Teaching on using the prophetic gift

Learning About Prophecy From Agabus


by Mel C. Montgomery

The manner in which Agabus the prophet ministered prophetically can teach us much about genuine prophetic ministry.

Paul was making his final rounds of some of the churches he had founded, and his goal was to complete this journey and be at Jerusalem by Pentecost. From Miletus, Paul sent to the Elders at Ephesus, and asked them to come to him. When they arrived, Paul told them some things and I want us to note a couple of his comments:
"And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. "
Paul said that in every city, the Holy Ghost witnessed that bonds and afflictions lay ahead for him. How did the Holy Ghost "witness" to Paul this fact? He did so by flowing through various believers, giving prophecies and messages in tongues and in the interpretation of tongues, telling Paul that "bonds and afflictions" awaited him. Please note in the next verse, Paul's attitude to the suffering that lay ahead:
"But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more..." Acts 20:22-25.

Paul knew this was his last missionary journey. He told them, "I know that ye all...shall see my face no more." He knew that whatever lay ahead, there was no coming back. He was saying his final goodbyes to his beloved Christian brethren. And he faced his future with the boldness of a lion.

Note in Acts Chapter 21, what happened when he arrived in Tyre:
Vs. 4: "And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem."
Paul had said that in every city "the Holy Ghost witnessed," to him. And here in Tyre, disciples "said...through the Spirit..." Here too, several Christians either prophesied to Paul, or gave messages in tongues and in the interpretation of tongues. And these messages went a step further, than those that occurred in other cities up to this time. These utterances told Paul that he should not go to Jerusalem at all.

From Tyre, Paul and his travelling companions went to Caesarea. When they arrived there, they ran into more prophecies:
Vs. 8: "And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Phillip the Evangelist, which was one of the seven, and we abode with him."
Vs. 9: "And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy."
What they specifically prophesied to or around Paul, we do not know.

Up to this point in the narrative, we see example after example of what we would call ordinary believers, "lay people" as some would term them, prophesying to Paul and/or giving him messages through tongues and the interpretaiton of tongues.

I find Paul's response to these prophecies to be most interesting: as far as we know, he had no response to them at all. He didn't agree or disagree with them. He didn't say that they were true prophecies or false prophecies.

After the prophecies of Phillip's daughters, we are given the example of prophecy operating on a higher order, through an experienced and established full-fledged prophet from Judea by the name of Agabus. It was quite dramatic:
Vs. 10: "And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus."
Vs. 11: "And when he was come to us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owns this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."
Now observe closely:
Vs. 12: "And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem."
Who "besought" Paul not to go up to Jerusalem?

"...both we..."--Luke and Paul's companions.

"...and they of that place..."--Phillip the Evangelist, his prophesying daughters, and local Christians.

Who said nothing?

Agabus the prophet.

You see, Agabus had "came down from Judea." He was not one of the local Christians, and he was not a part of Paul's travelling company. So the Bible does not include him among those who urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.

Agabus had come to Caesarea apparently for the specific purpose of giving Paul this word through prophecy, or through tongues and interpretation. And he acted it out like the Goodwins did countless times, and like I have done many times also.

Everyone said, "Paul! Don't Go!"

Everyone, but Agabus.

He said nothing.

Why?

Because the Holy Spirit was not telling Paul to avoid Jerusalem. It was God's will for Paul to go to Jerusalem at this time. And in this prophecy through Agabus, the Holy Spirit was simply telling Paul what awaited him at Jerusalem.

Now, those not familiar with how the Holy Spirit flows in the Gift of Prophecy, assume that Paul made a mistake by ignoring this word and going to Jerusalem.

No, Paul did not make a mistake.

You have to remember what the Lord told Paul when He first called him into the ministry after Paul's blinding experience on the road to Damascus. The Lord sent a disciple named Ananias to go minister healing to Paul. And the Lord said to Ananias:
"...go your way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the Children of Israel. For I will show him what great things he must suffer for my name's sake." Acts 9:15,16.
All believers suffer persecution and affliction to a certain extent in their Christian walk. However, a frequent part of true Apostolic ministry is the ministry of suffering. For instance, of the original eleven remaining apostles, no two died in the same place, and all were crucified, tortured, or painfully killed except for John who was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos and eventually died a natural death later.

