felix

felix, below are your words in the thread where I thought you exhibited some not so subtle name calling and meanness when you implied that EricH and others who do not agree with you are pharisees. You seem to have trouble seeing your own sins but easily finding them in others. sw from felix: Hello, The pharisees and scribes knew the scriptures very well but they did not know Jesus Christ. Can you explain how "the understanding of inspiration as stated above is not correct from a biblical perspective"? I do know 2 Timothy 3:16 but I do not believe this is talking about every word being inspired... 2 Timothy 3:16 16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: However, this is not every single word individually...it is "scripture". If every word in and of itself is the inspiration then what about all the other langauges of the world? The hebrew and greek are translated into many langauges. If every word was inspired then the original inspiration of each word cannot be correctly conveyed in all these languages. I would strongly disagree with this classic understanding of inspiration that you are refering to. I speak mandarin Chinese at home and the same versions of bible in English and Chinese have totally different word structures and syntax. There is no way to convey the same original "inspiration" of each individual word of the scriptures. I think anyone who translates or is bilingual can understand this. Yet in Chinese or English...the same scriptures in any translation is ultimately what the Lord teaches me and what I store in my heart. Sometimes the Lord leads me to read a verse in one translation and then in another. The Holy Spirit is the teacher. With this in mind, I would like re-emphasize the dialogue of Sadhu Singh from above. The bolded parts are what I comment on which is italicized. God the Spirit is the true author of the Bible, but this does not mean that every word, taken on its own (many words have different translations in different languages so words taken on its own is not necessarily inspired like the words "the", "of", and even some nouns/verbs in English cannot possibly be translated word by word in different languages), is holy or inspired. It is not the words in themselves, but rather the meaning that is inspired. The language used by those who wrote the books of the Bible was the language of everyday (I believe we can examine this if we talk to a greek linguist who knows the history of the greek language), not the language of spirit. Only when we make direct contact with the author, that is, with God the Spirit, can the meaning become clear.(in my experience, when I have prayed over a verse has God revealed many things to me) Just as many do not understand the Master, so too, they can not understand his words. (this is true of the pharisees and scribes recorded in the gospels...there are still modern-day "phariseess" and "scribes" in the Church today who know the scriptures but do not know Jesus Christ) "The pharisees and scribes knew the scriptures very well but they did not know Jesus Christ." This is a fact. You are accusing me of subtle name-calling by implicating things. You say I "seem to have trouble seeing my own sins but easily finding them in others". That's your judgement on me. I was not "finding sin in others". The fact the pharisees and scribes knew the scriptures very well yet did not know Jesus Christ is true. It was not directed at EricH. I mention the scribes and pharisees in support of the entire premise (dialogue of Sadhu Singh) which is very clear.

Dakota, I share the same feelings as you do. I know that many down here in Texas also feel the same (except for those working with the oil industries). It seems like the oil companies are getting greedier and finding excuses to raise the prices. While there is greater military risk in transporting oil, I think we actually have a more abundant supply than ever. With the cost of risk, the oil companies are either making the same profit as they use to or even more at the cost of the many civilians who need drive to work everyday. Maybe I don't know the full picture but for now this is how it looks. I also felt on the day gas prices started rising that it was something of the Lord. While other countries may have the gas prices we have today in America, I believe the Lord was doing something for us here in America. Many people were too focused on vehicles. Modifying the body and engine, desiring the most powerful engine, and establishing car clubs. There was a car frenzy that took people away from spending time with the Lord. Now with such high gas prices, many people now regret all the time spent into looking for their now gas-guzzling vehicles. May the Lord have mercy.

St. Worm, I actually didn't see that you had mentioned my name in the thread "Knowing God through his Spirit" where you say I become "nasty when cornered" and that I name-call. That's blatantly false. The name-calling part for sure is false. Now before you all go "not this again", it's not about driving home a point or being egotistical. This is not directed to anyone else; this is to let you all know where I am coming from. If I disagree don't take it as if I'm being nasty or mean. If these things come down as too cold and hard then I'm sorry. But admonishment, from me at least, has no partiality and no favorites. Friend or Foe, acquaintance or stranger...I try to speak the same to everyone. I at least get my message across whether it's positive or negative. I am zealous for justice and righteousness. I am eager for truth. If I am wrong, I am quick to acknowledge that and embrace the truth. If I believe someone is wrong I am quick to correct. There should be no pride in these things, it should just be for the defending of the truth as there is always a war going on where Satan is sowing weeds with the wheat. Don't take anything I say as some nasty or bitter attack at anyone. I speak the same to everyone. I may mistakenly not show compassion or patience when needed however; this is something I need to work on. But anyways, I wanted to make that clear. I know I can never be right all the time as I make a lot of mistakes. No one can always be right. So what it comes down to is not about being right but about being able to accept when we are wrong. Whether we admit our error publicly or not, deep in our heart we need to know the truth. It would actually go better for you if you did admit your error to another member. God exalts humility. But at the very least admit it to yourself. moderators, I understand the burdens you have to bear though I don't share them with you. We know we can give these to Jesus and He will be the true moderator. I hope the Lord can show you all the great blessings in watching over this board. I know that it's probably a harder task to watch the over-zealous bunch (maybe like me) but much grace and strength to you all.

