Conference yukon::christian_v7

	My experience:


	True prophets are not fortune tellers pointing to something
	"new".

	A common theme for TRUE Biblical prophets was Repentance --
	always repentance from sin and turning back to God.

	Re: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, most of the minor prophets, John the 
	Baptist, even John in Revelation writes to the seven churches, warning 	
	them to repent and get right....


		This is what the Lord says:
		"Stand at the crossroads and look;
		ask for the ancient paths,
		ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
		and you will find rest for your souls."
					Jer 6:16

	What God has revealed in His Word is sufficient for Salvation and for
	life. Man need add nothing.  God does it all.

		"What has been will be again
		what has been done will be done again,
		there is nothing new under the sun."
					Ecc 1:9
	

	My spiritual antenna get very twitchy when so-called prophets exalt 	
	themselves and their groups, claim special status, favored sons of God, 
	or secret knowledge of new things or teachings.  The new things they 	
	call people to are actually old things, the oldest sin of all, of Pride 
	(spiritual kind) and self-exaltation (Lucifer's downfall).  Just watch
	them and discern.	

	"So and so in the audience lives at xxx and has a set of chevy keys in 	
	his pocket!"  Is this supposed to establish a prophet's credibility on
	spiritual matters?  (It happens).  Fakery! Signs and wonders follow 	
	faith, not establish it.  When a prophet speaks	truth from the Word and 
	that truth convicts, then that prophet has established credibility; that
		is the role of a prophet.


	P.S.

	When I see them in sackcloth and ashes on their national TV shows,
	then I may give them ear....


	Bob
	

    I always thought that the role of the prophet ended with John The
    Baptist but Paul does mention it as an office in the church, second
    in line from apostle (1 Corinthians 12:28). My understanding of the
    role of the prophet is that they are Gods mouthpiece, willing to speak
    out the truth rather than what the people want to hear (hence Jesus'
    words in Luke 6:22 [men hate you and persecute you - that is how they
    treated the prophets] and Luke 6:26 [men speak well of - that is how
    they treated the false prophets]).
    
    Prophets generally get a rough deal (Hebrews 11:36-40) - "the world was
    not worthy of them". It worries me when modern `prophets' are exalted
    and praised by everyone - it seems that very few (if any) of the
    more public ministries in the world today are perscuted or slammed
    because of what they preach. It also seems that no-one wants to live
    the kind of lifestyle that the biblical prophets lived (which was the
    lifestyle Jesus Himself preached and lived).
    
    Hebrews 11 carries a sobering reminder of our heritage as christians -
    this is the lifestyle prophets should be encouraging us to live.
    
    All in love
    
    Ben
    
    
      

  Prophet : Old Covenant office (primarily).

  There is a view (the one which I hold) that the office of prophet lasted 
  until the Bible was completed, then it was done away.

  Jesus Christ and His authorized messengers completed the Scripture.

  "God who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the
   fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son..."
  
   Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV

  When Paul spoke of "prophets" in the Church the Canon of Scripture had not 
  been completed (a transitory time).

  The Church today having the completed Word of God, why would we need prophets?

  Hank

    My understanding is that a Prophet can be a Pastor.
    
    

  Re .4  Prophet as Pastor

  Yes now that you mention it, one of the prophets wrote a series of woes 
  to uncaring "pastors".
  ??  Ezekiel, Jeremiah ??

  Deborah acted as a pastor(ess) of Israel and was called a prophetess.

  Thanks.

  NC Pastor as prophet 
 
  Hmmm...

  Sure, the New Covenant Pastor shares one of the functional offices of 
  and Old Covenant Prophet (the Oracle of God) but does your Pastor write 
  any new Scripture.  The Book of Ralph? or George?   :-).

  This seems (to me) to be a danger of even using the word prophet in a NT
  setting, sooner or later out comes a "new revelation" which is binding
  upon the faithful. 

    Hank

    .5
    
    My Pastor does not write new scripture, that would be antichrist.
    
    My Pastor however, does have the Holy Spirit's guidance to give words
    of wisdom and counsel to our church and individuals who ask.
    
    This is the words from God that I believe is spoken...  His messages
    are from God, his counsel is from God... he is the vessel.  The test of
    his position as a "New Covenant Prophet" is the scripture itself, does
    he contradict or is it in alignment.
    
    Nancy

  Re .06 

  Ok, no problem Nancy.

  There is a schismatic movement in the Church again about this very issue.

   Hank 

    [I'll want to check the Greek on "prophet" vs. "pastor"...]
    
    There are many who believe that the role of the prophet (ala OT
    prophet) no longer exists today. The OT prophet was God's mouthpiece.
    Nowadays we have His complete revelation (the Bible) and the Holy
    Spirit to teach it to us. 
    
    One important attribute of a prophet is that he was *always* right
    (Deut. 13). While I would agree that a godly pastor does exhort/
    admonish/teach/apply/interpret/etc. the Word of God, I would not
    put him in the same class as the OT prophets, through whom God spoke
    directly.
    
    God has told us what we need to know from the Bible. Instead of
    prophets to give us additional information we now have teachers and
    pastors to help us understand and apply the Word. They *can* be wrong,
    and alarms go off when I hear anyone say, "The Lord has given me this
    word for you..."
    
    I realize that a prophet is included in the gifts/offices described in
    the few NT "gift" passages, but I (currently) don't think that this
    gift/office is needed since the completion of the NT.
    
    Heb. 1:1-2 -> "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in
    time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken
    to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through
    whom also He made the worlds;"
    
    	BD�

    When the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in I Corinthians 12 is 
    properly applied to the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Romans 12, God can
    empower any believer to be prophetic.
    
    Mike

   Re .9  Mike
 
  > God can empower any believer to be prophetic

  Well, ok Mike. Let me ask a question.

  would the "prophetic" teachings of this believer have the same authority as
  Scripture?

  Hank

    God can empower a donkey to be prophetic.  However, what we really need
    to do is to discern what God *wants* to do, not what God can do.
    
    Mark L.

RE.3 Hank,

 > The Church today having the completed Word of God, why would we need prophets?

	Eph 4:11
	And He gave some apostles, and some prophets..."	

