Tag: direct revelation

Posted in theology

Is God speaking to you? Part 1

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The biggest topic I used to receive pushback on was naming a false teacher. People got angry when their favorite pet teacher was outed as false, thus, out flowed their invective. But lately the most pushback I receive is when I say that God is not speaking to us audibly or personally in these days. People are REALLY defending that one!

It’s sad how embedded the notion of God still speaking directly and audibly to people has become in such a short time. It’s particularly crushing to see that Celebrity women with large platforms are promoting this, and have been for years. Almost an entire generation now.

Is He whispering? Sending signs or omens? Should we seek intuitions, feelings, nudgings, whispers, small voices, and promptings that we might sense inside of our brain? Or even hear audibly?

Does God give new revelation today? Did He tell Beth Moore to go to a zoo and watch a napping baby koala together or build a snowman with Him? Did He respond to Sarah Young’s yearning “for more” than scripture by giving her so many personal devotions? Did He awaken IF:Gathering’s founder Jennie Allen one night and tell her to gather and equip this generation? Did He walk with HGTV’s Fixer Upper Joanna Gaines in her garden and tell her that He has a calling for her and that one day she will have a platform taking Magnolia further than she ever dreamed? Did Priscilla Shirer write an entire Bible study to teach us how we can prepare to “hear God’s voice and receive wisdom from Him”? These women have all claimed to have heard from God, AND put His alleged words in quotes.

A short history of “God told me”

I mention these particular women because they are (or were) not fringe, not in a cult, and not outside the bounds of orthodoxy when they first began claiming direct revelation. Oh, for years false prophets had been claiming God spoke to them, but they were never taken seriously. From around 90 AD when the canon was completed in the Book of Revelation to the 20th century, it was a given that the mainline church believed God’s new revelations were concluded. His final word was THE Word.

So why is it so rampant now?

top row l-r: Jennie Allen, Priscilla Shirer. Bottom row, Beth Moore, Sarah Young of Jesus Calling

Justin Peters addressed this issue at the Truth Matters conference in 2019 (one of many tmes he has addressed the problem). The title of his talk was “Hearing from Heaven: How to Know the Voice of God” He said-

I would submit to you that the resource, the book that is singularly most responsible for introducing charismatic theology into at least theoretically non-charismatic churches is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby that came out in 1991. If you go back before 1991, at least in non-charismatic churches, almost everyone would have understood that God speaks to us through the Bible, we speak to Him in prayer. Today hardly anybody understands that; and I believe experiencing God is singularly most responsible for introducing these notions into non-charismatic churches.

I agree with this perspective. I remember when the book came to my former church. There was a huge buzz about it and immediately groups were formed to go through the study. We were told that it was going to change our life, make a huge difference in our walk, and so on.

Southern Baptist Convention member Beth Moore soon latched onto this notion that God speaks to us directly and from her earliest days promoted the idea through constant sharing of anecdotes of what He was supposedly telling her. Her very first “Bible study” called A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place was published in 1995. Every page of the 200 page workbook (!) Moore asked the student to write on the blanks the answer to the following 2 questions: [underline mine]-

“At the conclusion of each lesson you will find two questions: 1) How did God speak directly to you today? 2) What is your response to Him?”

“By the conclusion of  each lesson you should be able to identify something in particular that you believe He was saying directly to you.”

Due to Moore’s large platform and general respect (back then) for the Southern Baptist Convention’s orthodoxy, her idea grew tentacles among women’s ministries and went everywhere from there.

In 2004 Sarah Young’s book Jesus Calling was published, where young outright said she heard from God. This book also made a huge impact and picking up the baton from Moore, the notion began forging new trails into the heart and mind of conservative women. It was no longer a fringe notion, since Blackaby and Moore were in conservative churches, not Charismatic nor Pentecostal…nor were either of them being chastised for their presumption that Jesus chooses special people to whom he gives special revelation directly and apart from the Bible. Sarah Young’s book became a brand and a cottage industry.

in 2014 Jennie Allen held her first IF:Gathering, in which she related to her audience that God woke her up one night to tell her, or whisper, or both, she couldn’t decide exactly, to gather and equip this generation, something not even Paul was charged with.

And now it’s 2024 and everyone and their sister seems to say, “God told me”. Luke Smallbone of the Christian musical group For King and Country said this month,

From Smallbone’s Instagram reel

It was actually a sweet moment. He was saying he had felt far from God, hadn’t dived into the Word in a while, and was repenting of that. Great. But he continued, “I felt God say to me, ‘Luke’, and I listened, and I felt him say, “I’ve missed you”.

While the sentiment is true, God does love us and wants us close to Him, it is unhelpful for Luke to claim that he heard God personally deliver the comfort. It is just plain wrong to put it in quotes. Even though Luke said ‘I felt God was saying’ it is still wrong. Luke didn’t say “I went to the scripture and the Holy Spirit, through the word, comforted me”. No he alleges he had a conversation. Tellingly, he did not turn to scripture for comfort nor did he advise his followers to do so. He just said “When life gets a little hectic, listen to what God is saying.”