Hello, In the closed-thread, "knowing God through his spirit" I had thought maybe it was because I brought up something that was off-topic. But if it was locked because of the on-going assault between St. Worm and his contenders then I agree with you. The parable mentioned by Germanjoy is an important thing to discuss. Also honestly and truthfully, I don't see any name-calling and accusations except from St. Worm. That's because you are blind and refuse to see the truth. There have been numerous instances of name calling directed at me but apparently you have no problem with that. sw I didn't really read through the entire thread but I did read your exchange with Germanjoy which subsequently locked the thread. You attacked Germanjoy and not the points she made in scripture...particularly the parable of the ten virgins. You don't prove how those points are wrong...you only say the person is wrong. You resort to an ad-hominem -marked by or being an attack on an opponent's character rather than by an answer to the contentions made. This seems to be the case in all your responses to anyone. For instance, you had just said I was "blind and refuse to see the truth". You may say that there have been numerous instances of name calling directed at you but what can you possibly say when the most numerous instances of name calling is coming FROM you? That is why I have no problem with that. What do you expect from people if you keep name-calling or resorting to ad-hominems?

Hello, In the closed-thread, "knowing God through his spirit" I had thought maybe it was because I brought up something that was off-topic. But if it was locked because of the on-going assault between St. Worm and his contenders then I agree with you. The parable mentioned by Germanjoy is an important thing to discuss. Also honestly and truthfully, I don't see any name-calling and accusations except from St. Worm.

Thanks a lot. I haven't been able to do this yet...I have to look for the Operating System CD. Is there another way to reload the software without the CD? I don't trust system restore of windows, since if it's because of a virus you want system restore, most virus copy themself to the backup in system restore. I recommend backing up your important while and completely resetting pc, reinstalling windows XP . Use a windows Xp CD or a PC manufacters sysrem Reset cd. Thanks, The problem is with Napster and playing the downloaded files. Part of the solution requires that the system restore works. So I'll have to try what Kevin advised.

Oh, Felix, I love Jesus so much!! Sometimes I could spend all day at my Savior's feet just listening to his voice. We talk a lot, God and I do. But, I still know in part. I look forward to the day when all my questions will have answers, but that day is not here yet. It is so true that God calls the foolish things of this world and the weak things... so that he may get the glory!! If we were perfect, there would be no room for God, you know. I will always be a work in progress until the "imperfect disappears." But, you know, I would rather risk being wrong than to never risk at all; than to just play it safe. I don't know anyone who gets it right 100% of the time. That is why we need the body of Christ. We fill in each other's holes. And, you are so right in the things you just stated here. I agree! That is the condition of the church. You know, I did a study about a year ago on how to discern a true prophet of God from a false prophet (which I'll include in the next message), based upon the OT, but most of it still applies, I believe. I don't think we hear exact words from God other than what are written in his word, because there is not the need for people to speak the exact words of God since we have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to speak to us. So, I think there is a margin of error. But, God does still give messages to his servants to give to others, because that is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the body of Christ, but we are called to examine those messages to see if God is telling us the same thing. And, I think that's a good thing to check it out with God. But, what I see happening a lot, instead, is people just disregarding the message because it does not fit with their theology or because it is not perfectly communicated or they write the person off if they have, or they perceive they have erred in the slightest manner. I'm sure glad God does not deal with us in that way. What we need to realize is that when we share a message we believe is from God, it is not "thus saith the Lord." It is subject to the discernment of the Church body. It is up to them to pray about it and ask God to give them understanding. That is where the decision is made - by the receiver of the message - as to its authenticity. But, in order to be discerning, people need to be listening to God. And, if God tells them that a message is not of him, then that's ok, but you know, sometimes it is not necessarily that it did not have its source in God, but maybe the person receiving the message lacked discernment in understanding the message, so they need the body of Christ to help them understand what God may be saying. In other words, I may have a dream or a vision that I believe is from God, and it may be from God, but I may err in my interpretation of the dream or vision. That does not nullify the vision nor does it mean that this is not from God. It just means I erred in my understanding. So, the body of Christ should then come alongside me and counsel me in how to interpret or how not to interpret visions or dreams I may or may not have received from God. But, often, instead, we harshly reject them and treat them as though they are evil, when they aren't evil. They are sincere believers of Christ trying to listen to what God's Holy Spirit is telling them, and they are sharing that with the body of Christ, with great fear and trembling I might add, because they believe there is a message there that needs to be heard, no matter how imperfectly it may be communicated. But, these sincere believers and followers of Christ are not the enemy. It just means they have not perfected their particular gifts, so they need encouragement and counsel from the body of Christ to help them to grow, to learn, etc. but so often we fail them by treating them as though they are the enemy. It is so sad! And, I have seen this so much in the church. We need to give people the opportunity to grow instead of just writing them off because of their imperfections, whatever those may be. We need to speak the truth in love to them and help them. Well... that's one of my soapboxes. Anyway, this is what I learned about true and false prophets (following), but I will only add that messages received from God, other than what is expressly written in his word, today need to be understood in the light of I Co. 13:9-12. We need to stop condemning and attacking one another, but instead work together to gain understanding, speaking the truth in love for the purpose of helping a person to grow and to develop his/her gifts. That's what the body is for. Exactly right! Sorry it took a while for me to reply. Thanks for explaining this so well. One thing people think about in terms of prophets, they think they are infallible like the OT prophets. But during the OT the Spirit of God did not dwell in man, it dwelt in the tabernacle. So prophets would prophesy in the manner, "thus saith the Lord". These would be the Lord's own words, and thus were infalliable. We now live in the age where Christ Jesus (God) dwells in us where we are the tabernacle. He is in us as the Spirit with our spirit. So prophesying is from the spirit which is grafted with the Spirit of God. The message we receive in spirit must then go through our mind where we can then speak it through our physical body. Yet the moment of where it crosses the spirit/mind we can make mistakes. When our mind takes the place of the spirit, we put in our own opinions and ideas which are not of God...though not necessarily bad. This makes us fallible in delivering the message of God. The message itself is not in error...it is us abiding in our own mind. It's all about letting God do everything and us do nothing. We only need to trust and obey. It's all about abiding in Jesus Christ...being a branch of Him. This led me to share the following.... Jesus Christ, who dwells in all of us, is awaiting His Bride. The believers all together make up this one Body which is to be God's bride. To become such a bride we need to become the same "species" as the bridegroom...for we as humans marry only other humans. In the same way we must become like Christ in our life and nature that we would be made fit to become this bride. Jesus as the life-giving Spirit in us wants to do that right now. We know the Lord's words and commandments to us...but what keeps us from fulfilling and obeying them? It is our own nature. The way to let Jesus Christ change us is by letting go and surrendering our own nature. It is not about the effort of doing good works but simply about us surrendering to Jesus Christ that we can be changed. As different parts of the same body we should not try to be like other members of the Body. What kind of body has eyes all over its body? So we should just be ourselves but let God have the first place in our being. We do not exchange our life for Christ's life, rather we get our life grafted with Christ's life. In this way God destroys the Sin nature we have. Here's an excerpt from the "Wisdom of Sadhu": Some moral teachers and many religious leaders say,