	4:12
	*for* the perfecting of the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the
building up of the Body of Christ; *until* we all arrive at the oneness of the
faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

	This shows us that prophets are needed in the church for the perfecting
of the saints for the purpose of the saints work of ministry for the building up
of the Body of Christ. Furthermore they are required until *WE ALL* arrive at
the oneness of the faith (hasn't happened), and of the full knowledge of the Son
of God (hasn't happened), at a full grown man (hasn't happened), and the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ (most definitely hasn't happened).

	No Hank, I would say that according to Ephesians prophets are definitely
still required.

Regards,
Ace

    And I'd say that the New Covenant prophets are mostly Pastors.  That's
    not to say one cannot be a prophet without being a Pastor.
    
    

re.13

Actually Nancy, in those same verses "pastors" are covered separately as
"shepherds and teachers". the function of prophets is different than those of
shepherd/teachers (i.e pastors).

	Eph 4:11

	" And He gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists,
and some shepherds and teachers".

Regards,
ace

>  would the "prophetic" teachings of this believer have the same authority as
>  Scripture?

    Hank, I would say yes only under the condition that the prophetic
    statement 100% agrees with Scripture.  God never contradicts Himself.
    
    Mike

      Hi,
    
        I think a prophet can be used to point a people forward as 
        well.  The basis for this is that John the Baptist was a
        prophet and had Israel listened to him, he would have been
        Elijah.  (I don't know where the verse is off the top of my
        head, but I'm pretty sure Jesus said that if Israel had listened
        to John, then John would have been Elijah.  Perhaps John was 
        Elijah anyway?  I don't know, but the verse I'm referring to
        made it sound conditional on the body's reception of his word.)
    
        So why do I think prophets sometimes point forward?  Because
        John the Baptist was a prophet and the culmination of his word
        if received would have been the Elijah message.  Recall that 
        Elijah told Ahab that the rain would not fall _except at his 
        word_.  So it is the word of Elijah, when received, that ushers
        in the latter rain.
    
        As the latter rain is an experience that no corporate body has
        yet received, it must be a _point forwarding_ prophetic message.
        The latter rain ripens the grain which prepares the church for
        the great day of the Lord.
                                                
                                                     Tony

    If a prophet is a pastor, then he doesn't last long at a church. Also,
    he's extremely bold from the pulpit. These kinds of pastors are pastors
    because of their prophetic gift but they are not pastors, therefore
    they don't last long in a church.

    What I'm saying is, the way the evangelical church is structured,
    there's very little room for the office of a prophet.

    Glenn

    By the way, I see nothing wrong with writing down a prophetic utterance
    or insight. To say that doing such a thing is Antichrist is extremely
    dogmatic.

    .18
    
    Writing down a prophetic utterance is different then adding it to the
    Bible... or did you mean that adding it to the Bible would be okay?

  Ok , I'll blather on for a while (you can always skip on by :-)  ).

  Actually this is the area that may cause yet another schism in the church
  and that is this very issue "the role of a prophet".

  Its an excellent topic however and one I'm glad to see explored.

  in the base note Paul states 

  >I've run into a number of cases recently where people have assumed and
  >claimed the mantle of the prophet, leading people into new awarenesses,
  >for example in regards to the RE-imaging conference.

 I would hope that this would cause a BIG red light to flash in your mind!

 Something else which has happened...

 You are on vacation, you are visiting a church, you are enthralled by their
 "prophet(ess)". After the service s/he comes to you and says, "God just told
  me that you are to sell your house, move out here and help us in this
  ministry".   

 Now what?

 They will say to you "this is a test of your faith".
 If you fail, the implication is that you are lost.

 This is in reality a very complex issue with tremendous ramifications
 and , in fact, may be a test of our faith (one way or another).

 I'de like to explore the view that the office of prophet is not for the
 post-apostolic church. It will take a little time and I'll have to do it 
 in pieces, when I am able , for whatever value it might have for others.

 To answer Ace (Eph 4) : a series of (hasn't happened) does not negate the 
 fact that every one of these promises could have had their fulfilment in the 
 completion of the Scripture : "until we all arrive at the oneness of the 
 faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God" (a completed revelation).

 All these things did happen in the infant church, but the old serpent moved in
 early on and did what he loves to do.  We dont need any prophets, we need to
 read and study what we already have. "If any man lacks wisdom let him ask of
 God (not a prophet)".

 I'll try to get back by lunchtime.

 Hank

    Am I doing this right ?

    Guys,
    
     Sorry about the previous one.I am unfamiliar with notes.
    
    Re the original point about the function of a prophet ;
    
    In my understanding the role of a prophet is to speak what God tells
    him.So to debate what the prophet should do is to second guess what God
    will want to say in the future.Is this  wise ?
    
    I dont think that there is a doubt (IMO) that God may want to use
    people agin to speak his message.But I DO think that there needs to be
    a VERY careful searching of WHAT is said in the guise of a prophet.
    
    I say this because of the warning in scripture that ( excuse me but
    this is paraphrase as my memory aint good ) "in the end days many will
    come performing signs and wonders to deceive even the elect..if that
    were possible".
    Now IMO the only way you can deceive those who know the truth is if the
    counterfeit is so good you have to be an expert to tell the difference.
    however I take comfort also from Deuteronomy 18v21.
    
    Owen

    Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
        brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth;
        and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
     19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken
        unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require
        it of him.
     20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my
        name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall
        speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
     21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word
        which the LORD hath not spoken?
     22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the
        thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which
        the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
        presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
    

re.22

	Hi Owen!

	Sounds good to me.

	Greetings to the brothers!

Ace

    Hi Nancy,

    	No, not adding it to the Bible, just writing it down. This is seen
    as just plain evil by many evangelical groups. 

    	I find I am getting tired of seeing the baby being thrown out with
    the bathwater when it comes to spiritual gifts.

    People are not inerrant yet God still uses them.

    Glenn

    .25
    
    Oh... okay, then I'd agree.  I don't see anything wrong with writing
    down a prophesy.  It makes the "prophet" accountable.  If he turns out
    to be a false prophet, we can stone him/her to death.
    
    Of course, we couldn't do that under present day law, but inspite of 
    man, God can render justice.
    
    

 Re : prophets in the Post-apostolic Church ???