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9).

And “God told me” IS leaven.

In the next part, what direct revelation is (leaven) and isn’t (happening now), and how to respond to people who claim to have heard from Jesus.

Further Resources

G3 is hosting the Cessationist Conference Oct 3-5, 2024. “Join us in October of 2024 as we carefully consider key biblical arguments for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.”

Ligonier: Does the Holy Spirit tell people things in their thoughts?

G3: Beware of lowercase r- revelation

Posted in theology

Is God giving direct revelation? Part 4

Posted on by elizabethprata

by Elizabeth Prata

Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 1
Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 2
Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 3

Today is the last part of a 4-part series on direct revelation. Direct revelation is when God personally and individually and uniquely speaks to a person on earth. He has a personal message for the person which is outside of the Bible. Sometimes people claim to hear God audibly, like Jennie Allen who founded IF:Gathering did, claiming “a voice from the sky”, or they say they hear Him speak in dreams, whispers, visions, or impressions. However the method the claim is “God told me”.

The question I’ve been answering is, “Does God still give revelation today?” The answer is NO.

We can refer to two verses in the Bible. One in the OT in Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

And in the NT in Rev 22:18-19 where the Bible is closed out with this warning, I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Does God ever call Christian mothers to full time ministry outside of their homes, especially if their children are still young?

Mom doing dishes. EPrata

Let’s be cautious about using the word ‘call.’ God doesn’t call people to do the opposite of what he has ordained in His word. Anyone claiming that they heard a voice or received a dream, vision, or message from God telling them otherwise is either self-deceived or lying. God does not contradict Himself.

His word is clear that the primary orientation of the woman in the home is to the home. Titus 2 records some principles for the woman/wife/mother, here-

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor be enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

If a woman follows those verses she will not dishonor the Lord. Now perhaps a woman hasn’t had children or her children are older teens or adults and she has more time at home. Rather than become bored and tempted, she might obtain a job or volunteer. The key is being sensible. If a full time job, removes the mother from the home in ways that cause the home to become fractured or run less well, the verse says the word of God will be dishonored. It is up to each couple to decide what is sensible for them and how the love commanded to her husband and children is best expressed. But in fact I’ve seen few woman be able to manage a full time job outside the home AND raise the children with full attention and energy.

Why is claiming direct revelation from God dangerous?

Allowing ground to the devil makes one drift away. Hebrews 2:1- For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. ANYTHING that drives a wedge between our mind and soul and Jesus is a danger. Satan’s lies do that.

Sinclair Ferguson explains why so many prefer an immediate revelation of God to the ongoing illumination of the word of God by the Spirit of God:

–It is more exciting to have direct revelation rather than Bible revelation. It seems more “spiritual,” more “divine.”
–For many people, it feels much more authoritative to be able to say, “God has revealed this to me” than to say, “The Bible tells me so.”
–Direct revelation relieves us of the need for painstaking Bible study and careful consideration of Christian doctrine to know the will of God. In comparison to immediate revelation, Bible study seems—to be frank—boring. ~Source Ligonier.org, Knowing God

Why is all of this important knowledge for the average Christian mom and wife?

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

For the name of Jesus and His glory. That is the chief end of man, the Westminster Confession says in number 1. We must glorify Him. Anything that glorifies him is necessary and anything that detracts from it is, well…

I understand the loneliness of the stay at home wife and mom. You are thirsty for an adult to talk to, you want grown up conversation, you feel your mind dulling by the day. This makes a woman a target for voices that are pitched to her yearnings and inner desires for affirmation, attention, or just love in a busy life. Ignore those devilish voices. Say in the word, the sure word. A MORE sure word honor the word by following the prescriptions outlined for women of all ages, no matter what age you are.

Further Resources

Knowing God – essay at Ligonier.org

The Problems with Personal Words From God: How People Become False Prophets to Themselves, by Bob DeWaay

Justin Peters on Divine Personal Revelation – video, 9-minute clip

Posted in theology

Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 3

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 1
Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 2
Is God Giving Direct Revelation? Part 4

I am publishing a 4 part series on Direct revelation. This is part 3. Part 4 will be tomorrow. Next week I have some different topics to cover. People in greater numbers, not fewer, are still claiming God spoke to them personally, or directly. This is known as direct revelation.

Throughout the Bible from Adam to Noah to the Prophets to Saul/Paul to the Apostles even John on remote Patmos, God and Jesus spoke directly to people to communicate His word. He also spoke through angels, a burning bush, and even a donkey.

When the Bible was completed, He ceased speaking directly. We have the word of God now as the final communication from Him.

