Here is a book that lingers in the mind like an unresolved chord. In the cacophony of modern theology, where the church often whispers from the shadows of institutional safety, Wolfgang Vondey’s The Scandal of Pentecost: A Theology of the Public Church erupts like the biblical wind and fire it describes—demanding we confront the raw, disruptive birth of the Christian community not as a tidy origin story, but as a scandalous intrusion into public life.

Vondey, a prominent Pentecostal theologian and professor at the University of Birmingham, draws from his deep roots in Pentecostal scholarship to reframe Pentecost as the foundational event where the church emerges as a “public symbol of humanity,” embodying both brokenness and redemption. The book weaves biblical exegesis, historical theology, and philosophical anthropology into a narrative that challenges privatized views of Pentecost. It argues that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on “all flesh” (Acts 2:17) isn’t a mere spiritual footnote but a transformative scandal, revealing the church’s symbiotic tensions—internal conflicts and external confrontations—that propel it into the world.

Vondey’s engagement with the concept of the church as a public symbol is another highlight of the book. Drawing on the work of public theologians such as Martin Marty, he argues that the church’s public witness is not merely a matter of visibility or influence, but of embodying “the communal character of faith” in a world marked by fragmentation and conflict (p. 8). The church, he writes, is “a faith built of ‘broken symbols,’ manifested above all in the scandal of the crucified Christ” (p. 91). The public nature of the church is thus inseparable from its willingness to embrace brokenness, vulnerability, and the tensions of life in a pluralistic society (p. 91). Vondey is clear that the church’s public vocation is not about triumphalism or domination, but about offering “ordering against chaos and meaning where it had been absent” (p. 12). The church’s task, he suggests, is to engage in a “public hermeneutic” that interprets Christian symbols in ways that are persuasive and life-giving, both within and beyond the boundaries of the faith community (p. 20).

Before I rest my pen, one thing must not go unnoticed: not every academic theological book ends with a poem, but Wolfgang Vondey’s choice to conclude poetically is both striking and fitting. The poem distills the book’s central themes into a vivid, almost breathless sequence of images, capturing the disruptive and transformative energy of Pentecost. Vondey’s language is intentionally visceral—“heart-beating, lips-stammering / sons and daughters / in scandalous intoxication”—evoking the embodied, communal, and even chaotic nature of the Spirit’s outpouring. It’s a powerful poetic summary that resonates long after the final page.

In conclusion, The Scandal of Pentecost is a significant and inspiring contribution to Pentecostal theology and to the wider conversation about the church’s place in the world. It is a work of both scholarship and imagination, rooted in tradition yet open to the future. For those seeking to articulate a public theology of Pentecostalism—one that is both faithful to the Spirit and responsive to the complexities of contemporary life—Vondey’s book is an indispensable resource. It challenges us to embrace the scandal of the Spirit, to risk new forms of community, and to bear witness to the hope that is within us. But perhaps the most enduring gift of Vondey’s work is its reminder that the church’s true vocation is not to seek safety or respectability, but to live in the creative tension of the Spirit’s leading. The scandal of Pentecost is that God’s Spirit refuses to be domesticated—refuses to be confined to our institutions, our traditions, or our comfort zones. Instead, the Spirit calls us out—into the world, into relationship, into the risky, joyful, and sometimes messy work of building communion in the midst of difference. To embrace the scandal of Pentecost is to open ourselves to the Spirit’s surprising, unsettling, and renewing work—not only for our own sake, but for the life of the world.

Reviewed by Ciprian Gheorghe-Luca

I cannot recall exactly how I learned of this book that was published almost fifty years ago. The book is out of print and only available from used book dealers [Editor’s note: The same is true for the 1993 edition from Servant Books]. I may have discovered it via a footnote in a more recent book or academic paper, or a mention in a social media post. However I learned about it, I’m glad I did.

Bruce Yocum, the author, was one of the founding members of an ecumenical Charismatic Renewal community called “The Word of God” in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967, which places him in the rise of the Charismatic movement in the mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. Yocum was also a leader in “Servants of the Word,” an international brotherhood of celibate laymen.

The book has two major sections, consisting of four chapters each. The first section discusses the role of the prophet in the church, and the second examines how to grow in the prophetic gifts.

In a statement that seems to prefigure Roger Stronstad’s The Prophethood of All Believers, Yocum writes in the introduction, “It is not only very special people who get to hear God speak. Every Christian can know God in a direct and personal way and can hear the Lord speaking to him.”

Chapter three, “The Prophet’s Role,” investigates what part the person with a prophetic gift plays in the church today. “A true Christian prophet has a role demanding the same vigilance and the same sustained exercise of responsibility. His role can be described under five headings: to receive and proclaim the word; to actively seek out God’s will and God’s word; to ‘stir up’ his gift; to ‘watch over’ the word given and see it acted upon and fulfilled; and to intercede before God on behalf of the church.” While a prophet can “stir up” the gift within, this “does not mean that a prophet can prophesy whatever he wishes and whenever he wishes. Prophecy will always depend upon the action of the Holy Spirit.” Yocum’s teaching here is in stark contrast to much of what we see in purported prophetic ministries today, especially those whose primary arena of influence is not in service to the local church, but on YouTube and other media platforms, where the constant expectation to have a “fresh word” for every new year or every new event in the news cycle drives people to speak out of their own imaginations, rather than from the Spirit.

The fourth chapter delves into how prophecy is governed and administered in the Christian community. Both prophets (by their way of life) and prophecies (by their alignment with special revelation recorded in Scripture) are to be discerned by the elders and the broader community, as there is always the possibility that someone could use the claim of having a prophetic gift to invest his or her own ideas with the authority of God. When God wants to speak a word that requires a definite response from His people, He will usually give the message to multiple people in the community, and not just to a single prophet. This helps protect the community from a “rogue prophet” who is using the guise of prophecy to manipulate. In the Christian community, “the elders have the authority to declare on behalf of the community that a particular prophecy is a word from the Lord. In other words, it is the heads who have the responsibility to discern and the authority to govern prophecy. They, and not the prophets, have the final word.” Contrary to some popular teachings today, the prophet is not the supreme authority in church leadership.

In the second section of the book, chapter five gives instructions about beginning to exercise the prophetic gift. Yocum makes it clear that even when someone receives the gift of prophecy, he or she should not expect to have prophetic revelations on a daily basis. Additionally, when one prophecies, the prophet does not need to speak in elevated language for the prophecy to have the effect God intends. “I have not yet heard a prophecy fail to communicate the Lord’s message because it was cast in simple everyday language. I have, however, heard people trying so hard to use beautiful language that they failed to express God’s word.” Even though the charismata are given as gifts by God, we have to learn how to administer them properly on His behalf.