 I'm not questioning Our Heavenly Father's ability to have prophets in the
 modern Church, He does whatever pleases Him. But are they His doing or
 our own?
 
 Please folks lets not get hot under the collar but understand we have 
 different views and I'm certainly going to consider any and all views
 other than what I consider scriptural. There is a reason for our differences,
 confusion, etc and we know who's responsible. Why give him two victories?

 That said... 

 How shall we escape if we (Hebrews) neglect so great salvation, which 
 at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and *was confirmed* to 
 us (Hebrews) by those (Hebrews) who heard [Him].                    

 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders with various miracles
 and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will. Hebrews 2:3-4 NKJV.

 A characteristic of the Judaic belief system is that (according to Paul)
 it "requires a sign", so the Hebrews were provided these things according
 to Hebrews 2:3-4. 

 Apart from whether Israel accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the fact
 is that His the Scripture clearly states that the veracity of His Messiahship 
 and the Eternal Salvation He offered "was confirmed" by God and man (Jewish).

 Confirmation being made what need then is there of these signs, wonders, 
 gifts, prophecies, etc?

 Some will quote Corinthians, Ephesians, etc to prove that they are still
 necessary, but when Corinthians and Ephesians were written, the confirmation
 was *still in progress* (to the Diaspora) and presumably would continue,
 howbeit in the state of "passing away", until the last Jewish eyewitness of 
 "those  who heard [Him]" fell asleep, among whom were those who completed 
 the Canon of Scripture. 

 This is a common view of the Book of Hebrews which explains the transition
 from Israel to the Church as Our Father's authorized expression of the 
 Kingdom of God on the earth which (after the transition) would include both 
 Jew and Gentile without discrimination or preferential treatment having the
 completed revelation and no need of prophets "God who at various times and
 in various ways *spoke in times past* to the fathers *by the prophets* has
 in these last days spoken to us by His Son".  Hebrews 1:1-2.

 More later...  (DV of course).

    Hank

The role of the prophet is to hear God on behalf of the people, in contrast 
to the priest, who approaches God on behalf of the people.  The LORD Jesus 
was the fulfillment of the priestly role.

In the New Testament, the prophet's role ios still seen in two areas:
	� individual / personal ministry.
	� general / local ministry.

The function of the believer as a prophet is dependent on hearing the LORD, 
and acting / speaking on His Word.  For each of us, this acts at different 
levels, but is a part of the operation of the Holy Spirit within, as 
indicated by John 10:4 - the recognition of the Shepherd's voice by His 
sheep, and John 14:26, John 16:13..15 :

 "When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He 
  will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will
  tell you what is yet to come.  He will bring glory to me by taking from 
  what is mine and making it known to you.  All that belongs to the Father 
  is mine.  That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and 
  make it known to you."

However, very few walk closely enough to the LORD to hear such specific 
directives as did Agabus (Acts 11:28, 21:10-11), which refer to specific 
situations at specific times, rather than general instruction to all the 
church for all time, which is what we have generally in the Bible.

At that time there were others more generally recognised to be prophets, or
to prophesy (Acts 13:1, 21:9), without specific examples of their
utterances.  It was for that time, rather than for all time. 

The completion of the canon of scripture does not go to the detail of 
indicating, for instance when and where a need will arise though local 
conditions (eg the famine predicted by Agabus).  That dimension of ministry 
still depends on the LORD's touch to those who are ready (had to have Amos 
3:7 - "Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to 
his servants the prophets.")

Where someone apparently takes the role of prophet for honour, I would 
suspect corruption of the gift.  1 Corinthians 14:29 indicates that under 
the New Covenant, the word from a prophet should be weighed - assessed - 
by those with discernment.  It is not automatically a heavenly order, just 
because someone with a recognised gift utters it.  It has to be subjected 
to Scripture, and to the discernment of individual witness.

I see it as conflicting with the authority of God to dismiss, say, 1 
Corinthians 12 and 14 as in force only while the Scriptures were being 
written.  To me, that smacks of chopping Scripture around to suit our 
personal view.  I see Scripture as having to stand as Scripture.

I believe that most of us would recognise certain Scriptures as standing 
out to our hearts as having particular personal or local significance at 
certain times.  I see that as a measure of recognising the Holy Spirit's 
witness in our hearts.  There are graduations of that working, which at 
some stage reaches the expression we would term prophecy.

However, I find a lot of people very sensitive about this, because they
imagine that it indicates graduations in spirituality, rather than in God
acting sovereignly.  One thing is clear.  When it becomes a person taking
the glory instead of God, it's past the sell-by date. 

I like to think of the New Covenant as a fulfillment of Moses' prayer of 
longing in Numbers 11:29 "O that all the LORD's people were prophets!"

						Andrew

    Deuteronomy 13:1-5, Deuteronomy 18:20-22, Isaiah 8:20, Isaiah 9:15, and
    even I John 4.

  I would completely agree that if we are going to give an ear to
  "prohetic utterances" in the modern Church that we exercise

  *EXTREME CAUTION* 

  I John 4:1-3

  I'm pretty busy today, I'll try to get back by lunch and
  look at Ephesians 4:11ff; I Corinthians 13; Joel 2-Acts 2.

  Hank

  Re modern prophets :

  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists
  and some pastors and teachers... Ephesians 4:11... NKJV

  for the purpose :

  That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about
  with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness
  of deceitful plotting Eph 4:12

  As stated before and comparing to the Hebrews passages, "some apostles",
  "some prophets" being given predominantly (but not exclusively) to the 
  Nation of Israel and the Diaspora to explain and proclaim the transition 
  from "Moses-sunagoge" to "Jesus-ecclesia". 

  Evangelist, pastors, teachers given predominantly (but not exclusively )
  to gentiles to proclaim Salvation in the Name of Jesus Christ and then
  shephard and feed the flock of those who believe.

  "Till we all come in to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of
   the Son of God" vs 13. Finds its fulfilment in the completion and dis-
   semination of the Scripture to the churches (imo). The fact is that the 
   serpent moved in and corrupted the faith and unity of the infant church,
   but it was there at the first.

   I Corinthians 13:8ff

   Love never fails, but whether there are prophecies, they will fail,
   whether there are tongues they will cease, whether there is knowledge
   it will vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part, but
   when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be
   done away.

