Every
prophetic ministry should learn how to avoid familiar spirits. Prophets carry a
great blessing for the body of Christ. They also have a significant
responsibility to guard their ministries from demonic encroachment while
avoiding familiar spirits. As prophets mature in their ministries they quickly
learn to “wait for the unction” of the Holy Spirit before moving out in their
gifting. This is how they keep defilement and spiritual corruption out of their
lives and ministries. The Apostle Peter made it clear that men of God wait on
the Holy Ghost, “Knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any
private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of
man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter
1:20-21). Prophecy from the Holy Spirit was never spoken by “the will of man,”
that is to say, by man's will. This is significant and fundamental in prophetic
ministry. This teaches if one prophesies by faith only, without any Holy Ghost
unction, then they wrongly prophesy according to their own will and not Gods.
This is the indicator of a presumptuous and self-willed prophet who can easily
tap into deceiving spirits of divination. To avoid familiar spirits the mature
prophet will wait on the unction from the Lord. Prophecy is serious ministry
and should not be taken lightly. To meddle in prophetic ministry outside the
unction is dangerous and damaging to the lives of precious people.
Prophesying is not something done solely by faith. Prophecy is not by the prophet’s faith and will exclusively. Faith alone does not force the Holy Spirit to speak. You have a measure of faith involved but the prophet is not making prophetic utterance come by faith. The seasoned prophet understands this and is able to protect himself and others from prophetic error. Again, prophecy is not about faith, will or emotion, it’s about waiting for the Holy Ghost to move.
The prophet is only a spokesman. If the Holy Spirit decides to speak He will but the prophet must wait for the unction offered according to the direct will of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:11). Let’s look at the pattern for a safe prophetic release, “Holy men spake as they were moved (compelled and prompted) by the Holy Ghost.” True prophetic utterance is always with Holy Ghost unction. Unction is God’s permission to speak on His behalf. If there is no unction, then the prophet is acting by assumptive faith decoupled from the Holy Spirit’s prompting. This is unsafe.
Unction, Greek chrisma, means anointing. Those that prophesy by presumptuous faith are in danger of tapping into a demonic spirit of divination. This is the realm where high-level occult spirits gain access into the lives of Christians, churches and ministries. Again this reveals the seriousness of the prophet’s ministry and responsibility of every believer to judge prophecy according to the written word of God.
Divination is foretelling (prophesying) the future by occult means. As already said prophecy should come only after you receive Holy Ghost unction to speak. This is the biblical pattern taught us in the Word and demonstrated by the prophets of old that were first “moved by the Holy Ghost.” Remember, unction for the prophet is the permission of the Holy Spirit to speak. After you receive permission then use your faith and surrender to the will of the Spirit and prophesy.
Five steps for avoiding familiar spirits are:
Prophesying is not something done solely by faith. Prophecy is not by the prophet’s faith and will exclusively. Faith alone does not force the Holy Spirit to speak. You have a measure of faith involved but the prophet is not making prophetic utterance come by faith. The seasoned prophet understands this and is able to protect himself and others from prophetic error. Again, prophecy is not about faith, will or emotion, it’s about waiting for the Holy Ghost to move.
The prophet is only a spokesman. If the Holy Spirit decides to speak He will but the prophet must wait for the unction offered according to the direct will of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:11). Let’s look at the pattern for a safe prophetic release, “Holy men spake as they were moved (compelled and prompted) by the Holy Ghost.” True prophetic utterance is always with Holy Ghost unction. Unction is God’s permission to speak on His behalf. If there is no unction, then the prophet is acting by assumptive faith decoupled from the Holy Spirit’s prompting. This is unsafe.
Unction, Greek chrisma, means anointing. Those that prophesy by presumptuous faith are in danger of tapping into a demonic spirit of divination. This is the realm where high-level occult spirits gain access into the lives of Christians, churches and ministries. Again this reveals the seriousness of the prophet’s ministry and responsibility of every believer to judge prophecy according to the written word of God.
Divination is foretelling (prophesying) the future by occult means. As already said prophecy should come only after you receive Holy Ghost unction to speak. This is the biblical pattern taught us in the Word and demonstrated by the prophets of old that were first “moved by the Holy Ghost.” Remember, unction for the prophet is the permission of the Holy Spirit to speak. After you receive permission then use your faith and surrender to the will of the Spirit and prophesy.
Five steps for avoiding familiar spirits are:
1.
Knowing
when the Holy Spirit wants to speak.
2.
Receiving
the Holy Spirit's permission, rightfully called the unction.