Thanks a lot. I haven't been able to do this yet...I have to look for the Operating System CD. Is there another way to reload the software without the CD?

I'm trying to fix my sister's computer but the system restore is not working. Every time I try to do a system restore it does not change the computer's settings back to the chosen date. The computer "seems" to be missing something when it boots up. For instance running Spybot (spyware killer) on boot up does not work.

Thank you, Felix, for these words of encouragement. I read a little bit of what you posted on prophecy, but did not have time to read it all. I also have had a little difficulty with words that supposedly are God's direct words to the prophet and then through the prophet to us, because we don't need a prophet to speak God's direct words to us anymore, because we have the Holy Spirit within us and we have the Bible. So, the meaning of prophecy changed, I believe, once Christ entered into us through the person of the Holy Spirit. But, I must admit that sometimes these types of prophesies truly have been God's words for me at times, and the words were in line with the words he has spoken to me over many years through his word and during our times together. But, we must always test them through prayer to see if this is truly what God is saying. Sometimes these words were confirmations of what God had already been saying to me, so his Holy Spirit bore witness in my heart that this was of God. He uses the body of Christ to confirm his words to us many times. Still, we have the Church, and we have the gifts of the Spirit within the Church, and Paul said he would that all would prophesy. So, what did he mean? I think it can be in several forms, one of which is to share a word from the Bible and to interpret it within its context, but to make application to a current day situation. Another can be that God would speak a personal message to a person through the Holy Spirit within him or through God's revealed word in the bible but more in the sense of gaining a principle from the passage, rather than making a correct interpretation of the passage within its context, providing that the principle gained does not contradict the teachings of scripture as a whole. This can be done through preaching, through sharing in a group Bible study, and through sharing with the body from our quiet times with God, etc. For example, we might read the passage about Jesus' words to the rich young ruler. Now, these are not Jesus' universal words to all of us, but he may say to us personally as we read the scripture, "Your wealth is keeping you from walking in obedience to me, so sell (however much he tells us to sell) what you have and give it to the poor and then come and follow me." This is not, however, to be taught universally that all of us should sell all we have and give to the poor. However, a principle can be gleaned from it, and that is that "the love of money is the root of all evil" and that our possessions should never take priority over our relationship with the Lord and we should have the attitude that all that we have is God's and it is his to give and his to take away. And, there may be times when that is exactly God's message for a certain group of people at a certain time. But, you are right. We say them in our own words, just like preachers do every week, and you know, they are not perfect, because we are not perfect, and because our words are not "God breathed," though hopefully they are truly from the Holy Spirit speaking within us. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit takes all that is God's and makes it known to us. In other words, these are styles of preaching, i.e. prophesying. Some preachers will give a message they believe is what God wants them to say to their congregation through a literal word for word translation of the passage, but will make practical application. Others will take a passage of scripture and will look for a lesson to be learned or a principle to be taught or an analogy that could be used in other situations, and I believe that sometimes these are given to them by God through prayer and through the reading of the word. But, that does not mean that every word they utter is the word of God. That is why we must be discerning and we must test the spirits. But, we should not expect perfection. In other words, I love to hear Chuck Swindol preach. I believe he is a godly man and that God speaks through him, but that does not mean every word that proceeds out of his mouth is the absolute truth. If that were the case, then we would not have so many interpretations of scripture and varying denominations, but we would all think like Big Chuck. But, we do have these varied interpretations because we all hear God differently. So, who is right? Should we write someone off it they are 95% right but have one or two things not quite right? No! Then, we would have to stop listening to preachers and other believers all together. I Co. 13 says: "For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." I don't know about you, but I have not reached perfection yet. I know in part. That is why we need the body of Christ. Other parts of the body may know some parts I might not know, or they may need to correct me if I am in error or they may encourage me to persevere or I may encourage them because God is saying the same thing to them and they feel like they are standing alone out there. Sometimes I know the exact words God is saying, but sometimes I don't know the exact meaning, so I need discernment to understand what he is trying to tell me. Even Jesus' own disciples did not understand many of the things he said, and they had him in person. Even after he explained some things, they still did not understand until they actually saw it happen. Peter did not understand the vision of the sheet with the food that was unclean, even after seeing it three times, and his understanding was still incomplete even as it began to unfold in front of his eyes. Finally, at one point a light bulb turned on inside his head and he got it. Sometimes God unfolds his truths to us in the same way, a little at a time. I think sometimes we need to learn "as we go; as we step out in faith," warts and all. I know that you are led by the Spirit of God. I am glad to hear that you are keep your morning revival with God, that is so important. Just know that man's messages most often do not receive any opposition. It is when we receive a message from God that we receive most opposition from the Church. People do not realize that Satan is unconcerned about the lost...they are already His...Satan is worried about the strength of the Church. The Church is what Satan wants to tear down so it does not come as a surprise that Satan is most active in destroying it. That is why many true messages to the Churches are not being received. The people of the Church become complacent in their man-made ways and concepts that they think are of God but are not. They are using the Grace of the Lord Jesus as a license to sin...they do not have contrite spirits and hearts. They do not know the spirit, they only know the letter which kills. They quote scripture yet not by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, but only with their own understanding and agenda. For even Satan can quote scripture to His uses. But we can know when we are right with the Lord and know the things He has revealed to us. We have a relationship with Him where it is all clear. Man will always question this because the spiritual things of the Lord they do not and cannot understand.