   Many believe (as I do) "that which is perfect" his has been fulfilled in 
   the completion of the scripture.   Many do not. 

   Assuming prophecies having failed, what about Acts 2 - Joel 2?

   Acts 1:6  Lord will you at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?

   Having asked this question must mean that Jesus, taught His disciples 
   that the earthly expression of the Kingdom of God would be temporarily 
   lost by their nation but returned at some future date.

   Acts 2:16 

   The disciples are in the upper room, they are filled with the Holy Ghost
   They speak in tongues (everyone understands them without interpreters).
   They are accused of being drunk...

   But this is what was spoken of by Joel the prophet...
   I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh...
   your sons and your daughters shall prophecy...
   
   This (*all flesh*) would seem to afford  a window of probability that the 
   gentiles will prophecy, but the author quickly says "*your* sons", "*your*
   daughters" (familiar posessive) - meaning Hebrews "all flesh" meaning
   everyone not just Prophets of the Lord. This being the positive fulfilment 
   of (had they accepted the disciples message) "Lord will you at this time 
   restore the kingdom to Israel?"

   However Israel rejects the authorized emmissaries of Our Lord and Paul 
   later says Lo, I go to the Gentiles - thus the transition has begun and
   the gentiles are being grafted into "the tree" and do "prophecy" until 
   the completion of scripture.

   My feeling (and others) is this - at some point in time The Lord Himself
   will restore the kingdom to the nation of Israel, which would mean a 
   transitioning back to the question in Acts 1:6 and another occurence 
   of Acts 2 - Joel 2 where at this time (somewhere in the future) Israel
   will accept the Lord as their Messiah, which will usher in THE DAY OF
   THE LORD and the time of Jacob's trouble.

   All that was said to say this : when and if you see and hear some one
   prohecying and its from the Lord, they will probably be Jewish and 
   there will be accompanying  astronomical events and wonders as a sign to 
   Israel. Most likely Elijah will return in person at this time to turn 
   the hearts of all Hebrews to Yeshua Mishiach.

   Until then, I believe we're playing with fire concerning this new emphasis
   on "prohetic utterances" in the modern church. 

   Not that a prophetic message is out of line, but when the content of the
   message has the weight of scripture and/or is binding on the faithful or
   is individualized then I think we're in trouble.

   We need to be cautious.

   Hank   

Hi Hank,

I thought that there were very few [if any] who would hold that the 
'perfection' of 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 referred to the completion of the 
canon of Scripture.  It clearly speaks of a personal perfection and unity, 
when 'we shall see face to face', and 'know fully, even as I am fully 
known'.  The imperfection of partial knowledge and prophecy is swallowed up 
in the complete revelation of His presence, in the eternal state.  

�   Assuming prophecies having failed, what about Acts 2 - Joel 2?

Interesting that the phenomena of Acts 2 don't match those reported in Joel
2.  It is often taken to mean that Peter recognises it as a former rain; a
token of what is to come at the end of that age.  Joel doesn't mention
tongues, but it majors on terrestrial / celestial phenomena, which didn't
occur in Acts [ though there were some accompanying the crucifixion ]. 

This is in accordance with the eschatalogical view of the millenial reign
of our LORD, when Israel is restored in faithfulness, and in view of the 
total new order, tongues, prophecy, etc are inappropriate.  I see this 
reflected in Zechariah 13.  I believe this is the view you are expressing, 
though I'm not sure how you view this interacting with the need for, and 
operation of, the charismata.

Now the need for operation of the gifts shortly before the time of the 
LORD's return is another matter.  Evil multiplies (do I need to give refs?;-)
including in the miraculous dimension (Revelation 13:13...).  The 
difference between the church in materialism, and the church under 
persecution means an immensely heightened personal commitment and love for 
the LORD.  The sort of dedication which puts into action 'counting all 
things as dross' compared to His call, without counting the cost, which 
will in many cases be life itself.  Then, I believe, we are likely to see 
the LORD speaking to and through His children to a much greater degree than 
now (which is the mere foreshadowing preparation, that we have a personal 
and involved God).  The gifts are for spiritual development, especially 
effective in times of real need; not to bypass faith. 

As yuo see, I have a rather unorthodox stance on the rapture.  I think we 
go up when He comes in view of the whole world, but that's only to clarify 
what might otherwise seem confusing here; not to side-track discussion! ;-)

Late here in the UK, so I must go now.  I'll be interested to see your vews 
further!

						God bless
								Andrew

My main question was not about whether prophecy still exists, I assumed that
it does.  1Cor 14 speaks of the gifts, and instructs us to eagerly desire all
the gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.  In my understanding, prophecy in
this sense is the Word of the Lord as specifically applied to a particular
time and place.

My question was more about how to discern true prophecy of the Lord.  Tony
Barbieri (sp?) mentioned a ways back that John the Baptist, as a prophet, was
calling people forward to a new way.  But I don't think that is true.  His
main call was to "repent," which means to turn back.  The second part was to
*look* forward, telling people that the messiah was coming.  He did not
actually *call* people to anything new.

I'm coming more and more to believe that those are the only two roles of a
true prophet.  Calling back can be easily verified - check it with the Word.
Is the prophecy in accord with what the Word says?  Looking forward cannot be
verified until the Lord brings it to pass, so it is not a call to change
immediately.  It is setting the stage for verification that this is the
Lord's doing when He DOES bring it to pass, and it can then be pointed back
to the prophecies that are being fulfilled.

My main concern is to verify that the Lord never, ever, ever uses His
prophets to call His people to a new revelation.  There are many today who
claim a prophetic voice which are calling people to a "new" revelation.  I
don't believe that the Lord ever does that, and thus I believe that calling
people to a "new gospel" is *always* a mark of a false prophet.

Paul

  Re .32 Andrew

  Hi Andrew,

  There are 2 views (generally) of 1 Corinthians 13:8-12

  1) Completion of the Scripture:
  
      "1 Corinthians 13:8 anticipates the close of the New Testament Canon;
      for where there is no divinely designated and duly attested prophet,
      there is no Scripture to be received or delivered"

  Systematic Theology; Lewis Sperry Chafer; Dallas Theological Seminary Press;
  1971, Vol 1, pg. 101.
 