The sixth chapter lays out various forms prophecy can take. Prophetic exhortation or encouragement, inspired prayer (where the Spirit is prompting and guiding the direction of the prayer topics and wording), prophecy in song, revelation (Yocum’s description of this form parallels what some commonly call a “word of knowledge”), personal prophecy, visions, prophetic actions, and tongues accompanied by interpretation are all possibilities.

The eighth chapter focuses on growing in prophetic service. The more people seek to serve one another out of holy love, the more their desire to see the Spirit’s gifts in operation will be properly motivated (to serve others and meet needs rather than draw attention to one’s self). If our focus is on being something in the church, rather than serving others in love (even possibly in obscurity), then something has gone wrong. A good test of our motives is how we react when another individual begins to be used more in the gifts than we are. “If we become unhappy or jealous, we show that our true desire is to earn ourselves a reputation or attract other people’s attention.” I once heard it said that if I am not willing to minister hidden behind a curtain, where no one knows who I am or what function I am performing, then I have no business ministering on the platform. “A servant is not supposed to do what he likes to do, but what his master gives him to do. The good servant is one who takes care to do just what his master instructs him—neither more nor less.”

Overall, I found Prophecy to be a very well-written treatment of this spiritual gift’s place in the church, with a healthy balance between being open to hearing God speak today, and weighing everything by the standard of the scriptural witness, while making sure our own motivations stay pure. As Yocum says in the afterword, “Certainly we do not have to have the gift of prophecy operating in the church. But if God offers the gift, if the gift will increase our effectiveness in serving God and our neighbor, then it is wrong to decline it. “

If you can find an affordable used copy of this book, or a library that still has a volume available, I highly encourage reading it.

Reviewed by Brian Roden

Dr. Eddie Hyatt is a veteran in the Pentecostal Movement. He has written previously about the subject of spiritual gifts in his book 2000 Years of Charismatic Christianity. In Prophets and Prophecy he says that throughout its history the church has tended to go to extremes regarding prophetic ministry (page 5). In view of this he tells us why he wrote this book, “My purpose in writing this book is to strike a balance between openness and naiveté concerning prophecy and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit” (page 5). One thing that is clear in this book is that the author believes that the gifts of the Spirit are for today. He has personally had experience with them, he says that he has both given and received prophetic words (page 6). So he is not in favor of setting aside the gifts of the Spirit because of mistakes that have been made by some people who have practice them. Instead, he offers guidelines that will help minimize such mistakes.

The main body of the book is made up of 13 chapters. In the course of these chapters, Dr. Hyatt covers a number of key topics related to the subject of prophecy. In chapter one he looks at some of what the Bible says about the gifts of the Spirit, which includes the gift of prophecy. Here he includes information from the Greek text of 1 Corinthians 12 and tells us what these Greek words tell us about the gifts of the Spirit. In chapter 2 he contrasts Christian prophecy with pagan prophecy. Chapter 4 is given to the subject of “Learning To Think Critically Without Quenching the Spirit.” Chapter 7 deals with warning signs which indicate that a prophetic ministry has gone off track. These signs are: “When Prophecy is Used to Enhance the Status of a Movement and Its Leaders,” When Prophecy Becomes the Primary Means for Determining the Will of God,” “When Prophecy is Preoccupied With Images, Numbers, and Symbols,” “When Those Prophesying Are Not Open to Testing or Correction,” and “When Prophecy Becomes a Replacement for the Scriptures and Common Sense.” Chapter 11 is given to the subject of “The Prophethood of All Believers.” In chapter 12 he sets forth criteria for judging prophetic words. These criteria are: “The Heart Test,” “The Vision Test,” “The Word Test,” “The Freedom Test,” and “The Character Test.”

If you are interested in the gifts of the Holy Spirit (especially the gift of prophecy), spiritual discernment, or how to balance Word and Spirit in your own experience or that of your church this book will prove helpful. May the Lord help His church, His whole church, to appreciate and operate in the gifts of the Spirit within the parameters He has given to us in the Scriptures. This will help us carry on more effective ministry.

Reviewed by John Lathrop

This guest editorial by Christian historian William De Arteaga is a January 2021 update from his earlier article, “Donald Trump’s Presidency and False Prophecy.” Readers are invited to respond by including respectful comments on the article page.

Now that it is certain that President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20^th, it is time to reflect on why so many Evangelicals, and especially Pentecostal and charismatic leaders, fell into false prophecy and proclaimed repeatedly that Trump really won the election and the election results would be reversed.

Many pastors, including some of the most popular Evangelical and Pentecostals TV personalities such as Pat Robinson, Kenneth Copeland, and Sid Roth prophesied both Trump’s initial election (2016) and his reelection in 2020. Others, such as Paula White and Kenneth Copeland, continued to prophesy the 2020 election would be overturned and Trump would serve a second term. Some of the latter prophecies took bizarre forms such as Paul White’s ranting and Kenneth Copeland long laugh at the claim that Biden was the winner of the 2020 vote.[1] God was not surprised and knew that Biden would win. Thus, the TV pastors who prophesied Trump’s second election victory fell into a mass false prophecy. Why did this happen?

Image: Markus Winkler

I believe there are three principal reasons for this. The first is the demographic illusion. That is, White Evangelicals and Pentecostals mostly congregate among themselves and unthinkingly assume they represent most of America. The second reason is a lack of an understanding and appreciation of the entire span of Christian history and experience with false prophecies. The third is the formation of the new Christian cult, the “Forever Trump” cult. These are conservative White Christians that listens only to their own news outlets and social media sites and dismiss any negative information about Trump and his policies as “fake news.” This is a tragic and complex issue that I will deal with in the immediate future. For now, let me deal with the other two issues, especially the issue of false prophecy.

The Demographic illusion

My first civilian job out of the Army back in 1970 was as a public-school teacher in Atlanta (1970-1973). I taught social studies at a predominantly African American high school in Southwest Atlanta. Most of the students there believed that Nixon won the Whitehouse by cheating. They lived in an African American section of town and knew few people who voted for Nixon. So how could he have won Georgia or the other states? I could not convince them otherwise, as reasonable arguments would not overcome their personal (and limited) experiences.

Similarly, in the current situation, White Evangelicals and Pentecostals live mostly in predominantly White counties or towns, go to predominantly White Churches, etc. They have little contact with other demographic groups, as for instance, the African American Pentecostals, Latino Pentecostals and AME churches that are in the other parts of town from where they live. Thus, White Evangelicals and Pentecostals formed a “gut” feeling that few people voted for Trump, other than the crazy people in the “Left Coast” and New York, etc. Certainly Trump could not possibly have lost Georgia. (The recent election of two Democratic senators from Georgia proves this wrong.)