I strongly exhort those who do not receive Christ's Free Servant's message to read http://www.worthyboards.com/index.php?showtopic=41715 on the meaning of Prophecy. Thank you for this Word Sue. May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to strengthen you through His Spirit.

Hello manji, I was real bored and then I came across your profile! I'm also Chinese and happen to love mixed martial arts and grappling/ju-jitsu! My parents are from Taiwan. I speak mandarin Chinese. I grew up in America. As for your friends criticising you, you can just learn the way from Jesus Christ. This will be the most effective way to deal with it. You can pray for Jesus to take control of your mind, emotion, and will when your friends criticise you. In this way you minister Jesus Christ to them through your living and behaviour. I believe that the Japanese pastor who gave you the bible is not only a highly kind act on his part...but it is also part of God's plan. So I wouldn't see yourself as a begging Asian for having the Japanese bible but as one who has a purpose in Jesus Christ. Make good use of this bible that you have. You will then be ministering Christ to others and to your own friends.

Sister Jackie, I had more to mention about your dream but had intended it to be private. Since you have disabled your PM, I will not share this publicly or at all unless you want to hear it. Its on your word that I will share. If you do not wish to speak to me at all then just indicate it here. I'm confused as to why you disabled your reception of PMs if your last PM to me left an opening to further discussion which was the "wilderness trip message that you received from the Lord".

Brother Job has taught me a great deal in understanding prophecy. Those who prophesy as "thus saith the Lord" or speak for God in the first person are prophets speaking presumptuously. These are not false prophets but lying prophets. I do not believe the prophecy themselves are the lie. It is the people speaking as if these were the Lord's own direct words that is the lie. A false prophet is one who speaks a prophecy that is not from God at all. A lying prophet may speak a prophecy that is from the Lord but say that these are the Lord's own direct words which would make this a lying prophet. There are no more prophets from the old covenant that prophesies in the manner of "thus saith the Lord". Today, in the new covenant, the Lord is a part of us in spirit. We prophesy with our own words now. Anytime that we should say "thus saith the Lord" is with scripture, not for our own words. Again, a lying prophet is not necessarily a false prophet. There are many prophecies that are done in the fashion "thus saith the Lord". There are such prophecies posted in this Prophecy thread that prophesy in the way of the old testament prophets. So far I am very happy that they have been shared and say a big AMEN to them. The only problem is that they are prophesied in the manner that these are the Lord's own direct words. While these are the messages the Lord wants to convey to the Church, they are not the Lord's direct words. The Lord's direct words are the scriptures. So indeed, the prophet's message is given with his own words and own way..and it will align with scripture. So far all the prophetic message given here seem to align with scripture...just that they need not be prophesied in the first person as the Lord speaking. Also, the Lord speaks to us through dreams, visions, interpretations of those dream/vision and prophetic utterances. But these align with scripture as well. I see that many people disagree with dreams, visions, and prophetic utterances because they may think that these replace the scripture. This is misplaced thinking. Dreams, visions, etc. do not replace scripture. Dreams, visions, and prophetic utterances is God's way of showing us the times and the scripture, being absolute throughout time, confirm these dreams, visions and prophetic utterances. The scripture confirms the dreams, visions, etc. and the dreams, visions, etc confirm scripture. When a dream, vision or prophetic utterance is from God this should be the case. When a dream is not of God then neither will the scriptures confirm them nor will the dream confirm scripture. As always by testing the spirit of all things (prayer is key). Do not depise prophecy but test it. Many may quote this verse but do not actually test prophecy. They actually depise it as they believe in their hearts that there is no such thing as prophecy anymore. Also, many prophecies that people find unsatisfying or ones that do not please them, they do not believe. They attack the prophecy of judgement and the messenger. Yet this is nothing unexpected as we see that the prophets of old were treated the same way. Prophecies will not always be ear tickling but this is what the Church, especially in America, is looking for. 1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 (Amplified Bible) 20Do not spurn the gifts and utterances of the prophets [do not depreciate prophetic revelations nor despise inspired instruction or exhortation or warning]. 21But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast

Hello dear brothers and sisters, Here are some lessons on prophecy I recevied from brother Job Anbalagan. Please try to read through it all... Biblically speaking, the term "prophecy" covers the following: - Revelation of God and His salvation plan - Revelation of divine secrets/future events - Condemnation of sins and iniquities - Pronouncement of divine judgment on sins and iniquities - Divine comfort - Divine guidance - Divine promises - Conveying of timely messages of God The Bible is a book of prophecy. One may normally tend to believe that the word "prophecy" in the Bible means only prediction of the future. It is not so because it performs all the above functions. "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). The Bible Prophecy was revealed in the Old Testament by the Holy Ghost through the holy prophets. We tend to think that the prophecies came forth only through the prophetic books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. It is not so. We should bear in mind that the prophecies started flowing forth right from the Garden of Eden. In the third chapter of the Book of Genesis, God cursed the serpent and pronounced judgment on Eve and Adam. These were the words of prophecy which came directly from the mouth of God. Prophecy is not just "prediction of future events" as denoted in the dictionary but covers a lot more for us in the Church. The entire Bible as well is a book of prophecy. These can be prophecies for us relating to our current situation. Prophecy encompass revelations in the Word, condemnation, comfort, guidance, promises, and timely messages for the Church. Prophecies - Old Testament Vs New Testament The Old Testament reveals the salvation plan of God. The New Testament fulfills the salvation plan of God. The prophets of the Old Testament were the spokespersons of God for revealing the salvation plan of God. The prophets of the New Testament execute the salvation plan of God. "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John" (Matt.11:13). In fact, the prophecies concerning the salvation plan of God came to an end with the ministry of John the Baptist who revealed Christ as the Lamb of God to the Israel. However, the Bible Prophecy concerning prophetic events continued to be revealed through Jesus Christ and through His apostles who wrote the Gospels and the Epistles. 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. However, He made prophecies concerning prophetic events that would take place. He spoke words of comfort and of promises. He also spoke words of condemnation against the Pharisees and Scribes, and condemned the sin. He also conveyed timely messages of God to Israel. The Bible Prophecy concerning revelation of the salvation plan of God came to an end with the ministry of John the Baptist. Fulfillment of the salvation plan began with the birth of Christ. All the Old Testament prophecies concerning the ministry of Christ right from His birth to His ascension to God's right hand were fulfilled. The word of prophecy in Gen.3:15 concerning the seed of a woman was fulfilled with the birth of Christ as mentioned in Col.4:4. The word of prophecy in Ps.68:18 regarding Christ's ascension to God's right hand was fulfilled as per Mark 16:19. The Bible Prophecy concerning the salvation plan of God which had begun in the Book of Genesis was partly fulfilled at the Calvary. The remaining part of the Bible Prophecy concerning the final redemptive plan of God would be fulfilled after the second advent of Jesus Christ when those who would be alive and those who are dead in Christ would put on immortality (I Cor.15:51-58). No prophet under the New Testament shall further add to the salvation plan of God which had been revealed once and for all under the Old Testament. Neither shall he add to nor shall he delete what the Old Testament prophets spoke. If he adds or takes away any of the words of prophecy spoken by the Old Testament prophets, he will be a lying prophet. These days, some prophets claim to be end-time prophets and their claim is not scripturally correct. God has revealed all the truths to us in the Bible Prophecy which came to an end in the isle of Patmos when John received the special revelations from God. There are no such end-time truths to be revealed to such end-time prophets. Of course, in these last days, the New Testament prophets get revelations on the Bible Prophecy which had already been given to the Church. The New Testament prophets only interpret the Bible Prophecy and are not supposed to give any other prophecy which contradicts the Bible Prophecy. Through the revelations and visions received by them from the Holy Spirit, they only confirm the Bible Prophecy that takes place at the end-time. These so-called end-time prophets should not and cannot proclaim any message which is outside the written Word of God. Leaders of certain cults proclaim other ways of salvation than what the Old Testament prophets proclaimed. They are indeed false prophets. The Bible Prophecy concerning prediction of future events which had begun in the Garden of Eden was finally revealed to John the apostle and prophet, when he was in the island of Patmos. The Book of Revelation was given to the Church through John as the last book of the Bible Prophecy concerning future events about the end of this world and about the final redemptive plan of God. Revelation is the book of consummation. In it, the divine program of redemption is brought to fruition. Although there are numerous prophecies in the Old Testament books, the Gospels and Epistles, Revelation is the only New Testament book that focuses primarily on prophetic events. This book is an unveiling of the character and program of God. It is also known as the Apocalypse, a transliteration of the word apocalypses, meaning unveiling. 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. John the apostle and prophet did not prophesy on the salvation plan of God in the isle of Patmos. He only received a revelation of Christ Jesus and about the end-time events through visions given to him by the Holy Spirit. He recorded in the Revelation what the Holy Spirit commanded him to write to the churches and what he saw in the visions. However, the Old Testament prophets prophesied until John the Baptist. They prophesied during the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. The Bible Prophecy contains words of divine comfort. Though many prophetic books under the Old Testament were directed toward the peoples of Israel and Judah, yet the same words of comfort are applicable to the Church, the spiritual Israel. For instance, let us read the words of comfort in the 54 th chapter of Isaiah. Though Isaiah spoke these words of comfort to the Israel, all these words of prophecy can be claimed by us under the New Covenant. The Bible Prophecy also contains words of exhortation, words of condemnation of sin and of divine judgment on the disobedient and backsliding Israelites. 