  2) Final sanctification:

     "Re 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 : Complete and final sanctification awaits
      the sight of Christ... entire conformity to Christ will only then be
      realized when 'that which is perfect is come'"

  Lectures in Systematic Theology; Henry Thiessen; Eerdman's Publ.
  1967; pg. 383.

      "This 'perfection' is reached in the world to come (1 Cor 13:10)".

  Systematic Theology; Strong; Griffith and Rowland Press; 1912 pg. 981.

  Admittedly Paul is somewhat vague in this passage. He does not mention
  the Second Coming or even the name of Christ in the entire chapter, but
  seems to be saying that agape-love is "that which is perfect". Perhaps
  agape-love developed along with the completion of the full revelation
  of Our Father's love ("God is love") in the final books of Scripture.

 > Acts 2 - Joel 2 mismatch :

   Peter reports and plays out a Christ enhanced version of Joel 2. Although
   many repented and were baptised, the other signs did not follow because
   Our Father knew of the impending "official rejection" of His messengers.

   Acts 3 : Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be 
   out and the times of refreshing shall come from the Lord and He shall
   send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you.

   The high priest and sanhedrin meet several times with the disciples to 
   discourage this kind of preaching and eventually ends with the stoning
   of Stephen; a national rejection of the Lord's messengers.

   The second part of Joel 2 (astronomical signs, etc) awaits for the Lord
   (probably through Elijah) to turn the nation of Israel and the Diaspora
   back to Jehovah. Then the Day of the Lord, Then Israel will be the head 
   and not the tail amongst the nations as well as the administrators of the 
   Kingdom of God on earth.

   > Rapture theology :  

     well, Im not a rapturist myself. I see the church remaining on the 
     earth during the "tribulation" but protected from the wrath of God 
     (Rev 16:2-17). We will meet Him in the air at the last trump (7th trump 
     of Rev - Rev 11:15) and be gathered to Him upon the Mount of Olives, 
     from whence He will destroy MYSTERY BABYLON and judge the world.

  Hank

Hi Hank,

Your view #1 of 1 Corinthians 13:8 was the one I was brought up on, but 
really found didn't hold water.  The second view is the one I graduated to 
taking scripture with scripture etc, as I indicated in my previous.

The 'national rejection' culminated in the crucifixion, which resulted in
the massacre of A.D. 70.  The formal/national rejection of the message of
the disciples was inevitable as they represented Jesus' message.  The
stoning of Stephen was followed by a persecution which interestingly,
scattered the disciples - except the apostles, who had received the
explicit command to evangelise the world...  (check out Acts 8:1) 

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 
� the other signs did not follow because Our Father knew of the impending
� "official rejection" of His messengers. 
The signs of Joel 2 are inspired prophecy, which means that they will be
fulfilled in their time.  The rejection meant that Acts 2 was not the full
time (I presume you're familiar with the partial pre-fulfillments of
prophecy, which may preceded the full enaction by centuries). 

Note that Joel 2 precedes the LORD's return (:31 - *before* the coming of 
the great and dreadful day of the LORD.)

I think your eschatalogical perspective corresponds pretty much with mine.
I drew up a simple summary of Jesus' return for someone at church who was 
concerned about aspects of this.  It is available as:
Ascii text:		ICTHUS::SYS$PUBLIC:END.TXT
Postscript text:	ICTHUS::SYS$PUBLIC:END.PS
	 - the postscript comes over better for footnotes etc.

								Andrew

Hi Paul,

Sorry to hijack the discussion somewhat.  I'd lost the original... ;-}

� My main concern is to verify that the Lord never, ever, ever uses His
� prophets to call His people to a new revelation.  There are many today who
� claim a prophetic voice which are calling people to a "new" revelation.  I
� don't believe that the Lord ever does that, and thus I believe that calling
� people to a "new gospel" is *always* a mark of a false prophet.

That's my understanding too.  The prophet reflectes the Word of the LORD
into the situation, which is not a new revelation of eternal truth.  That
is the apostolic (and messianic!) function, which is why there are those
today who would take the title of apostle.  Whlie I believe that there is
much we have to re-learn / remember, in terms of commitment to the LORD,
and personal walk with Him, to a life-changing degree, this is the
prophetic reminder rather than the apostolic revelation. 

Certainly if a 'prophet' claims to reveal a 'new gospel', he is outlawed on 
the basis of Galatians 1:8-9, laying up eternal condemnation for himself by 
claiming any other basis than the blood of Jesus for salvation.


								Andrew

 
  Re .35  Andrew

  1 Corinthians 13:8  I understand the ease of acceptance of the "final
  sanctification" view, though its not my own. I've wondered if Paul
  even knew that he was writing scripture in his epistles. That might
  account (through the influence of The Spirit) for his vagueness.

  "national rejection" In my human training of the Word, the idea was 
  propounded that the events early on in Acts were a "second chance"
  given to Israel. See Acts 2-3 read the whole 2 chapters; it is a
  compelling theory.

  "partial pre-fulfilment" yes, I agree.

  Joel 2 precedes the Day of the Lord - yes, if thats not what I said, that's
  what I meant :-) . 

  I'll pull the END fill and look it over - thanks!

   Hank

      Hi,
    
        I do think its possible that a prophet shows something 'new'
        from the standpoint that it is some doctrine that is not known
        by Christendom, but that is according to the word.  That is...
        its in the word, it was just veiled.
    
        Again, I would refer to the latter rain which is linked to
        doctrine or teaching in Deut (I believe 32).
    
        As far as the gospel Paul preached...I wonder if we know what it
        was (in its fulness, clarity, and purity).  After all, there was
        a great falling away followed by a Reformation.  He do we know 
        when all has been restored?
    
                                                        Tony

    Re .38 

    Hi Tony
     
    >its in the word, its just veiled
    >How do we know when all has been restored?

    Trust your Heavenly Father. 

    If any of you lacks wisdom ,let him ask of God, who gives to all
    liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him.
    But let him ask in faith...  James 1:5-6 NKJV.


      Hank

      Thanks Hank!
    
                                         Tony

  re .40 

  sure Tony...

  God is love.

  Hank

    I just read through this note (belatedly, I guess), and had a question
    for you all.   
    
