Key to Lesson No.1
Exercise No.1
Question No.1: Did the Old Testament prophets speak on their own?
Ans: No
"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" (II Pet.1:21).
Question (2) "….Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost".
What is missing in this Bible verse? Please justify how the missing word is very important in today's context.
Ans: "…. holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
The Lord used/uses men set apart unto Him, sanctified, and cleansed by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and called for this purpose.
Question No.3: Some person in your church or in your neighborhood lives in sin, despite your warning. Though you have preached the gospel of grace, he has hardened his heart. You are now giving him a message condemning his sins and pronouncing divine judgment. Are you still giving him the gospel message or not?
Ans: Yes
Question No.4: The Bible Prophecy is contained only in the prophetic books commencing from Isaiah and ending with Malachi. Is it correct or not?
Ans: Not correct
Exercise No.2
Question No.1: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John " (Matt.11:13). Was Baptist John a prophet under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant?
Ans: Under the Old Covenant because Jesus had not shed His blood then.
Question No.2 : Did the apostles of Christ including John who had the special revelation from God on the island of Patmos prophesy on the salvation plan of God?
Ans: No
Question No.3: Can anyone today prophesy on the salvation plan of God which was accomplished on the Cross of Calvary ?
Ans: No
Question No.4: A person comes to your church and prophesies that God will send His Spirit to save you from the sin and sicknesses through a particular Spirit-filled evangelist in your town if you sow seeds of money in his ministry. Is it a false word of prophecy or a true word of prophecy? Please justify your answer with reasons.
Ans: This is a false word of prophecy because "Since the salvation plan of God had already been revealed through the Old Testament prophets, Jesus as the Prophet did not make any fresh prophecy in this regard. The Bible Prophecy concerning revelation of the salvation plan of God came to an end with the ministry of John the Baptist" (from the lesson). He is adding to the salvation plan of God; therefore, he is a lying prophet.
Question No.5: A servant of God teaches you that the words of warning and of judgment given by God under the Old Covenant are not meant for you but for the people of Israel under the Old Covenant. Will you believe this prophecy?
Ans: No, because (from the lesson), " We should not conclude that these words of warning and of condemnation are meant only for the then nations of Israel and Judah that existed during the Old Testament period, and not for us. The words of warning against idolatry and sins spoken by the prophets to the Israel and to the Gentile nations that existed during the Old Testament period still hold good even today for the whole world." The Word of God, in speaking of Moses leading the children of Israel, says, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." I Cor.10:11
Question No.6: A servant of God teaches you that the promises of God in the prophetic book of Isaiah are not for you. If you do not believe his teaching, how will you counter his false teaching?
Ans: I Cor.10:11 -"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."- and II Tim 3:16 may also be read.
Question No.7 : Read Isaiah 54:8-9. Does this passage contain words of comfort for you? Has God a message for you? Please explain in about 5 lines. (The following message was sent to me by a dear student, Debbie)
"In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." Isaiah 54:8-9
I pray that this is for meant for me. It is very comforting! I have gone through a tremendous "flood" of afflictions" which were allowed by God for my good and His glory appointed as such, in His sovereignty. He did seem hidden through much of it, and I am not out of it yet, but I can rely on the faithfulness of His unchanging character to continue His mercy and kindness to me, even as He is not angry with me any longer. (sent by a dear student, Debbie)
Question No.8: Some body prophesies that a particular town or a particular nation would be destroyed by God through judgment on a specified date. Does this accord with the Bible Prophecy or not? Justify your answer with reasons.
Ans: No one knows the day or hour—
Revelation is the only New Testament book that focuses primarily on prophetic events. Revelation does not have specific dates listed, but we must know the season we live in. For instance, I have heard that some knew that 9/11 was going to happen. So if they knew, how come all those people still died? Does this mean that their "knowledge" was fabricated? No prophet under the New Testament is supposed to add unto these things or take away from the words of the book of this prophecy ( Rev.22:18-19). The Bible Prophecy concerning prediction is still being fulfilled. Though many of such prophecies had been literally fulfilled before and during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, certain words of prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. (This answer was given by a student, namely, Amy Lange)
Our comments:
In the past, many prophesied that Jesus would come on a particular date and many people were deceived. Some self-appointed prophets prophesied that the city of Los Angels would be destroyed. Did this happen? The Lord did reveal to Abraham about the impending judgement on the sin city of Sodom and Gomorrah, and to Jonah on His judgment on the city of Ninevah. But He did not reveal the day or time of His judgment. The opening of seals and vials in the book of revelation and the judgement on Babylon have been taking place since the writing of this book. John says, "the Babylon is fallen". Babylon is also not referred to any particular political state at all. It pervades over all the nations. John saw the whore sitting on the waters, i.e. all nations. It is an unseen political, economic, religious kingdom. This Babylon has already been judged by God.
