How I Received My First False Prophecy For 2024-Part II

At the turn of the year, our popular comedian, Churchill ‘partnered’ with the equally popular songbird Christina Shusho, to deliver what was to be an epic cross-over combo of comedy and music.

I was a little confused when he started the show with a barrage of popular ‘prophetic’ pronouncements. Like a proper Kenyan, I dutifully (sic) received mine. It went something like this; “This is the year of your double portion!” And just like that, I received my first false prophecy of 2024.

The scriptures have several guardrails around prophecies.

1. First, because those who proclaim them often invoke the Name of God. And God doesn’t like to be misrepresented.
2. Secondly, people generally take prophecies seriously and shape their lives around what has been spoken.
3. Thirdly, there can be at least three sources of revelatory words:

• The Holy Spirit of God (2 Peter 1:21)
• The human mind (Jeremiah 14:14*)
• Evil spirits (Acts 16:16-18, 1 John 4:1)

Therefore, it is important that we carefully weigh the veracity of each prophetic word for scriptural compatibility before we accept them. 

So, what are some ways to tell whether a prophecy is from God or not?

     I.  Predictive Prophecy Must Evidentially Come To Pass

 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Deuteronomy 18:21-22

This is a no-brainer. If anyone claims to foretell anything in the name of the omniscient God, then the thing must come to pass.

However, I must add here that there can be predictions of future events which are contingent on something else happening. Perhaps, the best example is from Jeremiah 18.

 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. Jeremiah 18:8

 Here we see that God’s foretold course of action is not set in stone but rather is predicated on another outcome.

The contingency should be clearly stated when the prophecy is being delivered. Though I can think of at least one case where the contingency was not stated earlier- remember Jonah's prophecy about Nineveh? But even then, it was implied, for he went about the city proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” Jonah 3:4

 II.  A Non-Specific Prophecy Is Not A Prophecy.

Churchill's declaration cannot and should not pass as prophetic. What exactly is meant by double portion? The pronouncement speaks to no one specifically and of nothing in particular.

At best such proclamations can pass for motivational snippets. They are of no prophetic value whatsoever. The speaker was merely winging it. 

In scripture, we find that prophecies were always very specific (Acts 11:27-28, 21:10-11, Jeremiah 28, Luke 19:41-44).

God is not vague.

   III.  A Pronouncement On Something Always True Is Not A Prophecy.

In one 2024 prophecy, a venerable minister kept saying,

“The wind is blowing, the wind is blowing, the wind is blowing...” At one point he broke it off to,

“Some will start this year as nobody but before the end of the year will become significant.”

If interested, you can watch it HERE.

Why is this not prophetic?

It is a given that in a congregation of hundreds, some will find new opportunities in 2024. Simple evidential probability laws say so. Additionally, providence, even devoid of such pronouncements will see to it. God has already set the world in such a way that time and chance happen to all. Scripture explains it this way;

 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

 And

He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:45b

  IV.   Aligns With Scripture

This is the most important test of any prophetic utterance. Scriptural compatibility is a sine qua non for anyone claiming the prophetic. Any word spoken in the name of God must align with scripture. This is indescribably important, but it is also simple common sense. Look at it this way.

If it is the Holy Spirit who inspired scripture (2 Timothy 3:16–17) and if it is the same Spirit who inspired true prophetic pronouncements (2 Peter 1:21), how then can He contradict Himself in subsequent pronouncements?

Consider Prophet Owuor. His brazenness provides some stunning examples of unscriptural words and prophecies. In this  VIDEO he claims that God the Father defers to him as ‘my Lord’. This is simply incredulous.

Scripture has no hint that God defers to any man on earth. In a sense, Owuor is claiming a prerogative that belongs only to Christ (Hebrews 1, Colossians 1:15-18).

In this other VIDEO CLIP  he claims that only he can grant eternal life. The Bible states clearly that only God through His Son grants eternal life.

My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. John 10:27-28

From his statements, one can easily conclude that the man seems to see himself in some sort of positional power struggle with Jesus Christ.

As with Owuor, anyone departing from the plain teachings of scripture can easily go down a dark hole of self-deception and pride; one from which redemption may nigh be impossible.

Keep away from such people.  

  V.  Where does the one prophesying point you to?

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 13:1-3

This is important. It is not enough that someone makes a prediction that turns out to be true.

Not only must the word have scriptural congruence, but the one prophesying must consistently point his listeners to Christ.

If the prophecy comes from or directs you to other gods, run.

If the prophecy keeps you preoccupied with the MOG, run.

If the prophecy shines upon you as the MOG, run.

Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1

 VI. What is the character and moral of the prophet?

The Bible describes one of the greatest prophets of all time this way.

Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3

Can you honestly say that your prophet has Christ-like humility and character?

Jesus says that you should be able to tell a false prophet from a genuine one by looking at their fruit (character). (Matthew 7:15-20)

No man is perfect, but can you honestly say that over time your minister is increasingly exhibiting the kind of character traits the Holy Spirit produces in a devoted Christian?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

If you cannot honestly say, then it is probably time to flee.

 VII.  Follow the Money Trail

Lastly, a very telling and obvious sign is the person’s relationship with money. Jesus said that one can only have one master. It's either God or money (Matthew 6:24). Jesus himself was never a rich man. Neither were the apostles who carried on His work.

 It is therefore quite surprising that some of the richest men in Africa displaying vulgar opulence and hobnobbing with the great while barely hiding their disdain for the poor are our MOGs/WOGs.

How do you justify this for your MOG/WOG in light of the pattern of life given to us in scripture by Jesus and His apostles? Paul warned his protégé, Timothy to be wary of the unbridled pursuit of wealth telling him that, Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10b

Many arguments can be fronted to justify their way of life, but it is obvious that they are not following the example of Jesus Christ. They are copying the world. Meanwhile, the scriptures are unequivocal;

Do not conform to the pattern of this world... Romans 12:2a

   References

*1 John 4:1  “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

 *Jeremiah 14:14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusions of their own minds.

 *https://nation.africa/kenya/news/baffling-transformation-of-prophet-david-owuor-s-lifestyle-124340