I’ve been part of prayer groups that asked for God’s judgment on their life and have heard so called prophetic speakers talk of God’s judgment on America and other countries. My question to that mindset is; do you really know what you’re asking for and understand what you’re saying? Not only that, but do you know that God’s judgment is final? The church is not dealt with as Israel was dealt with in the sense of a “group of people”, the nation would pay for the sins of one man. The destiny of the nation was hinged on the obedience of one person.
When Jesus came and gave himself for us He changed the way God dealt with man. We must also understand the difference between a consequence to an action and God’s judgment. Although in many places in scripture we see “judged or judgment” which means to discern or discipline. Though the intent of many of these so called prophets is a literal judgment, however the Lords “JUDGMENT” is referring to his final judgment on mankind. We are not talking about the way God dealt with the Israelites back in the day. We are in the age of Grace and we are judged as individuals and by our actions.
Can we not accept the fact that there are natural phenomenons that take place and wreak havoc on this earth? Everything that happens always has to be someone’s fault. Certainly I could be wrong and am willing to accept that, but based on scripture I simply don’t see what these super spirituals see. I say super spirituals admittedly with some sarcasm however sadly with seriousness. Maybe it’s just based on my past experiences but I’ve seen very, very few in my life that deserve such credence. When you read scripture there wasn’t a prophet in every town. Paul said to test the spirits, so I choose to wait with skepticism and see what happens before I give totally to someone’s prophetic ability. I’ve certainly learned not to follow just because someone I know followed. I know too many that follow just about anyone that calls themselves a prophet and can use scripture skillfully enough to be persuasive.
I’ve had many lately talk about a guy who prophesied about a California earthquake. Do you know how many predicted such a thing? Literally hundreds! Not only that, but the guy the people I know spoke of was not the actual guy that prophesied it but it turned out to be a guy he knew and simply shared the story. If you’re going to prophecy there should be some detail to the prophecy and not only that, and earthquake is going to shake the west coast! That’s a given with all the fault lines in that area.
Here’s where I am with all this. We see in the NT in many cases prophecy in scripture is to teach the word, to tell of Jesus. Almost every Christian I know when they hear “prophecy” automatically equates it with telling of future events. Christians should already know where they stand. Mature Christians should know what the will of God is for their life. I don’t believe it’s as complicated as we and the church have made it. I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all because I don’t, but this is just simple truth. I believe that the church as a whole generally speaking has fallen into many of the traps as the Israelites did. We have to be told things, we have to be given signs. If you read scripture everything has been foretold. We need no more signs of his coming; it can happen at any moment.
Let me make an observation now with the Earthquake and Tsunami that has devastated Japan and left them in a very dire situation. We see what an impact it can have not only on those in Japan who are still in tremendous need even a month later, but what an impact it has on America. If you were one of those that had heard a prophecy regarding this event; what did you do to prepare for it? Most likely you would have heard it was going to happen but probably had no idea of when it would happen. I find it interesting that people make these prophecies with no dates or time frames but some will try to give date on the Lord’s return when scripture is very clear that nobody will know the day.
We already know that the Lords return could be at any moment so why do we need prophecies of tragic events to motivate us to share our knowledge and assurance of the Lord’s salvation? Many believers are doing some extreme things to prepare for the return, but Jesus said when you hear these things “do not be alarmed”. This is where I am. I’m not going to be alarmed and I’m not going to do anything out of fear. I believe in preparing but will do so with intentional purpose because of the convictions I have based on how the Lord has dealt with and spoken to me. I don’t have the need to buy someone’s books or DVD’s to hear an extremely elaborate and in very convincing manor what I already know based on scripture.
