Biblical Test for a Prophet

by Treborr Jones 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  Treborr Jones

  The test for a prophet is found in Deuteronomy 18:20-22.

  This scripture teaches that a prophet must be tested by checking his prophecies. Also. Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. "This is not telling us to examine a prophet's good works. Many false prophets have led moral lives.

  The fruit of a fig tree is its figs. The fruit of a prophet is his prophecies. One false prophecy (even if some true prophecies are given) and that person is a false prophet.

  It does not matter how sincere he or his followers are. It does not matter how often his followers pray or what feelings they seem to receive in answer to their prayers. He is a false prophet.

  Need I say more? The Borg is the Home of False Prophets and makes the JW's false prophets also.
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  wannahelp

  I agree with you 100%..

  I believe the saying is, "Check and mate!"..
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  Room 215

  Trebor, Wanna, et al,
  It's almost comical how the Society's definition of a prophet skirts around the straightforward Bible criterion: if someone utters a prediction and it comes true, he's the real deal; if it doesn't happen, then he's a false prophet.
  No amount of sophistry and double-talk can invalidate that simple but unassailable premise... I mean, how hard is this to grasp?
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  Frenchy

  I agree with both of you on this. But when you take a person's belief system apart and then convince him/her that their only hope lies in an organization which you convince them is God's ONLY means of dealing with people you will find that person reluctant to even listen to any criticism about it. This is especially so when they have been warned that the devil has nothing else to do today but attack that organization with lies and misreprentations. All of this set against a background of being conditioned to view with skepticism any and all things not coming from that organization itself and being strong counseled on a weekly basis that to think for oneself is tantamount to sleeping with the devil.

  -Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-
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  Bang

  << Many false prophets have led moral lives. >>

  Moral? Are their works giving all to the poor, or telling people things from their well fed position.

  The trees do match their fruit, that's the teaching. We know the tree by the fruit, so our own perceptions about trees become clarified by the fruit - not the good looking tree surely has good fruit - but, you will know the tree By the fruit.
  
  And the good fruit is different from no fruit, and different from bad fruit. - "make them good or make them bad" - make the tree produce fruit, then you will know about the tree.

  - Humility flavours good fruit, good works being a duty of care to mankind.
  - No fruit reveals problems, the tree needs preaching etc.
  - Bad fruit will taste of pride, deserving, a work for payment etc. There may be plenty of it, but if doesn't taste good what's the use. This fruit is the children that simply can't praise God.
  "I saw Jews that married Moabite wives: and their children spoke in the speech of Azotus, and could not speak the Jews’ language." [Neh 13.23-24]

  Bang
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  TweetieBird

  Another problem lies when you try to tell a JW that the Society has had failed predictions, therefore, they are a false prophet, then the standard answer is that they have never claimed to be a prophet, even though Jehovah uses them to prophesy. I would really like to tear this one apart, as I have mentioned this point to some of my JW relatives. I would love to get some good ammo to show that they HAVE claimed to be prophets.

  Has anyone done any research on this matter? If so, maybe you could share it with the rest of the board. Has the WTS ever come out in print and actually claimed to be a prophet of Jehovah?

  "By doubting we come at truth" -Cicero
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  Room 215

  Frenchy,

  With all due respect, and however much the JWs are conditioned not to believe outsiders' criticisms, all they really need to do is pay careful attention to what their own leaders say will happen, and monitor carefully whether their predictions come true.
  That's all it would take. The Society could not thrive without the collective amnesia of the rank and file and the JWs' willingness to uncritically swallow the excuses it makes.
  Calling them to account for what they themselves have published is at least as damaging to their credibility as any so-called ``apostate'' polemic.
  Even a busted clock is right twice a day; when in their 125-year history have they ever been right, much less twice?
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  proplog2

  This is a convenient stick to beat up JW's. But explain this:

  Ezek 14:9,10 "And as for the prophet, in case he gets fooled and actually speaks a word, I myself, Jehovah, have fooled that prophet...The error of the inquirer will prove to be just the same as the error of the prophet."

  Christians seemed to have unfullfilled expectations too!
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  bjc2012

  Proplog2,

  You've taken these verses out of context. The part of verse 9 that you did not quote is important in understanding why Jehovah would fool a prophet. It says: "...and I will stretch out my hand against him and annihilate him from the midst of my people Israel." Why would Jehovah fool the prophet then destroy him? Does it not have something to do with this prophet's, as well as the people's, relationship with Jehovah? Verse 3 reads: "Son of man these men have brought up their dungy idols upon their heart, and the stumbling block causing their error they have put in front of their faces. Shall I be inquired of at all by them?" Here we have a prophet inquiring of Jehovah on behalf of a people who have left him, or as this verses says 'they have brought up their dungy idols' (you might want to look up the word 'dungy' to see what it means), and this prophet is not aware that this condition exists? He's just asking to be fooled by Jehovah.

  Verse 7 is more explicit. It reads: "For any man at all from the house of Israel or from the alien residents that reside as aliens in Israel, that withdraws himself from following me and that brings up his dungy idols upon his heart and that sets the very stumbling block causing his error in front of his face and that actually comes to the prophet to make inquiry for himself by me, I, Jehovah, I am letting myself be brought to answer him by myself."

  No, Jehovah does not fool his true prophets, those who are sticking close to his word.

  bjc
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  Room 215

  Proplog2,
  Spare us the sophistry and mumbo-jumbo, please. Back to the crux of the matter: when have these buggers been right about anything?