Chapter 9.11

The Test of Prediction for Modern Prophets

If Not Faultless Then Fraudulent

Table of Topics

A) The Test of Prediction for Biblical Prophets: And the Authentication of Scripture

B) The Test of Prediction for OT Prophets

C) The Test of Prediction for Christ

D) The Test of Prediction for NT Prophets

E) Limitations to the Test of Prediction

F) Ancient & Modern Frauds Exposed by the Test of Prediction

F.1) Nostradamus

F.2) Jeanne Dixon

F.3) Modern Prophetism

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

• We doubt God intended anyone to be called a Prophet at all, if they could not accurately foretell the future.
• Virtually every Prophet named in Scripture is described as making a prediction which history records having been fulfilled in OT or NT times.
• It is absurd the none of the “prophets” of modern prophetism have done the same, and yet people still accept them as Prophets.
• Revealed prophecy begins in Genesis and continues to Revelation.
• “The greatest of the proofs of Jesus Christ are the prophecies.”
• The historically fulfilled prophecies of the Bible are the most convincing evidence for the unique divinity of Scripture.
• “Christianity, the Judeo-Christian faith, is unique in that respect. There is no other religion that has prophecy in it.”
• The foretelling, not just the forthtelling of Prophets resulted in “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Cor 14:3).
• Virtually all of the pronouncements of Christian Prophets described in Scripture involved foretelling the future.
• The prophetist’s accusation against the accuracy of Agabus’ prophecies is a very one, and all to justify their second-rate unbiblical prophecy.
• Deut 13:1-5 warns us that supernatural prediction is not a self-sufficient authentication of a Prophet. Demons can provide counterfeits.
• Even though secular prophets (e.g. Nostradamus, Jeanne Dixon) claimed to be prophets from God, not one of their predictions have come true.
• Unfortunately, prophetism has its modern “prophets” as well, including Paul Cain and Benny Hinn, etc., all who have proven to be false prophets.

A) The Test of Prediction for Biblical Prophets: And the Authentication of Scripture

In previous chapters we have noted God’s foundational statement in Deuteronomy 18 regarding biblical Prophets. In light of the fact that Prophets speak His very word, God answered an obvious and important question:

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims [foretells ^[1]] in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deut 18:18-22)

Likewise, the Prophet Jeremiah proclaimed: “The Prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true” (Jer 28:9). Accordingly, as we read in Isaiah, God worked to make the predictions of His Prophets come true, and to make those of false prophets fail:

I am the LORD, Who has made all things . . . Who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners . . . Who carries out the words of His servants and fulfills the predictions of His messengers. (Isa 44:24-26; cf. Isa 41:22-23; 42:8-9; Jer 14:14-15; Ezek 13:6)

While there were other authenticating attributes of Prophets that will be discussed in the next chapter, prediction is the foundational one, and we doubt God intended anyone to be called a Prophet at all, if they could not accurately foretell the future. Accordingly, virtually every Prophet specifically named in Scripture is described as making a prediction which either secular or biblical history records as having been fulfilled in either OT or NT times. The only true Prophets not described as making predictions are females (cf. Miriam, Exod 15:20; Philips four daughters, Acts 21:9). Nonetheless, we have no doubts these Prophetesses also made miraculous authenticating predictions, or they wouldn’t have been called Prophetesses. All other Prophets named in Scripture are explicitly described as being authenticated by making predictions that were accurately fulfilled. ^[2] Which again, makes it rather absurd the none of the “Prophets” of modern prophetism have done the same, and yet people still accept them as Prophets.

It should not surprise us that God’s messengers would be able to predict the future, as their Master is the One who knows and ultimately controls all of it. It is such a divine attribute, revealed through His Prophets, that sets Him above all the satanic and human invented gods throughout history. In the context of proclaiming His superiority over false gods, the real God spoke of His proven ability to predict the future through Isaiah:

I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images. Behold, the former things [I predicted] have come to pass, now I declare new things [predictions]; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you. . . .

I am the LORD . . . who foils the signs of false Prophets and makes fools of diviners, [but] who carries out the words of His servants and fulfills the predictions of His messengers. (Isa 42:8-9; 44:24)

One of the many reasons there is no other god besides our God is that only our God knows and controls the future. Which is why fulfilled prophecy is especially His signature on His revelation and its messengers the Prophets. Accordingly, revealed prophecy begins in Genesis (cf. 3:15) and continues all through Scripture to Revelation. And a major part of those prophecies have already been fulfilled.

Obviously, the topic of prophecy is a very significant one. Accordingly, we devote a great deal of discussion to it in chapter 9.8, particularly describing several biblical prophecies that have already been specifically and miraculously fulfilled in history. Here we wish to briefly mention its significance as an authentication of Scripture, and then to demonstrate the need for this ability in anyone calling themselves a Prophet of God.

Speaking c. 200 A. D., the early Church leader Tertullian wrote in a defense for the divinity of Scripture: “I suggest that the fulfillment of prophecy is sufficient witness to the divine origin thereof.” ^[3] Some years later, the Christian apologist Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) said as well: “The greatest of the proofs of Jesus Christ are the prophecies.” ^[4] Indeed, the historically fulfilled prophecies of the Bible are the most convincing evidence for the unique divinity of Scripture. And not one shred of historical or archeological evidence has proven a single historically fulfilled prophecy false. In fact, it is through “secular” research that we have confirmation of the fulfillments of Isaiah’s prophecies of the destruction of Ninevah in 612 B.C. (cf. Isa 10:5-34; 14:24-27), Babylon in 539 B.C. (Isa 21:1-10; 47:1-15; Dan 2-5); Edom in 550 B.C. (cf. Isa 21:11-12; Jer 49:7-22), and Tyre in 332 B.C. (cf. Isa 23:1-18; Ezek 26 & 27).

J. Barton Payne, in his classic Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecies, calculates that 27% of the Bible is made up of prophecy. ^[5] The influential Baptist teacher W. A. Criswell has remarked:

Of the more than six thousand verses of prophecy in the Bible, about three thousand have already been fulfilled, [and] we may conclude that the other three thousand verses of prophecy are going to be fulfilled in the years to come. ^[6]

Perhaps the best known fulfilled prophecies concern the first coming of Christ. Their miraculous nature is described by the NT scholar Rene Pache:

Now, it is affirmed that 333 of the prophecies concerning Christ have been fulfilled! According to the law of probabilities, there would be one chance out of 83 billion that so many predictions would come true in the case of one single individual. Needless to say, such a “chance” does not exist, and no one but the omniscient God could predict and act like this. ^[7]

Dr. Criswell goes on to state:

Christianity, the Judeo-Christian faith, is unique in that respect. There is no other religion that has prophecy in it. There is no other religious book that has prophecy in it. Gautama Buddha, Krishna the Hindu, or Muhammad the Prophet dare not predict the future. If they attempted to do so, it would have revealed that they were charlatans and deceivers. They could not do it. But these men of God in the Bible, speaking by the power of the Holy Spirit, described events thousands of years before they came to pass, and they did it in minute detail as intimately as if they were standing there face to face with the Lord or at the foot of the cross. ^[8]

Predictions have proven to be such a risky business for mere humans, they are wise to not even attempt it, which is generally the case for non-Christian religions. Norm Geisler responds to the claim that other religions do involve miraculously fulfilled prophecies:

First, it is not true that other religions have specific, repeated, and unfailing fulfillment of predictions many years in advance of contingent events over which the predictor had no control. These kinds of predictions are unique to the Bible. . . . R. S. Foster says of other holy books and the writings of pagan religions:

No well-accredited prophecy is found in any other book or even oral tradition now extant, or that has ever been extant in the world. The oracles of heathenism are not to be classed as exceptions. There is not a single one of them that meets the tests required to prove supernatural agency, which every Scripture prophecy evinces.

