As a preface to this article, I want to go on record to say that I adhere to the continualist movement of believers who belong to the Pentecostal, Charismatic, and 3rd Wave tradition. As a continualist, I function in the gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of personal prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:5-8). However, over the last several years, I have become increasingly alarmed due to the prophecies and practices of those associated with the prophetic movement. Furthermore, since the beginning of 2020, many public national prophecies have not come to pass, which has added to my growing concern.
Two significant erroneous prophecies are the prediction that COVID would quickly dissipate right after the Passover and Donald Trump’s re-election.
(I was part of a prophetic panel in early April in which approximately 80% of the prophetic voices predicted COVID would lift quickly and that Trump would be re-elected. I was one of the few dissenting voices who discerned that COVID would be here for a long time. I did not give a word about a Trump re-election. However, if it were not for COVID wrecking the economy and Trump’s excessive off-color tweets, I think he would have, without controversy, won re-election in a landslide.)
What has made it worse regarding these prophecies is that even after President Trump’s controversial loss on election day, several high-level prophetic voices have continued to contend that he will remain in office. While prophetic voices such as Shawn Bolz, Jeremiah Johnson, and Kris Vallotton have already made public apologies for missing it, others such as Kat Kerr, Johnny Enlow, Hank Kunneman, Kenneth Copland, and many others were still contending throughout January 2021 that Trump would remain president through divine intervention. (Click here, here, and here for a few examples.)
I have been very burdened about the state of the prophetic for several years. I wrote several articles about why it has gone awry, with my recent article published after election day, “8 Reasons Why Some Prophetic Voices Do Not Have 2020 Vision.” One particular concern is that too many contemporary prophetic voices were going to God merely to “release a word” to their online audience instead of plumbing the depths of God to know and communicate His ways.
Consequently, it is now the day after the inauguration of Joe Biden as America’s new President. This means that the day of reckoning has come for many in the prophetic movement. Judgment begins first in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). While many Conservative Christians were focusing only on Donald Trump’s re-election, God has been uncovering the sick, shallow underbelly of the contemporary prophetic movement. What good is the re-election of a conservative president if a large portion of the conservative Evangelical church is biblically unbalanced? Many are easily sucked into conspiracy theories (i.e., Q Anon) and shallow, politically-driven prophetic words that are not grounded in scriptures’ fundamental principles. This has resulted in the public humiliation of the prophetic. It’s as bad as any I can remember since the numerous apocalyptic warnings given in the late 1970s that wrongly predicted the looming bodily return of Jesus within a generation of Israel’s birth as a nation in 1948. (See books like “The Late Great Planet Earth” by Hal Lindsey.)
Indeed, there is a crisis in the Charismatic world. What is needed in the Charismatic/Prophetic Church are introspection and repentance.
Repentance is needed for the reasons below.
● Prophesying out of a subconscious mind instead of through the sovereign spirit of God.
These prophets obviously cannot discern the difference between their human soul/spirit and the Spirit of God (Jeremiah 23:16).
● Prophesying out of their political bias and the lens of so-called “Christian nationalism.”
The Bible teaches us that we know in part and prophesy in part. Hence we all prophesy out of the lens of our own experience, knowledge, and worldview (1 Corinthians 13:9). I believe that many of the pro-Trump prophetic voices were motivated by their impulse towards various forms of “Christian nationalism.” By “Christian nationalism,” I am referring to the belief that God made a covenant with America similar to the covenant He made with Israel: to represent Him and bless the world. Although I believe God had a particular plan to use America to spread the gospel and bless the world, it was never entirely a Christian nation. This is obvious from our blighted history, starting with legalized slavery.
Furthermore, God has a plan for Jesus to inherit all nations, not just the United States (Psalm 2:8-9). Only individuals can be Christians (John 3:3-8). However, as the salt of the earth, it is proper for all believers to influence a nation’s laws so that a Christian ethos can be reflected in its policies. This results in a country having a culture favorable to Christian values.
● Going to God to get a word rather than prioritizing time with God to discern His ways.
The Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles focused on knowing God’s ways. This is evident in Psalm 25:4, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Hosea 6:3, John 17:3, Philippians 3:8-12, and 2 Peter
3:18. Knowing God’s ways is much more important than merely going to God for a prophetic word. When we go to God for a word, we are merely using God to advance our ministries. God desires that we seek Him for His sake because we delight in Him. This is the only way to mature as a Christ-follower (Psalm 37:4, Psalm 42, Psalm 63, Psalm 103:8).
● Repenting from equating their prophecies with the canon of scripture.
Only the Scriptures are purely God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Thus, no other words or experiences are equal to the more sure word of prophecy, which is the compilation of sacred writings we now call the Bible (2 Peter 1:19-21). Contrary to these teachings, many of these prophets demand people believe their word as if it was the word of God Himself. This is erroneously encouraged, even though we are clearly instructed in the New Testament to judge prophetic words and test the spirits (1 Corinthians 14:29, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, 1 John 4:1-3). The greatest prophets merely prophesy in part and know in part (1 Corinthians 13:9).
● Repenting from over-reliance upon visions and dreams.