    In my quiet time this morning in Jeremiah 23, he takes on the topic of
    false prophets, or lying prophets.  They were numerous in Jeremiah's
    time, apparently, and it's pretty clear how God felt about them.  
    
    The question is this - there are some specific prophesies today. 
    There's an example in a later note about June 9 being a day of warning. 
    This is testable.  If nothing happens on June 9, as nothing happened in
    1988 when Christ was apparently supposed to return (every eye will see
    him, and I didn't), what should we do?  The prophets who prophesy about
    June 9 will be either bringing God's word or lying prophets.  The
    penalties for the latter (cf. Jeremiah) are severe.  Should we call
    them to account?
    
    Also, re: the purpose of prophets:  the purpose of ALL spiritual gifts
    is to build up the body.  If the use of a gift such as prophesy has the
    sole effect of bringing people closer to Christ, then it may be from
    God.  If not, it can't be from God.  Calling people to repent is
    divisive, but is done to bring people to God.  Most uses of gifts I
    have seen seem to fail this test....
    
    Don R.

Hi Don,
� The prophets who prophesy about June 9 will be either bringing God's word
� or lying prophets.  The penalties for the latter (cf. Jeremiah) are severe.
� Should we call them to account? 

The sort of people who make prophetic announcements in these days do not 
generally consider themselves accountable to anyone.  They hold that anyone 
who disagrees with them is not discerning what the Holy Spirit is saying.  
They even 'adjust' their prophecies when the time passes without them being 
fulfilled.  Horrendous tales abound. 

The sad part here (in our world experience) is that careless use of and
interpretation of prophecy hardens people's hearts from accepting even
clear fulfillments of Biblical prophecy.

This is why we are warned against false prophets in, for instance, Matthew 
24:11,24.  Not because there are no real prophets, and no real return of the 
LORD Jesus Christ, but because the false imitators and deceivers abound as 
the time approaches for the real fulfillment.

Under the New Covenant, the false prophet is excluded from fellowship 
[rather than executed, as under the First Covenant] (eg 1 Corinthians 
5:5,11-13, 1 Timothy 1:20, 6:3-5, 2 Timothy 2:17-18, Titus 3:9-11).

The onus lies on keeping ourselves pure in the faith.

						God bless
							Andrew

    I went to hear an alleged prophet at a non-denominational church on
    Thursday, a place called "Latter Rain Christian Fellowship".  Boy, he
    whipped up the congregation into a frenzy, yelling and jumping around,
    screaming "Hallelujah" and such, urging the congregation to repeat
    certain words of Scripture after him ("Say IN HIM! 'IN HIM'!"). He
    talked about how we are in the end times, and that God's Spirit is
    going to move in an unprecedented way now, and that God is raising up
    this generation to battle the powers of darkness.  In the latter part
    he called out certain characteristics ("God is healing someone with
    AIDS", "There is a woman here whose child is involved in a dangerous
    cult", etc.) and called these people up to pray for them.  Upon various
    people he pronounced prophecies ("Your mother will be saved before she
    dies") and prayed (loudly!) for them.
    
    I don't know whether he was authentic or not.  But I do have some
    thoughts on prophets and healers.
    
    First, as others have pointed out, the primary role, according to
    Scripture, for a prophet is to call people to repentance, rebuke them
    for their sins, to explain why God is doing what He is doing, and once
    in a blue moon make a statement about the future (often conditional). 
    Prophets in Scripture live very ascetic, humble lives of holiness; they
    are not pretentious and have the attitude of St. John the Forerunner
    (Baptist), "He must increase, and I must decrease."  Were I a prophet,
    I would renounce all my possessions, fast, dress simply, and wear
    sandals.  I would live a life of asceticism, as many of the prophets of
    Scripture did and many holy men throughout the ages.  And I would not
    rely on emotions and frenzies to touch those who hear me: when the Holy
    Spirit moves, He needs no assistance or man-made excitement to prepare
    the way.
    
    The day after this experience, I saw an article in the Boston Herald
    about a priest I have heard who has a healing ministry -- Beverley
    Beckham discussed in her column a healing service he did.  His name is
    Fr. Ed McDonough, and he is well known in these parts, and his healings
    have been authenticated.  I thought about him in comparision with this
    other prophet/healer.  Fr. McDonough is 72 years old and rapidly losing
    his faculties.  He speaks slowly with confusion, in almost a monotone. 
    When I first heard him speak, I grew impatient with his slowness of
    speech.  Needless to say, when he lays hands on people, he does it
    quietly, without jumping around, without yelling, without emotion. The
    article said that he didn't even believe in his own healing gift when
    it first became apparent.  He poses a sharp contrast with the man I saw
    on Thursday.
    
    Back to prophets. I am always suspicious of prophets -- or prophecies --
    which are always positive and never call people to repentance. For
    example, if this prophet had the ability to know such things about
    people, why did he not tell people the sins they were committing and
    call them to repentance?  There are many Catholic canonized Saints, and
    those in more recent times (I know of one who is alive today), who had
    the gift of knowing people's sins simply by looking at them.  (I have
    heard reports of Evangelical ministers with similar gifts, too.) This
    is a surer sign of authenticity, IMHO, than revealing who has Chevy
    keys in their pockets.  
    
    Personally I believe that there is enough sin in this world and
    unfaithfulness that prophets have little justification for painting
    rosy pictures.  Prophets in today's world should be hated for what God
    says through them, because God isn't going to tell everyone what a
    great job their doing and how happy he is with the status quo. The
    prophecies coming out of various alleged Marian apparitions are always
    of the kind, "Repent! Pray! Fast! Renounce sin! You are not living out
    the Gospel! Return to Christ! The Father is angry! Your faith is lukewarm! 
    You have not been listening to my messages!" etc.  These are certainly
    the kind of messages I would expect to hear in this age.
    
    I might concur with the opinion that we do not have prophets today like
    we did in the OT, although I strongly believe that the spirit of
    prophecy exists, it is just poured out in general and appears in
    different people now and then as a charismatic gift.  I would be
    hesitant to say that there is not an office of prophet today, because
    I know from both Biblical and extra-Biblical witness that the early
    church _did_ have prophets, and I reject the notion that there was any
    fundamental change after Scripture was completed that took any of the
    gifts of the Spirit away for good.  But I will say that while I know
    lots of cases of prophecies, miracles, words of knowledge, and other
    charismatic gifts existing in the church continuously since the time of the
    Apostles, I know of no individual at least after the earliest church
    who was regarded as "a Prophet."  A wonder-worker, yes; but no
    "Prophets."  There were those who gave prophecies, but they were not
    known as prophets, just as holy men and women.
    