Yet with the plethora of people claiming God still speaks, even some claiming He speaks to them, offering encouragements and making promises, I am examining whether those claims can be true. Despite the stern warning in Revelation 22:18-19 and despite the clear statement in Hebrews 1:1-2, people are alleging ‘God told me’.

I bear witness to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18-19).

God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, (Hebrews 1:1-2).

After Revelation when John penned the words of Revelation, the final book, God concluded that the revelation was complete.

Some people, when they claim God has communicated with them, say they felt a sense of peace about the issue which they discussed. Is a feeling of peace a sure way to determine that a message from God was real?

Is having peace about something a fool proof way for Christians to know God’s will?

No. Firstly, founding any decision or action on a feeling is unwise. Feelings are fleeting. Feelings are deceptive.

Secondly, since we have already determined that God is NOT speaking directly to people these days, therefore any feelings that are evoked from a lying action are also suspect. The ‘peace’ they are feeling could easily be a deceptive feeling of peace, brought on by a seeming affirmation of what their flesh wanted.

People in the New Testament didn’t usually feel ‘peace’ when they communed with God. Peter shrunk back in the boat and pleaded with Jesus to ‘go away from me!’ Isaiah said he was undone. Even the gentle scene with Hagar, she was told to go back and serve abusive Sarah, was not a decision that would have evoked a peaceful feeling. Paul was told to stay in Corinth and keep preaching, that polluted city of licentiousness and blasphemy.

Not that communication with God audibly was never peaceful, but usually in these communications, God is telling people to do something either countercultural or counter to what the flesh wants. These are difficult things that normally evoke other feelings besides peace.

Further, Paul learned peace. Philippians 4:11, Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

He had to learn it. He learned it the hard way, being beaten in every city, jailed, hounded by false teachers, accused of preaching false doctrine, slandered. He learned contentment. But he didn’t start out being peaceful with every situation. He learned it. So must we.

You can be anxious about a path you know you should take but still be confident in the LORD, but not have peace in ourselves. We often DON’T have peace, because the Gospel and holy living we are called to do is oppositional to our flesh, which still is infused with sin. That there might be an unpeaceful battle in our conscience or our heart about a particular decision is by no means indicative of its error. Though sometimes it is, like everything with the Bible, we don’t determine holy standards by our feelings or experiences.

Posted in theology

Is God giving direct revelation? Part 2

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Direct revelation Part 1
Is God Giving direct revelation? Part 3
Is God giving direct revelation? Part 4

The answer to the question in the title is: NO. God is not speaking now apart from or outside of His written word. Take a look at Part 1 for scriptural explanation of this question and answer.

Of the many millions of ‘Christian’ teachers and authors out there who claim that God IS speaking today, they claim also to have the insider information on how to hear him, how to detect if the voice was from God, and how to communicate with him in return.

Again, no. But the question remains, that so many people unfortunately ask:

If we do hear a voice, how do we know it’s from the Lord? And if it’s not from God, then who is speaking?

It is not from the Lord. It is not. There is an entire sub-industry to the Christian Publishing industry of ‘how to hear from God’. Rick Warren, Priscilla Shirer, Joyce Meyer, Mark Batterson, Dallas Willard, and many others have written books and teaching curricula on this topic. The marketplace is flooded with books on how to hear from God. If direct revelation was such an important method of communing with God, why is it so lacking in instruction in the Bible? No, 2 Timothy 3:16 says, says All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;

We can tell by comparing what was said by this voice and how the people reacted. First, the reaction of the recipient-

The Reaction

The true recipients of God’s word or even of His word through an angel was they all fell down, they were crushed and undone as Isaiah was. ‘The trauma of holiness‘, as RC Sproul used to say. An encounter with God always was a traumatic experience. Peter cried out, “depart from me for I am a sinful man!” They hear the word and obey immediately, because they know it is God speaking.

Yet these ladies who claim to hear from God flit around as if it’s a robo-caller on the other side of the phone. When Beth Moore receives a message, she argues with God, so does Joanna Gaines, who actually reported that she flatly told ‘god’ NO. Beth Moore even put ‘Jesus’ on hold saying she’d get to him in a minute and went on with what she was doing first! No, IF it was God first they would fall down in despair for their own sinfulness, and second they would be eager to hear and obey.

The Content

Next, you can tell the voice isn’t from God because of the content of the message. The women (and men) claim to have casual chats with the holy almighty. Sarah Young’s revelations are all things a woman would like to hear, and in a manner that doesn’t even sound like God is speaking, but a 13 year old girl mooning over a poster on her bedroom wall of the latest celebrity teen.

Many times, the content of the so-called message from God is centered around the person to whom God is supposedly communicating- their wants, their needs, their issues. When God communicated in the Bible with people, his messages were mainly concerned with proper worship, His glory, His prophetic plans, His commands, His judgments.

