INSIGHT ABOUT A PROPHETIC WORD

A prophetic message is a message that is declared by a prophet, who claimed to have received them from God. Such messages typically involve inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of divine will concerning a person, a situation, a nation or nations or a future event. God speaks to His people through prophecy and its one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Today, we are going to consider some situations regarding a prophetic word and when it does not finally take place. We need the capacity to gain an accurate and deep comprehensive knowledge about any prophecy and understand that when we receive a prophecy from great prophets of God, and it ends up not coming to pass, it doesn't always mean the prophecy is not from God.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 2:12 New Living Translation (NLT) "When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn't yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him."

Paul received a confirmation from the Lord about an open door of opportunity to preach in the City of Troas, only to break it off again shortly. Watch this: When he arrived in Troas to preach the gospel, Paul found an open door from the Lord. In other words, God gave him a prophetic word to go ahead and preach because the Spirit of God had prepared the hearts of the people, such that they were ready to hear about Christ. Paul, though, did not stay and minister to them, after all.

Remember the prophetic word was from God, yet the preaching did not finally take place at that moment. Paul was unable to concentrate on the ministry, and so he left and returned to Macedonia. But, this was highly unusual for Paul, who would often refuse to leave a place where people were receptive to the gospel even at the risk of his own life. In addition, he heard from God directly. Arriving in Troas, his excuse was that he did not find Titus, his co-worker in ministry, for this reason, he felt restless in his spirit and left, regardless of the prophetic insight.

Hezekiah was a king who became ill and was at the point of death. Although prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover", he later recovered because the first prophesy was altered and God changed His mind (2 King 20:1-6).

There is another interesting story about the prophetic in 2 Kings chapter 3. Joram, the son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. When the king of Moab came against him, he formed allies with two other nations, including Judah. But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?" An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah. Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him (2 Kings 3:10-12 NIV). Remember that they went to Elisha, a sound and true prophet of God, to inquire of the Lord, if they would win the battle against Mesha, the king of Moab.

In verse 18, Elisha confirmed that the Lord had given them the victory over the Moabites. He said, "This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones." However the prophesy did not come to pass. At the middle of the battle, the fury against Israel was great and they withdrew and returned to their own land (see 2 Kings 3:27 NIV).

Now does this mean Elisha was a false prophet? No! It simply means that the prophesy was not fulfilled. The King of Moab went extra mile, when he was deeply disturbed, and the battle turned against the Israelites. Regardless of the fact that the Israelites depended on the accuracy of the prophesy from the mouth of God's servant, prophet Elisha, it didn't make Elisha a false prophet when the outcome of the battle didn't line up with the prophesy.

This is the reason its wrong to apportion blame to any genuine prophet of God who has a worthy track record of his prophecies being fulfilled, or discredit them, when a genuine prophesy from God doesn't seem to come to pass. In every given situation, God is supremely in control. He still reigns over the affairs of men and aligns the activities in heaven and on earth with His perfect will.

Scripture Reading - Amos 3:7; 1 Corinthians 14:1; Acts 2:16-18; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

Guided Prayer: Precious Father, every word from you is true and perfect and it is ordained for fulfilment because you are the only true living God. In every situation, I praise and honour you, for you are working through events to bring about your eternal purpose in my life and in the world. Thank you for opening my eyes through the prophetic to understand what you are doing and what you've planned for those who love you and are called according to your purpose, even in days of troubled world, in Jesus' Name, Amen!