What are the different kinds of prophecies we see?
The different types of prophetic messages
If you ever have encountered prophetic movements, you may have seen different kinds of prophetic messages. Here I try to identify and list different types, and show biblical examples of each kind. (info may be added in the future as I refine this)
Who is the audience?
The nature of the prophecy will differ depending on who is the audience. The next sections will talk about warning prophecies urging the wicked to repent. In this case, the audience is "the wicked". The Old Testament had a number of this type of prophecy. But there are also prophecies of encouragement. In the current age, there are a lot of prophecies given to encourage the believers. These can be a bible verse that is appropriate and relevant for a particular circumstance a person is in, or a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit for a person to glorify God. Often these are pieces of information that only God can know. Jesus did this when he met Nathanael. He said "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” “How do You know me?” Jesus said, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you” (John 1:47-48)
Warning: a prophecy for the wicked
A message of warning is given. Usually it is a warning to repent, or else some sort of judgement, destruction, or punishment will follow. Jonah's message to Nineveh is an example of this. Nineveh was about to be destroyed in 40 days, but when Jonah preached, the people became repentant in their hearts, and Nineveh was spared. Nineveh was eventually destroyed, but well after that generation that repented, around 200 years later.
See The Book of Jonah in the Old Testament - just read the whole book.
Also see this interesting article.
Encouragement: a prophecy for the righteous
This kind of prophecy is God talking to his own people, giving them a word of encouragement or instruction.
When Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come, this was a sort of prophecy of encouragement. (Acts 1) They did, and the Holy Spirit did come, and thus the Book of Acts gets introduced, with the whole book giving testimonies of all the things the very early church did with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Words of Knowledge, covered later in this paragraph are quite often little messages of encouragement specific for one person.
Foretelling of a Future Event
The book of Revelations is an example of a foretelling of future events, or according to some, current events. The birth of Jesus was foretold in various places, like Micah 5:2, Isaiah 7:14.
This is the most serious type of prophecy, and puts a lot of responsibility on the prophet. Many people over the years have predicted the date of the return of Jesus, and it never turns out to be true. Jesus himself said in Matthew 24:26-40:
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Be aware of "dark prophets" like fortune tellers, necromancers, and other occultic practitioners who will predict something, and via evil forces, it then comes true. Beware also of using different mediums to get messages, like ouija boards. The Bible warns of this. One woman I know went to a fortune teller, who told her that her husband would die by "losing his head". He indeed died some time later of brain cancer. Did she cause her husband to become cursed via visiting a fortune teller? Only God knows. See 1 Samuel 28, where King Saul visits the witch of Endor to speak to Samuel's spirit. That did not turn out so well for King Saul.
In the Old Testament, false prophets were put to death according to the law of that time.
Dreams and Visions
This prophecy below is actually of the previous category: (from Joel 2: 28-32) But it tells of times to come when people will have dreams and visions and also prophesy. These times foretold are the current times in which we live, the Church Age, which started with Pentecost and put into action with The Great Commission in Matthew 28:16-20
(link to Bible passage online)
I Will Pour Out My Spirit
(Acts 2:14–36)
28 And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on My menservants and maidservants,
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth,
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD
will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised,
among the remnant called by the LORD.
This scripture foretells a time when old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions and our sons and daughters will prophecy. When it says sons and daughters, it is referring to future generations.
We are hearing about people having dreams and visions. For example, Dumitru Duduman, a severely persecuted Christian man who lived during the most repressive period of Communist Romania, had a vision that many parts of America will someday burn. He mentions Las Vegas, California, and New York specifically. See his sermon in YouTube, for more details. Obviously, this hasn't happened yet, and Mr. Duduman is no longer with us.
Words of Knowledge
The term "word of knowledge" is used in modern Christian churches to describe a word, picture or impression the Holy Spirit gives someone about a person or situation. These words of knowledge are used to glorify God to that person and show that God is real. Often the word of knowledge is something so hidden and remote, that only God could have revealed it.
Jesus received words of knowledge several times about people while he was here on Earth. For example, the story of the woman at the well. He knew her history and her current life situation, and urged her to "go and sin no more". This is from John, chapter 4.
Another example of where Jesus gives a word of knowledge is when he addressed Nathanael in John 1:47-48, and as a result, Nathanael immediately believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and followed Him thereafter as one of Jesus' disciples.
