Getting Prophecies 1

In recent years, the Family has become dependant on prophecy. There has been a higher and higher emphasis on prophecy in the GNs, and individual Homes and members are encouraged to ‘hear from the Lord’ about everything, to ‘hone their gift of prophecy’, to practise receiving prophecies on every topic. When there are apparent conflicts, we are to take our questions back to the Lord for Him to sort out with another prophecy. We should ‘Ask Him everything’.

Now, what could possibly be wrong with asking Jesus what to do?

Let’s get one thing straight from the beginning: there’s nothing wrong with asking God what to do. The Bible is full of exhortations from one end to the other telling us to acknowledge Him that He would direct our paths. We are to seek God for what to do, and for that purpose, the Holy Spirit has been given to us to lead us into all truth.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

The Holy Spirit teaches us of God, convicts us of sin, leads us into truth.

John 16:7-14

7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

8 “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 “of sin, because they do not believe in Me;

10 “of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;

11 “of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

So, the Holy Spirit was given that we might understand truth, to make it possible for each believer to understand the will of God.

There are, however, a number of assumptions that the Family takes for granted concerning the method of receiving prophecy, and these assumptions have the potential for extremely serious consequences.

The fact is that before we are willing to believe that a directional message received in prophecy actually comes from God, we must be certain that we are operating in a way that the Bible condones. The minute we step over or ignore the guidelines in the Bible, we are setting ourselves up for disaster. Now, remember, we are not talking about mundane questions like figuring out a new recipe or deciding which route to drive to the city. We are not even talking about the major decisions in life that we will have to face. God can certainly lead us in the small things as easily as He can in the large. Our focus here, however, is on the questions that should always be asked when reading or receiving any prophecy, on the questions that are taboo within the Family: Are these prophecies actually coming from God? What does the Bible say about how we are supposed to get prophecies? Can we trust that the prophecies ‘from Jesus’ actually do come from the Lord?

Here are some of the assumptions on which Family prophecy is based:

In order to get a prophecy, we must pray and praise, then get quiet, empty our mind and wait in expectation, ready to write down the words that come to us.
We should do this whenever we wish to ‘hear from God’.
This is the way that the Bible teaches us to hear from God.
Messages and visions received when we do this are ‘of the Lord’, as long as our spirits are yielded to Him.
The name of Jesus is powerful enough to protect us from any wrong connection in the spirit. Therefore, as long as we pray in the name of Jesus, we can be assured that we are contacting Jesus Himself.
Sometimes Jesus speaks to us, sometimes an angel, sometimes a spirit helper.
Family members can trust that messages received this way will be accurate and true for their personal lives.
Any mistakes made by following prophecy or obvious errors within the prophecy itself came not because the prophecy was false, but because the person receiving the message was not yielded enough or allowed some of his or her own opinions to taint or ‘colour’ the message.
Messages from God for the Family as a whole will come through Family leadership, and will be judged and approved by those in positions of leadership before being distributed to all members.
When we get a prophecy distributed by Family leadership, we can trust that this truly is a message from God, regardless of the topic covered.
‘Major’ prophecies published by Family leadership are as much the voice of God as the prophecies in the Bible and therefore should be given equal weight.
In fact as these prophecies are current and up-to-date, they are the voice of God for today, and should be given precedence over the Bible.
Therefore we should spend more time reading and learning what God said today than re-reading ‘old’ prophecies from the Bible.
One of the tests for our own personal prophecies is whether they agree with messages published by Family leadership. Family leadership prophecies take precedence over our own personal prophecies.
Any doubts that anyone has about these prophecies should be dispelled when we see miraculous answers to prayer as a direct result of following these prophecies.
Sometimes we may experience a spiritual ‘high’ while receiving a prophecy, or it may affect us emotionally. This also is proof of its authenticity.

How does the Bible tell us to get a prophecy?

If we can define prophecy as a message from God, then we can say that the Bible is full of examples of God speaking to people. There are examples of people receiving very short messages and there are people to whom God spoke at length. In fact, the entire Bible is the Word of God given in prophecy to the various people whose names usually appear as the titles of each book: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John etc.

As there are so many examples of people receiving prophecy in the Bible, we should easily be able to confirm the first Family assumption listed above, which is that when we want to hear from God, we should use this method: get quiet, empty our mind, and then record the words or picture which comes.

