steven-nemes
Puritan Board Sophomore
I have thought a bit lately about the issue of supposed "modern prophets" and people who claim to have revelation coming from God in these days.
Now the scriptures commonly warn against various false prophets who came into the church and will come, and things of that sort. We are to be on the look-out for that sort of thing and to be wary of them, to rebuke them, correct them, and disregard them, etc. But not only that: Christ tells of people who at the judgment will claim, "Lord, didn't we cast out demons and do miraculous things, etc. etc., in your name?" and the Lord of course rejects them as workers of lawlessness. The critical thing is that persons who appear to us to be authentic prophets and workers of miracles may in fact be reprobates and evil-doers.
But, won't you know them by their fruits? Yes, Jesus also teaches us this, but it is possible that a person be deceived regarding the truthfulness of a prophet and supposed miracle worker; for proof, see the claim Jesus makes about many coming to him on the last day and claiming they did miracles in his name but really were not his. It is possible to be deceived by someone who, as far as you can tell, is a true prophet with good fruits, but really is evil and a deceiver.
My argument is thus: even if there are still prophets and miraculous things happening these days, so, even if cessationist understandings of spritual gifts and charismata are incorrect, the wise and prudent thing is to disbelieve, distrust, or at least remain agnostic about the whole matter and trust rather the reliable authority of scripture, by which no man can be deceived, rather than supposed prophets, who may be, despite what we see about them, false.
What do you say?
Now the scriptures commonly warn against various false prophets who came into the church and will come, and things of that sort. We are to be on the look-out for that sort of thing and to be wary of them, to rebuke them, correct them, and disregard them, etc. But not only that: Christ tells of people who at the judgment will claim, "Lord, didn't we cast out demons and do miraculous things, etc. etc., in your name?" and the Lord of course rejects them as workers of lawlessness. The critical thing is that persons who appear to us to be authentic prophets and workers of miracles may in fact be reprobates and evil-doers.
But, won't you know them by their fruits? Yes, Jesus also teaches us this, but it is possible that a person be deceived regarding the truthfulness of a prophet and supposed miracle worker; for proof, see the claim Jesus makes about many coming to him on the last day and claiming they did miracles in his name but really were not his. It is possible to be deceived by someone who, as far as you can tell, is a true prophet with good fruits, but really is evil and a deceiver.
My argument is thus: even if there are still prophets and miraculous things happening these days, so, even if cessationist understandings of spritual gifts and charismata are incorrect, the wise and prudent thing is to disbelieve, distrust, or at least remain agnostic about the whole matter and trust rather the reliable authority of scripture, by which no man can be deceived, rather than supposed prophets, who may be, despite what we see about them, false.
What do you say?