    Just my opinion...
    
    Eric
    

    Well, I guess it's time to put my two cents in.  Here are my thoughts 
    on prophets and prophecy.
    
    1. Prophecy is a direct work of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 
       12:1-11).  In the Old Testament the Spirit of Yahweh came ON an 
       individual and they would prophesy (Numbers 11:26-29; 1 Samuel 
       10:6-11; 19:23-24).  After Pentecost prophecy became the work of the 
       INDWELLING Holy Spirit (Acts 2:16-18, quoting Joel 2:28-29 [Joel 
       3:1-2 Masoretic Text]; Acts 4:29-31).
    
    2. Whereas in the Old Testament, prophecy, as any manifestation of the 
       anointing, was reserved for select men and women of the covenant of 
       Abraham, the post-Pentecostal infilling, the "promise of the Father" 
       which Jesus spoke of in Luke 24:49 which and is reiterated in Acts 
       1:4 is for all believers (Acts 2:17,39).
    
    3. If the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all believers and one of 
       the manifestations of the gift of the Holy Spirit is prophecy (1 
       Corinthians 12:7-11) then all Spirit baptized believers have the 
       *potential* to prophesy as the will of God directs.
    
    4. Prophecy benefits the believers not the unbeliever (1 Corinthians 
       14:22)
    
    5. The message of prophecy will be consistent with the work and will of 
       the Holy Spirit.  If the work and will of the Holy Spirit is to 
       reveal Christ, which it is (John 15:26), then the word of prophecy 
       will reveal Christ.  If the work and will of the Holy Spirit is to 
       reprove the world of sin, which it is (John 16:7-8), then the word 
       of prophecy will reprove the world of sin.  If the work and will of 
       the Holy Spirit is to comfort, and He is called the Comforter 
       (Paraclete John 14:16-17; also see 1 Corinthians 14:31), then the 
       word of prophecy will also be one of comfort.  1 Corinthians 14:3 
       gives a three word baseline for judging prophecy.  It must either 
       edify, exhort, or comfort.  If it does none of these things it IS 
       NOT of the Spirit of God.  Even if the word of prophecy does fit 
       these guidelines it is not a guarantee that the word IS of God.  
       Jeremiah was imprisoned for rebuking the prophets who prophesied 
       what the people wanted to hear (Lamentations 2:14).  Therefore...
    
    6. The message of prophecy will ALWAYS be in agreement with the written 
       Word of God and is NEVER to be received in lieu of or superceding 
       Scripture.  The infallible Word of God is our rule for faith and 
       practice (2 Timothy 3:15-17).  The word of prophecy may serve to 
       bring to the forefront something which God is wishing to emphasize 
       for the moment (John 14:26).  This does not negate the rest of 
       Scripture nor does it exalt one part above another.  To a friend who 
       is going through a tough time we might remind them of the verse that 
       says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  This does not 
       denigrate another verse that says, "Repent for the kingdom of God is 
       at hand."  It is a word spoken in due season (Proverbs 15:23).
    
    7. The message of prophecy is to be judged by the prophets (1 
       Corinthians 14:32).  This may require some definition of a prophet 
       which I will get to but for the purpose of this point God will not 
       reveal a word to one which He does not also reveal to another, or 
       many others.  There are no private words which stand autonomous from 
       the scrutiny of the prophets.  There will always be an agreement 
       among those who hear the voice of the Spirit.  It is another 
       checkpoint to keep out the wolves.
    
    8. Prophets.  Ephesians 4:11-16 lists five gifts of God to the body of 
       Christ, His church.  These gifts, which are sometime referred to as 
       the five-fold ministry, are apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors 
       and teachers.  There is some grammatical evidence that pastor and 
       teacher should be linked into a single gift but that is really 
       irrelivent for the purpose of this note.  Whether five-fold or 
       four-fold, the prophet is still listed among them.
    
    9. Prophet is an actual office in the church just as much as a Pastor 
       or an Evangelist.  I have heard some categorize a Prophet as anyone 
       who functions often in the gift of prophecy.  I believe that this 
       puts the cart before the horse, i.e. the gift defines the office.  
       An Evangelist will, by virtue of his calling, evangelize and a 
       pastor will, by virtue of his calling, pastor so, naturally, a 
       Prophet will prophesy.  While we are all called to evangelize 
       (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:46-49; Acts 1:4-8), we are 
       not all called to the office of an Evangelist.  Just we are told to 
       desire spiritual gifts and particularly to prophesy (1 Corinthians 
       14:1) not all are called as a Prophet to the body.  It is the 
       calling that defines the ministry and Holy Spirit equips the 
       individual to fulfil that ministry.  However, I do not believe that 
       it would be improper to refer to anyone prophesying as a prophet 
       (one who speaks forth, or mouthpiece) while they are in that mode 
       any more than it would be improper to call someone an evangelist 
       (one who proclaims the good news) while they are evangelising.
    NOTE: Capitalization is my emphasis to distinguish the office and 
       calling from any believer functioning under the unction of the Holy 
       Spirit.
    
    10.Neither prophecy nor the office of a Prophet will cease until the 
       end of the Church Age (I'll leave it to your own escatological 
       preferences as to when that is).  It is only then that we will cease 
       to see through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13:9-12) and will know 
       even as we are known.  It is only then that we will all come into 
       the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto 
       the perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of 
       Christ (Ephesians 3:13).
    
    All right, maybe it's a little more than two cents worth.
    
    On a personal note I prefer the simplicity of the word of Elijah to the
    frenzy of the prophets of Baal but the word of God is the word of God
    regardless of how cracked the vessel is.

    Re:  .45 and .46
    
    .46 describes the role, purpose, etc. or a prophet as I understand it
    from scripture.  Nice summary - definitely worth more than 2cents.
    
    .45 talked about both prophets and "a healing ministry".  As many who
    are into gifts of the spirit seem to lump prophecy, words of knowledge,
    etc. together with healing, it's useful to distinguish between the two. 
    