For example, in the New Testament God communicated with Joseph in a dream. In the dream, God told Joseph to take Mary as his wife and to flee to Egypt. He didn’t tune in to ask Joseph how he was feeling about Mary’s pregnancy.

In the Old Testament when He spoke to Hagar in such a personally compassionate way, He told her what to do and then uttered a prophecy about her son.

No, Jesus taught his disciples and by extension us, to pray. He didn’t teach us anywhere in the New Testament to seek His audible voice. (Matthew 6:9-13). All we need is in the Bible.

The Deception

People who claim to hear a voice rarely say that it could be a deception. They seem sure that it was God and only God who spoke to them. For example, Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s show Fixer Upper and the Magnolia Empire, said she heard God clearly in a garden no less, and he supposedly assured her that all her dreams of having a large platform will come true. It never occurred to her seemingly, that the ‘voice’ was indulging her flesh and that it could have been a deception. No, because she was being assured of her dreams, that seemed to cement it for her and she went on to tell this ‘testimony’ in a widely circulated video. Here is a sample:

“I hear God say very clearly, he said ‘Joanna if you trust me with your dreams I’m gonna take Magnolia further than you could have ever dreamed so just trust me.’ I remember hearing that and feeling completely peaceful about it…”

Of course she felt peaceful, she was just told by a voice she thinks is the creator of the universe telling her he will make her dreams come true. Wouldn’t YOU feel ‘peaceful’ about that?

Why do these direct messages – especially the ones to women – never seem to have anything negative to them? God told Hagar to go back and serve Sarah who hated Hagar and abused her. Not so ‘peaceful’. Did God tell the Angel Gabriel to tell Mary that all her dreams would come true? No, he told her what would happen to her body and what to do next. Rebekah inquired of God why her pregnancy was so painful, God told her that 2 nations were in her womb and one will be stronger than the other. He didn’t take time to assure her of her feelings about it.

That dreamy, sentimental faith which ignores the judgments of God against us and listens to the affirmations of the soul is as deadly as cyanide. Faith in faith is faith astray. To hope for heaven by means of such faith is to drive in the dark across a deep chasm on a bridge that does not quite reach the other side.

AW Tozer (Of God and Men)

If someone hears a voice it could be the devil or his unholy angels. Satan masquerades as minister of righteousness, after all, and so do his fallen angels. (2 Corinthians 11:14). Eve was deceived by satan masquerading as a serpent. Demons spoke through men, (Acts 9:13-15). There is such a thing as lying spirits who speak through the mouth. (1 Kings 22:19–23).

Peter said we have a “more sure word”. (2 Peter 1:19). You can be SURE that it is God speaking when you read His word. You don’t have to take courses to learn how to determine if what you are hearing is from God or not. (It’s not). You can be sure that His written word is sufficient for your life. Read it, enjoy it, be confident in it!

Further resources

Direct revelation Part 1 The End Time

Does God Still Give Revelation?

Toxic Devotion: A Review of Sarah Young’s—Jesus Calling by Bob DeWaay

The Problems with Personal Words From God: How People Become False Prophets to Themselves by Bob DeWaay

Posted in theology

Is God giving direct revelation? Part 1

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Is God giving direct revelation? Part 2
Is God giving direct revelation? Part 3
Is God giving direct revelation? Part 4

I’ll do a short series to finish out this week on the dangers of direct revelation. I’ve written about this subject a few times. Why do I return to this subject? First, because it is a pervasive issue in the faith; second because it is a dangerous practice; third, because it betrays either a massive ignorance on the part of the person who claims God talked to them or a massive self-deception; and fourth, because I still get push-back every time I write on it, showing the continuing need for teaching on this subject.

Look up the subject of ‘god spoke to me’ or ‘god whispers’ or ‘god told me’ anywhere online and you will receive millions of results purporting to teach you how to hear God’s voice, or from people who claim to have already heard it. I googled ‘God whispers’ and received 15 million results, starting with books on Amazon that teach it.

No. God is not speaking now, except by His Spirit who illuminates the truths in His written word, the Bible. (And not the Catholic Bible and not the Mormon Bible).

1. What is the “God told me” religion?

It is a conviction that God is still personally speaking to people today, that He delivers new revelation, He guides in personal, individual matters such as where to go or what job to take, or who to marry, and the general notion that He speaks to His people directly, outside of scripture. But He doesn’t. The 1689 Baptist Confession Chapter 1 number 1 says,

The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience, although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan, and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scriptures to be most necessary, those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.

( 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:29, 31; Ephesians 2:20; Romans 1:19-21; Romans 2:14,15; Psalms 19:1-3; Hebrews 1:1; Proverbs 22:19-21; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 1:19,20 ).

This is known as ‘Cessationism’, from ‘ceased’, meaning stopped. The podcast from G3 Ministries discussing that the miraculous gifts of the spirit have ceased can be listened to here.

