Let two
or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.
1
Corinthians 14:29
One of
the challenges to correctly understanding modern prophetic insight is
distinguishing what a person thinks God has told them from what they think it
means. Some ministers are careful to try to keep the two separate but often it
is impossible to extricate revelation from opinion.
Another
crucial issue is timing. I expect that most times Christians believe they
have heard something special from God, especially if it contains a predictive
element, they tend to think that it will happen very quickly. In the Bible,
both Joseph and David had to wait a long time before what God had promised them
came to pass and, in the interim, their lives seemed to go in very different
directions. Before Joseph became prominent as the de facto prime minister of Egypt, he was sold into slavery and
later imprisoned on a bogus charge of rape! David had to live many years as a
fugitive and outlaw before he became king. Therefore, even if someone is trying
to err on the side of caution, and talks about years and decades, they may well
still be being too short-sighted!
A third difficulty
is that insights tend to be expressed consistent with the time in which they
are given. The Israelite prophets may have foreseen the tragedy of prolific war
in the future, and the impact of future weaponry, but they did not see that weaponry.
Or the causes of the sorts of health and ecological disasters that could be the
results of deliberate pollution or industrial accidents.
One of
the earlier modern insights I referred to last weekend mentioned that Arab
countries could be at risk of financial catastrophe if they have heavy US
investment but I have the impression that, today, the reverse might be more
accurate, that America is at risk because of the level of Arab investment in
its economy.
People
who give such prophetic warnings often offer advice on what to do in response,
such as reducing dependence on credit and clearing debt. Jim Bakker followed up
with, The Refuge, published in
2000. In it he describes how churches
(by which he means communities, not buildings) should function for mutual
support and as welcome refuges for all people, whether they are Christians or
not. Whatever we think about his prophetic insights, what he says about
churches should nonetheless provoke serious consideration.
I will conclude this tomorrow.
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Copyright © All Souls Clubhouse Community Centre & Church and Philip Evans
2013.
Scripture
quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright
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