The Nature of Prophecy ...continued

Examples of Prophecy and their problems

By William Kay (used with permission)

ANSWER 4

4. A series of prophecies by a member of your congregation over a period of several months begins to stress the unreality of illness and the illusory nature of pain. True faith. it is said, can discern that only health is real. Members of your congregation begin to throwaway their medication or to feel condemned if they fail to do so.

This problem is caused by a series of prophecies, which may have begun correctly. Faith for healing may have been encouraged by the earlier prophecies, but towards the end of the series the doctrine being implied is very close to that of Christian Science. Something has gone wrong, and this is backed up by the confusion or guilt which has been engendered in members of the congregation. Teaching about sickness, and prayer for the sick, is in the hands of the elders (or pastors) and they have the duty to correct doctrinal oddities and to protect the congregation harm.

It is necessary to speak to the person prophesying and point out what has been happening. If the prophet is in right relationship with the elders, he will be glad to be corrected. If the prophet has picked up Christian Science doctrines from books or tapes, then these can be got rid of.

Once the prophet himself has been pastorally dealt with, the congregation needs to be reassured and misconceptions about health and healing need to be addressed. Perhaps one or two expositional sermons are needed to set matters right.

The ministry of the prophet needs to be watched and weighed carefully, but mistakes in prophecies are to be expected -as the command to judge them implies. You may worry that false doctrine is generally associated in Scripture with demonic spirits (I Tim 4.1) and this may cause you to treat mistakes so far made by this prophet as be greater importance than simple errors of prediction. Time will tell whether this prophet has humility and integrity or is heading for shipwreck.