3.
Using
faith to surrender to the Holy Spirit’s unction.
4.
Speaking
what the Holy Spirit has to say.
5.
Judging
the prophetic word according to Scripture.
SET PROPHETS, MANTELS AND ACTIVATION
Fivefold
ascension gift prophets carry a prophetic mantle. In the New Testament we refer
to the office of the prophet as one of the fivefold ascension gifts given by
Christ to “perfect the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:11). When
Elijah was ushered into heaven he dropped his prophetic mantle to Elisha.
Elisha was already called into the prophetic ministry before this event. The
mantle terminology is an Old Testament term referring to the prophet’s
ministry. New Testament prophets are better described as gifted but we can
still use the illustration of mantle to explore prophetic operations.
I have seen the effects of this prophetic mantle on the prayer lives of people that come into contact with it. One day some people were praying together. As I listened many in the group were prophesying. What was striking to me was these people had never prophesied before. So what was it that was different in this particular group? There was a man with a prophetic mantle on his life among them. He was a fivefold ascension gift prophet. The reason these others were able to prophesy was they were picking up on his prophetic gift. This expresses the need for fivefold ascension gift prophets in local churches because their gift activates the prophetic among the general assembly. This is healthy within the biblical context because true prophetic utterance exalts and magnifies Christ and is “the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 19:10).
This also points out the necessity of prophetic maturity among the ministry’s leadership. Avoiding familiar spirits is the responsibility of all but especially those in senior leadership within the local church. Scripture gives examples of prophetic activation when King Saul sent messengers to capture David. Watch the prophetic anointing come on these people after they came into contact with Samuel and the company of prophets.
“Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the spirit of God was on the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time and they prophesied also. Then went he also to Ramah and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, ‘Where are Samuel and David?’ And one said, ‘Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.’ And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also and prophesied before Samuel in like manner and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” (1 Samuel 19:20-24.)
Did you notice who was in those meetings? It was Samuel. He was “standing as appointed over them.” The word “appointed” natsab means set. Samuel was the “set prophet” among this group. There is something to be said about prophetic activation when fivefold ascension gift prophets are present. When the messengers of Saul came into contact with Samuel “they also prophesied.” It is doubtful they were trying to muster much faith to do it. I believe a strong unction from the Holy Ghost came on them followed by a measure of faith.
Let’s look at Ezekiel’s release to prophesy for a better understanding of avoiding familiar spirits and receiving prophetic permission. Ezekiel was a seasoned man that knew the Holy Spirit well. He models another safety feature in avoiding familiar spirits. He would not prophesy until told. Scripture says, “So I prophesied as I was commanded” (Ezekiel 37:7). In this verse Ezekiel, a mature prophet of God, understood that he was not to prophesy until the Lord released him to do so. We, too, can learn from his example. It is all right to sense the prophetic anointing but don’t speak “thus saith the Lord” unless God releases you through prompting by the Holy Spirit. If you prophesy by faith without unction, outside God’s permission, you are in danger of tapping into a spirit of divination. This is a sobering truth but if you tap into a spirit of divination you release witchcraft over the people. This wrong prophetic operation is taking place today and needs to be stopped. God has not called His prophetic people to be fortune-tellers but those that offer edification, exhortation and comfort. Wrong prophetic operations open the door for all kinds of high-level occult spirits of divination. Avoid them at all cost.
During a powerfully anointed service I asked God if he wanted me to prophesy to the people. I don’t do this anymore because I have learned to look for the unction. I could tell they were pulling on me for a prophetic word. Most seasoned prophets can relate to that feeling. The Spirit of God said, “No.” Could I have prophesied anyway? The answer is “yes” but I would have been in error. As said repeatedly, if you prophesy without God’s permission you can tap into a familiar spirit.
A man told me he received a prophetic revelation from the Lord. I asked him to share it with me and he said, “It is way too deep and nobody was ready for it.” I said, “Brother, you need to be careful with that. If you have a revelation from God you need to let the prophet’s judge” (1 Corinthians 14:29). All prophecies need to be judged, examined and weighed against the logos of God. Scripture says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Don’t get distracted by the term false prophets. False prophets don’t start their ministries as false prophets. They start them just like you did with sincerity of heart and a love for Christ. It’s what happens along the way that decides their destiny. If they learn how to avoid familiar spirits they can make it. If they don’t they fail. It’s that simple.