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. What we do nowadays is pick up conveniently certain words of promises and of comfort but ignore the words of God's condemnation of and judgment on sin. Bible Prophecy Vs World Religions God had not revealed to the world any other plan of salvation except redemption through His Son since the ministry of John the Baptist. "God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the worlds". (Heb.1:1-3). God had spoken to our fathers in the past through His prophets at sundry times and in diverse manners under the Old Testament. ? But He has spoken to us by His Son in these last days. The period of last days began with the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner to Christ. After God had spoken by His Son, He has never again spoken by any other man or any of His angels. Those religious leaders who appeared in this world after Christ with the so-called divinely inspired messages other than the gospel of Christ are false prophets. The Bible Prophecy is a litmus test to expose such religious cults. The Bible Prophecy is tested upon the anvil of the world history. ? In other words, the world history is the recorded evidence to prove the prophecies of the Bible. The Bible Prophecy reveals God and His attributes whereas the so-called divinely inspired religious doctrines do not reveal God and His character as these merely present philosophical thoughts or moral values. God still speaks to the world only through Christ Jesus or through Church, the Body of Christ. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18). It is only the Bible Prophecy that reveals Christ, the Son of God, to the fallen human race. The Bible Prophecy is pivotal on the Person of the Son of God, whereas the world religions are pivotal on doctrines of the so-called enlightened men or prophets who had reportedly received divine messages. Bible Prophecy Vs Personal Prophecy The Bible Prophecy is different from the personal prophecy. Apart from the Bible Prophecy, the Old Testament prophets also gave personal prophecies to individuals including kings. For instance, the prophet Nathan prophesied to King David when the latter committed the sin of adultery. Though the New Testament prophets do not make any Bible Prophecy, they make personal prophesies. Agabus, a prophet of the New Testament did prophesy to the church at Antioch of a famine throughout the world. Agabus then prophesied to Paul of persecution in the hands of Gentiles (Acts 11:27-28 & 21:10-11). Who are the prophets today? (i) Prophets to world A prophet is a messenger of God or a spokesperson of God. Under the New Testament, a person who has accepted Christ as his/her personal Savior is a prophet of God to the world because he has God's message of salvation to the world. He/she has to execute the salvation plan of God revealed through the Blood of Christ Jesus by preaching the gospel. He/she has to give the divine message to the lost. He/she cannot have a different message of salvation except through the Blood of Jesus Christ. He/she cannot re-write the Bible Prophecy revealed by God through the Old Testament. The Old Testament prophets prophesied until John. A New Testament prophet interprets the same Old Testament Scriptures in order to reveal Christ Jesus. (ii) Prophets to Body of Christ Though every disciple of Christ is a prophet of God to the lost world, yet God has appointed to the Body of Christ a special category of ministers, called prophets in the second place. Their functions are given below: (i) To exhort, edify and warn the people of God (Acts 15:32) (ii) To define God's will in the individual lives of the people of God (Acts 13:1-3) (iii) To predict as led by the Spirit on future events (Acts 21:10-11). However, such prophecies should in no way add or take away the words of prophecies in the Book of Revelation but may confirm the words of prophecies in the said Book. (iv) To interpret Scriptures including the New Testament books (v) To comfort the afflicted people of God (vi) To see and interpret prophetic visions (Acts 10:9-16) (vii) To condemn sin and to convict the people of sin, righteousness and judgment (viii) To pronounce divine judgment (Acts 5:1-11) (ix) To prophesy in Jesus' Name (Matt.7:22). This means pronouncement of deliverance, miracles, healings, etc. in the Name of Jesus Christ (Mat. 7:22, Acts 3:6, 14:8-10, 16:18). Such prophecies should be only in the Name of Jesus Christ. (x) To give timely prophetic messages to the churches or to the members of the Body of Christ ( Rev.1:4) in the same manner as John gave to the seven churches in Asia. Such prophetic messages should conform to the truth of the revealed Word of God. A prophet should visit individual ministers of God or the churches as led by the Spirit for his ministry. He should not hanker after church pulpits on his own. (xi) To reveal the secrets of one's heart so as to bring glory to God (I Cor.14:24) Those who prophesy saying, " thus saith the Lord" do so under the Old Covenant. A New Testament prophet need not say, " Thus saith the Lord". God the Father spoke only in His Son and does not speak directly through His prophets under the New Covenant. A New Testament prophet should not add or delete what God the Father spoke through His prophets under the Old Covenant. In this chapter dealing with the Bible Prophecy, I have mentioned that the promises of God made to the people under the Old covenant are applicable to His chosen people under the New Covenant. I have interpreted some prophecies from some prophetic books of the Old Testament. You should also prayerfully meditate on the promises of God in the prophetic books, and interpret the same under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. As a student of Bible Prophecy, you may as far as possible memorize the promises of God in the prophetic books of the Bible. For giving a prophetic message of comfort or promise to a church, you may prayerfully meditate on the prophetic books of the Bible from Isaiah to Malachi. You can also give prophetic warnings to the churches, especially on repentance, revival, etc., after meditating on these books.