In the 24th chapter of Mathew, Jesus prophesied on the end-time events. In Verse 6, He speaks about wars and rumours of wars and tells that such things must come to pass. In verse 7, He speaks about the rising of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom and about famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. Then Jesus goes to speak about the persecution of the people of God. In this chapter, He warns us against the arising of false christs and false prophets etc. Jesus has never prophesied against any particular nation or nations for God's judgment to fall on them. No doubt, under the Old Covenant, the prophets under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, spoke about God's judgment on nations.
Ever since the New Testament period, natural calamities like famines, pestilences and earthquakes have been taking place. If we go through the statistical figures, we will find that these natural calamities are on the rise and not on the decline. These are the days of God's judgment on the whole world, and not against any particular nation. The book of revelation unfolds the secrets of God who is at work through such judgments. Let us note very carefully that in the Book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit speaks about the divine judgment on the Babylon and not against any particular nation or kingdom. Today, no prophet can proclaim judgment on any particular nation or nations.
God may reveal His judgment against any particular nation through a dream or a vision so that the people of God can pray for the safety of the people of God in that nation. God is sovereign in His judgment. However, let us learn the truth that we should not be deceived by any prophesies about God's judgment against any particular nation or town. Jesus in His message to the Church warns the latter against possible deception by false prophets or false christs. If at all we receive any "such revelation" through any prophet, we should get it confirmed by the other prophets in the Body of Christ. He who is spiritual judgeth all things (I Cor.2:15). Let us note that God does not hate any particular nation or kingdom and that under the New Covenant, there is no divine judgment against any particular nation or kingdoms by name. The prophecies of Jesus are general in nature and are meant for the whole world. Every nation in this world has seen a war or some kind of a war on its soil. Every nation has faced a natural calamity like pestilence, or earthquake or famine.
Question No.9: Can you prophesy in the same manner as the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.?
Ans: No. The Old Testament Prophets received the messages through the Spirit of God who used to come upon them during some particular time or period, whereas we have the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Old Prophets said, "Thus saith the Lord thy God" because they had revealed the salvation plan of God. Under the New Covenant, we have the blessed Holy Spirit in our earthen vessels. We proclaim the gospel through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We prophesy words of comfort and of edification to the Church as led by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Question No.10: A person prophesies on you that Jesus will save you from your sins. Is it false or true? Justify your answer with reasons.
Ans: It is false. No prophecy is required to tell us that Jesus will save us from the sins. Jesus has already died on the Cross and rose from the dead and saved us from the sins. We have to only believe on Him for our salvation.
Exercise No.3
Question No.1: A person says that he has the message of God for your salvation other than the gospels and he says God has spoken to him about this. Will you accept his message? Justify your answer with reasons.
Ans: Absolutely not because we should not believe in any message which is not based on the New Testament books. These days, we come across many "prophecies" when people tell us, "God has spoken to me. I have this message for your salvation. You have to wear your garments like this or you have to worship God like this.........."
Question No.2: The author of the book of Hebrews says that in these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son. Christ Jesus, the Son of God is seated on the right of the Father after His ascension into the Heaven. If Christ is not in His physical form on this earth, how is that Christ the Son of God has spoken to us? What is the evidence that is with us which shows that Christ the Son of God has spoken to us?
Ans: When the Lord Jesus Christ was on the earth, He spoke to us the great message of salvation through the Gospels, and this "was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him." (Hebrews 2:3b) He is the Word (John 1:1). It is the recorded gospel accounts that we have today. When the gospels were not written by the apostles, the people believed in the oral messages conveyed to them by the apostles who had lived with Jesus physically. Today the Holy Spirit who indwells us speaks to us in our hearts; speaks to us through the written books of the Bible, and speaks to us through the members of the Body of Christ, the Church.
Question No.3: A servant of God gives a message saying that it is a revelation given to him by God. When you have examined this revelation with the New Testament, this revelation does not accord with the gospels, the epistles and the book of Revelation. Will you accept this revelation as inspired of the Holy Spirit? Justify your answer with reasons.
Ans: No "revelation" can be from God if it is not in accordance with the gospels, the epistles, and the book of Revelation.
Question No.4: A Jew who has not accepted the gospel claims that he has received the revelation of God. Can you believe him? Justify your answer with reasons.
Ans: No. The Jew might have had the knowledge of God under the Old Covenant. But he cannot have a revelation of God without accepting Jesus Christ Who is the Only Way to God the Father.
