Prophets, Visions and Dreams
"God has told me," and "Thus saith the Lord" have become the slogans of the Charismatic movement. Most Charismatics believe that any believer can get revelation from God through visions and dreams. Some even promote "Listening Seminars" that promise "to instruct you how to talk with God on an intimate conversational level 24 hours a day." These new revelations that are proclaimed by modern-day "prophets" are as binding on the Charismatic's conscience as the Scripture. Though most Charismatics claim that their fresh revelations are just clarifying of Scripture as it is applied to a contemporary situation, such as in the prophecy of Agabus in ACT 21:10-14. Charismatics claim that they do not undermine Scripture because what they say can be tested by Scripture. In reality, since most of their "revelations" are about current affairs how can they be tested by Scripture?
Drawing a Christian from the Bible (the source of truth) to another source is very damaging because faith comes by hearing the word of God (ROM 10:17). This extra source of revelation is the most serious error of the Charismatic movement, and undermines the authority of Scripture.
Charismatics, like most other Christian cults, do not believe that Scriptures are complete, totally sufficient for all our needs and deep and profound enough for every possible situation and problem. Roman Catholics believe that Scripture must be supplemented by church traditions and papal teachings. Liberal Christians believe that Scripture must be supplemented by reason and science. Pietists believe that it must be supplemented by their "inner lights." Other Christian cults teach that it must be supplemented by additional revelation given to their leaders (eg. Book of Mormon given to the Joseph Smith who founded the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints).
Furthermore, Scripture is not clarified by someone who claims the gift of prophecy but by carefully and diligently studying it. Though most of us are not fond of diligent study and would prefer to know God's will through an easier way, there are no shortcuts to interpreting God's Word accurately (ACT 17:11. 2TI 2:15).
Scripture was completed by the Apostles and Prophets during the apostolic period:
"Now therefore ye are….the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (EPH 2:19,20). Though Jesus Christ is the true foundation of the church ("For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" 1CO 3:11), another foundation is necessary (ie, the apostles and prophets) because Jesus Christ did not write one word of Scripture. Therefore, all that we know about God and what He did for us at Calvary is based upon the Scripture that was written by the apostles and prophets (through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit). In this sense (ie, the revelatory sense), our faith is based upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets.
The entire Bible is written by the apostles and prophets. Apostles were men chosen by God to walk with Jesus during His three-year earthly ministry. Not all apostles were used by God to write Scriptures. Prophets were men who received messages from God. Some prophets were oral prophets who spoke what God told them but did not write them down (eg. Elijah, Elisha). In the New Testament, Agabus (ACT 11:28,21:10-11) and Philip's four virgin daughters (ACT 21:8-9) were also oral prophets. Other prophets were writing prophets (eg. Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel).
The entire Old Testament was written by prophets. The New Testament was written by both apostles and prophets. For example, two of the Gospels were written by apostles (Matthew, John) and two were written by prophets (Mark, Luke). The apostles and prophets have laid the foundation for us, and there is no more need for another foundation. We are part of the superstructure of the church, not the foundation. Let us therefore get on with our work of building God's kingdom upon the foundation that has already been laid for us, and not desire to be prophets.
What other evidence do we have that the Bible is completed? : In the past, God's revelation to men was progressive and piecemeal ("God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets" HEB 1:1). For example, right after the Fall, God promised a Redeemer from the seed of a woman (GEN 3:15). Later, He revealed that this Redeemer would come from the lineage of David (2SA 7:12-14), that He would be born of a virgin (ISA 7:14), and that He would die for the sins of His people (ISA 53). The Old Testament promised a Saviour, and the New Testament records its fulfillment in Christ.
It is in the incarnation of Christ that we see a complete picture of God and His unfolding drama of redemption ("God….hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son" HEB 1:2). Jesus is the "brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person" (HEB 1:3). Jesus said: "he that hath seen me hath seen the father" (JOH 14:9). God does not need to send "snapshots" of Himself to His people; He has already made a live appearance in Christ His Son. Neither does He need to give us different "examples" of redemption, because He has clearly revealed this at Calvary.
Paul tells us that the Scripture that we have makes us "perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works" (2TI 3:17). In other words, there is no more need for us to seek new revelation.
Jude warns that "ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). The word "once" means "once and for all," ie, a completed act. In other words, the Bible is completed and we should not expect continuing revelation.
Revelation 22:18 settles the issue on the completeness of written revelation by saying "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book."
How were false prophets identified? : From the beginning, there were false prophets. While the Jews were in the wilderness, God warned them of false prophets (DEU 13:1-4). Jesus warned "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (MAT 24:11), and "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (MAT 24:24).
God gave a simple test for identifying false prophets - "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" (DEU 18:22). In other words, a prophet must be 100% accurate in his prophecies. This is only logical because since prophecies are God's word they cannot contain errors.
Charismatics claim that the modern-day "prophets" are a different class of prophets, ie, they are not totally infallible. This is illogical because these so-called prophets claim: "Thus saith the Lord…" - and the Lord cannot be wrong!
These "prophets" are similar to the fortune-tellers who are eagerly sought by unsaved men who fear for the future because they have no God. Christians who know that God is in control of the future, are satisfied to walk by faith not by sight.
Does not ACT 2:17 say that in the last days God's people "shall prophesy"? : On the Day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in tongues and "they were all amazed, and were in doubt….Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine" (ACT 2:13). Peter explained to them that they were not drunk but what was happening was prophesied by Joel in JOE 2:28 "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams" (ACT 2:17). Until this point in history, only specially appointed servants of God were filled with the Holy Spirit. These men were the prophets, priests and kings. But in the New Testament age, all Christians, including very ordinary ones (ie, sons, young men, old men) would be filled with the Spirit. The word "prophesy" is used in the sense of "forthtelling," ie, preaching and teaching of the Scriptures. Because every Christian has the Holy Spirit, he is able to "prophesy." In the Old Testament, only a few appointed men could do so. Similarly, because of the Holy Spirit, each Christian is able to see "visions" and "dreams" of spiritual things. For example, when we read about heaven in the Bible, we are able to see through "faith's eye" the reality of heaven. This ability was not generally possessed by Old Testament saints.