    First, they are similar in that the Lord gives prophesy, and the Lord
    heals.  (I don't have references here - maybe someone can research more 
    deeply.)   Neither the prophet nor the "healer" works within his own
    power - the Lord, according to His will, makes the process happen.
    
    The key difference is that there is no office of "healer".  Although
    people hold meetings where people are healed, and people have called
    themselves healers, I see no support for this in scripture.  This
    implies that the gift of healing is given by the Lord as He wishes, and
    when He wishes, and for His purpose.  Therefore, it's hard to imagine
    that He would wait until a meeting is called for the purpose of
    healing.  I have a deep skepticism about the signs and wonders that are
    claimed.
    
    It's more likely that God heals through many ways.  Primarily through
    medicine, I think.  Also as answer to prayer.  But always on His terms,
    and for His purpose.
    
    - Don R

    This past weekend at services, our pastor delivered a prophecy (as he
    called it).
    
    (paraphrase)
    
    He said that we were all hearing news about a comet with a Jewish name
    making a tremendous impact on Jupiter these days; but soon, there will
    be another Jewish "Comet"; the Morning Star, whose impact on our own
    planet will far outweigh what's happening on Jupiter.
    
    (that's the gist of it...I didn't write it down ;-)
    
    He delieverd the message sort of light-heartedly and it made me smile a 
    lot - but there is a very heavy undertone there; the truth of our blessed 
    Hope, the return of Him who lived, died, and was raised up for us, coming 
    back that we can be with Him forever.....
    
    For your consideration,
    
    Steve
    

    Well, that fits my dream...  8^)  (the dream was probably "inspired" by
    readings in Revelation)
    
    What he says is scriptural..as long as he isn't giving out exact dates,
    then I'm sure he is right.  Whether or not we will be here when it
    happens is worthy of debate.  
    
    
    -steve

    So...any ideas on what the "signs in the heavens" will be?  UFO's
    (which are certainly increasing in popularity)...new and unknown comet
    flyby...intense meteor showers...??
    
    "Heavens" means either the litteral Heaven (though we could not see
    what goes on there, also 'heavenS' is plural) or outer space (as in
    heavenly bodies, etc.).
    
    Wonder how the media will explain away the disappearance of millions of
    people when the rapture takes place?
    
    
    -steve 

    Re: Note 465.51 by CSOA1::LEECH
    
>   So...any ideas on what the "signs in the heavens" will be?  UFO's
>   (which are certainly increasing in popularity)...new and unknown comet
>   flyby...intense meteor showers...??
    
    As the ability to detect and report these occurrences increases, you
    will see an increase in reports.  Technological advance in
    communications, newsgathering and astrophysics.
    
    James

    Maybe we can discuss here who our modern-day prophets are.  Can anyone
    think of one?
    
    While you're thinking I'd like to propose some guidelines that define a
    prophet.  
    
    What is a prophet?
    ------------------
    - Focuses on the plight of the human condition.  Wants to mesh God with
      society instead of keeping Him distant.
    - Sounds an alarm to humanity.  Exposes evil and reproves/castigates
      humanity.
    - God-given words that are a sharp sword, attacking the conscience,
      challenging wisdom, wealth, and power.
    - A person of courage, sometimes lonely and unpopular.  
    - Always upholds a vision of an end.
    - An Iconoclast (someone who wants to break with common vulgarities of
      life).
    - Knows faith needs a practical message to deal with the people. 
      Formal religion is hypocrisy.
    - Austere, compassionate, willing to risk their life.
    - Witness to spiritual values.
    - Must pass all Biblical tests in Deuteronomy 13:1-5, 18:20-22, Isaiah 
      8:20, 9:15.
    - The mouthpiece of God!
    
    My Favorite Examples: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, Daniel.
    
    Mike

    I can think of two prophets of recent times. Both have "told forth"
    the Word of God fearlessly, and brought much Glory to Jesus through
    their lives and their ministries.
    
    Dr. Billy Graham and Keith Green

When I think of contemporary prophet, the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer comes
to mind.

Leslie

    RE: .55
    
    Indeed, Leslie!

	A prophet (not Prophet) is one who 
		1. speaks for God 
		2. speaks forth God

	Anyone who does this is a prophet.

regards,
ace

There's an excellent article by Rick Joyner about the office of the prophet
in a back issue (which I just received) of "The Morningstar Journal," which
is a christian journal that contains a mix of teaching and prophecy.  The
article is called "The Watchman Ministry," and the essence of it is to
compare the office of the prophet to the watchmen in Biblical times.

There's way too much to type in, but a few key points:

The prophets are not in a position of authority about what to do with what
they see.  Their job is to communicate to the elders, apostles, and other
leaders what is happening.  It is then the job of the people in those
positions to listen to the word from the prophets, and discern how to respond.

The article also lists a dozen impediments to a prophet hearing the word of
the Lord clearly.  I'll just list the text titles of most of them:

Presumption - taking on the office if not called to it by God
Majoring on Minors - Looking for the enemy instead of looking to the Lord
Prejudices - self explanatory.
Doctrines - the first part of this one bears typing in, given that this has 
	been a major point of contention about the office of the prophet.

  The Lord does not give prophecies to verify doctrines - He gave the Bible 
  for that.  Those who use prophecy to establish doctrines usually evolve 
  into a cult.  It is a characteristic of the prophetic ministry to exhort 
  the people to either maintain, or return to, the established precepts of 
  the faith, but never to establish them.  Those who have a 'pet doctrine' 
  they are trying to promote, or an agenda to convince others of a doctrinal 
  emphasis other than Christ Jesus Himself, should not be trusted in a 
  watchman's position.

Rejection - the prophet must not let rejection grip their spirit
Bitterness and Resentment - a root of bitterness defiles many
Rebellion - rebellion against God's order and authority
Unsanctified Mercy - having mercy for things God is judging
The "Party Spirit" - Submitting to an organizational 'party line'
Failing to submit to the Body -failure to receive gifts of other body members
Lust - Any selfish, self-centered centering of sight on other than God
Our natural eyes vs 'The eyes of the heart." - going by natural appearances.


Anyway, the article is excellent.  I could give anyone who is interested
information on how to obtain it.

Paul