Twelve Rules for Separating True from False Prophecies

Associates of the New Apostolic Reformation doubled down on their years-long prophecies of two terms for former president Donald Trump. It doesn’t bother any of them that it would take an insurrection or illegal coup to reinstate Trump because they all believe the election was stolen, and their god has not informed them otherwise. This short-sighted intransigence has led to chaos in our election process and in our constitutional governance. These men and women have millions of followers and have caused immense damage to this nation. They are incredibly dangerous because, like our former president, they are slick and charming, they feed off limited news silos, and they drag their politics into their prophecies. Having been familiar with prophecy since 1965, I can offer some helpful tips for any political candidates, state elected officials, or federal employees who might be influenced by their seductive words.

Twelve Rules of Engagement

1]  A genuine prophet needs to be walking fully in the Sprit. There is no room for adultery on the sly, for a relationship with the pool boy or for cooking the church books while you rail against gays and Democrats. They should skip tears for the poor, destitute children if the money they’re raising for them will go to their own therapists, wig consultant, or tax accountants. There must be no false stories, exaggerations, “evangelistically speaking,” or adding to the word to polish their image. Phony accents, theatrical pauses, musical enhancement, or dramatic tears will send the Holy Spirit running the other way. Don't fall for it.

When a prophet goes off the rails, the gift doesn’t necessarily disappear, as with the case of an old has been prophet in the Old Testament book 1 Kings 13. Using his former status as a prophet, he soothed his loneliness and longing for action by luring a young prophet into disobeying a direct divine command. As a result, the old man then prophesied that the younger would be killed by a lion, which came soon to pass on his way home.

Two lessons there, don’t play with the gift because it will bring harm to you and others, and don’t think prophets are above divine accountability.

2]  Beware of familiar spirits. God won’t tell a genuine prophet which Kardashian is about to be divorced or that there will be a 3.5 earthquake in Guatemala next week any more than the CEO of your organization will chat about the price of stocks with the mail boy. If you want that kind of info, buy a Ouija Board.

3]  A prophet should know the Bible really well, certainly as well as the false prophets who can preach it glibly. They should know it holistically, the way you know your own hometown, so that they aren’t snared in a net of dogma, proof-texting, or bias. They will recognize the Spirit of the Law versus the letter of the Law (Romans 7:6). Education helps, because a solid, orthodox balanced doctrine is a safeguard for the prophet and those following them. Rites, rituals, and props like flags, ecclesiastical garments, statues, candles, tabernacles, or golden candle sticks are fine in themselves, but have nothing to do with prophetic inspiration.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8

4]  Prophet, know yourself. Are you craving attention? Does your ministry need money? Are your prophetic colleagues pressuring you to get on board? What reward are you hoping for in this function? Have you lost your first love? Everyone has baked in opinions and biases. Are you aware of yours and where they come from? Although we must try to not bring those to our predictions and words, we will inevitably do so. Finally, are you harboring resentments, unforgiveness, rage, a sense of being a victim, or jealousy of another’s ministry? That is deadly. Get on your knees and get over it.

5]  A prophet needs to clearly separate their own interpretation of a vision or a dream from the actual revelation. They are not so anointed that their long sermons are inerrant. I rant about politics all the time, but I would never suggest that I am a geopolitical expert or a perfect dream interpreter. When I interpret my dreams or visions, I separate that from the actual revelation.

6]  Beware of contrived, long, slick prophecies from people who are talented speakers anyway. Many prophets and apostles in today’s charismatic environment are charming personalities with pleasant looks and voices. Their large churches and followings are impressive. However, when sermons become equated with prophetic revelation, my antenna pops up and my nay-dar starts flashing.

I recall that when Mitt Romney was running in the Republican presidential primary in 2008, one Elijah List associate claimed that God told him, “Mitt is a great catch.” Cute. Catchy phrase (Get it? Mitt, catchy?…OK sorry), but John McCain won the primary. There were other prophecies that year as to who would be the next president, all of which turned out to be wrong, but that didn’t stop the predictions or chill the faith of the followers.

7]  Beware of an attraction to wealth and luxury. I can’t do a comprehensive summary of the name-it-and-claim-it  or the seed faith movements here. It’s true that in general, God rewards generosity, but to make a doctrine of giving that enriches large mega-ministries where the top leaders live in palaces is to put the ministry and the leaders in spiritual jeopardy. Jesus did warn about the difficulties of entering heaven for the rich. He said it’s literally a miracle if they manage it. Rich people tend to be selfish, and selfish people will have a very disappointing welcome at the pearly gates, (Matt. 19:24).

8]  Beware of weird, legalistic, condemning, rigid, or fringe doctrines. I’m particularly alarmed by high government officials who participate in secretive religious movements requiring oaths. A judge or congressperson takes an oath to the U.S. Constitution. Jesus told his followers to just let your yes be yes and your no be no. Religious oaths just cause trouble, (Matt. 5:37; James 5:12).