Exercise No.4
Question No.1 : A person prophesies on you that God will do a new thing in your life. Is it a personal prophecy or a Bible Prophecy?
Ans: This is a personal prophecy.
Question No.2: Can you make a Bible Prophecy today? Justify your answer with reasons.
No. The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible Prophecy.
Question No.3 : Somebody prophesies on future events of the Bible Prophecy which are not revealed in the book of Revelation. Can you believe his word of prophecy?
Ans: No.
Question No.4: Somebody prophesies in continuation of the book of Revelation and claims that these are end-time revelations given to him by the Holy Spirit. Can you accept the special revelations?
Ans: No, because he is prophesying outside the Word of God and is a lying prophet. These days, we come across many such revelations even on the Web, under the garb of "prophetic word", etc. Of course, any child of God can interpret the symbols and signs of the book of Revelation and give us messages. But he or she is not supposed to add to or delete something from this book. We should be careful while making prophecies about future events also. A dear servant of God from the USA who had fellowship with me for some time told me that Jesus appeared to him and asked him to build a ship - a floating tabernacle of God which would carry the presence of God and which would fight against the Antichrist. He was completely deceived. We should be very careful if anyone comes to us to tell us that he has the end-time message or revelations. The end-time message had already been given to John when he was on the island of Patmos. It was a special revelation given to him which is meant for the whole Body of Christ for all the time.
Exercise No.5
Question No.1: Are you a prophet to the world?
Ans: Yes because I preach the gospel to the lost world.
Our comments:
A child of God redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ has to preach the gospel or to do the work of an evangelist. An evangelist has the message of God i.e. gospel. As such, he is a prophet to the lost world.
Question No.2: Somebody is preaching you about Jesus out of his personal experience as to how he received him. The preacher says that you have to simply accept this Jesus without repenting of your sins. Is he presenting the Jesus Christ of Nazareth or some other Jesus who is not of the Bible?
Ans: He is NOT presenting the Lord Jesus of Nazareth, because the gospel exhorts us to repent of our sins and to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Question No.3: A person conveys a message to you saying that he had received a word of prophecy concerning you. According to his message, you can divorce your spouse and marry another person. Does this revelation accord with the doctrines of Jesus and Paul concerning marriage?
Ans: No. This message is completely against the message/truth of the Word of God, God says in Malachi 2 that He hates divorce. Paul says in I Cor. 7 that those who cannot live together in peace must be reconciled or remain unmarried. Please read our message at http://sites.google.com/site/gloryofhiscross/marriageanddivorce
Question No.4: A person comes to your church. The pastor introduces him as a prophet. He prophesies in the Name of Jesus, saying, "I will restore My glory to the Church in these last days. I will save you from sin. Thus saith the Lord thy God". Is it a false prophesy or not? Justify your answer.
Ans: It is a false word of prophecy. First of all, according to John 17:22, Jesus says that He had given the glory that He received of the Father to the Church. Secondly, the speaker says that He would save us from sin, as if another savior would appear to save us from the sins.
Question No.5: You comfort a child of God stricken with grief, in your church saying, "Jesus cares for you. Do not fear. He knows all your problems. Just pour out your heart to Him". Is it a Bible Prophecy or a personal prophecy?
Ans: This is a personal prophecy.
Question No.6: A person claiming to be a prophet comes to your church and gives a message of salvation not by faith in the finished work of God at Calvary but in following certain codes of conduct quoting from the Bible. Will you accept his message as inspired by the Holy Spirit? If yes, please justify your answer.
Ans: His message is not of God. He did not preach the gospel of grace but a gospel of works.
Question No.7: A servant of God has given a message of warning in your church, reproving the church members of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. But your pastor informs you later that the servant of God concerned had not given God's message because he did not speak about grace and love of God and that he merely had given a message of condemnation by speaking on the effects of sin. Will you agree with your pastor or not? Please justify your answer.
Ans: The pastor was not correct. The Lord says by His Holy Spirit in John 16:8, "When He [the Holy Spirit] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment."
Question No.8: A church member prophesies in Jesus' Name that you, a saved soul redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, are under a generational curse and that you have to pray to God for removing this generational curse from your family. Is it a false prophecy or not? Justify your answer.
Ans: It is a false prophecy because Galatians 3:13-14 says that, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree". Even if one of the spouses is unsaved, the latter is sanctified through the former. The curses on both the husband the wife who are one flesh will not be there if one of them is redeemed by the Precious blood of the Lamb. But the unsaved spouse cannot claim salvation just because the other spouse has accepted Jesus Christ. The unsaved spouse has to accept Jesus Christ individually.
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