Misuse of prophecy
–
Scripture should never be twisted for personal use.
–
This verse is misused a lot:
Joel 2:28 King James Version (KJV)
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
There is a trend that has been going on for a decade or two, where many decide that they are a prophet, and go into business, because the above verse says people will prophesy.
I have written on this before:
False Prophets and Teachers – Characteristics
–
Joel states that in the last days, the spirit will be poured out on ALL flesh, which includes non believers, and animals.
This means everyone will feel the presence of God and know He is Lord.
Sons and daughters shall prophesy, but it does not say all of them.
Old men will have dreams, but it does not say all of them. Not mentioned are women and children who could also have dreams, but it does not mention them.
It says YOUNG men will have visions, but does not mention old men, or women or children.
What I want to discuss this time is, just because you are a believer, does not make you a prophet.
And just because it mentions, or does not mention, your “group” (men, women, children, old, young), it does not mean it applies to you personally, or does not apply.
The passage is a general overview of the times.
There are different gifts, and the spirit is expressed differently in different people.
–
–
Another trend for self called prophets is to use bible prophecy, and convert it into their own prophecy, or they paraphrase it.
Then they claim Jeremiah or Isaiah, etc, has confirmed what they said to establish their own legitimacy.
But what they have really done is plagiarize the prophecy.
–
As an analogy, I could listen to the weather report for rain tomorrow. I then turn around and tell everyone who will listen that YHVH GOD told me it was going to rain.
I am only repeating what the weather man says, and taking credit for his work and prediction. This is counterfeit prophecy.
Another example is the “sun turns dark, moon turns red” prophecy that is made several times in the bible.
If someone has a vision about this, they can share it, but they should state they experienced what the bible already says, not act like they are the original prophet.
People who are quick to claim a title are usually shallow creatures.
They want power, recognition for being super holy, and ask for donations.
They will threaten others who question them, using the bible to condemn and control their objections. “Do not touch my anointed,” etc…
If you are something, it will show and be obvious.
Avoid those who went to “prophecy schools.”
–
Casual dreams, visions, and messages that are real
Any of us can hear from YHVH God.
We should willingly offer up what inspiration we have received to help others, and not try to make a profit off it.
Also, not every dream is from YHVH God. That has to be considered.
We have impressions every day that play into our subconscious.
We have to discern between the divine and the natural as well.
See here:
–
–
True prophets of YHVH God and True visionaries are HUMBLE and do not commercialize the “Word given,” and do not demand attention and a title.
As the saying goes, follow the money….True ministers serve out of the love of YHVH God, and not for money and recognition.
God rebukes false leaders:
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets prophesy for money. Yet they look for the LORD’s support and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us." Micah 3:11
So, protect your heart and soul.
If you need discernment, pray to Yahweh God and ask for it. You can also learn discernment skills from good teachers.
May the Lord bless you always.
–
–
–
Heaven Awaits 
Marianne,
This topic is right up your alley.
You have posted nearly 2 dozen personal dreams with the belief that they are divinely inspired and discussed them to no end with us here as if any of us could interpret them like Daniel was able to do.
There is a big difference between interpreting bible prophecy and passing it on to others and creating new prophecies by either interpreting our or others dreams or by interpreting current events (or past events) and trying to turn them into bible prophecy on your own.
For example, when I reject someone’s claim that the second coming or some other event (Nibiru) will not happen, I am not prophesying, just expressing my opinion based on my bible knowledge. Creating events with no biblical references borders on becoming a self-professed prophet. Same goes for dreams. Not a single dream article you’ve posted over the years has ever proven to be true prophesy. I don’t think it serves God’s purpose to describe anyone’s dreams and then discuss them as if they were messages from the almighty.
True prophets like Daniel, Jeremiah and John were visited by angels of God and there was no doubt they were chosen. But I would refrain from listening to any preacher or evangelist who claims they have spoken to God, especially in reference to bible prophecy. Most TV evangelists do not even understand the bible or follow its teachings. They believe the dead go to heaven and can look down on the earth and see their loved ones. They believe the wicked go to hell, which was made up by the Catholic church around 1,200 AD. And they falsely worship on Sunday and celebrate Christmas and Easter which are all pagan. And their eschatology is so far off the mark they can’t possibly be true prophets since they can’t even interpret the bible properly. Jack Van Impe is by far the worst offender. He preaches the rapture is right around the corner and Obama will soon take over the planet and chip every human on earth. He isresponsible for leading millions of Christians astray, all praying to be part of his made-up rapture and waiting for imaginary world events that simply will never happen.
