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Prophetic Abuses
10
Dangerous Signs of Prophetic Abuse
JOSEPH
MATTERA
I have
been in the body of Christ now since the late 1970s.
I came
into the prophetic movement in the early 80s and started moving out
prophetically, even participating in prophetic presbytery while doing itinerant
prophetic ministry.
Furthermore,
our local church has nurtured many outstanding prophetic leaders and voices as
well as hosting numerous prophetic trainings and schools.
My
primary motivational gift and mode of ministry is prophetic, even when it seems
like I am teaching. (I rarely use notes and teach and preach as prompted by the
Holy Spirit when I am ministering.)
Furthermore,
I have found the prophetic gift, including inspirational preaching, teaching
and prophetic words to be the most edifying of all the gifts, as St. Paul said
in 1 Corinthians 14.
However,
with every true gift of God comes either a counterfeit and or an abuse. You can
say that about all of the cluster gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4:11.
The
prophetic gift can especially be very dangerous if left unchecked, since people
think the words spoken are directly from God and will often obey them without
question or the use of discernment.
Based on
all my years of operating in the prophetic, as well as mentoring, nurturing,
overseeing and hosting many prophetic ministers, the following are 10 signs of
prophetic abuse and manipulation.
I write
this not to discourage prophetic function but as a guide to increase the level
of discernment and true edification in the body of Christ.
All
sincere prophetic people should welcome these warning signs. If they are truly
endeavoring to serve the Lord, they will welcome correction and or desire more
discernment in the Church.
1. Prophecies are intentionally given to people of wealth.
I have
noticed through the years that some prophetic leaders will discern who has the
most money and influence in a church or conference and will target them for a
prophetic word.
The
reasons are obvious: First and foremost, they know that business people desire
to have a direct connection with God so they can make the right decisions in
their high-risk field.
Actually,
all influential people feel this way because of all their responsibility.
The
motive of this prophetic manipulator is that they want the personal cell phone
number of the wealthy person so they can develop a relationship with them
outside of the church and perhaps receive personal donations.
In my
opinion, the motive is wrong, and the prophetic person is using their gift to
manipulate unsuspecting potential donors.
Not that
it is wrong to give wealthy people a word, it is wrong when the hidden agenda
is to befriend a potential high-end donor.
2. Prophecies commissioning people to high-level leadership.
Prophetic
leaders sometimes give prophecies to actual or potential leaders, telling them
that they are called to be an apostle, prophet or great leader.
When
prophetic leaders give prophecies commissioning people they don't know, in the
context of a local church or conference, it is dangerous since they may be
puffing up the head of an immature recipient.
These are
the kind of words that should not be given unless first clearing it with the
person's overseer.
It can
also cause churches to split since the recipient can now claim to be an apostle
and doesn't have to submit to their pastor's oversight anymore.
What
makes this prophetic abuse is the harm it creates in both the individual
receiving the word and the local church where they serve.
Furthermore,
I suspect some prophetic people also commission people into the apostolic or
prophetic because it gives them a strong link and even possibly authority over
the persons to whom they give the word.
By
celebrating, affirming and commissioning others as apostles and prophets, many
prophetic leaders and their networks have gained them as adherents.
Much of
the time, these kinds of relationships are short lived because it is built upon
a faulty foundation.
3. Prophecies are based upon on prior knowledge.
In the
1980s, I had a visiting minister come to our local church.
Before he
ministered, he asked me questions about several of our members.
I was
shocked when he got up to minister because he started prophesying to every
single person I spoke to him about.
His
prophecies were general exhortations that orbited around the information I gave
him prior to the service.
Not only
that, the few people he prophesied over without having prior knowledge, we did
not speak about them, he was mistaken and inaccurate.
Of
course, the people who received a word from him based on his conversations with
me thought he was a great prophet.
However,
after the service, I confronted him, and he apologized and said he would never
do that again.
4. Prophecies are given for monetary gain.
There are
several well-known, so-called, prophets who charge money for giving prophetic
words.
You can
even call them up on the phone and receive a word, for a price, of course. I
was told that one person charges $5000 for a "life-transforming
word."
Although
there are some biblical instances in which people gave gifts to a prophet (1 Samuel 9:7-9; 2 Kings 4:42), it was more of an act of honor than otherwise.
The
prophet did not demand it or charge a specific fee for his prophetic gift.
Prophets
who charge money to give words are guilty of the sin of "Simony,"
which is when a person uses the gifts of the Holy Spirit for monetary gain.
This is
something the Apostle Peter strongly corrected (Read Acts 8:20-22).
Truly,
whenever we think the gifts of God and or godliness is a means for financial
gain, we are greatly in error (1 Timothy 6:5; Titus 1:11)!
