WHAT IS A PROPHECY/WORD FROM THE LORD?

Many people have questioned the validity of “prophetic words,” believing that such prophecies are an attempt to write more scripture. Some go so far as to teach that once the Bible was given, the Lord stopped speaking to the church. However, a close study of scripture reveals that God never intended to stop speaking to the church, but He will not give any more scripture.

Prophecy has been misinterpreted by some to simply mean “the foretelling of future events.” Prophecy is actually the revelation of the mind of God. Therefore, a prophecy may deal with present events, past events (as an explanation of why something happened), or the future. Additionally, while God’s general will for the church is revealed in the Bible, His specific will for an individual or a church can be revealed through a prophetic word.

A prophecy or “word from the Lord” (as some call it) will always and without exception line up with scripture. This means that the message of the prophecy will never contradict the principles, standards, truth and doctrine of scripture. God will never give a prophecy through one person to another that conflicts with His word.

A prophetic word can either be given through tongues and interpretation or without being preceded by tongues; there is no specific order or pattern in scripture. Regardless of how it is given, a word from the Lord should always be judged in light of scripture.

A prophecy will typically fall into one of three categories: edification, exhortation and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3). Many have misunderstood this to mean that all prophecies will be encouraging and uplifting. The word “edification” contains an element of instruction and education, while the word “exhortation” can mean an admonition toward a specific action or decision. As such, not all prophecies will sound encouraging and uplifting; some will be in the form of correction and rebuke as the Lord chastens out of His love (Hebrews 12:6-11).

A question that has been asked is whether or not a prophetic word is equal to scripture. This seemingly simple question is actually somewhat complicated. Just like scripture, all genuine prophetic words, without exception, come from God. On the other hand, no prophetic words will ever qualify to be written as new or additional scripture.

Even so, since all genuine prophecies come from the same Divine source as scripture, they should be taken as seriously as scripture. To some, this may sound blasphemous. But if Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, thinks it is important enough to give a prophecy through someone, then why should we not take what He has said as seriously as when He spoke to those who penned the Bible? We do not make these prophecies scripture, but we respect them in a similar fashion because of Who has given them to us.

While a very few of the prophecies you are about to read are “date-specific” (such as the ones which address a presidential election) the great majority of them are timeless in a manner not at all dissimilar to the exhortation, edification, comfort, instruction and admonition found in the Bible. May your life be blessed by these prophetic words from God.

The Prophecies have been categorized by Month in each Year range. The following links will open a new window in PDF format.

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