All of which is to say that White Evangelicals and Pentecostals projected their limited life experience as a broad demographic misunderstanding of the American population. This was flamed by Trump’s initial rejection of the election results and then conservative White Evangelicals and Pentecostals proceeded with enormous energy to find (mostly fictious) faults with the election process. The fact that many Republicans judges and the conservative dominated Supreme Court threw out the volumes of supposed election violations as rumor and passionate, but secondhand accounts, has made no impression on the Trump followers. It will take years for the damage done to our electoral system to be healed.

The Acceptance of False Prophecies about Trump

A whirlwind tour of Christian false prophecies

False prophecies and false prophetic movements have occurred throughout Church history, and most often involved very good Christians and communities who misinterpreted God’ direction. Paul is careful to encourage prophecy in New Testament Church and recommend it to Christians as the most important gift of the Spirit (1 Cor 14:1). But Paul put discernment boundaries around it, as in having the prophet submit their visions and prophecies to the church for discernment. It is also clear that Paul in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 principally refers to prophecies that uplift and correct at the local church level (1 Cor 14:3), not global, trans-church issues.

Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged (1 Cor: 29-31).

The discernment of prophecy is both a grace and a matter of experience. That is, having a discerning community that both cherishes prophecy as possibly direct words from God, but is aware of the danger of false prophecy. I have treated elsewhere the difficulty of practicing prophecy and having a church that is at ease with the gift. Even Pentecostal pastors are often unsure how to allow and correct spontaneous prophesies in their congregations.[3]

The consensus of the discernment literature – Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal – is that, especially in the local church, short prophetic utterances can be of the Holy Spirit (all must be discerned), but as they get longer they tend to bring in elements of the prophets’ subconscious wishes, prejudices, and preferences.[4] But before I proceed further, let me cite from Christian history some false prophecies that influenced the Church to its determent.

Montanists prophets caused divisiveness and conflict with the majority of churches and their bishops through the prophets’ moral rigor and legalism. They claimed, through repeated prophetic utterances, that the Holy Spirit decreed that those who had broken under Roman torture and renounced the Christian faith could never be accepted back into the Church. These had committed the “unforgivable sin.” Most of the bishops of the Church disagreed, calling instead for leniency, including restoration of these persons into the Church after a penitential period.

After a while, the Montanist prophets declared that the “prophetic age” (their own) was over, and the movement settled down as a legalistic sect – and eventually petered out. But the Montanist movement extended negative consequences throughout Church history. It vastly curtailed (but did not totally end) the frequency of spontaneous lay prophetic utterances. Without a flow of prophetic utterances in the Church’s normal parish life there was crated a vacuum of ongoing (and necessary) practice of discerning prophecy by church elders. That is, there were practically no living persons experienced in the gift of prophecy in their churches or who could exercise discernment and caution prudence.

Skipping centuries of history, and other false prophetic movements, but especially pertinent to our study, was a series of prophets and prophecies that centered around the time before the Franco-Prussian War of 1871-1872. At this time there were many Catholics in France who passionately disliked the French Revolution – with good reason that elements within it were truly anti-Christian. They also disliked the regime of Napoleon III (1808-1873) nephew of Napoleon I. These were devoted, practicing Catholics who yearned for the French royal family to be reinstated.

The Catholic prophets kept putting out prophecies, some of book length, assuring the coming restoration of the monarchy. These prophecies predicted the wholesale conversion of France to devote Catholicism (ridding the country of the pesky “secularists” and atheists). To boot, England and Scotland would be re-converted to Catholicism, and the Pope would reign over a mostly Catholic Europe. Permutations of these prophecies went on for decades.[8]

Later, when the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and it quickly went badly for France, there was another burst of prophecies assuring Frenchmen that the Prussians would be ultimately be driven back past their borders. Here is a snippet of some of these later prophesies:

They [the Prussians] will come back again, and they will destroy everything on their line of march. No resistance will be offered; they will be allowed to advance, but after their supplies will be cut off they will suffer great losses. They will retire towards their own country, but we shall follow them up, and not many of them will reach home. Then we shall recapture everything that they have carried off, and plenty more besides.[9]

None of the above happened. France lost big and had to sign a disastrous treaty. But it is important to note, just like the Montanists, many of the prophets were good, devout Christians with specific prejudices and desires – just like all of us. What they saw in visions or what they imagined was from their “flesh,” as Paul would term it. They were “wish for” prophecies not real prophecies from the Lord.[10] We will come to this again later in our examination of the Mark Taylor prophecies on President Trump.

The Catholic Church also developed the ministry of “spiritual direction” in which a mature Christian person, usually an ordained cleric, would act as the discernment person to mystics, nuns, monks, or others who experienced visions and prophecies. But this was a very specialized and limited ministry.[14] The Reformation rejected this tradition and the excellent literature on discernment that it generated, and saw prophecy, as the other gifts of the Spirit, restricted to the Apostolic Age (the doctrine of cessationism).

In more modern times, just before the Azusa Street revival and the birth of modern Pentecostalism, there was a revival that took place among several Holiness congregations in Corsicana County, Texas, in the 1870s. This revival began with a burst of worship and enthusiasm which included tongues. Significantly, the local leadership understood that the gifts of the Spirit described in 1 Cor. 12 -14 were for the present. Unfortunately, the leaders were inexperienced in prophecy and its discernment (of course, there were no mentors or readily available literature to help them) and drifted into false prophecy.

Some prophetic utterances included the message that a person baptized with the Spirit would be regenerated physically to the point of being able to live a thousand years. But strangely enough, some folks in the congregation continued dying. The revival disintegrated as local prophets urged their followers to sell all and await Jesus’ return in 1875. Jesus didn’t make it, and the only thing achieved by the revival was the discrediting of future Pentecostal efforts in the area four decades later as the people remembered the previous fiasco.[16]

The Prophesies of David Wilkerson

In the Twentieth Century there was the interesting case of David Wilkerson’s 1973 false prophecy. The Rev. Wilkerson was truly one of the heroes and pioneers of the Charismatic Renewal. He began as a small-town preacher (Assemblies of God) in the coal fields of Pennsylvania. Through a series of promptings from the Holy Spirit he went to New York and was led to minister to delinquent teenagers in the slums of New York City. This eventually led to a marvelous and effective ministry in New York and other cities for the evangelization and rehabilitation of inner-city teenagers called “Teen Challenge.” The story of this ministry is told in his book, The Cross and the Switchblade.[17] That book had a special anointing in its power to inspire people and was translated into many languages and sold more than 50,000,000 copies worldwide.