So be careful with dreams and such as people will try to match them up to future events that will also never happen. The exercise is futile and un-biblical. God will not be impressed.
my dreams are just that my dreams. They were inspiring to me and I could see how they could be a message. I treated them as personal dreams and I just invited others to discussion. I never presented any of them as a prophesy. Even natural dreams can have meanings or messages for the Dreamer.
note. documented prophecies from bible mostly do not have a date set. they are real and from God, yet some have not been fulfilled, after given thousands of years ago. so according to you, they would be wrong.
only one prophecy I can think of had a date attached…daniel told the babylonian king his kingdom would be taken from him that very night.
I just share my dreams with no dates predicted. since they are not predictions, but my mind is processing data I get in the physical world, or maybe God does have a personal message in them for me that I share.
I have dreams all the time, but I do not share them as I see them as purely natural.
See here:
Divine vs Natural Dreams
https://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/divine-vs-natural-dreams/
I think you have knee jerk reactions to topics without actually studying the topic and looking at all perspectives. slow down a little, and think more about what is said.
Frankly, I love to hear your dreams Marianne. There is a verse in John that says if people keep God’s commandments God will manifest Himself to them: Johan 14:21 So maybe the closer we walk according to God’s Word the more revelation we will receive. Simple.
hope so!!! 🙂
I understand the Joel prophecy of the outpouring of the Spirit as these will be manifestations to tell us the hour is near. Since few are clear and have a date stamp, it is very easy to read too much into a dream or vision. It may simply be God saying, “Hello, I AM here!”
I see my dreams as a reminder that God is there and wants to communicate with me. They frequently come after I have prayed in the Spirit and/or when I’ve asked a question.
I do seek to interpret my dreams and help others examine the symbolism. I find it brings me a sense of peace and to be alert to various signs.
I have no foundation to think my dreams are prophesies concerning the future of mankind. That is why we have Revelation and the Prophets.
mad ray
a dream can either be informative or ordinary, with no special meaning.
because of a current flood of false prophets circulating on the internet, many shy away from assigning the word “prophetic” to their dreams or experiences., as they do not want to sound phony to others or self aggrandizing. they are almost embarrassed that it might actually be prophetic, which makes them suppress the dream, and not share it.
but god did promise in Joel that many would prophesy in the last days, and have dreams and visions… this is not for them to become “important” or to look superior to others, but to inform them or educate them.
most of the time, it is to inform the individual. other times it is meant to share.
sharing does not make us a prophet.
what I do is just share the dream. I do not demean the dream by saying it is not prophetic. god may have directed the dream to teach me something. I just share and let others decide if it is helpful to them. when I share, I might just say what it means to me.
we must remember too that our dreams can be a literal analysis of our current circumstances, just as scientists see data / evidence for something that can be useful. the scientists are just making predictions based on the information they have. this is following logic. but this does not make them prophets either. we do the same when we see rain clouds overhead, we understand that rain is coming.
the holy spirit is with us now. someday he will leave the earth and the wicked behind. if he is speaking to us in a certain way, it is best to accept the message and learn what he is saying.
I know some abuse this for personal status with others, but that should not intimidate us into denying what the holy spirit is doing with us. we can be humble and share, and benefit from the message given,
people are always welcome to share their experiences on this website. we all just want to know what God may be telling us
Wasn’t it Peter who said in the book of Acts when the holy spirit fell, that what they were experiencing was “that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel?”
I suppose that event was much “later” than Joel’s actual prophesy.
I think we see through a glass darkly. But it is no secret that the Holy Spirit is the one who helps us understand the Bible as we read, limited as we might be.
It seems to me that the more we read the Bible, the better we understand it. You can filter what other people say through the lens that you already know.
chris
that is why our lens has to be cleared by the holy spirit, so we CAN see.
it is called discernment. would you not agree?
Yes, I would. Without the Holy Spirit, it would just sound like mumbo jumbo.