Prophets make mistakes and some prophesies are wrong. Scripture says that we “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). If prophets and prophecies were always accurate then people would be tempted to follow prophets instead of Jesus. All prophecy needs to be tested for accuracy. Period. This helps close the door to familiar spirits.
I have seen the effects of this prophetic mantle on the prayer lives of people that come into contact with it. One day some people were praying together. As I listened many in the group were prophesying. What was striking to me was these people had never prophesied before. So what was it that was different in this particular group? There was a man with a prophetic mantle on his life among them. He was a fivefold ascension gift prophet. The reason these others were able to prophesy was they were picking up on his prophetic gift. This expresses the need for fivefold ascension gift prophets in local churches because their gift activates the prophetic among the general assembly. This is healthy within the biblical context because true prophetic utterance exalts and magnifies Christ and is “the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 19:10).
This also points out the necessity of prophetic maturity among the ministry’s leadership. Avoiding familiar spirits is the responsibility of all but especially those in senior leadership within the local church. Scripture gives examples of prophetic activation when King Saul sent messengers to capture David. Watch the prophetic anointing come on these people after they came into contact with Samuel and the company of prophets.
“Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the spirit of God was on the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time and they prophesied also. Then went he also to Ramah and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, ‘Where are Samuel and David?’ And one said, ‘Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.’ And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also and prophesied before Samuel in like manner and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” (1 Samuel 19:20-24.)
Did you notice who was in those meetings? It was Samuel. He was “standing as appointed over them.” The word “appointed” natsab means set. Samuel was the “set prophet” among this group. There is something to be said about prophetic activation when fivefold ascension gift prophets are present. When the messengers of Saul came into contact with Samuel “they also prophesied.” It is doubtful they were trying to muster much faith to do it. I believe a strong unction from the Holy Ghost came on them followed by a measure of faith.
Let’s look at Ezekiel’s release to prophesy for a better understanding of avoiding familiar spirits and receiving prophetic permission. Ezekiel was a seasoned man that knew the Holy Spirit well. He models another safety feature in avoiding familiar spirits. He would not prophesy until told. Scripture says, “So I prophesied as I was commanded” (Ezekiel 37:7). In this verse Ezekiel, a mature prophet of God, understood that he was not to prophesy until the Lord released him to do so. We, too, can learn from his example. It is all right to sense the prophetic anointing but don’t speak “thus saith the Lord” unless God releases you through prompting by the Holy Spirit. If you prophesy by faith without unction, outside God’s permission, you are in danger of tapping into a spirit of divination. This is a sobering truth but if you tap into a spirit of divination you release witchcraft over the people. This wrong prophetic operation is taking place today and needs to be stopped. God has not called His prophetic people to be fortune-tellers but those that offer edification, exhortation and comfort. Wrong prophetic operations open the door for all kinds of high-level occult spirits of divination. Avoid them at all cost.
During a powerfully anointed service I asked God if he wanted me to prophesy to the people. I don’t do this anymore because I have learned to look for the unction. I could tell they were pulling on me for a prophetic word. Most seasoned prophets can relate to that feeling. The Spirit of God said, “No.” Could I have prophesied anyway? The answer is “yes” but I would have been in error. As said repeatedly, if you prophesy without God’s permission you can tap into a familiar spirit.
A man told me he received a prophetic revelation from the Lord. I asked him to share it with me and he said, “It is way too deep and nobody was ready for it.” I said, “Brother, you need to be careful with that. If you have a revelation from God you need to let the prophet’s judge” (1 Corinthians 14:29). All prophecies need to be judged, examined and weighed against the logos of God. Scripture says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Don’t get distracted by the term false prophets. False prophets don’t start their ministries as false prophets. They start them just like you did with sincerity of heart and a love for Christ. It’s what happens along the way that decides their destiny. If they learn how to avoid familiar spirits they can make it. If they don’t they fail. It’s that simple.
Prophets make mistakes and some prophesies are wrong. Scripture says that we “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). If prophets and prophecies were always accurate then people would be tempted to follow prophets instead of Jesus. All prophecy needs to be tested for accuracy. Period. This helps close the door to familiar spirits.