Although the book contains all the prophecies, one can best appreciate Wilkerson’s state of mind by listening to the tape. As he spoke at the Lutheran assembly, he asserted time after time that his message was directly from God, and that it was the “clearest vision I’ve ever had.” He assured the audience that the Spirit behind the vision was the same that guided him to the teen ministry. Several times during his delivery he was practically overwhelmed by emotion and said, “Never have I felt such an anointing,” or “I predict in the Spirit!” and so on.[20]

Wilkerson warned of major calamities that were surely coming on the world by 1983. In economics, the “next few years” would be prosperous (he missed the recession of 1974-1975), followed by a deep depression brought about by financial collapse. The depression was to start in Germany and the Arab countries will suffer the most – none of that happened. At the same time, he asserted, there will be severe earthquakes in the United States and worldwide food shortages. That also did not happen.

The most important and dramatic part of the vision pertains to the churches. According to Wilkerson, there would arise a new Church, really the Church of the anti-Christ, made of a liberal Protestant and Roman Catholic amalgam, in which the Pope will be recognized as the political head. The “true” Church of God, a new union of all authentic Spirit-filled Christians, will of course oppose this Church and in turn suffer persecution.

Wilkerson especially warned Catholic Charismatics to expect persecution from their own hierarchy. They would eventually be forced to choose between their Catholicism and the Spirit-filled life. As a practical measure he warned all Christian churches to put their financial houses in order so as to weather the coming hard times. Specifically, no new buildings or borrowing should be initiated in the immediate future.

All through the delivery of this prophecy Wilkerson provided ample biblical quotations to give it a sense of biblical validation. That The Vision was a false prophecy is now obvious. Was it merely a subconscious concoction of the beliefs, fears, and prejudices of a preacher raised in the tradition that the Catholic Church was the “whore of Babylon?” Certain elements in the prophecy suggest that they may have had a deeper, demonic influence. The very shrillness and lack of humility in his assertions was itself a sign of that. The prophecy did not call Christians to prayer or repentance, nor did it console, edify, or exhort – it frightened and condemned. There was not a single suggestion that might have been remotely useful, such as might have prepared Christians for the energy crisis of 1975 when Saudi Arabia stopped oil exports to the USA to protest our support of Israel.

Further, the only practical suggestions were destructive. The separation of Spirit-filled Christians into “one true Church” would have resulted in a new Montanism with results perhaps as destructive to the Church as the old Montanism. Even the minor point of financial conservatism had a source that was not from the Holy Spirit, for many churches in the 1970s did in fact continue to flourish and expand and to build in response to their growing needs.

That Catholic Charismatics did not follow the deadly advice of The Vision was due in great part to the quick response of other, more mature leaders. David du Plessis, the elder statesman of Pentecostalism, and who had seen firsthand the birth of the Catholic charismatic movement, quickly denounced the prophecy as not coming from God. He compared it with many a false prophecy he heard as a young man which claimed the coming world rule of Stalin and the Papacy.[21] Ralph Martin, one of the best-known and respected Catholic Charismatics quickly spread the warning of “false prophecy” among fellow Catholics. Indeed, as time has shown, Catholic Charismatics never suffered persecution from their bishops, and although the movement slowed down in the USA after the 1980s, there are many Catholic Charismatic fellowships in the United States that are doing fine. Further, in Africa and South America the Catholic Charismatic movement has been instrumental in bringing millions of nominal Catholics to become true disciples of Jesus Christ.

It is important to note some other issues. It is clear that Wilkerson’s original ministry was blessed by God and has borne much fruit. His book, The Cross and the Switchblade, was one of the great books of the Pentecostal/charismatic revival,[23] yet The Vision was destructive. This is a modern example of Peter’s “multiple inspirations.” Peter declared that Jesus was the Messiah (Matt 16:17), but later urged Jesus not to continue to Jerusalem and His crucifixion (Matt 16:23). Perhaps the major failure with Wilkerson and his vision was that he did not seek an elder or mature spiritual director with whom to discuss his visions before he went to the public with them.

Mark Taylor prophesies on Trump

The year 2017 saw the publication of an influential best seller that described the prophecies received by a retired fireman Mark Taylor.[24] It pertained to how he had received various prophecies starting 2011 that Trump would be president and was chosen by God to bring America back to righteousness and its true Christian calling. The book was co-authored by Mary Colbert, an influential writer and editor who worked to gather influential Charismatic and Evangelical pastors to affirm the prophecy and pray for Trump’s election, and then his subsequent presidency.

The Taylor prophecies were not just one incident but a series of visions and “hearings” (called “locutions” in traditional discernment theology) supposedly from the Holy Spirit. These prophecies show many of the traits of false prophecy that have occurred throughout Church history. Among his predictions is the statement that Trump, after his election, would soon “captivate the media” and many in the mainline media will agree with his positions.[25] This has proven to be the very opposite of what happened and perhaps represents a “wish for” presented as prophecy – like those of the French Royalist we discussed above.

The Taylor prophesies are full of statements supposedly made by Lord that “tickles the itching ears” of conservative Republicans by affirming their beliefs and suspicions but are contrary to the character and a true message of God. For instance, there are several passages in which the Lord categorizes both President Obama and the Clintons as totally evil. The Lord supposedly said:

Beware, beware, the enemy roams about seeking whom he can devour and this sitting president [Obama] is doing that in this hour [2016]. He’s full of lies and deceit and is very hateful; he spreads division and corruption with every mouthful. Beware when he says, “look over here, what the right hand is doing” to divert your attention from what the left hand is doing, is his intention. This is a setup from this President and his minions, from the hate, the division, and Hilary Clinton. … For the signs are clear to see, that this President and his minions shall try for thee. A sign will be, he will try to and take the guns so the people can’t rise up and stop him when he tries to run [for a third term].[26]

The Holy Spirit does not rail against living persons and declare them evil, but if they are doing wrong, urges repentance. Another intemperate salvo against Obama has proven false with time:

For this man who holds the title of President of the United States, will begin to lose his grip from it and be stripped of it, for I the Lord God will rip it from him. The man who calls himself the Commander in Chief, is nothing more than a lying deceitful Thief![27]

This has now proven to be totally false, Obama left the White House with dignity, and in his inaugural address Trump recognized the gracious cooperation that Obama gave his transition team. The “prophecy” is another rant, manipulating and pandering to the ugliest areas of partisan Republican suspicions and hatreds.