2. Does God talk to us audibly?

No. Hebrews 1 refutes the idea that God is still speaking in various ways as He did in the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. Then, He spoke through a burning bush, a donkey, angels, Prophets, visions, voices, and circumstances such as earthquakes or brimstone, etc. It should be noted that God did not speak directly to His people often. He only spoke during times of great change, as with Moses, the period of Elijah and the Prophets, and when Jesus came in his incarnation. There were hundreds and hundreds of years where God didn’t speak in any way directly or indirectly.

It was not a common thing then and it is not a common thing now. His word is final. Jesus is the ultimate message. If we insist that we hear from heaven now, it renders Jesus less than the pinnacle of God’s written revelation. If He speaks now, it renders the scriptures as we know them open and insufficient. It renders Jesus’ message incomplete and needing additional stopgaps, patches, and additions.

Further, IF he is speaking now, then which people do we believe? How are they authenticated?

God’s Final Word in His Son: God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

G3 Ministries is coming out with a film on this issue in September. It is called, aptly, Cessationist. Here is the trailer:

Further resources include:

Is God giving direct revelation? Part 2

God’s Final Word essay from Christian Library

Does God still give revelation? Grace to You essay

Posted in theology

God laid it on my heart?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

I’ve been writing lately about how the constant barrage from female so-called Bible teachers claiming “God told me,” known as direct revelation, is building a foundation of sand rather than on the rock of biblical sufficiency. I’ve said many times not to accept someone’s claim of direct revelation. If they teach that, avoid the teacher.

But it does beg the question- HOW does God lead? We know He does. We know the indwelling Spirit in believers illuminates the scriptures, leads us in the path of holiness, and convicts us of sin. He is involved. But how?

I was asked this good question: “How do I respond when someone says ‘God laid it on my heart?’ “

First, understand that God, rather, the Holy Spirit, has a ministry of illumination. He brings light to your mind when you study the scriptures. He reveals wisdom and understanding to your mind, transforming it to a likeness of Jesus’ mind. When you read the Bible, then meditate on the scriptures, then apply them to your life, it is the Spirit sustaining you in this process. When you are reading the Bible another day and bazinga! something suddenly makes sense from something you read before, that is the Spirit’s illumination. When you are in a situation and bazinga! You suddenly know what to do based on a biblical principle, that is the Spirit illuminating the word to your mind.

When you feel something laid on your heart that convicts you, something you feel bad about, like harsh words, or a sin, or wounding another person, or even a secret sin- that is the Spirit ‘laying on your heart’ a conviction to repent.

The Spirit DOES ‘lay on our heart’ illumination and conviction. That is His ministry to our conscience and our mind.

If you feel ‘God laid it on my heart’ to tell someone a foretelling prophecy, or to move the family to another city, or to change jobs, or to drop out of college, or to take a trip, etc, well, that’s just your own decision making. You’re attributing your own personal decision to the Spirit, which is dangerous to do. We can’t put words in His mouth He didn’t say.

Here is an article excerpt explaining-

How can I know the will of God? First, I need to realize that God’s revelation has been “once for all delivered” (Jude 3), which means no further revelation will be made. Second, I need to accept that God’s revealed will in His Word is complete and all-sufficient (2 Tim. 3:16-17), supplying me with everything I need to live and to serve God (2 Pet. 1:3). Third, I need to admit that if I believe God laid something on my heart, then someone else has an equal right to claim that God has laid the complete opposite on his heart, and who is to say who is “right” and who is “wrong”? That’s why God’s Word is the perfect, complete and final standard in all things (John 12:48). ~Source

We might feel an impression to do something, or have a feeling, or follow a leading, but we cannot know specifically that it is the Spirit impressing or leading in that particular instance. Here is Phil Johnson of Grace Community Church, speaking to that issue after the Strange Fire Conference held some years ago:

“The Bible is perfectly sufficient, and that means someone’s personal impression based on a dream or a vision or a voice in the head has no place in the church’s teaching ministry. Those things have no legitimate authority over the conscience of any believer. We are to order our lives by a more sure word of prophecy, namely Scripture.” ~Phil Johnson

So to the question at hand: The following was asked at The Strange Fire Conference, answered by Phil Johnson:

Q. How do we distinguish between the legitimate prompting of the Holy Spirit and our own thoughts or will?

A. While God can prompt us to think or do something, He has not given a clear and objective mechanism to identify when He is doing that. Since no one can identify with absolute certainty the source of the impressions he experiences, he must not ascribe authority to them or rely upon them as direction from God. John MacArthur gives good advice on that point in this downloadable audio. Mistaking a personal impression for divine guidance can lead us far astray from God’s will and may cause serious problems in our lives. ~Phil Johnson

Q. How should a Christian respond to what he thinks might be a leading of the Holy Spirit?

By comparing the impression with the objective, authoritative revelation God gave us—the Scripture. So, does the thought you are having agree with biblical theology? Is the action condemned or condoned in God’s Word? Will that choice ultimately bring glory to God? As you answer these questions in light of biblical teaching, you can know whether you are walking in the will of God.