I had backslidden some during this summer too...less praying and reading of the Word. I also had a dream that warned me. I was in a large mansion and there seemed to be a large graduation party going on. The people were dancing and drinking. Looked like everyone was having fun. But it was omniously dark outside. A storm was coming. Everyone went outside to see what was happening. A large dark tornado formed out in the distance. No one thought it would come near the mansion. Very few moments later it was ripping right through the center of the mansion. Everyone ran for cover. I ran to an abandoned building and went down into the basement. There was a wine cellar with other people here taking shelter. The people were happy that there was wine here so they could, in a way, continue the party. I was also thinking about the same thing until I saw that there was another passage deeper into the ground that would offer better shelter from the tornado. Your dream was a pretty strong warning that really got you off your feet. I need to do the same. I remember this verse: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (New International Version) 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize

I never knew there was anything to be cleared. I guess the mods didn't mind because this thread was started more than 3 months ago.

Felix, I don't pretend to speak for Yod since he can do that himself. However, I saw nothing "distasteful" or "misleading" about what he has written. In my personal opinion, you are attempting to do a Bible study and that is reserved for members of the ministry team here. I think Yod was very nice in his approach and I think he spoke what needed to be spoken. I was just thinking that that was what sister Jackie was seeing. Yod and I are pretty much on normal terms (have been for a long time now). It was just a misunderstanding because the whole lesson didn't come out at once and Yod was questioning things that I did not get to yet. But those questions Yod presented are answered down the road through the lesson.

Hello sister, The inner man is from Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; There was a time that I would pray over this verse everyday because at the time I did not quite understand what the "inner man" meant. But I asked the Lord that he could strengthen with might by his Spirit into the inner man and soon later I was indeed strenthened into the inner man and walking by the spirit. My 'old-self' was not in the way and the Lord Himself was free to reign in me. My curiosity was piqued by it because I have heard that term used for certain self-awareness groups and I wondered where it might have been taken from andin those cases seems to be really taken out of its intended form, you know that sideways stuff that people use on certain verses or phrases in the bible. So tell me what was the process that the Lord took you through that is helping you obtain your "inner man"? That's very common. Many other spiritualisms not of our Lord Jesus Christ use the term "inner man". I'm not aware of the process but that I was only praying over this verse. And day after day I started recognizing that I was indeed being strengthened into the inner man. My part was just praying over the verse and reading the Word. That's as far as the process went. Our inner man is our spirit grafted with our Lord Jesus Christ. During that time the Lord's words were very close to my heart, and a lot of my old bad habits went away. My thinking changed...things wouldn't irritate me anymore. Essentially I was decreasing and Christ was increasing (john 3:30). If I encountered a bad or stressful situation I would just ask God to strengthen me into my inner man. When I was in need or in pain I would ask to be strengthened into the inner man. When I did not know what to do I would ask to be strengthened into the inner man. And then there would simply be the peace of God in all these things. I would experience the riches of His glory and truly recognize that our Lord Jesus is all-in-all and His grace is sufficient in all things.

Hello sister, I'm not sure why you would find this thread to be distasteful and misleading. There is no "teaching of how to be a prophet" here. It's explaining the meaning of prophecy. This lesson was aimed to equip us on recognizing, analyzing, and testing prophecies. I would just read the paragraphs preceded with the bolded titles- these are the lessons. The dialogues sort of go off track. All the questions you have about prophecy can probably be answered if you go through the entire lesson. The lesson was written by brother Job whose ministry has done much in my growth with Jesus Christ. well then my apoligies to you. It certainly is some cases may seem that it is. However it was only what I seemed to be seeing that gave me the impression. If I was wrong in my assuption I beg your pardon. sincerly No problem...I had actually wanted to mention what would have been distasteful and misleading: my dialogue with yod. I think that's probably what's very distasteful and misleading on both our parts. But the lesson itself is what should be gleaned.

Hello sister, The inner man is from Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; There was a time that I would pray over this verse everyday because at the time I did not quite understand what the "inner man" meant. But I asked the Lord that he could strengthen with might by his Spirit into the inner man and soon later I was indeed strenthened into the inner man and walking by the spirit. My 'old-self' was not in the way and the Lord Himself was free to reign in me. AK had replied... THen you shouldn't be giving revelations at all. If you aren't confident then Biblically you aren't ready. How can you stand up for the Lord when you don't fully believe it is Him? The simple answer is you can't, at least not adequately. You may have good results sometimes, but this is pragmatism. Just because something yields a good result doesn't mean the methods to get there were Biblically sound. I think Nebula is perfectly ready and should be giving revelations. But this is for the master to decide, not us. I don't think the level of confidence determines whether someone has a message from God or not much less whether they should deliver the message or not. Moses, for instance, was not confident when the Lord called Him to be a prophet. Also the Apostle Paul... 1 Corinthians 2:3-4 (New International Version) I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, Most of the time, many Christians are given a message from God to speak to the Church but are very nervous and afraid. When they are given a message of sharp judgement it is not easy to simply announce it to the congregation immediately. There is a lot of doubt before the delivery of the message and sometimes even failure. And it is so common that we ask whether this is surely of the Lord or not. This actually isn't a lack of faith or anything...it is actually like a filter that would filter out our own words and thoughts. It makes us more sure that we speak only the Lord's message and not our own. As for the majority confirmation of an interpretation I agree...it cannot make any definite conclusion as the majority are the ones who enter the wide gates and only the very few who know the straight and narrow. Of the many prophecies from God only few will believe while the majority will ignore and condemn. I thought about this after I wrote that and the conclusion I've come to is to simply to pray over it and see what the Lord says to you personally. This is the same for absolutely everything else: prayer. I don't believe there is a man-made way to figure these things out. The way to figure these things out already dwells inside of us: Jesus Christ, the life-giving Spirit. Each and every person has to ask the Lord individually and not follow the words of man blindly. AK, you have provided an 'anti-interpretation' and I have provided an interpretation. I think we can just leave it up to the Lord to speak to the hearts of every person who reads it. The Lord has a plan and purpose and it will be done. We can just be faithful to our Lord and the Lord's work can be accomplished.

