Quote:
Originally Posted by CC1
Decades ago when I was a young man in bible college an older man told me something that has stuck with me all of these years.
We were discussing how a word of prophecy and interpretation of tongues is God speaking but through a flawed human vessel. This man told me that years before he and his wife had a severely handicapped child. During a revival at their church at the end of a service the young evangelist looked at this man and spoke a word of prophecy that his son was going to be healed.
The man said he was gracious and nodded and kept praying but knew that the young preacher's emotions and compassion were what was speaking and not God because in prayer and over time God had confirmed to both he and his wife that his son was not going to be healed.
That young evangelist was not evil, seeking fame, or had any kind of ill intent but was just human and mistook his wishes for those of God.
I think these type situations mean that those used in the gifts of the Spirit should always be careful that what they are imparting is in fact from God and not themselves.
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Amen. In our spiritual development group it was stressed that while we are receiving from the Spirit of God, any message or impression is coming through a flawed human filter. The message can be effected by our own emotions, thoughts, and bias. In addition, it can be limited by our own biblical knowledge, vocabulary, or understanding.
I often share the story of how I was talking to a woman and saw a vision of her petting animals. I had assured her that God was with her, even when she was at the "petting zoo". lol She looked at me all crazy because she hadn't been to any petting zoos. I apologized and explained that I had saw a vision of her petting animals through a wooden fence. At this point, I thought that maybe the vision was symbolic, like Peter's pigs in a blanket vision. But after I explained, she was deeply moved, because her grandmother had recently died and the family had gathered after the funeral at her dad's farm. While feeling so alone and spiritually numb, she went out to pet the animals and to reflect upon the memory of her grandmother.
It wasn't a petting zoo... it was her dad's farm.
I'm a city boy. Born and raised in the inner city. I don't think of farms that often. However, I have taken my kids to petting zoos etc. where they were able to interact with animals commonly seen on farms. As you can see, the interpretation of the vision was limited by my own personal understanding and experiences.
The more "in the Spirit" we are and the more biblical knowledge, language, vocabulary, and understanding we have, the more accurate a prophecy might be.
In our spiritual development group it is stressed that this is a GOOD THING. Because it means that every prophecy or interpretation can be "flawed" or "skewed", even if only slightly. Therefore, no prophecy or interpretation is as perfect as Scripture itself.
I do see a lot of "flesh" in the prophecy mentioned in the original post. However, what I've learned thus far causes me to pause and consider that perhaps the Spirit was relating issues regarding this election... and the human being simply filled in all the gaps with his own political bias or suspicions. While the "prophet" speaking might be tragically off the mark... it doesn't mean that the Spirit wasn't saying something.
Also consider that at present the SCOTUS is considering case #16-907, which some desperately believe could be used in court to nullify the entire election. Imagine, if the election were to be "nullified"... legally, there never was a true election. But I don't think that possibility is going to have a snow ball's chance in Hades. Trump is President. It is what it is. I'm just saying, just as "prophets" need to be cautious with prophecy... we should be cautious in judgment.
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