Run from religious leadership that is connected to wealthy, partisan benefactors, or that have vast stock portfolios, or that exercise a program of personal control. This is the kind of swamp that monsters love to live in. Some wise person once said that if fascism ever comes to America, it will be carrying a cross and wrapped in a flag. I think every president should have a spiritual advisory council, but a large crowd of partisan, prophesying charismatics and no one else for restraint or balance is a recipe for disaster. Presidential spiritual councils should be diverse and dignified.

9]  For cripes sake, a genuine prophet should watch the right news! That means grown up news from mainstream media where producers vet the information before journalists and media hosts publish it.

Christians are famous for the mantra “You’ll never hear this in the lamestream media.” In other words, all the biggest journals in all the major cities in the US, all the hosts and contributors on MSNBC and CNN, all the stories on PBS and NPR, ABC, CBS, and NBC…just spin lies. I was told that the J-6 special investigation committee was “political theater.” After all, doesn’t everyone know that Republicans never do anything wrong that needs investigating, and if one does commit a crime that can’t be dismissed, it’s better if we all just move on, look to the future, not get stuck in the past?

I’ve been informed by RWers that our intelligence community, the FBI, the CIA, NSA, etc. are all part of a Deep State conspiracy to take down Trump or to obstruct the GOP agenda. Independent online news outlets like Politico, Buzzfeed News, Axios, journals such as The New Yorker, Atlantic, and Vanity Fair are the godless Jezebel conspiracy has been gathering for decades to oppress God’s people and obstruct God’s righteous agenda, but judgment is looming for the wayward Left.

This kind of talk is an abuse of religion. It’s a heresy to attribute an entire party to the devil. It’s evil to use the name of Jesus to support unvetted nonsense.

Jesus said, “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” (Luke 6:39) In this parable, both the blind leader and the follower are sure they are safe and think they know where they are going, but the ditch is there as the ultimate arbiter of who is really on the right track. That ditch is full of rocks and thorns and can be a well of pain, so choose wisely. If you follow the wrong information, if your prophecies are based on a foundation of someone else’s deceit or twisted dogmas, no matter how much you love Jesus and want to spread His message, the gift will go awry. A prophet, of all people, should be able to recognize rock solid news rather than shape shifting stories that morph according to the winds of the day.

A prophet may say, “The sky will be red tomorrow,” even though it's blue today, but not “the sky is red today, and your eyes are bad. Trust the prophet and not your eyes and ears.” When the prophets call bad good and good bad, up down and down up, when heroes get fired and scoundrels take their place, yet the prophets crow about God being glorified, something is WRONG. Prophecies about politics need to be grounded in reality!

10]  Watch to see if the prophecies come to pass. Keep track of what they say. Don’t blow it off if they don’t.

11]  Don’t be too impressed with miracles. UFO aliens and shamans can heal, sorcerers can curse your enemies, and fortune tellers can predict when someone will die. Psychics solve crimes and find lost dogs. That’s nice, but it doesn’t qualify them to terrify millions of people into voting for the anti-christ on pain of committing a grave sin.

12]  Beware of greasy grace, which is a willingness to consistently overlook sin and ascribe the characteristic of continual mercy and forgiveness to Jesus Christ. Jesus sent a message to the lukewarm church in Laodicea,

“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white robes to clothe yourself and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” (Rev. 3:17, 18)

In the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible, Cain never actually repents or asks God for forgiveness. He doesn't connect emotionally to the wrong he has done, doesn't promise to reform, doesn't connect with the grief he would cause his family. He just pleads for a lighter sentence, focusing on the threat to himself. Cain is religious but not spiritual. He never actually gets that God wants him to want “do what is right.” In compliance, Cain probably did the minimum that he thought he could get away with. As a result, rather than be a wanderer and outcast, Cain went into exile to a foreign land to build a city named after his son. He wasn’t too interested in his own family’s values, anyway. For Cain, Plan B wasn’t too bad, but several generations later, his descendants fall out of the divine plan for mankind’s future. Rather than being a solution to enlightenment and sin, they fell into the cultural ways of the violent, selfish world and became spiritually irrelevant.

On the other hand, the thief who was crucified next to Jesus Christ owned up to his crime, confessed to Jesus, and pleaded for forgiveness. His last few words bought him a completely different eternity than where he otherwise would have gone.

There will be a reckoning. You cannot traipse around crowning yourself with the title of apostle and prophet while looking away from corruption and sin that is taking place under your nose. You cannot smear good people and contribute to the division of the American populace, all in the name of the Holy Spirit, without divine consequences. The leaders themselves whom God deems as blind will fall into the deepest part of the ditch.