Question: There Are Many People Claiming To Be Prophets In These End Times And Even The Prophet Elijah. But How Can We Identify Who Is A Real Prophet Of God And Who Is Not?
Donald Bohanon: 1. Doctrine: Is the person teaching and following the true doctrines of God and or Christ which emphasize complete obedience to the Ten Commandments, the Holy Days, and the word of God as a whole in addition to faith in Christ’s sacrifice as the lamb of God and because of this they understand there is no longer a need for the sacrifice of Lambs and Goats because Christ became that sacrifice once and for all. In conjunction with good works?
If not there is no way possible he can be a true Prophet or Apostle because believing that Christ is the son of God and that he died for the sins of men 1 John 2:22-23,1 John 5:9-12, in conjunction with obedience to the Ten Commandments and word of God/the Bible as a whole. In addition to good works are all necessary and essential to receive the Holy Spirit and to even be acknowledged by God and Christ.
And without which no man can live righteously and perform the miracles outlined in the word of God Acts 2:38, Acts 5:32, John 14:15-17,1 John 2:4-6, Matthew 19:17, 2 John 1:9-11.
Christ will reject and never give his spirit to a person who follows a false doctrine Matthew 15:7-9. Mark 7:7-9, 2 John 1:9-11. Thinking you have or are being led by the Holy Spirit and actually having and truly being led by the Holy Spirit are two totally different things.
2. Power: Is this person displaying power courtesy of the Holy Spirit? Micah 3:8, Acts 1:8, Luke 24:49, 2 Timothy 3:5. True Prophets and Apostles who are commissioned by God to do an important work, wield power through the Holy Spirit to move mountains, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, etc.
And I’m not talking about phony, contrived examples of these things, that are often deceptively performed by false ministers as a way to hustle people out of their money, and who promote and teach false doctrines. For this reason alone ( their unwillingness to adhere to and practice the true doctrines of God and Christ) they are disqualified from even receiving the Holy Spirit which is the necessary power to fulfill the obedience necessary and to perform these acts. God only gives his holy spirit to those who obey him Acts 5:32. Or as lay members, they will be displaying the fruits of the spirit in some capacity and growing and becoming better individuals to better reflect the character of God and Christ, which is outlined in Galatians 5:19-24.
3. Fulfilled Prophecy: Is what the self-proclaimed Prophet prophesying actually unfolding and coming to fruition? Are the prophetic statements the Prophet makes actually happening? If they make statements that don’t come to fruition and have a terrible rate in terms of accuracy they are probably not receiving the word from God.
4. Teaching: Do they teach and prove all things with God’s word? Are they teaching directly from the word of God and allowing the Bible to interpret itself as opposed to applying their own error-filled, inaccurate, unbiblical, personal interpretation to scripture? They must teach directly from the word and allow the Bible to interpret itself as opposed to applying their own personal interpretation to the word of God.
5. Obedience: Are they practicing what they preach, is their behavior and actions in line with what the Bible considers or defines as proper moral behavior, behavior that’s acceptable to God? Because it must be. John 9:31, Titus 1:14-16, Galatians 5:24, 1 John 3:10.
6. What They Promote And Practice: Are they promoting, practicing, and condoning behavior God views as offensive and abominable? They must never support or promote behaviors or practices that God detests and views as abominable and offensive.
But instead, they will be exposing evil (especially evil that masquerades as good and righteous) and calling it what it is, rather than supporting and promoting it… Proverbs 17:15, Isaiah 5:20-25, Ephesians 5:10-13.
7. Persecution: True Prophets and Apostles are also lied on, slandered, persecuted, and hated by the world, and by their own families in many instances. Although this is not the most important factor out of the seven, it plays an important role as well. If the world as a whole is speaking well of the self-proclaimed Prophet or Apostle, normally that’s a red flag and is probably because that false prophet is telling the masses everything they want to hear and nothing that they need to hear. In other words he is promoting lies that appease and that are void of truth. Matthew 10:22, Matthew 10:34-40, Mark 13:13, Luke 6:22-26,1 John 3:13. If they don’t meet these seven criteria they are not God’s Prophets or Apostles. These are the seven primary things that you need to focus on when trying to determine if they are true Prophets or Apostles.
Some individuals may still be good decent people who may be well-meaning but absolutely wrong in what they teach and profess. And who are just not living up to a standard of righteousness that God considers acceptable to be deemed righteous in God’s eyes, the righteousness that equates to being an Apostle or a Prophet. They may still be good, decent people, but just not Saints or righteous as God and his word define it. To be considered an Apostle or a Prophet requires a higher level of obedience and righteousness, as a result of a predestination, calling, drawing, and converting by the hand of God himself. Romans 8:29-30.