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BASIC HERMENEUTICS
Rev. Daniel Feliciano

MODERN DAY PROPHETS?

Let’s look at some Biblical principles in dealing with prophecy.

In the Old Testament, like today, there were many who claimed to be prophets
of God. God tells us how to recognize a prophet.

1. Their prophecies MUST come true.

Deut 18:21-22 21“You

may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which
the LORD has not spoken?’
22“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come

about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The
prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.”

For this reason we can reject modern day false prophets who have made, among
others, the following prophecies:

Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center,

December 31, 1989 (All three quotes)

• “The Spirit of God tells me, ‘An earthquake will hit the east coast of
America and destroy much in the 90’s.’”
• “The Spirit tells me, ‘Fidel Castro will die in the 90’s.’”
• “The Lord also tells me to tell you in the mid 90’s, about ’94-95, no later
than that, God will destroy the homosexual community in America.”

- Benny Hinn, Orlando Christian Center,

December 31, 1989 (All three quotes)

Test of accuracy: All three prophecies did not happen.

CINDY JACOBS on Eddie Villanueva

“In 2006, I was at Los Angeles, California in a hotel. I had not seen Bro. Eddie
and Sis. Dory for a few years. I came up and asked if I could pray for him. I
don't really understand the political climate of the Philippines at that time…”

“And I said to him, “Bro. Eddie God showed me it’s his will for you to be the
president of the Philippines. That is God's will. But when whether… listen to
me…”

“…Its not fate. It’s going to take a nation of Davids that says we no longer
stand for a corrupt nation... Bro. Eddie, you will always love your sheep but
God is calling you to go from the priestly anointing to the kingly anointing.”

Test of accuracy: The prophecy did not happen.

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BASIC HERMENEUTICS
Rev. Daniel Feliciano

SADHU SUNDAR SELVARAJ prophecies on the Philippines

• “There is a place called Mindanao, and below that strait is a place called
COMPOSTELA. Then the foundations will be shaken; many people will die.
It will be a big lesson and a fear to the rest of the world. A huge number of
people will be scattered. You may have to depend on the nations of the
world to help you. “The Lord said that there is an appointed typhoon to
come upon that area. It will surround a place called TAGUM. This
hurricane or typhoon will start from there and come sweeping down and
go over there Compostela valley, go around Compostela valley and it will
specifically destroy Tagum city. The destruction will be so great that the
whole world will talk about that destruction. Just like what happened in
Japan… The devastation will be so terrible, so great.”

Test of accuracy: This prophecy did not happen.

The opposite took place. Tagum city became the haven for victims of
Typhoon Pablo. Tagum was also affected by only slightly that it was
able to receive refugees from other places. It provided relief, food, and
other provisions for the victims of the Typhoon (Philippine Daily
Inquirer- Dec. 26, 2012). It was not the one that was damaged badly
as the prophecy had said.

• “The Lord says there is a place called PANGASINAN. The Lord says it is in
the northernmost part in your land. From there a grievous disease will
spread all over the world. That will consume the flesh of men; all their
upper (outer) skin will begin to decay. It will pierce through the bones. The
fear of this disease will spread all over the world. The Lord said that this
(disease) will begin from the Philippines.”

Test of accuracy:

1. Pangasinan is NOT in the northernmost part of the Philippines

2. The prophecy did not happen

2. Fulfilled prophecies do not necessarily validate a prophet.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 tells us:

1If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and

announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder,

2and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he

says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us
worship them,"

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BASIC HERMENEUTICS
Rev. Daniel Feliciano

3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD
your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your
heart and with all your soul.

1 John 4:1 tells us:

1Dear 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.

If someone prophesies, and their prophecy comes true, they may still not be a
true prophet of God (even weathermen get predictions right on occasion). This
brings us to the next test.

3. They must agree with Scripture.

Jeremiah 23:16 says;

16This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets

are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions
from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.

In the New Testament, the Bereans were commended for evaluating the
Apostle Paul in Acts 17:11:
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for

they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures
every day to see if what Paul said was true.

We should also note that most modern day “prophecies” have two qualities that
make them suspect:

1. They are vague. Far different than the specific prophecies related by
Isaiah and Daniel, these prophecies are often nothing more than
“predicting” that someone in the room is hurting, going through a
divorce, struggling with finances, etc. This hardly takes a prophet of God
to notice.

2. They are positive. While on the surface this seems like a good thing it is
not common in Scripture however. While modern “prophets” generally tell
the people that God is about to do amazingly wonderful things and bless
them abundantly, Old Testament prophets generally warned the
wayward to repent or face the wrath of God. In some instances, modern
“prophets” may be merely manipulating an audience for favor or money.

In summary, because Scripture is sufficient for all our needs in Christ,

we are not required to obey the words of a prophet he or she made in
addition to Scripture.

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BASIC HERMENEUTICS
Rev. Daniel Feliciano

For example, if a prophet told you to marry a certain person, take a particular
job, or other specific action, you would be wise to carefully consider their words,
as long as they did not contradict Scripture, but would not be required to act on
it and God would not hold someone responsible for not acting on extra-Biblical
advice.

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