M’Ilvaine adds:

[T]he history of pagan nations indeed abounds with stories of auguries and oracles and detached predictions. . . . But innumerable distance separates all the pretended oracles of paganism from the dignity of the prophecies of the Bible.

After making a careful examination of Hebrew and Pagan Prophets, Calvin Stow concluded that there were no credible prophecies in other writings, but that each “is just what we would expect from men of this world, who have no faith in another.” ^[9]

While Bible prophecy requires some careful study to appreciate, it is clear that God intended it to be accessible enough for all to readily see this miracle in Scripture. Accordingly, someone has written:

God did not hide His message to us, encoding it in the Bible to be ferreted out only by those with great theological knowhow or modern technology. No, He communicated His truth to us clearly, that we might understand and obey. “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it” (Deut. 30:14). You don’t need a mathematical formula to search for prophecies in the Bible or to authenticate its message. All you must do is read the Bible-God’s Word. It is complete and sufficient. Unlike the vague prophecies of Nostradamus, or the random ELS occurrences of the Bible Code, only the Bible is clear, authoritative, and accurate in all its prophecies. ^[10]

Again, we explain a number of these fulfilled prophecies in chapter 9.8. Here, our purpose is to demonstrate that anyone having the gift of NT prophecy was also given the ability to miraculously predict the future in order to authenticate themselves. ^[11]

B) The Test of Prediction for OT Prophets

Making predictions that were miraculously fulfilled was a vital part of the ministry of Prophets in the OT. So much so, that it wasn’t just an aside in order to authenticate their message, but often was their message. As the Apostle Paul describes Christian Prophets, the foretelling, not just the forthtelling of OT Prophets often resulted in the, “strengthening, encouragement and comfort,” (1 Cor 14:3) of God’s people.

To cut out prediction from the ministry of an OT Prophet would not only dismiss a foundational authentication of their ministry, but would leave them with relatively little to say. God intended His Prophets to be making a lot of predictions, and for such a thing to be vital to being a Prophet. Accordingly, God Himself said: “Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the Prophets” (Amos 3:7). Which, again, is a sad commentary on the “Prophets” of today, all of whom want the same label as their OT counterparts, but cannot and will not predict the future accurately.

On the contrary, the need for God’s people to test Prophets was a serious concern and the primary test was fulfillment of their predictions. Accordingly, we read how the premier OT Prophet Moses confronted those who questioned whether he spoke for God:

Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men [critics] die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt. (Num 16:28-30)

And Moses’ prediction came true because, “As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them” (vs. 31-32). Moses, as a man with the biblical gift of prophecy, accurately predicted several other events (cf. Exod 4:21-23; Num 17:5).

Likewise, we read of the Prophet Samuel:

The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and He [God] let none of his [Samuel’s] words fall to the ground [i.e. fail in coming true ^[12]]. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a Prophet of the LORD.  (1 Sam 3:19-20)

What then did the people know about the Prophet Samuel? Even the servant of Saul knew, “everything he says comes true” (1 Sam 9:6).

After predicting Ahab’s death in battle against the false prophecies of 400 other “prophets” who said he would be victorious, Micaiah admitted, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me” (1 Kgs 22:28). Wouldn’t it be great if modern “prophets” whose “prophecies” all fail, would admit the same?

Jeremiah recognized the same and said that the Prophet prophesying peace in his day should “be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true” (Jer 28:9) We require no such authentication today and get duped and treated to nonsensical “prophetic” proclamations because of it. God said of some of Ezekiel’s prophecies, “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a Prophet has been among them” (Ezek 33:33). But God did not expect them to know that until the prophecies were fulfilled.

While many of the predictions of biblical Prophets were relatively far into the future, limiting this authentication for their current generation, God ensured that Prophets were thus proven when they needed to be so. Therefore, many of the Prophet’s predictions were fulfilled in rather short order. This was true of much of Moses’ predictions (cf. Exod 4:21-23; Num 16:28-30; 17:5), Samuel’s predictions concerning Saul (cf. 1 Sam 10:1-8; 13:14; 28:16-19), Jeremiah’s prediction of the death of Hananiah within a year (cf. Jer 28:15-17), Micaiah’s prediction of the defeat and death of Ahab (cf. 1 Kgs 22:28), Isaiah’s prediction of the failure of the northern coalition to subdue Jerusalem was fulfilled in a few years (cf. Isa 7:1-17); likewise, the overthrow in two or three years of Damascus and Samaria (cf. Isa 8:3-4), the failure of Sennacherib to capture Jerusalem, and the melting away of his army (cf. Isa 37:33-37).

C) The Test of Prediction for Christ

Because Christ was a Prophet (cf. Deut 18:15; Matt 21:11; Luke 24:19) He predicted the future accurately. His fulfilled predictions include Judas’ betrayal (cf. Matt 26:21-25); the disciples’ desertion (cf. Matt 26:31-35), His suffering and death “at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law” in “Jerusalem” and His subsequent resurrection (Matt 16:21), the Apostle Peter’s martyrdom (John 21:18), and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D. (Luke 21:20-21).

D) The Test of Prediction for NT Prophets

The words of the popular Bible commentator, William Barclay (1907–1978), are typical of modern NT scholarship regarding the gift of prophecy:

It is only rarely that prophecy in the New Testament has to do with foretelling the future; it usually has to do with forthtelling the word of God. ^[13]

This simply is not true. In fact, as demonstrated below, almost all of the pronouncements of Christian Prophets described in Scripture involved foretelling the future.

John the Baptist had foretold things about Christ (cf. John 1:26-7) of which people said later, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true” (John 10:41). The NT Prophets Zechariah, Simeon, and Anna are recorded as making fulfilled prophecies as well (Luke 1:67-79; 2:25-38). The Prophets in Ephesus had made predictions concerning Timothy that were fulfilled (cf. 1 Tim 1:18). John, in his prophecies recorded in Revelation, made predictions that were accomplished a short time afterwards (cf. 2:10, 21-23). Finally, we have already noted that the NT Prophet Agabus is described twice as making predictions that miraculously came true (cf. Acts 11:27-8; 21:10-11). In fact, we do not have a record of Agabus giving any other revelations except predictions. Again, the modern mantra that people can claim the gift of prophecy and speak for God, but not have to miraculously predict the future is unbiblical and therefore un-Christian and against God’s wishes.