Look for the word “decided” in the New Testament. Paul decided to do this or that, decided to go here or there. He legitimately received direct instruction from the Holy Spirit, the canon was not written yet. But Paul also decided to do things. We do not leave our decision making faculties behind when we become a Christian.

Acts 16:4, Acts 20:3, Acts 20:16, Acts 27:1, Titus 3:12

So, ladies, if it is something you want to do and it’s aligned with the scriptures in principle, you do not have to say “God laid it on my heart.” That’s unnecessary. Just say, “I decided…” God’s will for your life is to obey Him where there are explicit commands and to obey Him to the best of your interprtation where there are implicit concepts. In between, just decide.

Further Resources

Ligonier: The Holy Spirit’s Ministry

Grace To You: Does God Give Personal Direction through a Still Small Voice?

Posted in theology

God is not talking to you

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Many professing Christian ladies these days claim that God talks to them, some even say they write down what ‘he’ says and turn them into books or ‘Bible’ lessons or devotionals. The Spirit is not giving additional scripture. Therefore these women are either lying or spiritually deceived. Since either one is certainly the case, actual Christian ladies should avoid this kind of material.

It is getting kind of hard to avoid it. William Young’s The Shack was delivered to the author by a spirit, so was Beth Moore’s When Godly People do Ungodly Things, Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling, Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God, Helen Schucman and her book A Course in Miracles, and many others masquerading as Christian(ish) material.

“God told me” and ‘automatic writing’ are ancient issues, they’re not new, but they both were revived and revamped in modern times. In the 1930s Lutheran preacher Dr. Frank Buchman (1878–1961) formed the Oxford Group and one of his teachings involved a “spiritual solution” of automatic writing. He called it “guidance” and taught how to wait with pen in hand for the spirit(s) to endow the devotee’s mind with words they then automatically (like an automaton) wrote down.

Here is a warning from author J. C. Brown from his book The Oxford Group Movement: is it of God or of Satan?, rebutting the Oxford Group’s notion that we can receive dictation from spirits.

“He teaches his votaries to wait upon God with paper and pencil in hand each morning in this relaxed and inert condition, and to write down whatever guidance they get. This, however, is just the very condition required by Spiritist mediums to enable them to receive impressions from evil spin and it is a path which, by abandoning the Scripture-instructed judgment (which God always demands) for the purely occult and the psychic, has again and again led over the precipice. The soul that reduces itself to an automaton may at any moment be set spinning by a Demon.”

Indeed! Any person who opens herself up to this kind of activity is by definition opening herself up to malevolent spirits to rush in.

This ‘God told me’ practice was again remarked upon rebutted by J.C. Brown in his book The Oxford Group Movement: is it of God or of Satan?

“One more word about Dr. Buchman. It is said by those who know him (and I, too, have had the same experience when corresponding with him), that most of those who come into contact with him feel a definite magnetic influence. This is often indicative of demon-possession, though the demon may be transformed like his master Satan into an angel of light.”

Th above is how cult leaders become popular. You’ve often heard people remark that he or she ‘is so charismatic!’ Or he or she ‘is so magnetic! I couldn’t stop listening! I couldn’t take my eyes off him!’ Brown continues with comparing a a demon-possessed man with a true man of God-

“A true man of God, who is filled with the Spirit, exhibits a power over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, but not over the person with whom he comes into contact. One feels in his presence the very atmosphere of Heaven, and the heart is drawn out in love and desire not so much to the man as to the Lord Jesus Christ, his Heavenly Saviour and Lord, Whose he is and Whom he serves.” ~JC Brown

A demon-possessed or oppressed spiritist will draw you to himself. A true man of God will draw you to God. In this way, we know that NO person who ever said in modern times “God told me!” is actually drawing you to God. Too many women reject such warnings by saying that they were drawn to God. But if they examined themselves clear-eyed, they would find that were really drawn to the person ‘teaching’ these practices, not to the Redeemer. To the deceived person, it’s hard to untangle, but the best clue is when a teacher starts saying “GOD TOLD ME!” No, He didn’t. Avoid such people.

You may be wondering then, is God involved in our lives? To what extent? And how will we know, or have assurance, that He is? Phil Johnson explains in his great sermon, Providence IS Remarkable:

When the Lord wants to reassure the Apostles that Almighty God is directly and personally and lovingly involved in their experience, and not only in their triumphs and successes, but also in their trials and sufferings.  Jesus doesn’t point them to the miracles.  He doesn’t talk about dreams and visions, or other mystical phenomena.  He doesn’t tell them to listen for a still small voice inside their own heads, and He certainly doesn’t tell them that their words have creative power, so, you know, when you encounter opposition, just go ahead and make a positive confession.