COMMENTS BY PASTOR EVANGELIST Gordon Williams http://gordwilliams.com/
First of all, according to the New Testament, the only real
prophets today are those people in local church fellowships who have “the Gift
of Prophecy” (Rom. 12: 6; 1 Cor. 12: 10). We do not have prophets in the
New Testament who were like the ones in the Old Testament. Every church
fellowship is supposed to have all of the 15 Gifts of the Holy Spirit functioning
as they grow. So, the people with the Gift of prophecy are responsible to
call us to repent, to bring correction in their fellowships and tell us what
Jesus wants us to do in the future. And, like the OT prophets, they
cannot be wrong even once. Fortunately, for them, if they give a false
prophecy today we do not have to kill them (Deut. 18: 20). However, all
prophecies are supposed to be confirmed by Scripture and if they cannot be
confirmed then we have to disregard them. You have pointed out the main
problem with false prophecies which are usually over-looked when you quoted
from 2 Peter 1: 20 – 21). “First of all you must understand this, that no
prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no
prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God.” This means that when a prophecy is given, the “prophet”
is not to explain what it means.
The Holy Spirit will explain it to the person or people to who it
is addressed. People with the Gift of Prophecy are somewhat like telegram
messengers who delivered the telegrams. They were not supposed to read
the message and explain it. The person to whom it was sent, read it and
understood what the message was all about. This is the main reason why so
many false prophets today get away with their false prophecies. They have
deceived people into thinking that they are supposed to explain
prophecies. They are not to explain them, the Holy Spirit will explain
them. This is especially happens with so-called prophecies. God’s
Prophecies will also confirm or deny what Jesus is calling somebody to
do. There is a good example of this in Acts 21: 9 – 11, where Agabus who
had the Gift of Prophecy interpreted a prophecy for Paul and his interpretation
was wrong. It was confirming what Jesus wanted him to do and that was to
be arrested. Agabus and the others in the house mistook the prophecy as a
warning for Paul not to go into Jerusalem. I hear about a lot of this
wrong interpretation. When somebody gives a false prophecy today, they
need to repent and be checked out Scripturally to make certain that it does not
happen again.
The problem with false prophets today is the same as in the OT
where Jeremiah (5: 30 -31) said, “A wonderful and horrible thing is committed
in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their
means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end
thereof?” Paul points out that there is a Five Fold ministry. “And
his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,
some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph.
4: 11 – 12f.).
The word for gift here is domata in Greek. This is a
different kind of gifting than the 15 Gifts of the Holy Spirit
(charismata). It means that they are “Victory Gifts” given to people who
are faithful in using their own Gifts of the Holy Spirit in their own church
fellowships and who can be loaned out to another church fellowship or
fellowships but are accountable to their local church fellowships. They
cannot operate independently from their own church fellowships. When they
do so, they quickly become false apostles, false evangelists, false pastors and
false teachers. They become power hungry and money hungry and like to
think that they can have people under them to serve them. After doing
their faithful ministry, they will return to their home fellowships to give
good reports about what has happened in their ministries. Most, if not all,
the TV ministries are attracting a lot of people because of their false
everything.
When John writes. “But you have an unction from the Holy One, and
ye know all things” (KJV). Or, “But you have been anointed by the
Holy One, and you know everything.” First in Greek, it does not say you
have “an” unction. Unction, of course means “anointing”, like a permanent
salve. What it means is that “anointing is the permanent presence
of the Holy Spirit”. It means that we have the “Gift of the Holy Spirit
Himself indwelling in the faithful Christians so He can tell us everything that
we need to know. The verb here me that the Holy Spirit permanently
indwelling in a Christian, every day. He does not come and go. He is not
known by sudden feelings.
When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and daily it is His
responsibility to “convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and
judgment.....he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his
own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you
the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he ill take what is
mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mind; therefore I
said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you (Jn. 16: 8 –
15). In other words, there is no room for false anything being
accepted. The Holy Spirit is the anointing and He will never tell anybody
to do anything that is not according to the Scriptures.
One of the biggest problem happens when we look at the OT for
guidelines for ministry because in the OT God saw Israel as one congregation in
the NT we are One Body but the one body has many fellowships which unlike the
OT, in order for everybody to be part of fellowship we all need and are
required to receive Salvation & the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is completely different from the OT.
What we see happening today, is that we have false prophets, false apostles,
false evangelists, false pastors, false teachers trying to imitate the OT Model
where when God called people to do things, like Elijah, they were what we call
Super Stars For God. No, Jesus has done away with such elitism.
All believers today have Holy Spirit Anointing, His Indwelling in us.
And, what John is saying about those who do not want to listen to the Holy
Spirit but only want to be superstars, “They went out from us, but they were
not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us;
but they went out,k that it might be plain that they all were not of us.
By you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know everything” (1 Jn.
19 – 20).
We have to un-scramble the OT from the NT. But, it is not
really too difficult to separate the sheep from the goats (Matt. 25: 32 – 33).
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