Because Agabus is such a clear example of someone possessing the NT gift of prophecy, and prediction was obviously a major part of his ministry, he has been especially singled out by prophetists to somehow distort his testimony. Therefore, more can be said of him here. First, let us look at his predictions. In Acts 11 Luke writes:

During this time some Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)” (Acts 11:27-28).

Luke specifically adds the information in parentheses in order to demonstrate that Agabus truly possessed the gift of prophecy.

Even the prophetist Dr. Grudem admits that, “the fulfillment of Agabus’ prediction of famine in Acts 11:28 is an OT type of prophecy.” ^[14] But Agabus was a NT Prophet, and therefore, as we have contended, there is no difference in the biblical attributes of OT and NT Prophets. And with Dr. Grudem’s admission that this Christian Prophet miraculously predicted the future, modern prophetism is again exposed as unbiblical because none of them do what Agabus did, twice.

Nonetheless, while Dr. Grudem admits that the NT Prophet Agabus reflected the attributes of OT Prophets in Acts 11, he says of the Prophet’s predictions in Acts 21:

The events of the narrative itself do not coincide with the kind of accuracy that the Old Testament requires for those who speak God’s words. In fact, by Old Testament standards, Agabus would have been condemned as a false prophet, because in Acts 21:27–35 neither of his predictions are fulfilled. ^[15]

The prediction was not far off, but it had inaccuracies in detail that would have called into question the validity of any Old Testament Prophet. . . . This is exactly the kind of fallible prophecy that would fit the definition of New Testament congregational prophecy . . . ^[16]

This is a very serious accusation, and all to only justify the second-rate unbiblical prophecy of modern prophetism. Because Dr. Grudem’s opinion of Agabus is so critical to his popular thesis that the error-prone prophets of today have biblical support, and his argument is somewhat complex, we will look at it further.

Luke describes Agabus’ prediction as follows:

After we had been there [Caesarea] a number of days, a Prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 21:10-11).

As we read on in Acts 21 we see that the prediction of Agabus comes true:

[S]ome Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, ²⁸ shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. . . . The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. ³¹

While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³² He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. (vs. 27-33).

Likewise, the Apostle Paul himself later describes the incident as follows:

My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. ¹⁸ They examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. ¹⁹ But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar—not that I had any charge to bring against my own people. ²⁰ For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain. (Acts 28:17-20)

Let us notice first how incredibly accurate Agabus was in his prediction. He essentially makes three predictions: 1) Paul will be bound through the actions of the Jews; 2) The Jews will “hand . . . over” Paul “to the Gentiles;” 3) This will happen in “Jerusalem.” All three prophecies were fulfilled perfectly.

Dr. Grudem’s primary strategy to deny this is to claim that Paul’s description of the event in Acts 28 does not refer to the incident in Acts 21, but rather:

This whole narrative in Acts 28:17-19 refers to Paul’s transfer out of Jerusalem to Caesarea in Acts 23:12-35 . . . The narrative does not refer to Acts 21:27-36 and the mob scene near the Jerusalem temple at all. ^[17]

On the contrary, when Paul speaks of his being “arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans” in Acts 28 he is clearly speaking about the events recorded in “Acts 21:27-36 and the mob scene” and neither one of these things is even mentioned in “Paul’s transfer out of Jerusalem to Caesarea in Acts 23:12-35.”

It is because Dr. Grudem denies that Paul is describing his arrest in Jerusalem in Acts 28, that he claims Agabus was wrong because, “the Jews, rather than delivering him voluntarily, tried to kill him and he had to be rescued by force.” ^[18] On the contrary, the Apostle Paul specifically says in Acts 28:

I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over [by the Jews] to the Romans. ¹⁸ They [the Romans] examined me and wanted to release me, because I was not guilty of any crime deserving death. ¹⁹ But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar

While Dr. Grudem claims that the Jews did not want Paul bound, Paul later says that actually the Jews insisted that he be so.

Finally, Agabus had said, “the Jews . . . will bind” Paul, but as Dr. Grudem says, “the Romans, not the Jews, bound Paul.” ^[19] Of course, Dr. Grudem is technically correct. However, as Hank Hanegraaff writes:

By [this] method of interpretation, Luke’s writings would be untrustworthy as well. In Acts 1:18, Luke writes that Judas purchased the potter’s field while Matthew 27:7 asserts that the chief priests purchased it. Furthermore, if [Dr. Grudem’s] understanding is correct, the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah should have been stoned for incorrectly prophesying that the purchase of the potter’s field would be by the chief priests rather than by Judas [cf. Jer 18:2; 19: 1-11-1 Zec 11: 12-13].

Like Jeremiah, the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah would have received the death penalty for prophesying that Jesus would be pierced by inhabitants of “the house of David” [cf. Zec 12: 10-1 Jn 19:34], when in reality Jesus was pierced by the Romans.

In fact, if [Dr. Grudem] were right in asserting that New Testament Prophets were fallible when they asserted “the Holy Spirit says,” then it necessarily follows that the New Testament is fallible as well. In truth, however, the basic principles of biblical interpretation militate against [Dr. Grudem’s] reasoning. Scripture often speaks of a person performing an action when in reality that person is merely the cause or agent of the action. Thus, Agabus is perfectly accurate in saying that the Jews bound Paul because the Jews were the cause for which Paul was bound. Likewise, according to this principle, Luke, Matthew, Jeremiah, and Zechariah are perfectly accurate in both their proclamation and predictions. ^[20]

Accordingly, Dr. Grudem admits:

I agree that Scripture can speak of someone as doing an act that is carried out by that person’s agent. But in every case the person who is said to do the action both wills the act to be done and gives directions to others to do it. ^[21]

In other words, Dr. Grudem is willing to accept the above described aspect of biblical prophecy and fulfillment even for Agabus, but only if it was the Jews’ desire to have Paul bound. And because he denies this is the case, he still wants to accuse Agabus of error. However, as noted, Dr. Grudem’s conclusions are only possible by denying that Paul was describing the incident in Acts 21 in his statement in Acts 28, because there, Paul says “I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over [by the Jews] to the Romans” and that “the Jews objected to his being released.

It should also be added that Agabus prefaced his prediction with, “the Holy Spirit says” and any critique of Agabus’ words here is actually a critique of the Holy Spirit’s predictive ability.

Finally, Sinclair Ferguson shares:

The case of Agabus may not be essential to this thesis, but it de facto plays a major role in the demonstration of it since it is claimed as an explicit New Testament illustration of fallible prophecy which is not false prophecy. The problem with the thesis is that, if this is the case, the line between fallible and false becomes dangerously thin. We may well ask: How fallible is false?

For if we follow the two-level prophecy hypothesis in this particular instance, Agabus was doubly in error: (a) His prophecy errs in detail–and, in Grudem’s view, in details which lie at the heart of the prophecy. (b) In addition, Agabus does not seem to be aware of the very distinction that Grudem regards as widespread in the New Testament era–the distinction between first and second-level prophecy.

Otherwise, instead of saying ‘The Holy Spirit says’ (Acts 21:11), he should have said something like: ‘It looks to me as though the Spirit is perhaps indicating that something like this may well happen to Paul if he goes to Jerusalem; but I could be wrong, especially on the details.’ Luke’s record certainly gives no indication that Grudem’s hypothesis was the working assumption of either Agabus or Paul. . . .