Here we come to the first major problem.

The Bible has a completely different view of prophecy. Bible prophets did not ‘empty their minds’ so as not to be distracted by their own thoughts in preparation for receiving the thoughts of God. They did not train themselves to receive the words of God as He spoke His words in their minds. The Bible does not exhort Christians to ‘get prophecies’ from God every day, practising their ‘gift of prophecy’ until they’re good at it, meaning they can pull down a message from God on almost any topic.

However hundreds of people actually did hear God’s voice and wrote down specific messages. Some messages affected only themselves and those around them, some messages had great impact on the world for generations to come, some messages puzzle us to this day. The Bible does say that we should acknowledge Him in all our ways, pray without ceasing, bring all our requests to God.

Whenever we pick up the Bible, we are faced with the question, Do we believe this Book is the actual Word of God or not? If we do not believe the Bible is God’s Word, then we may not call ourselves ‘Christian’, and we have no place to say anything about God at all. If we do believe it to be God’s Word, then we believe it to be the ultimate authority, the great standard by which everything is measured, above every other writing ever written. We cannot say that we believe it if we’re not interested in doing things the way the Bible says to do them. Note that we must do things the way the Bible says to do them, not the way the Family says to do them, nor the way this web site puts forth. The Bible is the authority, and each of us must look to the Bible ourself.

So, let’s look at some examples in the Bible of people receiving prophecies, messages from God, and try to see how they did it, so that we can follow suit.

Zacharias

Luke 1:9-12

9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

Was Zacharias expecting the angel? Was he asking God for a vision, a message, a prophecy? No, he was burning incense at the altar, thousands of people waiting for him outside. God had a special message for him, so He sent the angel. Was Zacharias seeing a vision? No, the angel was really there, and poor Zacharias was terrified. Of course he recovered enough to argue with the angel, but the point here is that he did nothing to bring the message. God had something to say, so He did.

Mary

Luke 1:26-30

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

How did Mary get her message? Did she empty her mind in readiness to hear the angel’s words? No, she was troubled, she was afraid. She had not expected the angel at all. She was not sitting ready to hear from God, the angel just appeared to talk to her. Mary did nothing whatsoever to get this message. God chose her, God sent the angel, and it had nothing to do with Mary trying to hear from God. God wanted to talk to her, so He did.

Joseph

Matt 1:18-20

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Joseph was thinking about whether to ‘put Mary away secretly’, take her somewhere where she was not known and leave her there, and apparently he was inclined to do that. ‘He was minded to put her away’. He had just about come to the conclusion that Mary had to go. Did he sit down and pray, ‘Now Lord, speak to me’? Did he ask for a confirming prophecy? No, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. So, what did Joseph do to get his message? About the only thing that he did was to think about making the wrong decision! When God saw he was barking up the wrong tree, He stepped in. He intervened, not because Joseph ‘was a just man’ and wanted to hear from God, but because Joseph was afraid and was about to make a big mistake. God wanted to say something, so He did!

Ezekiel

Ezek 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

Ezekiel did not sit down, empty his mind, and say, “Now speak, Lord”. He was living by the river with the other prisoners of Babylon when God opened the heavens to show him visions and give him messages. He saw the visions because God wanted him to see, not because he was trying to hear from the Lord.

Samuel

Well, didn’t Samuel say, “Speak Lord, for your Servant hears.” Wasn’t Samuel trying to hear from God? No, the story is very clear that Samuel had no idea that God was talking to him. He thought it was Eli’s voice, who eventually realised what was going on and instructed Samuel what to say.

1 Sam 3:4-10

4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”

5 So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

6 And the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” And he answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

7 (Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy.

9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

Another interesting point is that Samuel did not hear God’s voice in his mind, it was an audible voice. What did Samuel do to get this voice? Nothing, of course, verse 7 says that he didn’t even know the Lord yet!

Daniel

In the book of Daniel we find one of the very few times that anyone ever received a message from God when he was actually asking for it.

