Spiritual Warfare Series: Lesson on Spiritual Warfare - Prophecy vs. the Occult

What I am about to share with you is what the Lord shared with me. It's regarding something happening particularly on the Charismatic side of the His Church in the prophetic ministry.  I believe it began a while ago when God would share certain things about a minister or ministry and the person would appear to be prophesying right on the money but there was something that was just not right. I could not see how they could be used of the Lord and given all of that information when there was something severely wrong. But as with everything about God, it is about timing. He reveals things in the fullness of time. That means He has a perfect time for revealing and unveiling necessary information when He deems that we are ready to know them. And as a teacher, I naturally want to share what He has shared with me. I believe the Lord will use it to help some people to avoid trouble. First, let me just caution you not to run around seeking prophetic words from people. If God wants to bring you a word through a person He is more than capable of doing that. The real goal is to draw near to Jesus and He will tell you more than you thought possible.

As I said, I had been wondering about these things, and have actually been quite perplexed at times. But God is faithful to answer our questions and He will often provide answers to questions before they're even asked. As we search Him out, He reveals things that puzzle us often in a flash of insight. In other words, God answers the questions we ask as well as some we don't. In this case the answer came so clearly that I wondered why I failed to "get it" earlier. The question essentially was how are false "ministers", who are suspect, promoting themselves under a guise of being a mouthpiece for God,  able to "prophesy" over lives in what appears to be a high level of accuracy? I mean, why would God allow self-promoting ministers that level of power when they are only using it for personal gain? Well, I must admit I was not ready for answer but I would like to share this with you in the form of a lesson about spiritual warfare. 

Be Intimately Connected to Jesus

The first step in spiritual warfare is our connection with the Son. You cannot survive or have any level of success as a nominal Christian without intimacy with Jesus. The enemy would have too much influence over and in you. Without a strong foundation in Christ, you do not stand a chance. And I would submit that many have died early being embroiled in this warfare without that connection to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Many get involved in things that appear harmless but in fact are spiritually and physically detrimental. They were not connected intimately, not submitted, and therefore, deceived and taken out before their time. I know, it almost happened to me more than once. Believe me, no matter how much firepower you carry in the spirit, on your own you are no match for the devil. He is stealthy, wily, and will lure you into a fight that the Lord has reserved for Himself. You have to follow the Lord when it comes to spiritual warfare. Sometimes He'll say, "This one's Mine. I've got it."  Other times, He'll instruct you in how and when to engage...IN HIS STRENGTH." How do you know when to do what? By being intimately connected to Him at all times. "But that's difficult!" you say. No, it's not.

What give me the right to say it's not difficult to remain connected to Jesus? I know it's possible. But it requires that we empty ourselves of our own strength, abilities, aptitudes, independence; the list goes on. In other words, we need to come to the end of our own fleshly abilities and take on Christ's. That means we leaves our limitations behind and take on the limitlessness of Jesus Christ. See Galatians 2:20, and Ephesians 2:4-6. Just a few examples of our call to limitlessness.

Galatians 2:20 - "I have been crucified with Christ; it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me; ad the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Ephesians 2:4-6 - "But God, who is rich I mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

The Scripture above is a reminder that although all believers have Jesus Christ inside then, not all believers are in Jesus.

So how are these people able to "prophesy". The Lord answered this is 2 stages and I am sure there is more. But let me share what I have thus far because it will help some of you avoid catastrophe:

1. There are more people involved in the occult in the church than we realize.
2. They take their information from a realm in the spirit called the soul realm, otherwise known as the second heaven
3. They read information that is in the 2nd heaven, or soul realm about a person, people, place, thing, etc. and report on that. Everyone is amazed.

Don't Exalt the Mailman

First of all, do not be amazed at a prophetic word and put that person on a pedestal. If the person is getting a legitimate word from God, the information comes from God so that person is simply a messenger. Yes, a special messenger especially if operating in the office of a prophet. That is God's servant and friend, Amos 3:7 says,      . But all believers should have the prophetic flowing in their lives as part of their daily walk with God. It is not mysterious. It comes out of intimacy with the Godhead. Perhaps, that's where the "difficulty" comes in. Many want a program-centered Christianity, religion without relationship. But back to my point, exalting the minister who gives you a wonderfully accurate prophetic word is like praising the mailman for bringing me my mail. Of course, that's not an exact analogy but the point is, it's his job and he is rewarded with a paycheck for doing it. He does not do it because he likes you or because you are special --- although you are.

The Problem: Some Claiming to Prophesy are Reading Static (past) Images in the Soul Realm (Second Heaven)

Second, if the person is not legitimate they are using occultist practices, which run the spectrum between flesh and wholly demonic. Don't forget that He gives the gifts without repentance. However, the gift on its own does not edify and benefit others unless it functions within the guidelines and under the authority of the Holy Spirit. Beware. The "word" given is not life-giving. The Word says, the "testimony on Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophesy." Jesus is the Way, Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6). Therefore, a prophetic word from God must be life-giving even if it is a rebuke, warning, or some other serious word. Whenever I have been rebuked by the Lord, I have always felt His love which is His motivation. The flesh (soul)  or the enemy cannot produce life outside of Christ. And I am not referring to the "conviction" of the Holy Spirit here. Obviously, if someone is in sin and they sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit, God is trying to rescue them and let's face it a word from God when you are in sin, should, you'd better hope, it makes you uncomfortable.