Rather than confirming Grudem’s thesis that the prophecy of Agabus contains basic errors, Paul’s testimony assumes its accuracy. We have no reason to believe that Agabus’ prophecy failed. Luke gives no indication that Paul thought it had done so. ^[22]

E) Limitations to the Test of Prediction

While Deuteronomy 18:17-22 and the example of the Christian Prophet Agabus (cf. Acts 11:27-30; 21:10-11) make it clear that the accurate prediction of the future was an integral part of God’s gift of prophecy, Deuteronomy 13:1-5 tells us it is not sufficient in itself to authenticate real Prophets:

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, ² and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.

The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the LORD your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him.

⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God . . . he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you. (Deut 13:1-5)

Here God warns that a false prophet may predict a “sign or wonder . . . which . . . takes place” (v. 2). Why would God allow that? “Your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” And as we have noted, far too many Christians are failing this test.

While prophetists would like to use this example to claim that prediction has no value in authenticating the gift of prophecy, they forget that merely five chapters later after the warning in Deuteronomy 13, God still prescribes false predictions as a sign of false prophets that “must be put to death” (18:20). Accordingly, while the test of accurate prediction is not the only test of authentication needed for those who claim the gift of prophecy, it remains a vital one.

Nonetheless, it must be admitted that even predicting the future can be counterfeited by the devil to such a degree as to deceive many. Accordingly, we read in Acts:

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” ¹⁸ She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her [and her apparently predictive powers]. (Acts 16:16-18)

While Christians would affirm that the devil does not know the future as God knows it, Luke does not deny here that this sorceress “predicted the future” well enough to entice people to spend a “great deal of money” for her services. Obviously this sounds familiar as David Myers reports: “The dial-a-psychic industry topped $1 billion a year recently, much of that revenue from low-income people.” ^[23] While the majority of the divinations of fortune-tellers relate to a person’s past, some of them attempt to predict the future as well, and at times appear to have some supernatural success.

Of course the devil is behind all of this, just as “a spirit” other than the Holy Spirit empowered the sorceress in Acts 16. While satan is not omniscient, it is conceivable that because of his great intellect and vast knowledge of past and present events, conversations, etc., he could accurately predict certain other events. In other words if one of his demons overheard a man promising to do something to another, that demon could enable a fortune-teller to make a rather accurate prediction. Along these lines, the very early Church leader Tertullian (155-222) wrote the following very insightful look at the devil’s schemes:

What is daintier food to the spirit of evil, than turning men’s minds away from the true God by the illusions of a false divination? And here I explain how these illusions are managed. Every spirit is possessed of wings. This is a common property of both angels and demons. So they are everywhere in a single moment; the whole world is as one place to them; all that is done over the whole extent of it, it is as easy for them to know as to report. Their swiftness of motion is taken for divinity, because their nature is unknown.

Thus they would have themselves thought sometimes the authors of the things which they announce; and sometimes, no doubt, the bad things are their doing, never the good. The purposes of God, too, they took up of old from the lips of the Prophets, even as they spoke them; and they gather them still from their works, when they hear them read aloud. Thus getting, too, from this source some intimations of the future, they set themselves up as rivals of the true God, while they steal His divinations. 

But the skill with which their responses are shaped to meet events, your Croesi and Pyrrhi know too well. On the other hand, it was in that way we have explained, the Pythian [false Greek prophetess] was able to declare that they were cooking a tortoise with the flesh of a lamb; in a moment he had been to Lydia.

From dwelling in the air, and their nearness to the stars, and their commerce with the clouds, they have means of knowing the preparatory processes going on in these upper regions, and thus can give promise of the rains which they already feel. 

Very kind too, no doubt, they are in regard to the healing of diseases. For, first of all, they make you ill; then, to get a miracle out of it, they command the application of remedies either altogether new, or contrary to those in use, and straightway withdrawing hurtful influence, they are supposed to have wrought a cure. ^[24]

Likewise, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) wrote:

Above the human intellect there is not only the Divine intellect, but also the intellects of good and bad angels according to the order of nature. Hence the demons, even by their natural knowledge, know certain things remote from men’s knowledge, which they can reveal to men; although those things which God alone knows are remote simply and most of all.

Accordingly prophecy, properly and simply, is conveyed by Divine revelations alone; yet the revelation which is made by the demons may be called prophecy in a restricted sense. Wherefore those men to whom something is revealed by the demons are styled in the Scriptures as prophets, not simply, but with an addition, for instance as “false prophets,” or “prophets of idols.”

Hence Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 19): “When the evil spirit lays hold of a man for such purposes as these,” namely visions, “he makes him either devilish, or possessed, or a false prophet.” ^[25]

More will be said of such demonic divination under our discussion of clairvoyancy in the next chapter.

It is perhaps because the early Church recognized the devil’s limited ability to manipulate events in one person’s life, that it clearly described anyone honoring requests for personal predictions as a false prophet. Accordingly, the early Christian document The Shepherd of Hermas (c. 175), which “stands as an important witness to the state of Christianity in Rome in the mid-second century,” ^[26] relates:

These double minded ones come to him [a false prophet] as to a fortune teller, and ask him what will happen to them. And that false prophet, not having the power of a divine spirit in himself, answers them in accordance with their questions and their wicked desires, and fills their souls just as they themselves wish. For since he himself is empty, he gives empty answers to empty inquirers, for no matter what is asked, he answers according to the emptiness of the man asking.

But he does speak some true words, for the devil fills him with his own spirit, to see if he will be able to break down any of the righteous. So, those who are strong in the faith of the Lord, having clothed themselves with the truth, do not associate with such spirits, but have nothing to do with them. But those who are double minded and frequently change their minds practice fortune telling like the pagans and bring greater sin upon themselves by their idolatries. For the one who consults a false prophet on any matter is an idolator and lacks the truth and is senseless. ^[27]

Obviously, in contrast to modern prophetism, fortune-telling has little to do with the biblical gift of prophecy.

Nevertheless, God’s far superior knowledge and control of the future can still be readily recognized in His Prophets. His ability to predict the future of whole nations through centuries is something the devil cannot do, and therefore biblical prophecies given by God’s Prophets will always show themselves much more supernatural than anything satan can contrive.

F) Ancient & Modern Frauds Exposed by the Test of Prediction

F.1) Nostradamus

Some critics of Christianity have claimed that the occultic French astrologer Nostradamus (1503-1566) made accurate predictions of the future on par with biblical Prophets. He wrote the majority of his prophecies in obscure poetry in his book Les Propheties in 1555, which continues to be popular.

First of all, Nostradamus’ prophecies were so vague that they were rather meaningless. For example, he wrote:

The great swarm of bees will arise

But no one will know from whence they have come.

An ambush by night, the sentinel under the vines;

A city handed over by five tongues, not naked. ^[28]

According to a leading expert and promoter of Nostradamus, Erika Cheetham, this is a “very accurate” description of “Napoleon’s coupe d’ etat in 1799.” ^[29] Sure it is.

