronomy 18:20-22 --But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously….

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 – “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’…. you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams….You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments….But that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God….”

False prophets abound Jeremiah 23:11ff – “For both the prophet and priest are polluted….therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them….Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing; they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray….”

Ezekiel 12:22ff – “Son of man, what is this proverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are long and every vision fails?’… I will make this proverb cease…For there will no longer be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. It will no longer be delayed….Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel…and say to those who prophesy from their own inspiration, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord!”

Trademarks of False Prophets Ezekiel 13 They say “the Lord declares” when He hasn’t said anything to them. They proclaim peace and prosperity to gain the favor of the people. They plaster walls with a lot of whitewash.

So We Must Test The Prophets 1 John 4:1-3 -- “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heart that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”