The above demonically-influenced gun control rant echoes several conspiracy theories that circulated about Obama and his administration in conservative Christian circles. The most famous one was the fuss over the Armed Forces exercise in 2015 in the Southwestern USA called “Jade Helm 15.” This involved about 1,200 servicemen practicing to intercept a vehicle-loaded A-bomb brought in by terrorists via the southern border – a real possibility.

The conspiracy theory was that the Army was really sent to disarm conservative Texans of their weapons and bring them to empty Wal-Mart stores as makeshift concentration camps – several of which were indeed empty for renovation. Shamefully, this was widely believed, and even the Governor of Texas pandered to this conspiracy theory by ordering Texas National Guard officers to monitor the exercise just in case Texans started to be arrested.

Like many conspiracy theories, hatred and suspicion override common sense. [28] It is impossible for 1,200 soldiers to carry out a grossly illegal order and disarm millions of conservative Texans, who are often very heavily armed. That this conspiracy theory was believed by many Christian conservatives shows something very disturbing about their state of mind towards President Obama, their hatred overriding common sense, and this is continued in The Trump Prophecies.

That the Trump Prophesies is a false, and demonically-laced work is quite plain. Had Evangelical and Pentecostal elders been familiar with the traditional literature of discernment of prophecies this would have been clear to them. It was my opinion that certain elements of it may have been from the Lord, as in the part received in 2011 that Trump would be President. This is similar to the mix of true and false prophecies that sometimes occur in church prophetic uttering. A person may begin with a short word of wisdom from the Lord, but as they go on past, the revelation drifts into areas of their own prejudices and fears that are then utilized by demonic forces to incite fear, anger or mayhem.

The original fraction of true prophecy may be the factor why so many credible and anointed Charismatic and Evangelical pastors accepted it whole, and why Mary Colbert was able to rally such a large group of reputable pastors and teachers behind the prophecy and later convert the group into a huge prayer support team for Trump. Of course, praying for a sitting President is enjoined in scripture (1Tim 2:2). But the group organized by Mrs. Colbert became uncritical and accepting of Trump’s actions and his disrespectful and insulting tweets.

Here lies a large failure of the Forever Trump pastors. They became “court prophets” who agreed with all that Trump did and said, instead of discerning on what occasions they should play the role of Nathan to David (2 Sam 12), rebuke sin when it occurs. To be biblically specific, the incident in 2 Kings 22 shows four hundred kingdom-supported prophets “tickling the itching ears” of the Kings of Judah and Israel by prophesying victory in a coming battle. Only one (non-court) prophet, Micaiah, proclaimed the real message from the Lord – defeat. In fact, a very few Forever Trump pastors have had the discernment or courage to rebuke Trump in any of his intemperate sayings or actions. An exception to the rule is the popular TV evangelist Jentezen Franklin, who publicly rebuked Trump for his vulgar language reference to some of the more backward countries of the Third World.[29]

This failure to give just reproof began even before Trump’s election. One of the most disturbing aspects of the 2016 Trump campaign was his declaration that the southern border wall would be built,[30] and Mexicans would pay for it. Trump; “Who will pay?” Crowd: Mexico!” This dialogue was cruel, insulting and ultimately unrealistic, as time has shown. It unnecessarily offended Mexicans and prevented a sane dialogue and diplomacy on the wall with the Mexican government. Christians who participated in this rant should repent of it. It is a scandal that the Christians pastors who supported and surrounded Trump during his campaign did not reproof him for this.

One last comment would relate to the failure of the Republicans to bring forth a reasonable health coverage issue. Here again I feel there is some outright sin involved.[31] Many Republicans enjoyed mocking the Obama Affordable Care Act as “Obamacare” and something out of hell. Indeed, it was a flawed bill, but it extended coverage to millions, and could have been the basis of a reformed health care bill. The jeering dismissal by Republicans in general and Trump in particular made rational discourse and compromise with the Democrats impossible. Again, I invite Republicans who participated in this awful name-calling to consult their conscience in prayer and repent. The Affordable Care Act was very imperfect, but it brought millions health care coverage. In the two years of their total control of Congress, the Republicans did zero on health care, and ultimately must bear much of the blame for the thousands of Americans who are dying every year unnecessarily from lack of health care, making us the laughing stock of the rest of the developed world.

I should also make clear that I believe that some of the things that Trump has accomplished have been good and long overdue, as in his challenge to the unequal trade relationship with China, and a revision of NAFTA. But even his accomplishments could have been achieved with less narcissist attachments. I do not intend to go further with a litany of Trumps political atrocities that have so harmed the civility and political discourse of our Nation. My intention is to affirm that Christians who have become Forever Trumpers need to reconsider, and perhaps repent, of their failure to be a Nathan to a very flawed David, and to mistake their “want for” for the voice of God.

Some of this has already begun with several of the Forever Trump pastors and prophets who prophesied that Trump was the Cyrus of American Presidents.

Significantly, articles have even appeared in Charisma News, owned by Stephen Strang. Besides writing two books on how Trump was God’s man in the White House, Strang frequently editorialized in Charisma Magazine on how necessary it was for Trump to win the 2020 election. But now, among the most recent articles (published on January 7, 2021) was an apology for his errors in prophecy by the Rev. Loren Sandford, one of the most important and prominent leaders of the Charismatic Renewal.[32]

Christians need to pray that the present Trump cult deconstruct and fade to make possible a reasonable Republican Party again. The Republican Party needs to be a party not dominated by conspiracy theories nor centered on an authoritarian style cult of the personality about Trump that has so injured and disfigured it. All Christians in America need to pray for the success of the Biden Administration, particularly in his announced goal of reuniting our much-divided Nation.

Notes

[1] Link to Kenneth Copeland’s laugh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag0-oXl-IDw

[2] Demos Shakarion, The Happiest People on Earth (Old Tappen: Chosen, 1975), 19-22.

[3] William De Arteaga, “Prophecy in the Church: Pathway to Revival” Pneuma Review (February 18, 2016).

[4] ibid.

[5] For a balanced and sympathetic view of Montanism, see the work by R. A Knox, Enthusiasm: A Chapter in the History of Religion (New York: Oxford University Press, 1950), chapter 3. The Wikipedia article on the Montanists is also balanced and excellent.

[6] John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries: The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians (Tr. Ross Mackenzie; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960) 376ff.

[7] Hans von Campenhausen, Ecclesiastical Authority and Spiritual Power in the Church in the First Three Centuries. Trans. J.A. Baker, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1969) chapter 8 “Prophets and Teachers in the Second Century.” Dr. William Spencer of Gordon-Cornwall Seminary believes that already by the end of the 3^rd Century the gifts of the Spirit were waning. See his article, “The Chaining of the Church, Christian History #17 “Women in the Early Church” posted 1/1/88.

