When a Prophet is like a Weatherman
By Reverend Daniel Panitz, Miracle Fellowship
Now what if I told a sister that I had a word from God and that he told me that you should shave off the hair on your head, and that then and only then would he know that you were obedient? Or if I told a brother, that God told me that you should not eat any animal meat or jeopardize your place in heaven?
Now brother if I told you that I had a word from God and that he told me that if you double your tithes that you would be assured of getting into heaven before those who did not give as much in His name.
If I told you sister that you should leave your husband and lie with a holy man of God as this would glorify God as I am His prophet here on this earth.
And now brother if I told you that I have a special anointment and that I am connected with God Himself and for a small donation I will pray for you and intercede on your behalf. So tell me what your needs are and I will bring your message to God and He will answer you through me his messenger.
I see I am beginning to lose your confidence in me as MAN Of GOD. Did I mention to you that I am specially anointed by God himself and that I truly am a prophet of God. To tell you the truth I wouldn’t have confidence in a man like this either. This is a false Prophet, or what I like to call these types of individuals, “ weathermen prophets.”
Look I understand that we are all hungry for an intimate relationship with God. God wants us to have that relationship. I understand that we all want to do the right thing, the Godly thing, so many of us are looking for a direct communication from Him in a human conduit. We desire something clear and unmistakably spoken to us in a voice that comes directly from God. We often look to someone who we believe can transcend the heavens and can bring to earth, and us, God’s personal message. We so want to understand what He wants from us. It is a natural human need for us to want to be closer to our God and to hear his voice speak as directly to us as possible. And so we often look to others for a human conduit, to bring the personal words of God to us. We look to the Men and women of God who we think have a closer relationship or closer tie to God than we ourselves do. We nievely believe that they have some special anointment that we do not. We believe that they can hear Him more clearly than we can hear Him ourselves. I am afraid that this, my brethren, is often quite dangerous, for if you are a child of God then the holy Spirit already lives within you. He who lives within you will speak to you if you would but only listen. You do not need another teacher or Prophet to bring to you the word of God, as you should have already established your own relationship with Him through the Baptism in Holy Spirit. I am not saying there are not still holy prophets today, but these will encourage, comfort and exhort you to the things of God. Other men and women of God may guide you to knowledge of the word of God, which is clearly consistent within the Bible. But beware of those for their need of power, money, and self aggrandizement, that would peddle the word of God As if they are better connected than you . These unholy prophets are not only dangerous but they should be despised. In 1 John 2:26-27 It says I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. (27) As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit; just as it has taught you, remain in Him.” So you see if you are a child of God and if you allow the Lord into your heart; It is He who speaks to you through His Holy Spirit, and this will be the voice of God that directs you. You will not be subject to the greed or failings of other human beings. It is only God Himself that revealed plan of God himself. Men of God clearly can Guide you but this is advice on where you may look or find Gods consistent word. And that word is always consistent with the Bible.
A true Prophet Preaches Repentance and Obedience to Gods Law, he is not like a weatherman telling you that the climate today is this or that, or that you should stay in today because there is going to be rain. It doesn’t matter if a weatherman prophet quotes a few verses from the bible before forecasting his so called learned forecast, it still does not mean it comes from God.
The concept of the Prophet bringing the word of the gods to the people existed long before the Hebrews, and was later incorporated into the Old Testaments as identifying those who brought a message from the One True God. In Jeremiah 35:15 It is written... “I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.”
The bible warns us that many religious weatherman as I call them, or false prophets will be amongst us today, as they were in the days of the old Testaments. They have not changed their techniques and still pedal their so called special powers. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4 it is written” For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (4) They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.(NIV). We are warned that religious men who may quote the bible who may in fact even have gifts may lead us on a path that leads to destruction. That’s why we have to watch our doctrine.1 Tim 5:17 say Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. These are who we should respect, but there are some who have pieced together a self serving facsimile of the gospel, which of course is not the Gospel at all. They may proclaim to you that you will fall from grace unless you do this or that (remember these are usually related not to Godly acts but to some earthy or fleshly thing.) Or they may tell you that you are with those who have fallen from Grace and you should abandon them to join another church, (usually their own,) rather than pray for your own church and its blessings. Building congregations has become a big business and just as politicians point out the other candidates failings, so too do false prophets or pastors, who criticize other churches of God.
A true prophet speaks the Truth of God through the “Spirit of God” not though any self serving motivation or fleshly desire. Many false prophets do not even know that they are false prophets. They think they are speaking the truth and they are deceived by themselves. The truth can always be found in the bible and is always consistent with the bible. God’s focus is on building his nation, not on the color of our lipstick. God is interested in our loving Him and our loving of each other. God does not condone divisiveness within the church or between churches. Mathew 7:15 Warns us that we should “ Watch out for false prophets. They come to us in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves (NIV) On the outside they may look like godly men and they may be dressed in church robes as the sheepskin. Mathew warns that their outward behavior is godly. Possibly never a swear is heard from their lips, they will lead you away from holiness and Gods plan for you. They will lead you to your death in the eyes of the Lord. You have to judge these men by their fruit, and not just by appearances and titles.
Do not be lead astray. Do not listen to anyone who says that only they can hear from God for you, but mark the perfect or mature man. Paul said follow me as I follow Christ, as he followed Christ. If someone is not following Christ, then we are not to follow them. There is a need for true prophets of God, true pastors of God, truth teachers of God in this day. Although we need teachers, because of the Holy Spirit we are not dependent on a man. You do not need anyone to teach you or to interpret God for you. It is enough that you have accepted God and that the Spirit of God lies within you. False Prophets think that they are right, and they are professionals at getting you to believe that they are right. Let’s look at Luke 4:9-12 “The devil led Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “ If you are the son of God , he said” throw yourself down from here. (10) For it is written: “ He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; (11) they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (12) Jesus answered, “ It is written “ do not put the Lord your God to the Test (NIV). False prophets like Satan use scripture to support their argument but the truth agrees with all Scripture not just one verse or one part of the Bible. Homiletics has taught us to see the truth through applying the truth across the different verses and books of the bible and always with the Holy Spirit in your heart. The Holy Spirit is our True interpreter to the bible,. The Holy Ghost is our great Comforter in all things in our life, as Jesus promised us. He is there to help us to understand what God wants of us. The Holy Spirit opens up to us the true meaning of the Scriptures which is hidden from the disbeliever. If you read the bible to support your own arguments then you simply delude yourself into believing your own argument, much as a lawyer would find a way to convince the jury and then believes his own distortions of truth. If you read the Scriptures with the Holy Spirit in your heart; the bible will reveal God’s true message to you. It is God that will move your mind and your heart in His direction, and it is God who will reveal Himself and His message to you not some religious weatherman. A true test of a prophet will turn you to God and to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, not to tear apart.