Recently I read an article about an Apostle in China. He has been imprisoned and beaten countless times. Yet, inspite of all of the persecutions and afflictions, he has helped to start several thousand undergound churches throughout China. Like Paul, this Apostle is fulfilling the ministry of suffering that often goes with the Apostle's office. Like Paul, he can say of the beatings and the scars,
"...I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus..." Gal. 6:17.

Or as the Amplified Bible translates it:

"...for I bear on my body the brand marks of the Lord Jesus, [the wounds, scars and other outward evidence of persecutions]--These testify to His ownership of me!"
Suffering had been a frequent occurrance throughout all of Paul's ministry. He wrote of his previous sufferings:
"of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen , in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."--II Cor. 11:24-27.
Paul was well acquainted with suffering. All of the Apostles were. Christ had told Paul that he would suffer, on a level far beyond what most Christians suffer, as a part of his Apostolic calling.

It was revealed to Agabus by the Holy Spirit that additonal suffering lay ahead for Paul. And he wisely said ONLY what God had inspired him to say, and he drew no conclusions from it as to whether Paul was to go or not go.

The disciples at Tyre had "said to Paul through the Spirit that he should not go up to Jerusalem." Quite a difference between their prophecies and the one given by Agabus.

They said, "Paul, don't go!"

Agabus said simply, "This is what lies ahead of you."

The disciples at Tyre were right in what they perceived, but wrong in what they concluded from it. They assumed that the Holy Spirit had given them this word for Paul so that they could warn him away from danger. But the Holy Spirit wasn't warning Paul away from danger. He simply sent Agabus to confirm to Paul, what Paul already knew in his own spirit: bonds and afflictions are ahead for me.

The disciples at Tyre crossed a line that Agabus did not cross, and that must not be crossed in genuine prophetic ministry: Agabus told Paul what the Holy Ghost said, but he did not tell Paul what to do about it. He left it up to Paul to seek the Lord's direction in prayer on his own.

Additional prayer was not necessary though for Paul already knew in his heart what lay ahead, and he had already made up his mind what he was going to do about it. Read Paul's response to those who urged him to turn aside and avoid the suffering that lay ahead:
"Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."--Acts 21:13.

Had Paul heeded the prophecies given to him by believers at Tyre, and the urgings of the believers at Caesarea, he would have gotten completely out of God's will.

He might never have been arrested, and eventually brought before kings to testify of Jesus Christ. And with Paul cowering away from suffering, many other Christians in that day when faced with suffering might also have compromised their testimony. But because Paul knew suffering was coming, and he met it head-on in the courage and strength of God, other believers were inspired to likewise meet their fates with the same courage. And thus the Christian faith spread throughout the known world in only a generation or two.

Nero, the other Caesars, and other persecutors found they could not beat Christianity out of the Christians, neither could he burn it out of them. And that same group of Christians look over the banister of Heaven at us today, cheering us on in the challenges we face.

Glory to God.

Much, much, much can be learned from the way Agabus handled this 'word' and the way believers in Tyre handled it.

Allow me to give you an example from my own ministry.

About 15 years ago, God gave me an experience.

I was sitting at my kitchen table, getting ready to read the morning newspaper when the Holy Ghost showed me something.

In a vision, I saw a woman from the Church I was attending. Let's say her name was Lucy. Lucy stood before me, and the Holy Ghost said, "Tell her, I am the Healer of the breach, and the Restorer of paths to dwell in." That was drawn from the Scripture:
"...and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."--Isa. 58:12
I started to put this off. I did not know this woman well. I had attended at this church for only a few weeks. I had seen her at church services several times, and had shaken her hand, but had had no conversations with her of any depth at all.

She was always well dressed, and seemed like she had it all together. I wondered what this "healer of the breach and restorer of paths to dwell in," could possibly mean to a woman who seemed to have everything.

But I knew the Holy Spirit had shown me this for a reason, and I needed to be faithful to share it with her. So I found her name in the phone book, and called her.

I told her, "Lucy, I'm don't know if you remember me or not, but I attend church with you."

She said, "Yes, I know you."

I said, "Ok. I don't know if this means anything to you or not, but I just had a vision about you. I saw you standing before me in this vision, and the Holy Spirit said, 'Tell her, I am the Healer of the Breach and the Restorer of paths to dwell in.' So, I wanted to pass that along to you, and ask you, does this mean anything to you?"