[8] Herbert Thurston, The War & the Prophets (London: Burns & Oates, 1915). Fr. Thurston was a master of documenting false prophesies and spiritual phenomenon of all sorts. His works deserve to be read in our day.

[9] Ibid., 40-41.

[10] Here I must confess that in my decades in the Charismatic Renewal I have issued forth some “wish for” prophecies but also a few valid ones.

[11]Among the best in the Catholic tradition is Karl Rhaner’s Visions and Prophesies, in Inquiries (New York: Herder & Herder, 1964).

[12] An excellent Catholic critique of apparitions and false messages from Pseudo-Mary is by Fr. Herbert Thurston, “The False Visionaries of Lourdes,” in his Surprising Mystics, ed. By J. H. Crehan (Chicago: Henry Regency, 1955).

[13]William De Arteaga, “Marian Devotion and the Coming Second Wave of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal,” Pentecostal Theology, Posted April 9, 2020. http://pneumareview.com/marian-devotion-and-the-coming-second-wave-of-the-catholic-charismatic-renewal/

[14] The crown jewel of Catholic spiritual direction and discernment literature is Augustine Poulain’s, The Graces of Interior Prayer (St. Louis, B. Herder, 1910). Still in print in various editions.

[15] In particular, Edwards’ classic, Distinguishing Marks of the Spirit of God. I treat this issue in my work, Quenching the Spirit: Discover the Real Spirit behind the Charismatic Controversy (Lake Mary: Creation House, 1996), chapter 3.

[16] On the rise and fall of this revival see: Barry W. Hamilton, “The Corsicana Enthusiasts: A Pre-Pentecostal Millennial Sect,” Wesleyan Theological Journal, 39 #1 (Spring, 2004), 173-193.

[17] (Old Tappen: Spire Books, 1963).

[18] David Wilkerson, The Vision (New York: Pyramid, 1974).

[19] David Wilkerson, “The Coming Persecution,” Tape #DW-8, Springs of Living Water tape library. In author’s possession.

[20] Ibid.

[21] “Persecution for Charismatic Catholics?” New Covenant (Jan. 1974) 13.

[22] Karl Rhaner, “Visions and Prophesies,” in Inquiries (New York: Herder and Herder, 1964).

[23] Editor’s note: See also Cletus Hull’s review of David Wilkerson: The Cross, the Switchblade, and the Man Who Believed written by his son, Gary Wilkerson.

[24] Mark Taylor, and Mary Colbert, The Trump Prophecies (Crane: Defender, 2017).

[25] Ibid., 132.

[26] Taylor, Trump, 149

[27] Ibid. 165.

[28] William De Arteaga, “The Sinfulness and Destructiveness of Conspiracy Theories,” Pneuma Review, June 29, 2015. In this article, I take special effort to deconstruct this ridiculous conspiracy theory. http://pneumareview.com/the-sinfulness-and-destructiveness-of-conspiracy-theories/

[29] Video on this: https://www.pentecostaltheology.com/thank-you-rev-jentezen-franklin

[30] To be clear, I am for the wall being built for our security.

[31] I see the spiritual negativity of the Republican Party as an outcome of its slow and steady adoption of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, “Objectivism” with its specifically anti-Christian morality, as seen in her famous novel Atlas Shrugged and elsewhere. See my “The Spiritual Decline and Fall of the Republican Party,” This was one of the blogs that was removed by Blogger, but now available at Troy Day’s web site: http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/decline-and-fall-of-the-republican-party/

[32] Loren Sandford. “Pastor Loren Sandford’s Open Apology: How and Why We Got It Wrong,” Charisma News. Posted 1/7/2021.

For Christians who believe in the continuing gifts of the Spirit, testing national prophecies is a tricky task. In every election cycle, there are prophets announcing who the Lord’s pick is, and which candidate will win. In 2012, for instance, the prophetic consensus was that Mitt Romney was the Lord’s choice and that he would win. They were wrong.

In the 2016 election, Trump emerged as the prophets’ pick. As early as 2007, Kim Clement had delivered a prophecy that God would “raise up the Trump to become a trumpet.”[1] In 2011, ex-fireman Mark Taylor received a series of visions and locutions stating that Trump would become president and was chosen by God to bring America back to righteousness and its true Christian calling.[2] In July 2015, Charisma magazine published a prophecy by Jeremiah Johnson that God was raising up Trump to be a Cyrus figure in the 2016 election, and that Trump would be like “a bull in a china closet”[3] (Cyrus was a pagan king who was anointed by God to return the Jews to their homeland). In fall 2015, businessman Lance Wallnau prophesied that Trump was God’s “chaos candidate” and would be a “wrecking ball to political correctness.”[4] Numerous other, lesser-known prophetic people also reported dreams and visions showing that the Lord had a special purpose in Trump becoming president.

These prophecies played a large role in gathering charismatic support behind Trump and eventually securing his victory.  Looking back, did these prophets truly hear from the Lord? Or did soulish “wish for” prophecies lead to an outcome that was not, in fact, what the Lord had intended?

As we head into the 2020 election, how should believers weigh the Trump prophecies? Should we take them at face value and conclude that Trump is the Lord’s anointed, and so vote for him, because to do otherwise would be to oppose the Lord? Or should we view them skeptically and vote on other criteria, such as the candidates’ character and position on relevant issues?

A Discerning Voice

In his new book, On Discerning Trump’s Character and Presidency:  A Theological Reflection on How False Prophecy Influenced American Politics, historian William De Arteaga offers insight on these questions. For those familiar with De Arteaga’s excellent book Quenching the Spirit, it comes as no surprise that De Arteaga brings his considerable grasp of history and discernment literature, as well as his penetrating insight, to this work.

The first three-quarters of the book are actually not about discerning the prophecies themselves, but about discerning Trump’s character and his presidency. De Arteaga also traces what he sees as the decline of culture and of the Republican Party that made Trump’s presidency possible. While this may seem like a detour, it lays important groundwork for De Arteaga’s ultimate argument that the prophecies were wholly or in part false.

De Arteaga begins with an assessment of Trump’s character. Like others before him, he blasts Trump’s habitual reviling of opponents, his “aggressive speech and uncharitable tweets and off the cuff remarks” (14), and how these behaviors have contributed to the decline of civility and reasoned discourse in American politics. He questions how a man who frequently lies can be trusted. De Arteaga expresses disappointment that Christians would excuse and even embrace Trump’s immoral behavior and links this attitude to antinomianism – the heresy that conduct does not matter so long as one confesses Jesus as Lord. The analysis in this section is erudite and well-reasoned, but not especially novel if you’ve followed other criticisms of Trump in National Review, First Things, etc.