Exposure of Evil and Deceit
Sometimes prophecies are given to people to expose evil and deceit. A good bible example is from when Peter confronts Ananias and Sapphira, who lied when they laid their offerings at the apostles' feet. They could have kept part of it to themselves and been honest about it, but they lied. As a result they both fell over dead. This is from Acts 5.
Kim Clement gives many prophecies about plotting and mischief. Many other prophetic voices have exposed evil plots in governments, which later turned out to be true, but at the time they were labelled liars and "conspiracy theorists".
Exposure of Evil Intent
This kind of prophecy reveals the evil intentions or ambitions of a person. It may look like a prediction of the future, but it is a revelation of evil ambitions or intent. Don't confuse this with predictions of future events.
Audible Voice
Some people describe hearing an audible voice coming from Jesus or an angel. Samuel, when he was called by God to be a prophet heard an audible voice calling him. This story is told in 1 Samuel 3. Dumitru Duduman also describes having heard an audible voice of an angel address him.
Intuition
A person who is not particularly prophetic can have intuitions based on knowledge of the Bible, history, etc. to be able to make rather good predictions. Gut feelings are also, as some people describe, one way that God talks to them. We find precedents in history and in the Bible, which contains a lot of history. History repeats itself. For example, each century seems to spawn one or two tyrannical fascist dictators, and they can easily be identified. Also through God's spirit, you can experience that some things "ring true", while other things leave you in doubt.
The Bible itself also predicts a world tyrannical dictator - the Antichrist and the False Prophet. We currently see a type of antichrist and false prophet in the form of Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill for whom wiping out the independently minded and freedom-loving country of Ukraine is their "holy Z war". These guys might not be the final one, but they are a type. Fascist dictators have no problem with exterminating "those other people", which we are also seeing in Ukraine. Last century we had Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, who were responsible for the deaths of millions of people.
Did you know that Poland and Ukraine are the 2 most Christian nations in Europe? In Ukraine, in Kiev, I saw Ukrainians telling other people about Jesus and saw people playing Christian music on the street - people enjoying their freedom of worship. Putin and his entourage hate both these countries with a passion. There is a spiritual component to what is going on in Russia. Kim Clement said in a few of his prophecies that God said that he has lifted his Spirit from Russia for a season. You don't want to be here during the time of the Antichrist, when "the restrainer" is removed. (believed by most to mean the Holy Spirit) Salvation through Christ is your free gift of eternal life.
From science, we can also make certain predictions. For example, the tectonic subduction zone off the coast of Washington State is due to slip, which is also an area commonly prophesied about as well. This will cause enormous destruction and tsunamis. This is recorded as having happened in Japanese history. One can make a prediction that this will happen at some point in the future, especially when we know the approximate cadence of these events.
Another one is the caldera of Yosemite. If it erupts, it will cause massive destruction over a good part of North America. Science indicates this can very well someday happen. There are a lot of sensors monitoring Yosemite park all the time - it's an area of concern for a good reason.
Instruction
A prophecy can be given to a person or people, where more specific instructions are given how to behave or how to handle an impeding prophetically predicted situation that is about to happen. There are Biblical examples of this, and modern examples. One which I have seen repeated around the world and in different languages, are instructions on how to prepare oneself and behave during a period of 3 days of darkness. In these, the recurring themes are:
1. There will be fantastic signs in the sky before it happens.
2. During the darkness, only candles will be able to provide light.
3. One must go indoors and cover the windows, close the doors and light a candle. The candle should be a plain white unscented candle or a blessed candle.
4. Do not look out the windows or open the doors, no matter what.
5. Pray and worship God during this time.
See my other blog posts for more information about the 3 days of darkness.
Unnatural darkness is predicted in the Bible in Revelations 8:12, Acts 2:20, Joel 2:31. There was also a 3 day period of gross darkness in Egypt recorded in Exodus. The 10 plagues are recorded in Exodus 7-10, of which darkness was one of them.
False Prophecies (fortune-telling, soothsaying, ouija boards, etc.)
You can also encounter false prophecies. These come via dark forces. Sometimes they are brought on by a curse. I believe I have seen this actually happen, when someone I know went to a fortune teller, who told her that her husband would die by losing his head. He indeed did die years later of brain cancer. Was that a curse or was that event directly caused by invoking dark forces for guidance to the future? I don't know. Avoid this type of seeking guidance. The bible forbids it. You can bring darkness into your life through these things. Again, Christ is the way out. Call on his name and he will help. The Holy Spirit can give you discernment if you are hearing something true or something false, and help you discern the source and intentions of what you are hearing.
Do you want God to talk to you?
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