Question-Comment: Can you tell me how one would know if someone is a prophet? A minister I know has declared that he is a prophet of God and that the people of his congregation must listen to what he says and do what he says. My daughter and her family are involved in this church. It is concerning me greatly as this pastor told me that I should leave my husband, allows a married woman in the congregation, who is separated from her husband who left the church, to have an open relationship with another man in the church, and has allowed people (both men and women) to use foul language aimed at him to continue to attend the church and hold positions in the church. This pastor claims to be trying to achieve Godly Unity amongst his people and the only way they will accomplish this is to listen and obey him without question. This sounds like a cult to me but I want some feedback from others to confirm what I believe God is telling me.

B'ANN WROTE:

You have cause to be concerned.  The Scriptures teach that before a person can "bear fruit" they must grow.  The job of the pastor/minister/leader is to "tend the flock" while the growth is taking place.  Now, the "tending" should be according to the Scriptures:

1 Peter 2
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

If  a person is still a babe in Christ or so far from the will of God that they cannot receive Spiritual communion with Christ for themselves; then, wisdom dictates that they should not let another man "be their unction."  Give yourself time to grow on your own, time to make decisions for yourself based on the Scriptures; and above all, trust Christ to keep you as a BABE until you reach some maturity.  I do not know the basis for which this "prophet" tells you to leave your husband but I personally would not follow the dictates of another man in this matter.  Even if your husband is not a Christian, the contract you made with him would have to be broken according to the Scriptures.  What does the leader of your church plan to do??? Does he plan to get/appoint you another husband??? Not even Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament would do such a thing.  Paul spoke of the husband "being dead."  Whether this means "physically dead" or "dead in trespasses of sins" would require much study, fasting and prayer.  As for your children, they need to know that the "sincere milk of the word" is a study of the Bible for themselves.  It seems that the minister is heavy into a supposed "word of discernment" which can be manipulative.  My prayer is that he will get heavy into the Word of God. Remember, he will not have to answer for your sins.  You will.  So....

1 Corinthians 3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are your's;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are your's;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's

Let me agree with B'Ann--you should be very concerned!

The Scriptures are explicit as to the responsibilities of anyone who leads in the local church--regardless of whatever title they like to assume.  Christ came to set us free and to leave us His peace, which is not like the peace that the world promises but never delivers.

John 8:
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
...
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

John 14:
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

This, then, is the two-fold test of a true minister: (1) are those in their charge being set free to serve the Lord Jesus and (2) do those in their congregation show the peace of Christ in their lives.

Sadly, self-serving leaders in local church bodies have become the rule and not the exception.  These self-serving leaders are easy to recognize in that the main goal of their ministry is to keep their congregation under their control.  Basically, there are two types of self-serving leaders in the local churches: i.e, (1) those who are covertly "fleecing the Lord's sheep" and (2) those who have themselves convinced that their members can't be trusted to walk with the Lord on their own--which implies that they also feel that Christ can't be trusted to lead the individual believers.

I used the expression "fleecing the Lord's sheep" to describe unscrupulous church leaders because one of the main devices that they use to keep the believers under their control is the mangled teaching of Old Testament law and concepts wherein the children of Israel were referred to extensively as the Lord's Sheep.  Although Jesus used this term quiet often when teaching Jews of His day (which were the final days of the Age of Law), in the New Testament epistles which were written for the New Testament Church, the believers are referred to as sons and daughters of God and as individual, unique parts of the Body of Christ--a term used to describe the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 4
1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Romans 12
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Ephesians 4
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Let me sum up by saying that Christ Jesus told us that we would know a "tree" (person) by its fruit.  Even though your daughter and her husband may be "babes-in-Christ," even a babe can tell the difference between the fruit of an apple tree and a thorn bush.  The Bible is also explicit in that we are to be particular about who we fellowship with as believers.  Surely no one who has really accepted Christ as Lord and Savior would want to fellowship with a bramble bush, let alone put their spiritual well being in the hands of one.  My prayer is that the Lord will give you insight and an understanding of what you should do in your situation.

Question-Comment: I just wanted to thank you for your web site! I have just begun to study Scripture and the bible study group that I joined has been together for about 10 years. My first Bible chapter to study was Revelations. Your web site gave me a lot of insight into Revelations! Thank you for all the information that you provide via the web. I have been told
that Revelations is the hardest Scripture to understand. I did a lot of research on this chapter and found your web site to be most concise.
Again thank you for your help! God Bless You! Do you have any other Scripture study available. My next topic is Sam I and II!

DON WROTE:

Hello Jean,

Thanks for the word of encouragement.  We do so want the Lord to use our Web Site. 

As to your study in I and II Samuel, I went surfing on the web so that I might suggest a site for you.  However, I soon grew frustrated in my efforts.