De Arteaga then traces the events that led to American Christians’ increasing sense of persecution by mainstream culture and secular authority to the point that many viewed 2016 (to borrow Michael Anton’s arresting metaphor) as the “Flight 93 Election.” The increasing secularization of education and popular culture, Supreme Court decisions and liberal legislation chipping away at traditional understandings of the family and sexuality, and the eradication of Christian values in schools led to a situation in which many American Christians felt they needed to turn the tide at any cost.

Prophecy

The most interesting part of the book is where De Arteaga specifically looks at the Trump prophecies and compares them with instances of false prophecy by sincere Christians in the past.

De Arteaga insightfully points out that evangelicals and charismatics tend to be largely ahistorical:

Many charismatic and non-denominational churches are a-historical: they have little or no understanding of Church history. They usually pay much attention to Scripture, but assume that, for instance, the “Catholic” period of the Church is so full of error it is not worth learning about. The Patristic period of the Church Fathers, and their wonderful discernment writing might as well have been written for another planet and race of beings. (83)

This ahistorical approach to Christianity has serious consequences. As is often said, those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. False prophecy is not a new phenomenon. As early as 170 AD, the prophet Montanus prophesied the imminent return of Christ and led many believers astray. While the Catholic Church has dealt with its share of false prophecies, the regular stream of monks, nuns, and laypeople receiving visions and personal revelations led to the development of a rich literature of discernment. Spiritual directors arose to mentor prophetic people and help them discern which revelations came from the Lord, their flesh, or the devil.

De Arteaga discusses the very interesting example of David Wilkerson’s false prophecy, The Vision. De Arteaga does not doubt that Wilkerson was a very anointed minister who bore great fruit for the Kingdom; however, his apocalyptic predictions for 1973-1983 largely proved false. They were based upon “the fears, prejudices, and belief structures of his own subconscious mind and those in his immediate faith community” (76).

De Arteaga makes a strong case that many of the Trump prophecies fit the same pattern. Many of Mark Taylor’s prophecies, for instance, demonize Democratic leaders and unambiguously paint them as evil. They cater to right-wing fears, such as Obama’s intent to strip the people of their guns or run for a third term in violation of the Constitution. And some have proven false with time – for example, the prophecy that Obama would be forcibly stripped of his office instead of leaving gracefully with dignity. De Arteaga’s analysis of the Taylor prophecies is fascinating, and I wish that he had devoted more attention to the other prophets that foretold Trump’s presidency.

In the end, De Arteaga comes to a very nuanced conclusion. He neither says that all of the Trump prophecies were categorically false, nor does he say that they were all true. Rather, he concludes that they may have contained true revelation from the Lord, which got diluted with soulish concerns and wishes. The kernel of truth may have been what led charismatic leaders to embrace the prophecies, and Trump. Nonetheless, De Arteaga chastises charismatic leaders for what has been, for the most part, uncritical support of the President. Even if Trump is anointed by God for a special purpose, the Bible gives precedent for prophets speaking truth to anointed kings. For instance, David was the Lord’s anointed, and yet the prophet Nathan confronted his sin. De Arteaga urges prophetic leaders to fulfill this aspect of their function.

On the other hand, De Arteaga also raises the possibility that perhaps all of the Trump prophecies were false, even demonically inspired, and that following them has led to grave damage in the Body of Christ and to our nation. Many will disagree, but it is a sobering possibility to consider. Whatever you think of President Trump and the Trump prophecies, De Arteaga’s book is a worthwhile and thought-provoking treatment of an important subject.

Reviewed by Esther Tsai

Notes

[1] https://www.charismamag.com/video/40242-2007-kim-clement-prophecy-says-president-will-be-baptized-in-holy-spirit-build-the-wall-win-second-term.

[2] Mark Taylor and Mary Colbert, The Trump Prophecies (Defender Publishing, 2017).

[3] Jeremiah Johnson, “Prophecy: Donald Trump Shall Become the Trumpet,” Prophetic Insight, (July 28, 2015),  https://charismamail.com/ga/webviews/4-864964-30-224-231-371-9d7ae3cdab.

[4] Dr. Lance Wallnau, God’s Chaos Candidate: Donald J. Trump and the American Unraveling (Killer Sheep Media, Inc., 2016), 7.

A guest editorial by Christian historian William De Arteaga. Readers are invited to respond by including respectful comments on the article page.

This editorial was updated in January 2021 under the new title, “Why So Many Evangelicals and Pentecostals Were Beguiled by False Prophecies about Trump and his Second Term.”

Recently, the Mark Galli’s op-ed piece in Christianity Today created uproar among Evangelical Christians.[1] He asserted that President Trump should be removed from office for his lack of moral character. Many Christians were offended, but many others affirmed his view as theirs. It seems clear that most Evangelicals understand that Trump is a deeply flawed and a personally immoral person. The divide then is between those who find this to be disqualifying for the office of President, as the Rev. Galli, and those to whom Trump’s immorality is lamentable, but not important as President. This latter group strongly believes that Trump has been called by God to be President in spite of his character flaws. For his defense, the “Forever Trump” Christians cite his pro-family and pro-Christian tilt in the White House, and especially his court nominations, Supreme Court and lower courts, and his across-the-board support of Israel as indicators that this is true.

When criticism is given about Trump’s behavior, as in his shameless boasting,[2] lying or insulting tweets, the Forever Trumpers often cite that biblical heroes, men and women called by God, were often imperfect, or had some deep areas of immorality. For instance, Samson could not resist pagan women and destroyed the fullness of his ministry with this sin but still carried out much of God’s call on his life.

To be transparent, I side with the Rev. Galli’s opinion.[3] Galli commented the following week that the mass of email and letters disagreeing with his op-ed followed this line of thought, and refused to argue or discuss the specifics of Trump’s immoral or arbitrary acts.[4] Like Galli, I too have found that the Forever Trumpers most often do not bother to defend Trump’s action or irrational tweets, but rather cite the biblical injection, “do no touch my anointed” (1 Chr 16:18).

