Internet "Prophets"

Sometimes YouTube recommends some weird videos. I've listened to Bible study type videos before. YouTube thinks I need to hear from YouTube "prophets". I've watched a few of these people to see what it was about and see if they had anything to say. Some of them are interesting. They have all kinds of videos. They make blog posts. I see them posted on Facebook a lot, which is extremely annoying. If it's shared the right way, I can block all future posts. If not, I have to manually hide the posts to get rid of the spam. In the Bible there's a ministry gift of prophecy that's a gift of the Spirit. Are these YouTube "prophets" real and operating under that gift?

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at many times and in various manners spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, Has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.

Personally, I want to know more about the other worlds. I'm ready to get off the one I'm on. :) These verses form the foundation for a doctrine that says God used to speak through prophets. Today he no longer does that. He speaks through his son. Simply put, Jesus was the last prophet. Before him God spoke words through men. Now men can speak to the Word. There's no need to go to someone to hear from God. Ask him yourself. Jesus was the last prophet.

This doctrine whether correct or not says every prophet after Jesus is false. It's used to refute people like Mohamed, Joseph Smith, Ellen G. White, etc. We know today that those three were not Christians much less prophets, because we can study their lives and writings. The online fakes are harder, since there's no practical way to really know them. You can't move to where they live and follow them around. You just have videos and blog posts some of which line up very nicely with the Bible.

How do we tell what's real and what isn't? For anyone claiming to be a prophet, I go to those verses. Jesus was the last prophet. They're done. Claiming to be a prophet is basically claiming Jesus didn't finish the job. God needs something extra. Bzzt. Wrong answer.

However, there is a gift of prophecy. For people claiming that gift, I listen to what they say and compare it to prophecies in the Bible. Internet prophets speak in terms of maybe, might, think, feel, etc. "I think what God's saying..." "What God might be saying..." "I feel..." "I feel in my spirit..." "God may be saying..." Stick a fork in them. They're done. Prophecies in the Bible are specific and literal. There's no fuzzy vagueness. Every prophecy that has been fulfilled has been fulfilled literally not spiritually or figuratively. They're not all easy to understand, but they're all specific and concrete.

Prophets in the Bible could call down fire on people. Repeat as needed. Internet prophets can't. Prophets in the Bible performed miracles. Internet prophets can't. Biblical prophets had a lot of bad news to give. Internet prophets tend to always tell you what you want to hear. "Blessings" "Victory" "Abundance" "You're on the verge of a breakthrough!" "Your miracle is coming this week!" "Send me $1,000 to unlock the blessings." The words of real prophets were written down and recorded in the Bible. Can you imagine an internet prophet's words being added to the Bible? "What I think God meant by this was..." Me either. Even the fake gospels like Judas are better than that.

Nevertheless, the Bible says there's a gift of prophecy, so we should be open to the possibility. I've never seen it in action, but it's supposed to be out there somewhere.

Over time I've listened to quite a few videos and been recommended to one too many blog posts. I had to get this off my chest.

One more thing. Here's a prophetic word. You're moving from the pit the palace. From the dump to the Trump. From the mold to the gold. Put the pedal to the medal to accelerate your blessings and favor from God.

Sounds great, right? I didn't say it was a prophetic word from God. I just said it was a prophetic word. Very tricky. Very easy not to see that. If they give a prophetic word and don't say it's from God, then it's not.

Have a great weekend.