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It is rare that we find Ms. Prata profusely quoting Scripture. Too often she quotes none at all. But the problem with the below article is that she doesn't get a single explanation or application of the quoted Scriptures correct. It's that bad.
It is rare that we find Ms. Prata profusely quoting Scripture. Too often she quotes none at all. But the problem with the below article is that she doesn't get a single explanation or application of the quoted Scriptures correct. It's that bad.
We must consider this Bad Bible Teaching.
SYNOPSIS
The post critiques the modern emphasis on dreams and visions within charismatic circles, (Ms. Prata does not actually do this. She will mention charismatic dreams but does not critique the belief. She quotes no charismatic teaching about dreams at all.)
asserting that such experiences were not part of historic Christianity after the closure of the canon. It emphasizes reliance on scripture over personal revelations, warning against false teachings that distort biblical truth.
Everyone is dreaming a dream now. Everyone is having a vision now. It’s practically the ticket of entry into a church and almost required for faith…among the Charismatics and false teachers, that is.
Until about 110 years ago when the charismatic and experience-driven Azusa Street Revival broke out, these kind of ecstatic experiences never were part of a normal Christian working faith. Since about 94 AD when the canon was completed, the normal Christian did the ‘boring things’ of prayer, service, congregational worship, study, ministry, work, and family building. But why do all that when you can have an experience, hear God personally, and have His ‘truth’ plopped right down on your head and become famous over it?
Everyone is dreaming a dream now. Everyone is having a vision now. It’s practically the ticket of entry into a church and almost required for faith…among the Charismatics and false teachers, that is.
Until about 110 years ago when the charismatic and experience-driven Azusa Street Revival broke out, these kind of ecstatic experiences never were part of a normal Christian working faith. Since about 94 AD when the canon was completed, the normal Christian did the ‘boring things’ of prayer, service, congregational worship, study, ministry, work, and family building. But why do all that when you can have an experience, hear God personally, and have His ‘truth’ plopped right down on your head and become famous over it?
She seems to think that the entire history of the church was uniformly cessationist. At the risk of being accused of making an Appeal to History ourselves, let's offer the true testimony of some early church fathers. These quotes demonstrate Ms. Prata's error:
Justin Martyr (100-165): “For the prophetical gifts remain with us even to the present time. Now it is possible to see among us women and men who possess gifts of the Spirit of God.”
Irenaeus (125-200): “In like manner we do also hear many brethren in the church who possess prophetic gifts and through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages. ... Yes, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years.”
Tertullian (150-240): “For seeing that we too acknowledge the spiritual charismata, or gifts, we too have merited the attainment of the prophetic gift ... and heaven knows how many distinguished men, to say nothing of the common people, have been cured either of devils or of their sicknesses.”
Novation (210-280): “This is he [the Holy Spirit] who places prophets in the church, instructs teachers, directs tongues, gives powers and healings, does wonderful works ... and arranges whatever gifts there are of the charismata; and thus making the Lord’s church everywhere, and in all, perfected and completed."
Origen (185-284): “Some give evidence of their having received through this faith a marvelous power by the cures which they perform, invoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of all things, along with Jesus and a mention of his history.”
Augustine (354-430): In his work The City of God, Augustine tells of healings and miracles that he has observed firsthand and then says, “I am so pressed by the promise of finishing this work that I cannot record all the miracles I know.”
Ms. Prata has a selective view of history.)
and the following verses denounce, diminish and dismiss the experience of having a dream as important at all. (We shall see...)
“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” (Jude 1:8) (No, this is not about denouncing dreams. Jude was describing certain godless men who had infiltrated a particular church's congregation. Most of his letter was to condemn these evil men. It is not a denunciation of dreaming at all.
The Greek word for "dreamers" is found only twice in the NT, here and in Acts 2:17:
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
This Pentecostal promise for the nascent church persists to this day as a positive thing. So dreaming isn't the problem, the problem is filthy dreams.)
MacArthur explains this verse:
“So what we have here then at best is that false teachers, now follow this, false teachers inevitably have to have a source for their deception. And they have to have a source that’s believable. They have to have a source that has some authority, or that is convincing. So they can’t just say, “I think…” (Why can't they? Dr. MacArthur is simply speculating.)
They can’t just say, “I feel…” They can’t just say, “We’ve got a committee in our group and we came up with this deal.” (Why not? Why can't false teachers just do this? What's the reason?)
The really effective false teachers and apostates will inevitably tell you God communicates to them in secret ways, in their dreams, in their visions. (This is frequently true, of course.)
These are revelatory experiences. Apostate false teachers from Joseph Smith to Benny Hinn and everybody in between claim that God speaks to them in their dreams, in their visions. And this, of course, transcends the necessity to be submissive to the Word of God which is not in their hearts anyway. And it gives them the illusion of authority and God gets blamed for all their aberrations. They reject the Word of God.” (So Dr. MacArthur's position is that because certain false teachers gained their false teaching from dreams, that means dreams as a category are unbiblical. This is an extremely facile argument.)
MacArthur calls those the ‘terrorists of the church‘.
“[ Paul’s Visions and His Thorn ] I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 12:1)
Paul is telling the Corinthians of his troubles, and had just listed his persecutions. It was an incredible list, so incredible that it had all happened to one person, Paul said that God Himself is witness to it. And though it does no good, Paul said, he must go on telling them of his visions though it was not profitable, because it could tempt him to pride. However, the Corinthians’ fascination with the false teachers’ false visions and revelations left him little choice to tell what a real apostle who had real dreams and real revelations is all about. The point here is, there is nothing to be gained by telling of visions and dreams. (Nope, this is completely wrong.
Paul was defending his apostleship, not negating dreams. The Corinthian church considered him inferior to the "super apostles" [2Co. 11:5], so he's defending himself and his position with them. His defense begins in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and lasts almost to the end of the letter in chapter 13.
Paul was explaining that his "boasting" was profitless because his dreams were profitless to his argument, not because dreams and visions are profitless.
This is basic exposition of the obvious content. It's very nearly astonishing that Ms. Prata doesn't understand this.)
“Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,” (Colossians 2:18).
This tells us that visions puff up (No, it doesn't. The person who is puffed up goes on and on about dreams. Ms. Prata has it backwards.)
and that going on about them would disqualify you! All that going on about dreams and visions do is spiritually intimidate the brethren! Don’t fall for it! (Notice that the verse does not forbid dreams, it describes sinful people whose sensuous minds puff them up.)
“And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,” (2 Peter 1:19)
What Peter is saying here is that despite having seen the transfigured Jesus Himself prior to even the resurrection Peter says there is something more sure than a powerful experience like that: the WORD. (Absolutely, spectacularly false. Ms. Prata is led astray by a peculiar word order rendered by her translation. We weren't even able to determine which translation it is.
Peter had just finished describing his eyewitness experience at the transfiguration [2Pe. 1:18]. Because of that experience Peter now believed the prophecies about Christ with more certainty:
2Pe. 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it... [NIV]
Peter was not telling us the Bible is better than experiences, he's saying that his faith in the prophecies was increased by his experience.)
Just because an experience may be credibly supernatural does not mean it came from God.
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24).
Please do not listen to dreamers and people’s retelling of visions. (?? This verse isn't even about dreams!)
Please do not seek after dreams and visions. Do not undergo a trance in order to induce a dream or a vision. If you think you have had a supernatural dream, keep it to yourself, consult the bible to see if it is consistent with the more sure word. If it is, praise the Lord and go on about your business. If it is not, pray to be protected from satanic invasions such as that and then examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. (2 Corinthians 13:5). (Ms. Prata concludes with a confused flourish.)
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