Let me suggest something that you may already be doing.  If not, try it--you'll like it!  If you do not already own a Scofield Study Bible and/or a Thompson Chain Reference Bible--well, I contend that no believer should be without one, if not both of them.  The cross-references in these Bibles are like road maps that will take you to most all references concerning any subject you might be studying.  Except for their comments on the prophecies of the Bible, which are outdated and incomplete --some even confusing because of when they were written; the footnotes on spiritual insights are very helpful and you will get a witness to most of them.  I strongly suggest this approach to Bible because you will then be relying upon the Holy Spirit to be your teacher rather than man.  The earlier you take this approach to Bible Study, the better it will be; for you will not have the opinions of men in your mind to clutter your study.  I know that men and women are called to be teachers of the Scriptures, but not all that teach are called.  You need to be taught by the Lord Himself so that you will be able to discern more readily what is of Him and what isn't.

I John 2
²⁴   Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
²⁵   And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
²⁶   These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
²⁷   But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
²⁸   And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
 

P.S.

Some of the other favorite books in my library are the Vines Expository Dictionary of the New Testament, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Zondervan's Pictorial Dictionary, and the Self-Study Guide series by Irving L. Jensen.  These were a great help to me in my early studies.

Hello Karsten,

If you've spent much time in our site, you know that we do not consider ourselves to be experts of prophecy, or, for that matter, of the Bible.  This is why we named our site "DOWEKNOW"; and this is one of the reasons that we ask our visitors to check back now and then--for we find ourselves updating our material as we learn more, often having to revamp our understanding.  Also, as to what I'm about to say, I do not want to seem to come forth as an "expert"--and especially not as a "holier-than-thou expert."

Having said that, now, let me point out something in your WRAP that causes me concern: i.e., you state "...the goal of entering the kingdom and eternal life must always be kept in mind."  From my experience and my understanding of the Scriptures, entering the kingdom of God and obtaining eternal life is NOT to be a goal for the believer.  Hopefully, you'll see that I am not trying to "split hairs" when I say that the born-again believer/Christian is already IN the kingdom of God and that he ALREADY HAS the gift of eternal life--having received that gift when he or she accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, and Savior, and Redeemer. 

Note that I qualified the believer in my statement, saying the "born-again" believer/Christian already has these gifts.  I do that because there are other kinds of believers/Christians.  There are people who feel that they are believers/Christians by virtue of being a citizen of a "Christian" nation: i.e., a nation built upon Christian values.  There are people who feel that they are believers/Christians due to the fact that they belong to a "Christian" political party.  There are people who feel that they are believers/Christians because they were born in a "Christian" family and were raised going to a "Christian" church.  (Many of today's "dead on the vine" churches are the product such "Christian" family believers.)  There are people who feel that they are believers/Christians because they agree with the lifestyle advocated by some domination and have chosen to align themselves for those reasons.  There are people who feel that they are believers/Christians because they are impressed by the teachings of Jesus and had rather be a believer/Christian than not to be.  And then, there are the born-again believers/Christians who have been born again into the kingdom of God by the Spirit of Christ..

John 3
¹   There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
²   The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
³   Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
⁴   Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
⁵   Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
⁶   That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷   Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
⁸   The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

As to eternal life being a "goal" for the believer, again, such a concept doesn't agree with the Scriptures.

Romans 6
²⁰   For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
²¹   What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
²²   But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
²³   For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When people press me, wanting me to be more specific about what it means to be "born again," I'm afraid that I disappoint them for there is no way that anyone can share the experience with another.   All that I can do is share that when I repented of my sins and put my faith in Christ--believing with all my heart that He died on the Cross for me, I was "born again."  And because the Bible says that Jesus is the DOOR to the kingdom of God, then the only way that they can really understand the experience is to go through the DOOR as I did and have their own experience with Christ. (After years of hearing the testimonies of many people, it would seem that no two people have the exact same "experience" when they receive Christ as Lord and Savior.  Many seem to have a glorious, life-changing experience while others seem to have a quiet, sweet experience.  Still others accepted Christ as a child and cannot remember when they did not have fellowship with Christ.)

Karsten, Let me sum up by saying that if you, too, can concur with the Apostle Paul that "...I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (II Tim. 1:12b), then you need to study out just how you came to know Him.  The Apostle Paul was emphatic that the Salvation of God is a gift to the seeker with a child-like faith.  That it cannot be acquired by works as though it was the end results of some goal  will not agree with the following Scripture.

Eph. 2:
⁸   For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹   Not of works, lest any man should boast.
¹⁰   For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
 

It is true that the born-again believer should have many goals, for the Lord Jesus left us with much to do, but to acquire what is already ours should not be among them.

Don

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