Likewise, the famed “prophet” wrote:

The young lion will overcome the older one,

In a field of combat in a single fight;

He will pierce his eyes in their golden cage;

Two wounds in one, then he dies a cruel death. ^[30]

Historically, this has been considered one of Nostradamus’ most famous prophecies concerning the death of King Henry II who was wounded in a jousting contest in 1557, dying 10 days later. This particular prediction of Nostradamus, fulfilled just two years after the publishing of his Les Propheties, is what propelled him to fame as a Prophet.

However, as one studies the actual historical facts surrounding the death of Henry II, we find the following: Only seven years separated the ages of Henry and his opponent in the tournament, so it was hardly a contest between the young and the old; the accident occurred during a friendly sporting event, not on a battlefield; there is no evidence that Henry was wearing a gilded visor (cage) of gold; and the king’s eyes were not damaged, but rather, a splinter from the lance pierced his skull and entered his brain. Both the obscurity of Nostradamus’ prophecies and their lack of fulfillment put him nowhere near biblical Prophets.

The “prophet” himself explained in an unguarded moment that his ambiguous prophecies “could not possibly be understood until they were interpreted after the event and by it.” How convenient.

Two of Nostradamus’ more famous and contemporary predictions are dealt with by Christian apologist Norm Geisler:

Nostradamus is alleged to have predicted a great earthquake in California for May 10, 1981. This was reported on May 6, 1981, in USA Today. However, no such quake occurred. As a matter of fact, Nostradamus mentioned no country, city, or year. He spoke only of a “rumbling earth” in a “new city” and a “very mighty quake” on May 10 [no year].

Lamont claims that Nostradamus gave “a prophecy of the coming of Hitler and Nazism in a world divided within itself” (Lamont, 252). However, Hitler is not mentioned and the prediction gives no date and is vague. It reads: “Followers of sects, great troubles are in store for the Messenger. A beast upon the theater prepares the scenical play. The inventor of that wicked feat will be famous. By sects the world will be confused and divided”. In this context there is a reference to “Hister” (not Hitler) by Nostradamus (C4Q68), which is obviously a place [a small town in Germany on the Danube river existing in Nostradamus’ time], not a person. The attempt to read back into this both his name and birthplace is stretched. What is more, Hitler grew up in Linz, Austria, not in any place called Hister. ^[31]

Accordingly, Dr. Geisler concludes: “Not a single prediction of Nostradamus has ever been proven genuine.” ^[32]

F.2) Jeanne Dixon

Another famous so-called “Prophet” in modern times was Jeanne Dixon (1904-1997). While she was living, occult expert Don Stewart related that:

Jeanne Dixon has made it clear that she believes her prophetic gift comes from God. “It is my belief God has given me a gift of prophecy for His own reasons, and I do not question them!” (Jeanne Dixon, The Call to Glory, New York: William Morrow & Company, 1972, p. 42). . . .

Furthermore, she has stated, “The future has been shown me to 2037 A.D!” (ibid, p. 175). She told her biographer, Rene Noorbergen, that, “The same spirit that worked through Isaiah and John the Baptist also works through me” (Rene Noorbergen, The Soul Hustlers, Zondervan, 1976, p. 114). ^[33]

The problem with such a claim is that her prophecies have failed repeatedly. Dr. Stewart goes on to relate:

Although Jeanne Dixon supposedly has made some predictions that have come true, she has made many other prophecies that have failed. These include:

(1) World War III would begin in 1954;

(2) Red China would be admitted to the United Nations in 1958, yet this did not occur until 1971;

(3) The Vietnam war would end in 1966, yet it did not end until 1975;

(4) On October 19, 1968, she predicted Jacqueline Kennedy was not thinking of marriage and the next day Mrs. Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis!

(5) Union Leader, Walter Reuther, would run for President in 1964, which he did not do;

(6) The Soviets would land the first man on the moon.

(7) In 1970, she predicted Castro would be overthrown from Cuba and would have to leave the island.

My question is this: If such powers exist, why are they so fleeting, and why can’t they be tested? The reason is a simple one. They don’t exist. In the 12 years I have devoted to researching this subject, I have neither seen a valid case of prognostication, nor have I been confronted with hard-core documentation to substantiate a purported case. ^[34]

Nonetheless, Ms. Dixon is probably best known for allegedly predicting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the May 13, 1956, issue of Parade Magazine she wrote that the 1960 presidential election would be “dominated by labor and won by a Democrat” who would then go on to “[B]e assassinated or die in office though not necessarily in his first term.” As all know, Kennedy did win the election and was assassinated in his second term. Such an occurrence brings up the issue of just what the devil is able to manipulate in order to authenticate a false prophet (cf. Deut 13:1-3), and Ms. Dixon’s use of crystal balls, tarot cards and other occult artifacts to receive her prophecies makes this a possibility. However, considering the multitude of Dixon’s prophecies that were false, we would suggest she just got lucky. ^[35]

Along these lines, Dr. Geisler writes:

Contemporary critics of biblical prophecy nominate psychic predictions for equality with Scripture. However, there is another quantum leap between every psychic and the unerring Prophets of Scripture. . . . Amid hundreds of prophecies, biblical Prophets are not known to have made a single error.

A study of prophecies made by psychics in 1975 and observed until 1981 showed that of the seventy-two predictions, only six were fulfilled in any way. Two of these were vague and two others were hardly surprising–the U.S. and Russia would remain leading powers and there would be no world wars.

The People’s Almanac (1976) did a study of the predictions of twenty-five top psychics. The results: Of the total seventy-two predictions, sixty-six (92 percent) were totally wrong (Kole, 69). An accuracy rate around 8 percent could easily be explained by chance and general knowledge of circumstances.

In 1993 the psychics missed every major unexpected news story, including Michael Jordan’s retirement, the Midwest flooding, and the Israel-PLO peace treaty. Among their false prophecies were that the Queen of England would become a nun, and Kathy Lee Gifford would replace Jay Leno as host of The Tonight Show (Charlotte Observer 12/30/93). ^[36]

Accordingly, David Myers reports:

Can psychics discern the future? Between 1978 and 1985, the “leading psychics” identified by the National Enquirer offered 486 predictions of the future. Two came true. . . . Sadly, the psychic whom Princess Diana consulted shortly before her death failed to see the danger that lay ahead. ^[37]

Finally, prophecy expert Grant R. Jeffrey has written:

Modern day secular prophets do dare to make predictions but they have a very poor record of accuracy. The more specific their prediction, the more certain it is to be wrong. Anyone who attempts to prophesy specific events will be confronted by the staggering odds against success created by the inescapable “laws of mathematical probability”. . . .

No one, except God Himself, would dare to risk His claim to the divine inspiration of His Word, the Bible, on such a risky undertaking–humanly speaking–as predicting future events in great detail.

Current so-called “prophets,” such as those you read about in magazines, understand the odds against making such accurate predictions. They are too “wise” to risk their reputation for psychic ability by an attempt to publicly predict the actual score of a football game. Such “prophets” are content to predict that “someone who is either a member or friend of the Royal family will come close to death or injury in the next few years.” Considering that there are perhaps as many as twenty people within the Royal family, the odds are perhaps one in three of such an event transpiring with such a vague prediction.