Instead, Jesus teaches them a truth we know as the doctrine of providence.  He stresses the fact that God is intimately involved in all the details of our lives, even when we can’t consciously sense His presence, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing or why He’s doing it. ~Phil Johnson

Here is another resource for you. I have not read this book but it’s on my way to my mailbox now. It’s called:

Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church by Holly Pivec  (Author), R. Douglas Geivett  (Author).

The blurb describes it:

Is there a new reformation happening in the church? It depends on who you ask. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is a popular and fast-growing new movement of Christians who emphasize signs and wonders, and teach that God is giving new revelation through new apostles and prophets. But is this biblical Christianity?

In Counterfeit Kingdom, apologists and NAR experts Holly Pivec and Douglas Geivett show how the NAR’s key tenets distort the gospel, twist the Scriptures, are influenced by New Age practices, and lead faithful Christians to shipwreck their faith. They also offer practical suggestions for readers who are already influenced by the NAR, curious about it, or concerned about loved ones who have been swept up in the movement. What used to be on the fringes of the church is now mainstream, and many are being influenced by it unaware. This book is a wake-up call.

If you are a true believer, sister, be assured, God is involved in your life. The Spirit indwells you. Jesus intercedes for you. No matter the circumstances, He is. It’s where faith comes in. You just have to trust that He is.

Further Resources

Doren Virtue & Jenn Nizza discuss automatic writing/channeling. https://youtu.be/6ReM8OxwXJ0

Posted in theology

What happens when we go outside of God’s word?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Shack. You remember that book, right? Written by William P. Young. After Young received repeated rejections, it was self-published in 2007. A year later, one million copies had been sold. It then vaulted to the top of the New York Times bestseller list, where it comfortably spent 139 weeks, or two-and-a-half years, resurging to the top ten again when the movie came out in 2017. It seems that The Shack is here to stay.

Since this book and now the movie has had such lasting power and such impact, let’s take a look behind the scenes of its origins.

Continue reading “What happens when we go outside of God’s word?” →
Posted in theology

When scripture becomes insufficient

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Why are there so many female teachers and preachers running around saying they have received a word from God or a prophecy from Jesus? Why is scripture suddenly INsufficient? Why do people seek after ‘a fresh word’? Did the Bible go stale? When was its expiration date?

These are the things I ponder as I see what is being taught or tweeted by so-called women teachers.

In truth, people have always wanted to exalt themselves within their spiritual circles by claiming to have heard from Jesus. It’s not a totally new phenomenon, because sin is not totally new. Neither are false teachers who want to cement their credibility with women who are undiscerning, to get their money. (2 Peter 2:3). However, the wider church’s reaction to such claims is what has changed.

In 1637 female preacher Anne Hutchinson had caused a ruckus that nearly split the nascent colony in two. She was holding meetings in her home where she preached, refused correction, taught that sin had no bearing on one’s attainment to heaven, and more. She held her own against the meetings she was called to with her deep knowledge of scripture and her articulate deftness of warding off opposers in her scripture war. However what did her in was her final argument at her trial, where she claimed God had directly told her she was to continue preaching and teaching. THAT was the final straw, and was a hook her adversaries could hang their hats on. Hutchinson’s fate was sealed.

“Anne was proclaimed a heretic. She and her family were banished from the colony and any supporters in positions of authority were removed. All supporters were forced to surrender arms.”

History.com

We don’t hear of people much since the mid-1600s, 1700s, and 1800s who claimed direct revelation- at least, none who were taken seriously by mainstream Christians. Hutchinson was exiled. Joseph Smith (Mormonism) Mary Baker Eddy (Scientology), Ellen G. White (Seventh Day Adventist) all claimed direct revelation and founded false sects of Christianity upon these alleged revelations from on high.

It wasn’t until 1906 when a “weird babel of tongues” as the LA Times put it, broke out at a local mission on Azusa Street.

‘New sect of fanatics is breaking loose’, ‘Wild scene last night on Azusa Street’, ‘Gurgle of wordless talk’

This new approach to Christianity, with the Holy Spirit allegedly speaking through people (and its twin soon arrived, prophecies) was not embraced widely- at first:

Christians from many traditions were critical, saying the movement was hyper-emotional, misused Scripture and lost focus on Christ by overemphasizing the Holy Spirit. Within a short time ministers were warning their congregations to stay away from the Azusa Street Mission

Washington Post

However, discontent with God’s word in the 20th century had arrived. More and more people claimed to have heard directly from God or Jesus or were prompted by the Holy Spirit…and the more that such alleged events were accepted, the more that other women and men clamored for similar experiences. Babbling in tongues and people claiming direct revelation were still marginalized throughout the early part of the 20th century. Everyone seemed to understand that the canon was closed.