The acceptance of this disjunction between Trump’s personal morality and intemperate, rude, uncharitable tweets, etc. and his support by most white Evangelical Christians[5] is due in part to a series of prophecies, by a previously unknown prophet, Mark Taylor, which were assisted by Mary Colbert, an influential Christian writer and editor. This prophetic message and a belief that Trump was especially called out by God has been reinforced among Charismatic Christians by Mr. Steve Strang, CEO and President of Strang Communications, which publishes charismatic books and the influential Charisma magazine.[6]

This volume is a collection of twenty essays (one previously unpublished) from the pen of David E. Aune, Walter Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Notre Dame. Aune’s expertise in the areas of early Christian prophecy and in the book of Revelation is well known, thanks to his publication of a major tome in each area. The essays gathered in the present volume, dating from 1980 and later, represent his developing expertise in both those areas, although the selection is heavily weighted toward studies on the book of Revelation. (There are also discussions of the idea of “holy war”, varieties of eschatology, and sociological investigations of apocalyptic.) All of the essays reveal a scholar at home in his subject matter, never lagging but always presenting something new and relevant to the field. In spite of the often-technical nature of the discussion, all the essays are easily readable. The variety of topics suggests that most will not be equally interested in all the essays, but anyone interested in the topics of apocalypticism, prophecy, and early Christian magic will want to own this volume. We can be thankful to Baker Academic for publishing an affordable edition of a volume that elsewhere (under a different imprint) retails for over $200.

David E. Aune

It is always disappointing to read a book and to discover that a lengthy section on one page repeats an earlier section verbatim. In the case of a compilation of previously published essays, it shows that the author does not scruple to recycle previously published wording for an altogether new essay. This is the case here, as we find identical wording on pp. 90 and 169. But this is a minor quibble in comparison to what the volume offers. The book’s principle value rests in its contribution to the study of Revelation. For those interested in Revelation, I highly recommend this book, especially as a companion volume for Aune’s three-volume commentary.

Reviewed by John Poirier

Originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (PneumaReview.com’s parent organization) In Depth Resources index on October 1, 2009.

What Spirit-filled pastors and leaders need to know about prophecy in the church.

For several years I regularly attended a local Pentecostal church. The pastor believed in all of the gifts of the Spirit and often prayed in tongues during the music ministry. However, on the rare occasions that anyone in the congregation prayed aloud in tongues or prophesized, he tensed up, and had an unhappy look on his face. It was as if this was an unnecessary intrusion into the service. He never encouraged that type of activity. In theory he should have welcomed such lay participation in the gifts. But like many Pentecostal and Charismatic pastors, he did not really have the knowledge or training to handle the public manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit.

While vising other Pentecostal congregations over the years, I have noticed the same situation – pastors are theoretically for the active gifts of the Spirit, but not publicly friendly or encouraging to their manifestations. Mostly, they are satisfied with the traditional Evangelical worship pattern of music, sermon, and altar call – with perhaps enthusiastic clapping, raising hands, and healing ministry time. This is in spite of the fact that Paul urges the gifts of the Spirit to be used in all Christian worship services:

What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop (1Cor 14:26-29, NIV).

Image: John Price

This is surely one of the most neglected passages of Paul’s letters. As I have pointed out in my recent book, this disobedience or neglect is mostly due to the fact that by the time Paul’s letters were accepted as canonical most Christians had discontinued the use of tongues and prophecy. Thus these verses just did not make sense.[1] From the Third Century on, when the classical liturgies of the Church developed, Paul’s order of worship was ignored, not out of malice or by conspiracy, but simply that few people could make sense of what Paul was saying. Not until the recovery of the tongues and the other word gifts of the Spirit in Pentecostalism at the cusp of the Twentieth Century would the Pauline passages of 1 Cor 12 and 14 be comprehensible.

I believe that many Spirit-filled pastor’s unease at the public manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit stems from legitimate fears, especially a fear of the gift of prophecy. There is the real possibility that the prophetic utterance (either direct or as interpretation of tongues) may be contaminated with falsehood and doctrinal or moral error. This is a valid concern, as Spirit-filled movement from the earliest times to the present have had incidents, sometimes overwhelming, of false prophecies that were not discerned or corrected.[2]

Take for instance a revival that took place among several Holiness congregations in Corsicana County, Texas, in the 1870s. This revival began with a burst of worship and enthusiasm which included tongues. Significantly, the leadership understood that the gifts of the Spirit described in 1 Cor. 12 -14 were for the present. Unfortunately the leaders were inexperienced in prophecy and its discernment (of course, there were no mentors or literature to help them) and drifted into false prophecy. Some prophetic utterances included the message that a person baptized with the Spirit would be regenerated physically to the point of being able to live a thousand years. But strangely enough, some in the congregation continued dying. The revival disintegrated as local prophets urged their followers to sell all and await Jesus’ return in 1875. Jesus didn’t make it, and the only thing achieved by the revival was the discrediting of future Pentecostal efforts in the area.[3]

How long did God expect prophecy to function in the church?

The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church?  (Part 1) from the Spring 2001 issue.

The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church?  (Part 2) from the Summer 2001 issue.

The Duration of Prophecy: How Long Will Prophecy Be Used in the Church?  (Part 3) from the Fall 2001 issue.

“The Duration of Prophecy” is Chapter 12 from the 2000 revised edition of The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today by Wayne A. Grudem.

Robert Kimball Shinkoskey, Do My Prophets No Harm: Revelation and Religious Liberty in the Bible (Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2011), 206 pages, ISBN 9781608998456.

Robert Shinkoskey has two main proposals in Do My Prophets No Harm. The first proposal is that the Ten Commandments provide ancient Israel’s constitutional government. In theory, the Ten Commandments are “purely secular law, rather than a mixture of cultic and civic law” (p. 81). The first five commandments serve two purposes: the preservation of “freedom of religion for prophets and other dissidents who work to restore worship of the God of their ancestors” (back cover summary); and an adversarial purpose: to stand separate from the civic government. The role of the prophet is to call into question any policy or personal power that negates or abuses the last five of the commandments.

Shinkoskey’s second proposal is to challenge the notion of the cessation of prophecy. God always reveals Himself to those who are sensitive to Him, namely the prophets. This is necessary in order to preserve not only the first five commandments but also the second five. The prophets urge Israel to repent and return to their calling. Israel’s call is to honor and keep the second five commandments and to be a light to the nations: how to treat one’s neighbor in love and mercy and the stranger or alien among them.

This reviewer finds Shinkoskey’s analysis intriguing. He seems to suggest that the observance of the second five of the Decalogue promotes the worship of the God of the Exodus, the one who brought them out from slavery to Egypt. New revelation from God restores the people of Israel to their calling to be light to the nations. The prophets are those receptive to that revelation and must prophesy; hence, “Do my prophets no harm.” It is Shinkoskey’s contention that when a government exceeds its bounds whatever its form, monarchy, democratic republic, theocratic, those in governance seek to silence the prophets. It also occurs when complacency or satisfaction occurs in a nation. This is where religious liberty is threatened.