Dan 2:17-19

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven

(NIV)

Note that Daniel and his friends were not praying about what they would do that day or even just wanting to hear God’s voice out of love for Him. On the contrary, the four young men had just received the death sentence and knew that the only way their lives would be saved was if God answered. That’s why they were ‘pleading for mercy.’ When they were praying for the interpretation to King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, they were literally begging for their own lives. They did not pray, “What do You have to say to us today, Lord?” but rather, “Have mercy on us, Lord, or we are going to die!” Therefore it seems that if we want to take Daniel 2 as an example of how to hear from God, the first step would be to pray as though our lives depended on it, to pray as if prayer was the only thing between the executioner’s axe and our own necks. That’s how Daniel prayed and that is an example of what ‘desperate prayer’ really is: pleading for God’s mercy. There is, however, no indication that pleading for God’s mercy in any way forces God to respond to us in the way that we want. It may happen if it is His will but we cannot make Him do anything.

Later on in the book of Daniel, we find the famous ‘seventy weeks’ prophecy.

Dan 9:20-22

20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,

21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.

22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.

Daniel was in prayer when he received this prophecy, but the method of his receiving it was certainly unlike anything we are taught in the Family. Daniel was not praying that he would hear a message from God, he was confessing his own sin and confessing the sins of his people. He was, again, begging for mercy. A couple of verses from his prayer:

Dan 9:5, 8-11, 19

5 “we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.

9 “To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.

10 “We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.

11 “Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.

19 “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Then, we find that it does not seem as though he saw a vision this time. Verse 21 (above) seems to indicate that Gabriel flew in the window! Daniel recognised him from the vision he’d seen before (recorded in Daniel chapter 8). Daniel did not merely hear the prophecy in his mind and get the impression that it was ‘Gabriel talking’. He does not say that he saw Gabriel in a vision this time. To his astonishment, Gabriel actually flew up and literally talked with Daniel in a face-to-face conversation!

In this case, Daniel was not even asking for a message from God; he was repenting of his own sin, as well as the sin of his people. Daniel was not calling on Gabriel, either, even though he had seen Gabriel before as recorded in Daniel 8. The only thing that happened was that God chose to send Daniel a message. It was God Who chose, Daniel who was surprised!

John

Rev 1:9-13,17

9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

John the Revelator had been exiled to Patmos. It was the ‘Lord’s Day’, and John was ‘in the Spirit’. Was he clearing his mind ready to hear a prophecy? Was he asking God to see a vision? No, it does not say that and we cannot read that into the verse. He was ‘in the Spirit’. ‘Spirit’ is capitalised, indicating that this was more than John being spiritual; this is talking about something more than John feeling inspired after a rousing inspiration or a feeding devotions. He was in the Holy Spirit. In the book of First John, he wrote,

I Jn 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

John knew God was with him, and he knew that he was with God because he had the Holy Spirit, he was walking in the Holy Spirit, living in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was living in him. He was in the Holy Spirit, as Jesus had said that he would be.

John 14:16-17

16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--

17 “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

John was ‘in the Spirit’ but his vision was certainly not in his mind. He heard, with his ears, a trumpet-like voice behind him and he physically turned around to see what was going on behind his back, and actually saw with his eyes Jesus standing there. Jesus did not come to John, the beloved disciple, looking the same way as John had remembered Him; He did not appear to chat with an old friend or to give some friendly encouragement or word of advice. Jesus appeared in power and glory and the sight so terrified John that he actually collapsed on the ground.

John was not ‘hearing from God’, which implies that we try to get something from God. Rather, God chose to give the book of Revelations to John, and there was nothing John did to bring the prophecy and there was nothing John could have done to prevent it from coming.

What did Bible people do to get their prophecies?

In a word: nothing.

They did not yield their thoughts to God so that He could send the message. They did not put themselves into any kind of spiritual trance or even focus their mind on the Lord.

In each case we read that it was God Who decided to send the message, and it didn’t seem to matter much whether the person was awake or asleep, on the right track at that particular moment or not, or even whether they knew much about the Lord at all.

Bible prophecies were often visible and audible manifestations, not pictures in the mind. Sometimes God spoke through dreams, many times out loud, but the one common thread we can see running through each message is the fact that the prophets did not ‘draw’ the message from God, rather it was God who sent the message to them.

It does not seem there is much in the Bible − if anything at all − to support the idea of us deciding that we want to hear a message from God on a certain topic.

‘Getting Prophecies 2’ will examine the various verses that the Family uses to justify its method of ‘hearing from the Lord’.

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