Of Interest: What was the process of deciding on the New Testament canon?

Even when Henry Blackaby and Claude King published their book Experiencing God in 1976, it didn’t get a lot of traction at first. Inside the book, they taught that you can and should be hearing directly from God. The 2021 version states:

Earlier versions of the book promote a similar theological warning, for example: “If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience.” ~Henry Blackaby

When the 1976 book was revised and expanded and re-issued in 1990, THEN it took off. People were entranced with the idea that they could and should be hearing straight from God.

Blackaby was a conservative Southern Baptist, a denomination of adherents known back then as ‘People of the Book’, because people in the Southern Baptist Convention were strict about following the inerrant word of God. So they thought, if HE is saying this…and if Lifeway is promoting it…then it must have legs.

“There is nothing more important in life than understanding when God is speaking to you. If you are disoriented to God’s voice, your life is dangerously vulnerable. The Bible indicates conclusively that God does speak to people and that he does guide them in his will. The problem of not hearing from God never lies with God. He does communicate his will. It is not a matter of us searching in vain for God’s hidden will. He readily reveals it to those who show themselves obedient to do it. If you do not hear God’s voice, could it be your heart is not ready to respond to what he says?” ~Henry Blackaby

Wow. A lot of scare tactics there. ‘important’ ‘dangerous’, ‘vulnerable’, ‘problem’…

Removing the trustworthy word of God from its position from heaven outside our sinful minds and instilling a notion of God’s word emitting from a position of subjectivity and internal impressions and whispers only leads to confusion. Worse, was Blackaby blaming the believer when he or she doesn’t “hear”.

Beth Moore was also in the SBC and was considered conservative at the time she founded Living Proof ministries in 1994. She picked up on the Blackaby concepts and began to repeat them, that of hearing from God is an everyday occurrence, claiming she has direct revelations from on high, and teaching from these extra-biblical revelations.

Of course at the time there were others doing the same, claiming to hear directly from God, but those people were fringe and not taken seriously. But when Blackaby and Moore started with it, it took root.

The idea that Christians can and should hear audible words from God or rely on subjective impressions or respond to whispers, is a dangerous teaching that by nowadays has become deeply rooted in evangelicalism. 

Joanna Gaines of Magnolia industry and HGTV Fixer Upper TV show, Jennie Allen, founder of wildly popular IF:Gathering, Sarah Young of the books Jesus Calling, Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 ministry, Priscilla Shirer and others not only believe you should be hearing ‘a fresh word from God,’ but for years, these women have been actively using their ministries to teach women how.

The other day I wrote “A History of Quiet Time” that attempted to show when or where the idea of hearing God’s whispers during our Bible Study time originated. Of course, it goes all the way back to the Garden when the serpent whispered to Eve, but in modern times we can say that one place that the notion took traction was in 1898 when FB Meyer’s book The Secret of Guidance taught that we wrongly go about initiating things for ourselves “instead of ascertaining what God was doing, and where He required our presence.” If that sounds exactly like the 1990 Blackaby’s tenet, “Find out where God is at work and join Him there” well, Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun…

The Azusa Street babble, the various books through the decades promoting direct revelation from God, and the reissue of Experiencing God, combined with various women who consistently and persuasively teach and promote direct revelation has caused the unbiblical concept to become normalized. To be in the club now you have to say you’ve heard a fresh word from God and here it is…

This is sad. This causes confusion, jealousy, pietism, and ill-will.

Please rely only on the word of God. It is trustworthy, while whispers and impressions are not! The Word is Jesus and He gave us His word. It is pure, rich, truthful and dependable. Our subjective impressions are not.

Further Reading:

How Pietism Deceives Christians: The Errors of Elitist Teachings in the Church by Bob DeWaay

False prophets and lying wonders: Similar ideas have found sweeping acceptance even among non-charismatic Christians. Southern Baptists have eagerly devoured Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King, which suggests that the main way the Holy Spirit leads believers is by speaking to them directly. According to Blackaby, when God gives an individual a message that pertains to the church, it should be shared with the whole body. As a result, extrabiblical “words from the Lord” are now commonplace even in some Southern Baptist circles.

Blackaby’s Experiencing God: if we’re to find out where God is at work and join Him there, then where is God NOT working?

A History of Quiet Time

Posted in theology

The History of “Quiet Time”

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

This essay is about how the personal Bible reading time of the previous generations changed from prayers to God into personal communication with an expected back and forth between the believer – with God delivering individual revelations to the believer for daily living. A Disclaimer: The Holy Spirit does guide us. But we can’t ‘feel’ it at the time. Aside from knowing it as promised in the Bible, we can’t intuit what He is doing moment by moment. He certainly doesn’t whisper His daily directions to us. So how did this situation come about?

Continue reading “The History of “Quiet Time”” →