----------------------------
Ms. Prata is a cessationist who doesn't believe in contemporary prophecy. This means she needs to reframe the NT to conform to her doctrine. So she redefines prophecy as teaching (or false prophets as false teachers).
This is a rather clumsy attempt to impugn those Bible teachers she disagrees with. Thus the pursuit of the miraculous by some churches is made out to be mere thrill-seeking. It can't be good because it violates her doctrine. It must be false because she knows the truth.
Someone once said that when you have a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. We would say, when you have a doctrine, everyone who believes something else is a heretic.
We should note that we ourselves are committed to understanding and promulgating biblical truth. So we don't have issue with Ms. Prata's main point. We do have an issue with her presumption.
--------------------------
Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.
It is a gross misunderstanding of the nature and character of God if a person thinks Jesus is “mean” in the Old Testament and “nice” in the New Testament. He is the same. He feels the same way about repentance, He has the same compassion for children, He still hates idolatry, and He has always abhorred false prophets. False prophets are called false teachers in the New Testament. (Ms. Prata reels off several assertions, all of which we might agree with, then slips in a questionable one. Are false teachers called false prophets in the NT? Where?
In the past:
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes true, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let’s follow other gods (whom you have not known) and let’s serve them,’ 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken falsely against the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to drive you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
In the future:
1“On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement. 2“And it will come about on that day,” declares the LORD of armies, “that I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; (Zechariah 13:1-4)
People are so captivated by miracles, signs, wonders, omens and such. They crowded around Jesus in His day and they seek them now. Some are simply ignorant, others are desperate for healing, others just like a show with adrenaline pumping music and the titillation of the unexpected, and still others place all their hope in the immediate gratification of something they deem as ‘supernatural’. (None of this is relevant to making the biblical case for her doctrines.)
In the Deuteronomy verses, we read ‘if the sign or wonder comes true…’ we read from John MacArthur, “Miraculous signs alone were never meant to be a test of truth. See Pharaoh’s magicians in Exodus 7-10. A prophet or dreamer’s prediction may come true, but if his message contradicted God’s commands, the people were to trust God and His word rather than such experience.“
Yet today people clamor for a show, just like in the Bible days. (What happens today is irrelevant to the biblical case.)
--------------------------
Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever.
It is a gross misunderstanding of the nature and character of God if a person thinks Jesus is “mean” in the Old Testament and “nice” in the New Testament. He is the same. He feels the same way about repentance, He has the same compassion for children, He still hates idolatry, and He has always abhorred false prophets. False prophets are called false teachers in the New Testament. (Ms. Prata reels off several assertions, all of which we might agree with, then slips in a questionable one. Are false teachers called false prophets in the NT? Where?
Well, she might quote 2 Peter 2:1:
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them — bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Hmm. Peter draws a comparison but does not equate them. He was noting their presence among the people as being the same, not that they are the same.
The other place in the NT that mentions false prophets is 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.
John believed that there were false prophets in the church. These are the two mentions of false prophets in the NT. So Ms. Prata in essence creates a doctrine by substituting false teachers for false prophets in order to negate the idea of contemporary prophecy.)
In the past:
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes true, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let’s follow other gods (whom you have not known) and let’s serve them,’ 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken falsely against the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to drive you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
In the future:
1“On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement. 2“And it will come about on that day,” declares the LORD of armies, “that I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; (Zechariah 13:1-4)
People are so captivated by miracles, signs, wonders, omens and such. They crowded around Jesus in His day and they seek them now. Some are simply ignorant, others are desperate for healing, others just like a show with adrenaline pumping music and the titillation of the unexpected, and still others place all their hope in the immediate gratification of something they deem as ‘supernatural’. (None of this is relevant to making the biblical case for her doctrines.)
In the Deuteronomy verses, we read ‘if the sign or wonder comes true…’ we read from John MacArthur, “Miraculous signs alone were never meant to be a test of truth. See Pharaoh’s magicians in Exodus 7-10. A prophet or dreamer’s prediction may come true, but if his message contradicted God’s commands, the people were to trust God and His word rather than such experience.“
Yet today people clamor for a show, just like in the Bible days. (What happens today is irrelevant to the biblical case.)
They have swapped truth for experience. But God is stern in His warning not to stray from His word. His word is ALL. We see the penalty for trusting a false prophet or teacher in Old Testament times and in Zechariah’s future scene of the Millennium Kingdom. (Unexplained phrase.)
In Deuteronomy the penalty for speaking lies in God’s name is death. In the future Millennial Kingdom during the cleansing of Israel, there will be such a hatred of false prophesying that even a mother or father will enact their own penalty of death upon their own offspring, if that son speaks prophesying lies in God’s name. In that future time there will be such a hatred for false prophesy and such a thirst for holiness and truth that as MacArthur puts it, “[T]he hatred of false prophecy will overrule normal human feelings. They’ll be the first to condemn the apostate to death.” (If false teachers supplanted false prophets, then why doesn't Ms. Prata advocate for their deaths? Death is the prescribed remedy. Ms. Prata herself could administer the coup de grace if she really believes her doctrine.)
I fervently wish that during this time of ours, that people would hunger for the truth so much that they would hate false teachings. False teachings and the people who perpetuate them are the worst of the worst. God killed Uzzah for accidentally touching the ark, how do we suppose God feels about those who live their lives purposely drawing His people away from Him? Putting lies in God’s mouth? Woe to those who forget His holiness and purity. Woe to those who decide to worship Him in their own way.
Not to enact their own vigilante-ism, of course, (Oh, so to embrace the biblical command to put them to death is dismissed as vigilante-ism. Well, that explains her reticence to administer the biblical remedy.)
In Deuteronomy the penalty for speaking lies in God’s name is death. In the future Millennial Kingdom during the cleansing of Israel, there will be such a hatred of false prophesying that even a mother or father will enact their own penalty of death upon their own offspring, if that son speaks prophesying lies in God’s name. In that future time there will be such a hatred for false prophesy and such a thirst for holiness and truth that as MacArthur puts it, “[T]he hatred of false prophecy will overrule normal human feelings. They’ll be the first to condemn the apostate to death.” (If false teachers supplanted false prophets, then why doesn't Ms. Prata advocate for their deaths? Death is the prescribed remedy. Ms. Prata herself could administer the coup de grace if she really believes her doctrine.)
I fervently wish that during this time of ours, that people would hunger for the truth so much that they would hate false teachings. False teachings and the people who perpetuate them are the worst of the worst. God killed Uzzah for accidentally touching the ark, how do we suppose God feels about those who live their lives purposely drawing His people away from Him? Putting lies in God’s mouth? Woe to those who forget His holiness and purity. Woe to those who decide to worship Him in their own way.
Not to enact their own vigilante-ism, of course, (Oh, so to embrace the biblical command to put them to death is dismissed as vigilante-ism. Well, that explains her reticence to administer the biblical remedy.)
but to hate false teachers so much that the same fierceness would be evident in their opposition to such falsity.
God is the same all the time. He hated false teachings then and He hates it now. Please take the utmost care in who you follow and under which teachers you sit.
Further Resources
Why did God strike Uzzah dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant?
How Jesus Called Out False Teachers and Deadly Doctrine
God is the same all the time. He hated false teachings then and He hates it now. Please take the utmost care in who you follow and under which teachers you sit.
Further Resources
Why did God strike Uzzah dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant?
How Jesus Called Out False Teachers and Deadly Doctrine
No comments:
Post a Comment