David Hocking, in his April 8, 1985, radio broadcast, “Biola Bible Class,” reported on a fascinating article entitled, “The Shattered Crystal Ball.” This study analyzed the accuracy of the ten top psychics whose prophesies were published over a three-year period, 1976-1979. The study compared all of the published predictions with their subsequent success or failure rate. The results were certainly intriguing: 98 percent of all their predictions were totally incorrect! Only 2 percent of their predictions were fulfilled. However, some predictors were much less accurate than their colleagues: six out of ten psychics were wrong 100 percent of the time as recorded in the study.

However, when we examine the prophecies in the Bible we are confronted with a different phenomenon – of staggering mathematical proportions. The Bible contains hundreds of incredibly accurate predictions of events which historians and archeologists have verified. God declares boldly in His Word that these prophecies and their fulfillments are His signature upon the Bible and His verification that the Bible is truly the inspired (Godbreathed) Word of God. ^[38]

F.3) Modern prophetism: Cain, Hinn, KC Prophets

Unfortunately the contemporary Church has had its “prophets” that are no better and even more destructive to the cause of Christ than any secular false “prophets.” Jesus, a real Prophet of God, accurately predicted this would happen:

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. . . . “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father Who is in Heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’ (Matt 7:15, 21-23; cf. 24:24)

Likewise, the Apostle John warned the Church in his day: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

With such warnings, why would we be surprised to find false prophets in the Church today? But we are surprised. Even more so, with such warnings, why don’t we exercise more discernment with the claims of people who say they prophesy in the name of Jesus? But we don’t. And as a result, there are many false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing, in the Church today.

We can only discuss the most prominent here, each of them being the foremost respected “prophets” of prophetism in our day, yet miserable failures in being able to truly authenticate themselves as serving God.

Perhaps the foundational second-rate “prophet” of prophetism is Paul Cain. Charismatic scholar Hank Hanegraaff writes in his book Counterfeit Revival:

Vineyard founder John Wimber believes that Paul Cain is the premier Prophet of the third wave [of the Holy Spirit in charismaticism]. He credits Cain with “saving the Vineyard movement” . . . Cain himself says that the power that rests upon him is, at times, so potent that it “will knock out the cameras and knock out the phone lines and knock out all the power lines and set off the fire alarms like it did in Kansas City.” ^[39]

If what Mr. Cain asserts really did happen because of him, we can be certain that it was not a holy power as Mr. Cain is exposed as a fraud and false prophet on many accounts. Mr. Cain is most famous for telling people about their past or present (clairvoyance), something we discuss in the next chapter, and is especially known to be duplicated by demonic spirits. However, he has ventured to make some predictions of the future which have proven false. Accordingly, John Armstrong writes:

I once heard Mike Bickel say that we [“prophets”] all miss [predictions] sometimes, “except for Paul Cain. He hits the target all the time.” That is maintained even though vague predictions of every immoral Christian’s being purged from the “new breed before the nineteen-eighties are out” and of revival breaking out “in Great Britain in October 1990” have gone unfulfilled. ^[40]

Fortunately for Mr. Cain he is prophesying in the modern Church which tolerates and even celebrates “prophets” who fail to predict the future, because if he were doing so in Moses’ day he would have been executed by the true worshippers of God (cf. Deut 13:1-3; 18:17-22).

We fear Benny Hinn is a false prophet as well, yet he too operates in a day when the Church lacks discernment. Instead of being executed under the Old Covenant or excommunicated under the New, he is perhaps the most famous and financially prosperous “Christian Prophet” on the planet. Elsewhere we have documented his overwhelming greed which disqualifies him to even be a minister (cf. 1 Tim 3:3; Tit 1:7; 1 Pet 5:2), let alone a Prophet, and brings even his salvation into grave doubt. ^[41] Mr. Hinn seems to be a prime candidate for one of those who will “on that day” say to Jesus, “‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’” and Jesus will say to him “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’ (Matt 7:22-22).

Not only does a lack of true Christian spirituality disqualify Mr. Hinn’s claims to be a Prophet of God, his pathetic record of predictions does as well. Michael Scheifler has abundantly documented many of these and a few of them include:

Orlando Christian Center, Dec. 31st, 1989: “The Spirit tells me – Fidel Castro will die – in the 90’s. Oooh my! Some will try to kill him and they will not succeed. But there will come a change in his physical health, and he will not stay in power, and Cuba will be visited of God.”

Orlando Christian Center, Dec. 31st, 1989: “The Lord also tells me to tell you in the mid 90’s, about ’94-’95, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America [audience applauds]. But He will not destroy it – with what many minds have thought Him to be, He will destroy it with fire. And many will turn and be saved, and many will rebel and be destroyed.”

Mr. Scheifler goes on to relate:

Now with that kind of record for Benny Hinn, Trinity Broadcasting Network began its Spring 2000 fundraising Praise-A-Thon with some rather astounding claims. On the April 2nd TBN program, Benny Hinn claimed that God is about to make a major move to anoint the people of God, as soon as Israel signs a treaty with the ailing Hafez Al-Assad of Syria, which will likely be within the next year. This will signal the impending large scale shift of financial wealth from the wicked to those obedient to God. But, in order to benefit from this unprecedented supernatural anointing, you must be obedient to God and sow your financial seed (to TBN) now!

The death of Assad on June 10th 2000 shows that Benny Hinn did not know what he was talking about, and is further proof that he is a false prophet, if any more evidence was needed. On the 25th of July, 2000 (Real Audio – © July 25th, 2000 by TBN) when peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in Washington, Benny Hinn again appeared on a TBN program and said, regarding the recent death of Hafez Al-Assad and his failure to make peace with Israel, “[I]t was God’s plan for it not to happen, really.” . . .

Is there nothing that TBN or Benny Hinn will not stoop to in order to extract money from viewers? Well, to top everything, Benny Hinn claimed that Jesus is now physically appearing in Moslem countries, and he predicted on the April 2nd 2000 TBN broadcast that Jesus will appear physically very soon in many churches to signal the nearness of the second coming, and that Jesus would also appear physically on the stage at his crusade in Nairobi Kenya (29-30 of April, 2000)! He told Paul Crouch he might very well have video of Jesus on the stage when he returned from his trip to Kenya!

Benny Hinn was the guest on the May 9th Behind the Scenes program of TBN with Jan Crouch, and video from his Nairobi Crusade was shown, but there was not even the slightest mention of Jesus physically appearing, and neither did Benny Hinn explain why the widely prophesied appearance had not happened. ^[42]

It should not surprise us that such false prophets would infiltrate the Church as Jesus warned us of imposters like Benny Hinn. What is surprising is how many real sheep of Jesus are following the wolves.

