Stephen Barkley
“This is the Word of the Lord!” His words punctuated the air of the sanctuary with a sense of finality, authority. He spoke with an almost pedantic tone, as if to say: “Let there be no doubt. God said this, so listen up!”
After hearing the elderly man’s prophecy, I wasn’t so sure. It sounded like he was ‘playing the hits,’ sharing what he was passionate about and what a good portion of the congregation wanted to hear. To be clear, there was nothing wrong with what the man said—I just wasn’t so sure it actually was “the Word of the Lord” for these people at this time. But what could I do? I was left with two options:
- Determine that the message was not, in fact, the Word of the Lord and question the man’s spirituality.
- Suspend disbelief and accept what the man said, thereby admitting that I am unable to discern the voice of the Spirit.
It’s an impossible situation.
So, should a prophet say with confidence, “This is the Word of the Lord?” The Old Testament prophets certainly went there. Isaiah provides a typical example:
For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. (Isa. 30:15)
Isaiah doubles down here with his variation on the prophetic messenger formula. It’s more than just the “Lord,” it’s the Lord GOD or “the Lord (adonai) whose name is YHWH.” Oh yeah, he also happens to be the “Holy One of Israel.” The subtext: you had better pay attention.
You might say, “but wait—we’re not living in the Old Testament!” True, but I’m convinced that we experience prophecy in a very similar way—this was my main argument in Pentecostal Prophets. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that charismatic prophets today have the same authority as the Old Testament prophets. We’re not writing some ‘Newer New Testament.’ Still, the mechanism is the same—prophets hear God’s voice and share his message.
The idea that God is present with his worshippers is powerful. Josh P. S. Samuel writes, “Pentecostal identity has been shaped by the anticipation of direct and present experience of the Spirit – the Spirit’s immediacy – in corporate worship” (The Holy Spirit in Worship Music, Preaching, and the Altar 1). There’s a real sense in Pentecostal worship that God is present by his Spirit, and (ideally) an expectation that the Spirit of God can speak through any believer at any time. This is one of the reasons why charismatic prophecy is so valuable: the effect of prophecy extends beyond the actual message to the impact it has on the congregation that causes them to recognize the presence of God. (Muindi, Pentecostal-Charismatic Prophecy, 211). In his research on charismatic prophecy, Mark J. Cartledge notes that prophecy “in the first person impresses the hearer with a sense of the immediacy of God” (Narratives and Numbers 10).
So we return to the question, should a prophet say with confidence, “This is the Word of the Lord?” Let’s start by admitting that the Bible doesn’t tell us what to do—this is a practical theological question. By practical theology, I mean a question that forces us to interpret the situation at hand while engaging in prayerful theological reflection. So what’s the current prophetic situation like?
One of the things I noticed in my research on prophecy was the lack of any consistent or robust discernment process for testing prophetic messages. (I wrote some initial thoughts on this in “Prophetic Discernment in an Uncertain World.”) Scripture is clear on the need for prophetic discernment by the community. In Paul’s most detailed instructions on prophecy, he writes, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said” (1 Cor. 14:29). In his list of final reminders to the church in Thessalonica, Paul writes, “Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything” (1 Thess. 5:20–21). The people of God during the final days of pre-exilic Jerusalem were challenged to discern true from false prophecy: “You, therefore, must not listen to your prophets . . . who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ For they are prophesying a lie to you.” (Jer. 27:9–10).
By way of contrast, modern-day prophets take the burden of discernment on themselves. It was up to them to figure out if the message is truly from God and whether it should be delivered to the whole church. Some prophets also shared their discernment process with the pastor before delivering the message (Pentecostal Prophets 104–7). So we have two discerners: the prophet and pastor. What about the congregation? I’ve noticed that even when discernment is used, there’s no talk about the responsibility of the recipients to weight what was said together. More often than not, the pastor or worship team will pause for a bit, then declare, “thank you, Lord,” before moving on. The people in the congregation are left to make individual decisions.
Back to the question one final time: should a prophet say with confidence, “This is the Word of the Lord?” While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this from a biblical standpoint, I’d suggest that it’s unwise in our churches today for a few reasons:
- Since we have not normalized community discernment, there will be a tendency for people to automatically accept what is said in an authoritative voice.
- Whether intentional or unintentional, claiming to speak from God could be a misuse of power. People who are uncertain about the legitimacy of the prophecy are placed in the no-win situation I described above. They feel pressured to accept something the Holy Spirit may be urging them to reject lest they challenge the spirituality of the prophet.
- This type of prophetic demeanor can even deceive the prophet. My research showed that most prophets begin with discernment questions front of mind, but over time, discernment becomes second-nature and intuitive. While this may be a healthy sign of spiritual maturity, the lack of community discernment removes a healthy God-given check and balance. Prophets should value the discernment of the community.
Given the lack of community discernment in churches, the potential misuse of power, and the temptation to prophecy from one’s own imagination (Ezek. 13:2), my advice is to ‘err’ on the side of humility and avoid the messenger formula. After all, if it truly is the Word of the Lord for the congregation—will the Spirit not provide the sense of authority?
My research on prophecy as been published as Pentecostal Prophets. I’m currently working on a new book that will help everyday Christians explore prophecy with the help of some Old Testament guides. Please consider joining my mailing list if you’d like to keep in touch with my latest writing projects. I promise not to spam you!