She began crying over the phone. Then she said, "Yes. That is very meaningful to me."

She continued, "You see Mel, you don't know this, but I am going through a divorce right now. My husband has cheated on me so many times, and I have forgiven him time and time again. But I have finally reached the point where I won't put up with this anymore."

"And this is costing me dearly, particularly financially. My husband makes far more money than I do. And I know by divorcing him, my income is going to drop dramatically. I am going to have to sell my house, because I can't afford the payments on my salary alone. Not only am I losing my marriage, but my standard of living is going to drop dramatically."

"Before you called, I took a walk around the block. And on the outside, I was silent, but on the inside, I was screaming out to God. I said, 'God, I know I can get through this if I can know that the things I am losing today will be restored to me some day.' So for God to tell me, 'I am the Healer of the breach and the Restorer of paths to dwell in,' that lets me know that God knows what I am going through, and that one day He will restore all that I have lost."

Now, here is where the temptation came in. Here is where the disciples at Tyre crossed a line that Agabus refused to cross, and that I refuse to cross.

Lucy said, "I have the divorce papers laying on the table before me. All I have to do is sign them, and they become final. Do you think I should sign them? Or do you think that God is going to restore my husband and marriage to me?"

I replied, "Lucy, I won't go there. I won't make a decision for you. You need to get alone with God, and pray until you get your direction from Him as to what you are to do. All I know is, that whatever happens, God is going to heal and restore your life."

She said, "Thank you." And the conversation ended.

I can not remember the specific details now, but I know I left that church very shortly after that, and I didn't get a chance to see or talk to Lucy again. I didn't know what her decision was.

About a year later, I was in one of the government buildings downtown. As I walked across the lobby, the elevators opened, and Lucy stepped out.

And she was glowing!

I went up to her, and I said, "What has happened to you?"

She said, "After our conversation, I went ahead and signed the divorce papers. And some time after that, I met a Christian man. A real Christian man. The kind of man I wished my husband had been. We have dated for quite awhile. And he loves me, and he loves my daughter. And I was just upstairs getting a marriage license. We are going to be married soon."

And I said, "Well Lucy, He is the Healer of the breach and the Restorer of paths to dwell in isn't He?"

She said, "He sure is." She and this brother married, and the last I heard of them they were very happy. To God be the Glory.

Prophetic ministry, when it is genuine, and when the opinions of men are not mixed in with it, can minister great strength and encouragement to those going through difficult times. But when it is polluted by the ideas of men, it can become absolutely toxic. It can do far more harm than good.

Before we leave the story of Agabus, I want us to notice learn two more lessons from him.

One lesson is this:

Just because you have a few prophecies, does not make you a prophet in God's eyes.

There has come forth an erroneous teaching in recent years in Charismatic circles, which claims that there is no longer an office of the prophet, just believers all prophesying equally.

Nonsense.

We see that the Bible make clear distincitions in this incident:

In Tyre, "disciples... said through the Spirit..."

In Caesarea, Phillip had four daughters, "...which did prophesy."

Then, "...there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus."

The Bible does not identify the disciples at Tyre as prophets. Nor does it state that Phillip's daughters were prophets. These prophesied, but they were not full-fledged prophets. Agabus, however, was specifically identified and called "a prophet."

Every born-again, Spirit-filled believer can potentially be used in the gift of prophecy. But that does not mean that they stand in the office of a prophet. Every believer can similarly be used to lead others to Christ, but that does not indicate that they stand in the office of the Evangelist.

When Christ arose from the dead and ascended to the Father, He set in place specific ministry offices:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers..." Eph. 4:11.
One of the most devestating occurrances to ever occur in modern Christianity took place in the 1990's in Charismatic Churches. There was a gross over-emphasis on personal prophecy in those years. The Holy Spirit would use a believer in prophecy, once or twice, and those around them would foolishly tell them, "See? You're a prophet! You need to go out and prophesy to the world."