5. Prophecies go beyond the Scriptures to teach doctrine.
I remember
several years ago a famous healing evangelist was saying that he was in heaven
and Abraham told him who wrote the book of Hebrews and other such things that
can influence one's view of Scripture and biblical doctrines.
I don't
mind if someone says they visited heaven and heard amazing things; however,
when we try to make the foundation of a biblical teaching an extra-biblical
source, it is very dangerous.
(For
example, when Bishop Carlton Pearson erroneously said the Holy Spirit told him
that all people would eventually be saved, which led him to preach a doctrine of "inclusion" and/or
universalism).
Consequently,
if we allow this unbiblical mystical practice, we open a door for the enemy to
put subjective revelation on the same level as Scripture, which can lead people
to apostasy.
The
greatest level of the prophetic will always be the Scriptures, once and for all
given to the saints, and any tradition or prophetic word that claims to be
equal to the Bible is in great error (Read 2
Peter 1:19-21).
Some
charismatics are so extreme they put their spiritual experiences above the
plain teaching of Scripture and/or are led by prophecies when making big
decisions, even without a witness in their own spirit and or without checking
biblical principles before making said decision.
6. Prophecies are used to manipulate relationships.
Some
people will even use prophetic words to try to manipulate people into remaining
close to them, serving them or even remaining their friend.
I am not
referring to accurate prophetic words given to a friend, employee or church
member for their edification or for the sake of the kingdom, but words given
for the purpose of emotionally manipulating a person into remaining in some
kind of relationship.
This is
an abuse of the prophetic and very manipulative
7. Prophecies are used to get people to serve the prophet.
Some
prophetic leaders will use the example of Elisha serving Elijah as a way of
getting younger leaders to serve them (1 Kings 19).
Although
there is truth in this principle, it can also be used to manipulate naive young
prophetic people into waiting on older, more seasoned prophetic leaders.
No matter
who gives you a word, it should not be obeyed if it compromises the
relationships and commitments you presently have, including to your spouse,
family and local church, and if God doesn't clearly confirm it.
Of
course, in general, God will never tell you to leave your spouse and family.
8. The prophetic leader is not accountable when mistakes are
made.
There
have been many prophetic leaders who have declared words involving national
catastrophes, events and even predictions about the last days.
After it
was clear they were in error, rarely does anyone have the guts to call them out
in private or in public.
Any
prophetic leader who lacks a working, relational, accountability structure in
their life, should shut their mouth until they get apostolically aligned for
personal oversight.
9. Dramatic prophecies are given to build an audience.
Some
leaders feel compelled to give a dramatic word every time they minister or are
on T.V.
This is
because they depend on the dramatic to maintain their audience which also
brings in their donations.
I am of
the opinion, we should never feel pressure to perform or to give a prophetic
word unless the Lord is clearly leading us to do so.
Case in
point: One time, after I finished preaching and prophetically ministering in a
church, the pastor announced that I was going to prophesy over every person in
the service.
I
promptly took the microphone, corrected him and told him I was done ministering
since I had no more of a leading to continue.
I was
never invited back to that church because I did not perform up to his standards
and expectations; that is fine with me since I always endeavor to minister to
an audience of one.
10. The prophecies draw attention to the prophet.
Some
prophetic words begin and end with self-affirming accolades describing
themselves as "the man of God sent to them" or "the prophet sent
to them" or even as "the voice of God" that they need to hear.
While
this may be true in a very limited sense, there is only one completely accurate
voice and expression of the Father: Hebrews 1:1, 2.
I am
usually suspicious when a person points to himself or herself when giving a
word.
A true
word both edifies the church and exalts the Lord Jesus Christ, not the speaker (1 Corinthians 12:3, 14:1-4).
Whenever
any minister or believer points to himself or herself instead of to Jesus, we
should be very leery of that person.
Paul said
follow me as I follow Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16).
Since
Jesus was not self-promoting, his so-called ministers involved in chronic
self-elevation are not serving in the pattern of Christ.
In
closing, I hope this article can serve as a guide for prophetic ministry in the
church and beyond.
This
article originally appeared at josephmattera.org.
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Dr.
Joseph Mattera is an
internationally-known author, consultant, and theologian whose mission is to
influence leaders who influence culture. He is the founding pastor of
Resurrection Church, and leads several organizations, including The U.S.
Coalition of Apostolic Leaders and Christ Covenant Coalition. Dr. Mattera is
the author of 11 bestselling books, including his latest “Poisonous Power,” and
is renown for applying Scripture to contemporary culture. To order his books or
to join the many thousands who subscribe to his newsletter go to
www.josephmattera.org.
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