In the Old Testament, God primarily spoke to the prophets through visions and dreams (Numbers 12:1-8, Ezekiel 1). However, in the New Testament, dreams were usually used for guidance before the Spirit was poured out upon the Church (i.e., God led Joseph in dreams, as shown in Matthew 1-2). We see only two significant instances related to guidance by a vision and dream in the post ascension. The first is when the Apostle Peter was in a semi-conscious trance-like (liminal) state. Here, the Spirit instructed him through a vision to not call Gentiles unclean. The second is when the apostle Paul was led to Macedonia through a vision or a dream (Acts 10, Acts 16:9). That being said, most of the time, the leading of the Lord took place by the Holy Spirit collectively speaking to the Church or through the individual’s spirit (Acts 13:2, Acts 15:28, Acts 16:7-8, 1 Corinthians 2:10-14, Romans 8:14-16).
● Repentance for equating themselves with the Old Testament prophets as in 2 Chronicles 20:20.
Since God spoke verbatim through the Old Testament prophets, belief in prophetic words was equal to belief in God’s word (2 Chronicles 20:20). However, this is no longer the case in the New Testament (Hebrews 1:1-2). It is a hermeneutical mistake to quote 2 Chronicles 20:20 for present-day prophecies. In the New Testament, we only prophesy in part and are required to test prophecies before we believe and act upon them (1 Corinthians 13:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).
● Repentance for using the gift of prophecy to influence the national election.
The primary use for prophecy is to glorify God by edifying the Church (1 Corinthians 14:2-4). I have found that very few prophetic voices are consistently accurate when they go beyond personal prophecies and give prophecies for a nation. They are usually prophesying beyond their level of authority and faith (Romans 12:7). Also, prophecies have to align with the Lordship of Christ according to 1 Corinthians 12:3. Even in the Old Testament, prophecies of nations were spoken through the lens of their relation to the plan and purpose of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:11). Since Jesus is inheriting all nations, I believe prophetic words from Him are still needed regarding their alignment with His Lordship (1 Peter 2:8-9). However, these words should not be rife with mere political motivations.
● Repentance for falling into mass prophetic delusion through groupthink.
Similar to instances when the majority of the Old Testament prophets prophesied what they believed was good for their nation (instead of the true word of the Lord), many of today’s prophets have fed off one another and fell into a corporate spirit of deception (1 Kings 22).
● Repentance for engaging in Q Anon predictions as a presupposition for prophetic words.
It is almost hard for me to believe, but several mature prophetic leaders informed me that many in their camp are being influenced by Q posts. Q Anon is cryptic and originated in the dark web. It is anonymous and is often wrong. Hence, it violates many of the basic principles of the word of God. Scripture admonishes us to know those who labor among us, have nothing to do with anything done in darkness, and judge all words given (1 Thessalonians 5:12, Ephesians 5:11, 1Corinthians 14:29). How can we judge an anonymous source?
Furthermore, the Bible blames the human dilemma on sin, while Q Anon blames all societal evil on a secret cabal of Democrats supposedly involved with human trafficking (Romans 3:23).
The significant consequences
Unfortunately, many of the erroneous prophetic words have influenced millions of naive, sincere Christians, who longed to see the candidate of their choice get elected so that he could “save the republic.” There most likely will be some dire consequences for them unless they have strong pastoral guidance (woe to those who are not in a mature Gospel-centered church!).
Some possible consequences are detailed below.
● Masses of rank and file naive Christians being disillusioned with the charismatic gifts.
It would not surprise me that one significant backlash from these misleading prophecies is that tens of thousands of Christians will leave the Charismatic movement (especially churches that strongly espoused the prophetic) and turn instead to cessationist, Christian expressions of the Church.
Even worse, many may even become disillusioned with Christianity itself if their faith was intrinsically integrated with the prophetic. Hence, when these false prophetic words are deconstructed after January 20th, there will be a deconstructing of these leaders’ shallow grasp of the gospel.
● Movements built upon the prophetic will be shaken to their core.
Some Charismatic networks and movements have bought into the prophetic excess mentioned in this article. Those networks will likely have seismic aftershocks that may even threaten their very existence soon if they do not honestly repent and make immediate changes.
● Young prophetic leaders separating from some of their older prophetic mentors/peers.
My experience has been that younger evangelicals generally eschew extreme political connections to Christianity. That being said, many young leaders in the prophetic movement may distance themselves from both their movement and their mentors. They will not want to be connected to those who made false national prophecies and those who aligned themselves with conspiracy theory-laden, far-Right activists.
● The secular world lumping all Evangelicals/Charismatics together.
As is always the case, the world will also attempt to excoriate all Christians (especially White Conservative Evangelicals) because a minority of them went along with Q Anon prophetic type activism.
● The world questioning the validity of all our historical beliefs.
The world will likely be inclined to question the validity of all of the beliefs of those who confidently prophesied things that did not come to pass. Unfortunately, this includes the historic belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; he is our only hope and is Himself the gospel.
May mature apostolic/prophetic voices arise today! May they eschew unbiblical practices. May they guide the Charismatic Church into a glorious future that will see the advancement of His Kingdom.
