Could some Christians please explain to me how the 'false prophets' thing works?
By barbarella
@barbarella (354)
March 5, 2007 5:58pm CST
I know that in the Bible it tells you to beware of false prophets but there is also a general disapproval amongst Christians, which I am guessing comes from something else in the Bible, of the occult, clairvoyance and magic. How does it work if you encounter someone who really does seem able to foretell the future? Would they then deemed to be a true prophet or would it still be seen as a bad thing that they are involved in that kind of thing?
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2 responses
@livewyre (2450)
•
6 Mar 07
Prophets and what we think of as prophecy are not neccesarily the same thing. A prophet in the Bible is seen a teacher and leader of the people revealing truths rather than actually getting involved in 'prediction'. Often Prophets are seen as people who have been sent to 'correct' God's people when they have strayed. Hope this makes some sense..
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@barbarella (354)
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6 Mar 07
So, in theory, someone who was clairvoyant or whatever could practice it still provided they used it in the right way?
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@livewyre (2450)
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6 Mar 07
I'm pretty sure that King David was specifically instructed by God NOT to dabble with clairvoyants (of course he DID....but that's another story). The whole area of 'gifting' is a grey area and I can't speak with any authority on the subject. As I said, a prophet is invloved in instructing the church, so they would have to be under the authority of God and work within Biblical principles. If we're talking clairvoyant as in in touch with the 'other side', then this practice itself is forbidden by God at least in this one instance... The principle of this type of activity is that there is some bunch of contactable spirits hanging around waiting to talk to us, this also does not fit with the Biblical teaching about the afterlife, so clairvoyance itself would not be appropriate in a church. I'm not sure if I've answered your question...this one could run on...
@LuluLala (23)
• United States
25 Jul 07
I think that when it tells you to beware of false prophets its telling you to be aware of peoples intentions. The prophets of God would only speak with intentions of delivering Gods message and saving people. Someone who does signs and wonders just to get a following, is wrong. False prophets would get their information from somewhere other than God. I am not saying that what they are saying is truth or lies, but I would suggest that only God would have verifiable information.
I think we all have the ability to be psychic, or see certain things pertaining to the future but we just don't know how to use or activate it.