The most famous group of the second-rate “prophets” of modern prophetism were known as the “Kansas City Prophets,” because they primarily ministered at a Vineyard church in that city. While these “prophets” were the foremost founders of modern prophetism, they have been thoroughly exposed as sexually immoral, lying, and abusive heretics. ^[43] They included such men as Bob Jones, whose gross moral failures are discussed below. In addition, Mr. Jones’ prophetic record has been so pathetic that he has had to defend himself in the book, Some Said It Thundered. There, Mr. Jones claims that God told him why so many prophecies in modern prophetism are false:

God said, “If I release the hundred-percent rhema [revelation] right now, the accountability would be awesome and you’d have so much Ananias and Sapphiras going on that the people couldn’t grow-they’d be too scared. If it [the modern gift of prophecy] were on target, it would kill instead of scaring the people to repentance. . . . This is what He told me, so I figure if I hit two-thirds of it, I’m doing pretty good.” ^[44]

Mr. Jones’s prophetic partner, Mike Bickle, defended Jones’s ridiculous statement by replying that: “Well, [two-thirds success rate is] better than it’s ever been in this nation up to now, you know. That’s the highest level it’s ever been.” ^[45] Evidently Mr. Bickle has forgotten about the time of real biblical Prophets. And by the way, Mr. Jones has never gotten even near two-thirds of his predictions right, so he is lying even about that.

In another attempt to defend prophetism’s pathetic record of predictions, the author of Some Said It Thundered, John White, writes five entire pages instructing believers on how to discern false prophets, yet never once mentions either accuracy in predictions or truthfulness of revelations as a test. He in fact explicitly claims that lying prophecies do not necessarily disqualify a person from speaking for God. He concludes his section on discerning false prophets by stating: “Prophets are of course human beings. As such, they can make mistakes and lie. They need not cease to be Prophets for their mistakes and failings.” ^[46] And there are millions in the Church who are following these people.

Fortunately, some have confronted the heresy surrounding such a momentous fraud and have exposed prophetism as such. But Mr. White has an ingenious answer even for this, that should continue to protect the false prophets in the Church indefinitely for those that would believe him:

Battles about prophets have plagued the church from time to time. . . . In fact, the Church has had so many bad experiences with prophets that now we react too rapidly and fearfully. We could be in danger of discarding a live baby in our horror over dirty bath water. . . . Satan fears those [extra-biblical] words [of new revelation] that come fresh from God’s lips [through prophetism’s “prophets”]. . . . Because Satan so dreads the fresh Word, he will arouse controversy wherever it comes forth miraculously through the lips of a real Prophet. . . . We are warned that [false prophecy] is to happen. . . . How are we to discern the false from the true? For one thing, true prophets will be unpopular. ^[47]

Such a statement is so clearly ridiculous that nothing more will be said except a humble prayer to God that He would purge such false teachers from His precious people. Jeremiah, a real Prophet of God, said, “The Prophet who prophesies . . . will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true” (Jer 28:9). Oh God, may that be true of Your Church!

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Our Father in Heaven, we come to You today thankful for the Prophets You have granted Your people. Through the Scripture they have written, they have given us priceless revelation about Your character, Your will, and Your plans for the world. Thank You for the Prophets! And help us to study them, understand them, believe them, and obey them, all to Your glory.

And help us recognize and expose false prophets also for Your glory. How the devil must snicker about having so many of his imposter among Your people manipulating them, deceiving them, drawing them away from you and bringing Your children great misery. Oh God, for their sake, please send them Shepherds who will have the convictions, courage, and love to drive those wolves from the sheep!

Gauging Your Grasp

1. In what ways does Scripture reveal that accurate prediction is an important part of the revelation of His Prophets?
2. How does this contrast with the place of accurate prediction in prophetism?
3. How does fulfilled prophecy uniquely authenticate Scripture?
4. Prophetists accuse Agabus of failing to accurately predict the future in order to excuse their own prophets from doing so? What is your response to this?
5. What is the warning we must recognize in Deut 13:1-5? How can we reconcile this with Deut 18:18-20?
6. What are some specific statistics regarding the prediction record of secular “prophets”?
7. Knowing only something regarding their failed predictions, what is your opinion of men like Paul Cain and Benny Hinn? What is the meaning of the fact that in many Christian circles they are celebrities?

Publications & Particulars

1. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch confirm that the “proclamation” being described here refers to prediction:

   The false prophet was to be discovered by the fact, that the word proclaimed by him did not follow or come to pass, i.e., that his prophecy was not fulfilled. Of him they were not to be afraid. By this injunction the occurrence of what had been predicted is made the criterion of true prophecy, and not signs and wonders, which false prophets could also perform (cf. Deut 13:2ff.). (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM (Findex.com, 2000), Deut 18:18) ↑

2. Even though we believe the vast majority of John’s Revelation is to be fulfilled in the future, he did make some predictions that no doubt came true in a relatively short period of time (cf. 2:10, 21-23). ↑

3. Tertullian, Apology, 20.1; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

4. W. A. Criswell, Bibliology, vol. 1 in Great Doctrines of the Bible, 8 vols. (Zondervan, 1982), 89. ↑

5. J. Barton Payne, Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy (Baker, 1980), 675. ↑

6. W.A. Criswell, Why I Preach That the Bible is True (Broadman, 1969), 33. ↑

7. Rene Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture (Moody, 1969), 282-4. ↑

8. Criswell, Bibliology, 89-90. ↑

9. Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (BECA) (Baker, 1999), 615. ↑

10. Reference unavailable. ↑

11. Dr. Hilbur shares regarding the test of prediction for prophecy:

    It might be asked that if prediction was to initially authenticate a prophet, then did the people have to wait for a prophet’s prediction to come true? Yes, but the prediction could be something that could be observed rather immediately, like Elijah’s promise it would not rain (1 Kgs 17) and his challenge to the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18). If, however, the prophecy did not concern the people being spoken to, and was to be fulfilled in the far future, then for that particular prophecy, the prophet did not need authentication.

    The Scriptures give no indication that this test of accuracy is not valid today in evaluating a person’s claim to be a prophet. Because of the immense authority that biblical prophets possessed, they were held to very strict standards. The requirement of predicting the future effectively guarded the gift of prophecy from demonic counterfeiting as only God knows the future perfectly. When this requirement is removed, the biblical and only sure safeguard is removed as well.

    That God expected Israel to base decisions on faith is perhaps supported by Isa 8:19–20, where failure to recognize the prophecies of Isaiah indicated lack of spiritual illumination. However, it is important to observe the role of signs as a public test to prophetic authenticity. Isaiah offered an authenticating sign (at least to Ahaz) for his salvation message (Isa 7:14), perhaps because it did deviate from the general message of doom that characterized the prophetic era.

    It might be argued that in the case of Micaiah, the authenticating test of fulfillment would have come too late (i.e., in the midst of battle) to be of help at the moment of decision between Micaiah and Zedekiah. But the fact that Micaiah was willing to submit himself to a decisive public test sets him apart from the prophets he opposed. Perhaps in this case the test of orthodoxy should have been sufficient, and so the kings deserved no verification that was more immediately helpful.

    In the conflict between Jeremiah and Hananiah, the authenticating test of Jeremiah was satisfied a year before the test offered by Hananiah. Another example is the offer of a sign from Isaiah for his deliverance message to Hezekiah because that prophecy conflicted with what was already expected (Isaiah 38). These examples suggest that when prophets clash, or when a prophetic word does not accord with what God appears to be doing with his people, some secondary, objective criterion presents itself.

