TESTING THE PROPHETIC SERIES
The Shepherd of Hermas
In the 2nd century a man named Hermas recorded a series of visions. In these visions a heavenly figure appears to Hermas and makes himself known simply as the Shepherd. The Shepherd shares with Hermas things relating to nature of life in God and issues pertaining to the church. What followed was a series of ethical and moral lessons and instruction in the Christian life. Righteousness and repentance is heavily emphasized. It was instructive in the same way a work like Pilgrim’s Progress was in its day.
The Sherpherd of Hermas was a widely circulated book and was well respected by most of the notable church fathers of the day. There was even some talk about its inclusion in the canonization of scripture. The book is separated into three categories: the Visions, the Mandates, and the Similtudes. In the Mandates we find a series of instructions regarding truth, chastity, baptism, patience, and self-control (among many other things). It really is a fascinating read.
In Mandate 11, the Shepherd begins instructing Hermas how to discern between true and false prophetic voices. This section brings clarity to the practice of discernment in the early church. The Shepherd shows Hermas a false prophet that is misleading the followers of Christ. Hermas implores the Sherpherd to teach him how to discern the true from the false:
““Sir,” Hermas said, “how then will a man know which of them is a prophet and which is a false prophet?” ”
The Shepherd answers by saying you must look at the life of the individual to discern their heart.
““Hear,” the Shepherd said, “about both prophets, and in the manner that I am going to tell you, you can test the prophet and the false prophet. By his life you test the man that has the divine Spirit.””
The principle remains true to what we found earlier in the Didache, by their life you will know them. This echoes the teachings of Jesus:
Matthew 7:15-16 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”
This is also echoed in the life of the Old Testament prophets. Take Samuel for instance:
I Samuel 12:3-4 “Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.” And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”
Samuel let his life speak for his credibility.
Now, some may feel their eyes glazing over at this point. Perhaps you have heard this refrain before. But what does a life full of fruit look like? Jesus does not connect the fruit to weigh people by with miracles, prophecies, and healings. Rather, he ties it in with the inner life. Inside of some you would find ravenous wolves, so we must look to the inner life of individual. And we can test that not by the miracles they perform but the way they carry themselves. The Shepherd did not stop at a general injunction to test the life of the individual. He went gave specific instructions of what to look for in those who you listen to.
The qualifications of a true prophetic voice are as follows:
“The one who has the Spirit from above is gentle and quiet and humble.”
“Refrains from all evil and worthless desires of this age.”
“Makes himself more needy than all other men.”
“When asked, gives no answer to anyone.” (in other words, he is not manipulated to prophesy. The temptation comes when people offer money, favor, or power in return.)
“Neither does he speak by himself, nor does the Holy Spirit speak whenever a man wishes to speak, but he speaks when God wishes him to speak.”
These instructions are not that dissimilar to the instructions Paul gives to Timothy regarding the qualifications of a bishop or a deacon:
I Timothy 3:2-7 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
I fear the test of who we listen to in our day is driven by how they make us feel.
That is a test waiting to fail.
Moving on, the person who truly carries the Spirit of God and the heart of God will only speak as they area moved:
““So whenever the man who has the divine Spirit comes into an assembly of righteous men who have faith in the divine Spirit, and a prayer is made to God by the assembly of those men, then the angel of the prophetic spirit which is assigned to him fills the man, and that man, having been filled by the Holy Spirit, speaks to the group as the Lord wills. So in this way the divine Spirit is known.””
The demand is not put upon the person, rather the prayers are offered to God. Prophecy is not fortune-telling, but some treat it this way. The demand must be put upon God, not upon the individual. We must create room then for the individual to speak, but the direction of our inquiry is towards God.
These kinds of instructions would offer a significant buffer to the near incessant need we find in some areas of the body of Christ for a prophetic word. This is echoed in the word of Paul in Philippians 4:6:
““Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…””
Many times I have been asked to weigh in on someone’s decision through the guise of a prophetic word. A great litmus test is provided here, seek first the leading of God and expect Him to reveal to you the answers you seek.
The Shepherd gives instruction to Hermas as to the characteristics of a false prophet:
“That man who thinks he has the spirit elevates himself.”
“Wishes to have a seat of honor.”
“He is bold and shameless and talkative.”
“Lives in great luxury and in many other pleasures.”
“Accepts pay for his prophesying. And if he does not receive, he does not prophesy. Is it possible, then, for a divine Spirit to accept a salary for prophesying? It is not possible for a prophet of God to do this, but the spirit of such prophets is earthly.”
This last point is vitally important. Prophetic ministry is a gift, and gifts are freely given and must be freely used. When payment is tied into the operation of the Holy Spirit, men and women are tempted to manipulate the moment for the hope of gain. No doubt they had in mind the example of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8:18-19:
“And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.””
Ministry is not to be centralized around the individual or their gift.
Rather, the ministry that is given by God is to be centralized around the person of Christ. The question should always be asked, “In what ways does this person show me the way to the Father? In what ways am I being led down the path of humility? In what ways is Christ becoming real to me and through me?”
The Shepherd says that a false prophet tells you things that you want to hear:
““And that false prophet, having no power of a divine spirit in himself, talks to them in response to their questions and their evil desires, and fills their souls just as they themselves wish. For since he is empty himself, he gives empty answers to empty people. For whatever is asked, he answers according to the emptiness of the man who asked.” ”
The path to discerning between the true and the false is intimacy with God and knowledge of Scripture:
““So those who are strong in the faith (intimacy) of the Lord, having put on truth (knowledge of scripture), do not associate with such spirits, but refrain from them. But those who are double-minded and repent often, practice soothsaying like the heathen, and by their idolatry bring upon themselves greater sin.” ”
The instruction offered by the Shepherd is simple: do not associate with those who carry themselves contrary to the character of Christ.
Lastly, the Shepherd returns to their life as the final test:
““You have before you the life of both kinds of prophets. By his deeds and life test, then, the man who says he is inspired.””
So how do we apply these in our modern, social media crazed, information-obsessed culture? The first thing we can infer from what the Shepherd shares is that the mark of ministry must by love for Christ and love for people. Love is the summation of character.
We should expect those ministering with the gift of prophecy to…
…not be concerned with building his/her own ministry.
…not be concerned about money.
…have a desire to live in simplicity.
…not use their ministry as a platform to sell you something (the outworking of this is usually, “You need this desperately and only I can give it to you.”)
…not attempt to convince you that they are needed for your next great breakthrough/healing/financial blessing/etc...
…consistently adopt a position of humility, not criticism. Humility is this: recognizing that without God I am nothing.
…respond to insults in love.
…not tear others down in order to make him/her look better, not divisive in their language.
…teach you and help you.
The truly gifted person should look to become redundant.
If these were our tests for a model prophetic voice, we may have avoided much heartache and what Isaac the Syrian called the scandalization of many.