Hello sister, I'm not sure why you would find this thread to be distasteful and misleading. There is no "teaching of how to be a prophet" here. It's explaining the meaning of prophecy. This lesson was aimed to equip us on recognizing, analyzing, and testing prophecies. I would just read the paragraphs preceded with the bolded titles- these are the lessons. The dialogues sort of go off track. All the questions you have about prophecy can probably be answered if you go through the entire lesson. The lesson was written by brother Job whose ministry has done much in my growth with Jesus Christ.

And who is to say that the Holy Spirit didn't lead this person to the interpretation of this very strange dream? To assume that this person isn't led by the Holy Spirit because you don't like the way it is worded is going on your own personal feelings. Once again: There was no initial feeling of the Holy Spirit as Felix admitted; if God meant this dream to be interpreted, why the delay? Not once do we see that in scripture. Had there been an initial feeling, a claim of authority in interpretation, and it fit with biblical models, then there would have been no issue. Hello, Well, I think the fact that I had no initial feeling could be infered from what I wrote previously. I'm not sure however if you knew this before I replied to you... I agree with what Nebula has presented. I think in cases like this we would need more confirmations from other members of the Body. So far there's only two or maybe 3 opposing views that this dream is not for the Church. I think we could just wait and see how others feel about it. In my experience the Lord only shows me revelations when I have been dwelling in His presence: been in much prayer, praying over the word, seeking Him first thing in the morning, remembering his death & sacrifice for my sins, taking on the blood, and striving to be strengthened into my inner man. Sometimes the Lord is merciful and gives me revelations when I know that I am not in the right place in my spirit. But as far as experiences go, I can't say that this is the way or procedure. I don't think there is a way for man to explain the process like science. The spiritual realm is far above man's ability to comprehend. People try to understand it or make sense of it (and I believe to some degree you can) but most of all there is only faith and trust in the Lord for these matters. Like the visions that the people of God will sniff...we will have spiritual faculties to sniff out the foul and pleasant smells. While we dont know why this object may smell foul and that object may smell pleasant, we can just know the smell. This is the same way with these things...I don't understand them...but we can recognize when it is of God and not. The key to knowing all these things though is through prayer...an exericise of spirit. BTW AK, I'm wondering about what you wrote here... What do you mean by actual interpretation? Interpretations will always have 'liken similarities' and 'scriptural parallels'. The dreams can be allegorical and so would have these things.

Bump. I didn't want to go off topic in the Vision: Endangerment of the Environment thread. We're discussing the proving of a prophet. I hope I have the following clear: It was stated that a prophet needs to prove that he/she is a prophet of God. In responses I wrote "one should not prove him/herself to be a prophet AS a teacher who needs to proof that he/she has a degree in education or an engineer who needs to show certification in he/she field." If we ever see such a prophet going around and proving that he is a prophet like "hear ye everyone...this prophecy and this prophecy and this sign and this miracle all happened and came to pass and I am the one who spoke these things...I'm therefore a true prophet sent by God." Then you can be sure that there is something wrong and that we should be wary of this person. For even the anti-Christ will do powerful signs and wonders and if we are to believe that one should prove themselves to be a true prophet of God then you could bet that the anti-Christ will do the same. THAT is why we must test the SPIRIT...not by MAN's method like a teacher with her teaching certificate, a cook with his food-handling permit and other man required credentials. Also the verses quoted If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 20'But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.' "You may say in your heart, 'How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 88:20-22 Does not say that the prophet himself should prove himself in that manner as described above. "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." The prophet here does not prove himself here. Rather it is made known to us through the passing of which is spoken. Also, some people still think of prophets in terms of the prophets in the old testament. This is not the case: prophets today are not the same as prophets before Christ just as we are no longer under the old law but the law of Grace. This is discussed here. It is sort of long but please read through it. Much grace.

Because I have the gift of discernment, I've interpreted dreams in the past, and I can tell that yours was nothing more than an attempt to add an interpretation to dreams. You didn't have an initial interpretation, you went of your own merit, it's an illegitimate interpretation. I know that's very upfront, but that is the truth of the situation. Wow, I actually think that is very good. I have been thinking about the same thing since I did not have an initial impression on this one. Thus, I haven't been sure about this since usually it is the first impression. I may have went on my own to interpret it. It may be that this is an illegitimate interpretation. I'll wait and see if the person who had the dream would feel the same.