OK how can you tell if a person is a prophet or someone who is delusional? What are the guidelines?

Question

I have always been curious about this. I'm sure everyone at one time has come across someone who says that a higher entity talks to them and wants them to spread their message. How can you tell the real from the fake? Could we be missing the message by just putting everyone off as crazy? Is there a test? If their is a test wouldn't it be heresy to question the entity? If the the past prophets were alive today would we know them as prophets or would we just consider them delusional?

I know I myself can't judge this because their is too much of a fine line between them.

Answer 1

Muhammd(saw) was the lst prophet ..there are no prophets coming now..

Answer 2

There are three basic tests.

1. If the prophet predicts something and it doesn't come true then that person has not heard from the Lord.

2. If a prophet predicts something that comes true but tries to get people away from the God of Heaven that is a false prophet that the Lord is using to test his people.

3. If a prophet says something that contradicts what God has already told us in his written Word, then that person is a false prophet.

Answer 3

Step to discover if the person is a prophet or not.

1) He must be able to say " Jesus is Lord over his life " without breaking into sweat or twitch.

2) Anything he say is from God, must be in line with the Bible. Jesus say" to love your neighbor", he can't say to hate the Muslim or Osama. Therefore, any prophet who incite any war in the name of his religion, is not a true Prophet of peace. Away from him and his bible.

3) He must be Saved.

4) The fruit he shown, bear his motive. Jesus say, a tree is judge by his fruit. Therefore, if he display any motive not of Godly behavior, away from him and his bible.

5) He must preach the Word of God. Therefore, render any message from God does not changes or alter, and say the changes is by God and from God. God is true, therefore, He does not change, nor change his rules. And this prophet does not say that God is the one who changes the rules or saying. Therefore, he is not from God. Away from him and his bible or holy book.

6) He is to edify, comfort and strengthen the sheep, the church and the leader.

7) It does not means that if he say " Thus say the Lord .... " is the true prophet. Or thus say this angel of God, is the true prophet.

8) Words from Prophet are judge by the leader of the church, by people, by the bible, by another Prophet.

9) If rebuke to any sheep is needed, he is able to comfort, and bring the messange across with sensitive, mercy in mind. Just as Jesus is mercy and full of grace to give any rebuke. He is likewise. The servant cannot be above the master. The servant act and behave like the master. Then. all can say he is true, because he learn from his master.

10) If the prophet say something and it doesn't come true it does not means he not a real prophet. Prophet Isaiah spoke of the Ministry of Jesus way before it happened.

11) If a prophet say something that comes true it does not means he is the real deal. Satan do lies and make wonder and blinded all in the last days. So is the anti-christ.


If indeed is the true prophet, he will say all this step are true. Lest, he a liar. Away from him.

There are indeed both true and false prophet in this world. It does not render the bible incomplete or there are no more prophet onwards.

Jesus say in the last day. The old will dream dream, the young will prophecies. He will pour out his spirit. Therefore, the gift of prophecy is from the holy spirit and the office of prophetic ministry is from God.

Answer 4

the test offered by the Bible is fairly good, in my opinion. It says that if the words spoken by the Prophet come true, then it is a true prophet. Of course, this means necessarily that we may not know right away. And I think that's ok. It's responsible to just hold off on making any rash judgements about someone's "prophethood."

Answer 5

The Bible has the answer to that question:
Deuteronomy 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
and:
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

I know, it grates upon my nerves too. There's a board out there full of them. They all claim to have these wonderous dreams. Some of them know scripture pretty well to. There's just something odd that makes me distrust them.

Have you ever had anyone give you advice and said; " Weigh it on the Spirit? " That's what I do. Weigh it on God's Spirit, He will let you know. He does it for me.

Answer 6

Well, obviously, they have the option of correctly predicting a future event (a positive one).
Alternatively, they can be dubbed by a previous prophet as "kosher".
Also, Judaism teaches that prophets are expected to be scholars, rich, and a few other things which I don't remember offhand but quickly distinguish them from the crazy people on soapboxes.

Answer 7

A prophet will line up with G-D's word. He will never be wrong in anything that he prophesys. And he will give all glory to G-D. If He doesn't meet all this He is a false prophet. And by he I meen he or she. Deborah was a Prophet.

Answer 8

Ummmm, dude, there are no prophets. All the people telling you they are have convinced themselves that they are, but that doesn't make it so. Have you ever told a lie and after awhile you convince yourself it is true? I'm sure you have. That's what these crazy lunatics are doing. They belong in an insane asylum not mixed with society!!

Answer 9

A good clue would be if they could rise from the dead like Jesus did!

His bones are absent from the grave!

A suspect clue is if a person claiming to be a prophet, like "Muhammed", at 54 years of age had sexual relations with a 9 year old Child, and said that allah told him it was O. K.

http://www.geocities.com/AntiJihad/mo_pedo.html

Answer 10

Jesus was the last prophet. There is no more public revelation since the apostles died. God may reveal things to people in private, but those people are not prophets.

Answer 11

You think Prophets are like yahoo question and answers to have guidelines? Those days people testified for their honesty, and their goodness, confirming their Prophethood