Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

Madness: What Compelled the False Prophet?

of Pentecost. A number later spoke in prophecy, and the Bakers "mar veled more and more at the miracles that were taking place as the Lord spoke the wonderful things of God, revealing His plans and purposes by selecting the outcast 'nothings' of the earth who were recent beggar boys, to make them the mouthpieces of the living God, speaking through them by direct inspiration, edifying and building up this little group of simple blood-washed believers so recently saved out of hopeless physical and spiritual despair" (pp. 39-40). Within several weeks nearly all the children wanted to preach, so street services were held. Speaking in tongues with interpretation, the boys pre sented Gospel messages with great power to the throngs gathered on the street. The content of the messages amazed all who heard, for they were prophetically inspired. Time does not permit me to recount all the prophetic and visionary experiences that occurred in Kotchiu, China, in the early 1920s. The full story presented by H. A. Baker needs to be read on its own. Suffice it to say, some of the boys spoke at times like prophets of old, with the same results, and amazing visions of heaven and the future were unfolded to them. I hope this example of God using the most humble of people as His voice will affect the Church of our own day. With this chapter we close Part 2, "A Profile of the Ancient Hebrew Prophet." The next two chapters, which constitute Part 3, will help us transition to the heart of the book, New Testament prophecy. ... The basic problem in prophecy: how to distinguish between the authentic and inauthentic address....Even a pretender could chance on a proper anticipation of the future, and in that case how would one know whether the prophets derived their inspiration from God, their own imagi nation, or from a demonic source? ...The Torah suggests that the dividing line between the two was loyalty to God.Negatively, if thepretendingprophet counseled disobedience for the divine command or even idolatry, then he was ipso facto a pretender, regardless of the accuracy of his predictions. 14 W. Plaut There is a simple factor that distinguishes false prophets from the gen uine ones.False prophets use their gifts and use other people for their own ends, in order to build up their own influence or ministry.1 5 Rick Joyner REFLECTIONS

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