    To summarize: in an uncertain religious climate where false prophets at times speak a true oracle from Yahweh (Balaam), where false prophets speak presumptuously in Yahweh’s name (Hananiah, Zedekiah), where true prophets might lie (old prophet in 1 Kgs 13) or attempt to mislead people (Miriam, Saul, Gehazi), it was important to have tests for prophecy. Where the tests of fulfillment, orthodoxy, or character proved inapplicable or unsure, God sent another prophet to clarify the situation, if necessary, with an authenticating sign. God guarded the faithful community and his word in such a way that a combination of tests provided an adequate means of validation. (WTJ 56:2 (Fall 1994), 253-254) ↑

12. The NIV translation of 1 Samuel 3:19 can be misleading. It can be interpreted as saying that Samuel did not let any of God’s words “fall to the ground,” or fail. This could be understood in the sense that Samuel obeyed or carried out everything God told him. While this is certainly true, this is not the meaning of the text.

    Admittedly, the NIV translation of naphal [“fall”] erets [“earth”] is even more literal than the NASB’s “fail.” But God’s ensurance that none of Samuel’s word “fell to the ground” can be understood as a metaphor for the fact that, as is said of the Prophet a few chapters later, “everything he [Samuel] says comes true” (1 Sam 9:6). This is confirmed by the fact that the text says that because none of Samuel’s words “fell to the ground,” (3:19), “all Israel . . . recognized that Samuel was attested as a Prophet of the LORD” (v. 20).

    Accordingly, the NCV translation is among the clearest, stating:

    The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up; He [God] did not let any of Samuel’s messages fail to come true. Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew Samuel was a true Prophet of the LORD. (1 Sam 3:19-20)

    Likewise, Drs. Keil and Delitzsch paraphrase the text:

    Thus Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground, i.e., left no word unfulfilled which He spoke through Samuel. (On הִפִּיל, see Josh 21:45; 23:14; 1 Kings 8:56.). By this all Israel from Dan to Beersheba (see at Judg 20:1) perceived that Samuel was found trustworthy, or approved (see Num 12:7) as a prophet of Jehovah. (in loc.) ↑

13. William Barclay, quoted in the Life Application Bible. ↑

14. Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today (Crossway, 2000), 99. ↑

15. Ibid., 78 ↑

16. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Zondervan, 1994), 1052. ↑

17. Ibid., 1053. ↑

18. Ibid., 1052. ↑

19. Ibid. ↑

20. Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997), 76-77. ↑

21. Grudem, Theology, 1053. ↑

22. Sinclair Ferguson, The Holy Spirit (Intervarsity, 1996), 216, 220. For further ancient and modern testimony to the fact that the gift of prophecy involved prediction see section 9.1.B.

    Likewise, Bruce Compton writes against Dr. Grudem’s attack on Agabus:

    In response, Acts 21:11 can be interpreted in such a way that no such errors are found. The prophecy by Agabus may be taken as accurate, if it is allowed that the Jews in Jerusalem are the ultimate cause of Paul’s incarceration by the Gentiles. In other words, it is the actions of the Jews against Paul that ultimately lead the Gentile authorities to incarcerate the apostle.

    This interpretation appears to be the very one that Paul himself endorses in Acts 28:17. In explaining to the Jews in Rome the circumstances behind his arrest, Paul says, “I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.” Although Paul does not say specifically who it was that delivered him, the larger context argues that it was the violent treatment by the Jews in Jerusalem that resulted in Paul’s being taken into custody by the Romans (cf. Acts 21:30–33; 24:6; 26:21).

    Grudem attempts to distance Paul’s explanation of the events of his arrest in Acts 28:17 from the prophecy by Agabus. He argues that Paul is describing his subsequent transfer into the Roman judicial system, not his original incarceration in Jerusalem. Thus, says Grudem, Paul’s explanation and the prophecy by Agabus are not addressing the same event (The Gift of Prophecy, p. 310).

    But Grudem’s explanation is difficult to square with the other accounts recorded in Acts of Paul’s initial arrest. Describing to Felix the account of Paul’s arrest in Acts 24:6–7, the Jewish lawyer Tertullus, representing the Jewish authorities from Jerusalem, states, “Then we arrested him. [We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. But Lysias the commander came along and with much violence took him out of our hands].” Furthermore, in Acts 26:21, Paul himself reports the account of his arrest to Agrippa and Felix, saying, “For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death.”

    In that this passage is Grudem’s chief example of errant New Testament prophecy, he has failed to make his case. Consequently, there is no compelling evidence that New Testament prophecy is different from Old Testament prophecy. As such, New Testament prophecy is nothing less than inerrant and fully authoritative. (“1 Corinthians 13:8–13 And The Cessation Of Miraculous Gifts,” DBSJ 9 (2004), 116-117 ↑

23. David Myers, Intuition: Its Power and Perils (Yale University Press, 2002), 227. ↑

24. Tertullian, Apology, Xxii; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

25. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Q. 172, Art. 5; online at http://www.newadvent.org/summa. ↑

26. The Apostolic Fathers, Michael W. Holmes ed., trans. by J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer (Baker, 1989), 189. ↑

27. Shepherd of Hermas, 43; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

28. Nostradamus, Century 4, verse 26. ↑

29. Reference unavailable. ↑

30. Nostradamus, Century 1, v. 35. ↑

31. Geisler, 544-5. ↑

32. Ibid. Likewise in a Wikipedia entry we read:

    [M]ost academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus’s quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power. Moreover, none of the sources listed offers any evidence that anyone has ever interpreted any of Nostradamus’s quatrains specifically enough to allow a clear identification of any event in advance.

    For further research see:

    Ray Comfort, The Secrets of Nostradamus Exposed (Living Waters Publications, 1996).

    Elliot Miller and Craig Hawkins. “Nostradamus;’ Christian Research Newsletter vol. 1, Num. 3, 1988.

    Facts taken from Nostradamus: prophet or Pretender? by Wayne Jackson (Courier Publications, 1998). ↑

33. Don Stewart, Understanding the Cults (Here’s Life Publishers, 1982), 181. ↑

34. Ibid., 184-5. ↑

35. For further study of Ms. Dixon and other contemporary false prophets see Danny Korem and Paul Meier, The Fakers (Baker, 1980). ↑

36. Geisler, 545. ↑

37. Myers, 227-8. ↑

38. Grant R. Jeffrey, Armageddon: Appointment with Destiny (Bantam, 1990), 13-15. ↑

39. Hanegraaff, 145-148. ↑

40. John H. Armstrong, “In Search of Spiritual Power”, in Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church? (Moody, 1992), 66-7. ↑

41. For further discussion of Benny Hinn see section 10.15.A.7 and 11.8.F.4. ↑

42. Mike Scheifler at http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/tbn.htm. ↑

43. For a detailed report of the gross immorality and heresy surrounding the Kansas City prophets see the in-depth article by the charismatic pastor Ernie Gruen at http://intotruth.org/kcp/Abberent%20Practises.pd ↑

44. John White, in Some Said It Thundered: A Personal Encounter With the Kansas City Prophets (Thomas Nelson, 1991), 57. ↑

45. Ibid. ↑

46. Ibid. ↑

47. Ibid., 59. ↑