There are too many people in the church calling God's warnings bad and ear-tickling words that stroke their ego- good, all while they saunter down a path to destruction.

So the next time something just does not feel right in your spirit about a person "ministering" to you in the prophetic, before you open up yourself to receive it ask God the question: Is it prophecy or the occult? That may sound harsh, but trust me, you'll be glad you took the time to inquire of God. Not all that calls itself of God is actually of God. Men love the praises of others and "playing" in he supernatural is intriguing to most. In addition, if the person is charismatic, it is that much easier for them to carry through. Ask the questions and avoid being defiled by demonic activity.

As we continue our list, let's break this down to the nitty-gritty, shall we?

What: The False Prophetic Word Cannot Bring Life and Hope

The third, and perhaps the most important point, the true prophetic which comes from the Lord will have attached to it a supernatural level of hope. The false prophetic on the other hand, cannot bring life as it is made up of static images and not that which is living. A true word from God must contain as a sense of the solution and light. Jesus in the Light of the world. (Scripture)  When He shines His light on a situation He is there to heal and resolve it. So even if it a false prophetic word that is not from God sounds good, a discerning person might not feel encouraged as he or she would hope to be. Instead, there would be a tinge of condemnation or repeating past issues which the Lord has resolved. The reason is that the soul realm information is only a snapshot taken in time and saved there forever until the Lord renews all things. In other words, someone may speak a word as a word of knowledge because they have "read" the information by searching the soul realm regarding that individual receiving the "word".  And as this is practiced it is not difficult for them to do so. Why, because the information is with you in your atmosphere.

How: The Use of Familiar Spirits by the False Prophet Defiles Believers

How do they get this information and who delivers it? A familiar spirit. Yes, a demonic spirit that hangs around families and individuals and whom the person is in touch with that gives them guidance and information about others. The problem for these people is that they are headed to hell for these abominations according to God's word. SCRIPTURE HERE. That is, unless they repent and amend their ways.

So be careful you allow to lay hands on you and speak words over you. This is not fear mongering but just being smart. God gives us discernment for a reason and if for any reason you are uncomfortable with a person seeking to speak over you, do not let them. There is no sin in obeying what you believe God is speaking to you. If you focus on following the Greatest Commandment and the Second Greatest and walk in faith in Almighty God, you will be pleasing to God and therefore be righteous in His sight. You do not need to please people.

Ask God for More Discernment

Now a word of caution, some people are amateurs and are obviously charlatans. Therefore, it does not require a whole lot of discernment to know what they are up to. More difficult to assess is the "professional" who has been engaged in this type of activity for a while, with a level of charisma to boot. So what can you do if discernment is not your strongest gift? Be prayed up. Stay close to Jesus. Trust God to guide you through His Spirit. Surround yourself with discerning friends. The More you trust God, the more confident you become that He will always take care of you. There is no need to walk around n fear. That's not what this is about. But we will in an imperfect, sin stained world, where the devil has been given a level of power, limited though it may be, it is still too much for the "unconnected" believer. Perfect Love in the form of Jesus Christ, has taken care of annihilating fear. (Scripture). "And God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and sound mind." (2 Tim, 1:7).  But He also tells us that the "devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour. (1 Peter 5:8). As a matter of face all of 2 Peter deals with false teachers and false prophets. So remember, the most important part of spiritual warfare is our connection to Jesus, "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." Without submission to God, we cannot resist the devil and he will not flee from those who are unsubmitted to the Almighty.

Please do not be lulled into thinking the Christian walk is a cruise through "la-la land". Run from any strain of Christianity that tells you that lie. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them he did not want them to be ignorant about the spiritual gifts given by God for the edification of the whole Body of Christ and not for personal gain. And to the Ephesians, He said we need to put on the armor of God because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, and powers and the rulers of the air." That certainly is not la-la land. But thanks be to God that in the Spirit, we can have, as Paul, wrote to the Galatians, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Yes, even in the midst of warfare, because we do not war alone.

And although we love all people, there is no commandment to trust everyone equally, or give everyone equal access to ourselves. That is just not wise and just downright dangerous.

The One "Prophesying" must Point to Jesus and not to Self

Finally, those who come in the name of the Lord to offer the Word of the Lord either to individuals or corporate bodies must never pass themselves off as the answer to the problem. Instead, the goal is to point everyone to Jesus. We are conduits of His Light, Life and Hope. We are way-makers, pointers, and signposts to Christ Who is the only One able to address and permanently solve ALL problems.