So that poor believer would hang out his shingle, "John Smith, Prophet at Large," and would prophesy over anything and everyone in sight. Such believers then began writing books, "How to Be a Prophet," "How to Prophesy," basically trying to teach, "How to be a prophet in five easy lessons!" They held "prophetic conventions, " and "prophetic conferences." They started "Prophetic churches," and "Prophetic Networks." And almost all of it was simply the blind leading the blind. And what did our Lord say would happen if the blind lead the blind? "They shall both fall into the ditch." And that "New Prophetic Move," did indeed fall into the ditch. Churches were wrecked, lives were shattered, and erroneous teachings went forth which we are still struggling to dig ourselves out of!

The disciples at Tyre prophesied. It was not false prophecy per se. It was genuine leadings of the Lord run amok. It was everybody and his brother prophesying at the drop of a hat. And it was wrong. And all of Christianity in that day would have been devestated had Paul listened to any of it.

I heard Brother Hagin relate a similar story from his own life. Back in the 1940's and 1950's during the Healing Revival, the Lord spoke to him. There were dozens and dozens of Healing Evangelists--Oral Roberts, A.A. Allen, Jack Coe, etc.,--criscrossing the country, preaching from giant tents. The Lord told Brother Hagin specifically, "Don't you do that. Stay in the churches." So Brother Hagin ministered from church to church.

Yet everywhere Brother Hagin went, he was met with Christians prophesying to him, or speaking messages to him through tongues and interpretation of tongues, telling him that he too was to get a tent and start preaching from it. He said, "I don't mean that it happened just one time. Everywhere I went, every city, for years--there would be at least one believer prophesy to me or give a message in tongues in which they told me to get a tent."

Did he buy a tent?

No.

You might say, "But the prophecies told him to! Everywhere he went! For years!"

Yes, but the Lord had already told him not to.

Were these "false prophecies?"

Not in the sense of being from the Devil. You just had alot of inexperienced and unknowledgable believers, feeling a little bit of inspiration, and standing up and saying, "Thus saith the Lord!...Buy a tent!"

Yes, that was the direction of the Lord for many Healing Evangelists in that day.

No, it was not the Lord's direction for Brother Hagin.

So when someone would prophesy that to Brother Hagin, he would just smile to the one giving him the message, and then toss aside the "prophecy," and never give it another thought.

Had he gotten a tent, he would have been as completely out of God's will as Paul would have been if he had listened to the prophecies of some of his day, and avoided Jerusalem.

Did you notice that neither Paul nor his seasoned ministry companions had any reactions to these prophecies?

Paul was just smiling, and tossing aside those prophecies, just like Brother Hagin did. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ had already told him years before that suffering would be a regular part of his apostolic calling.

These instances were also examples of prophecy operating on a lesser level, so to speak, from the congregational level.

Notice the difference though when Agabus ministered to Paul through the full prophetic office. There was such an unction in his words, that immediately ALL of the assembled Christians, including seasoned ministers, reacted strongly.

Prophecy, when it operates through everyday believers, can be a real blessing. But when it comes through an actual Prophet--it carries a much greater intensity of anointing and authority.

I've seen the difference as I have observed, for instance, Kenneth Hagin or Kenneth Copeland prophesy. There is something much stronger in their prophecies, than in the prophecies that you hear from most believers.

I've experienced the difference myself.

In my home church where I ministered some years ago, the pastor and several others were occasionally used in prophecy or in tongues. What they flowed in was real. But when, not just prophecy, but the full office of the prophet would come upon me, the difference was quite substantial.

I was scheduled to minister on a Sunday night. As I drove to the Church, the prophet's office began to manifest in me. I knew exactly what the Lord wanted to say to the people that night. The Lord revealed to me that there were several people in the congregation that were deeply worried about matters in their lives, and worried specifically about the future. And He wanted to speak to them about the future, and assure their hearts that He would see them throuogh whatever came.

As the praise and worship began, I was seated next to my pastor since I was the guest speaker that night. Although I was scheduled to teach that night, I knew that the way they structured their services would quench the anointing in me if I wasn't careful. After praise and worship, they always had a bunch of announcements, received the offering, and then introduced the guest speaker.

I knew if they went through all that, the prophet's anointing on me would lift before I ever got the chance to speak. So as the music played, I leaned over to the pastor and said, "I have a word from the Lord. Would it be alright for me to give it at the end of praise and worship?" And for just a moment, I saw a look of doubt move across his face.

Why?

Because he too was used from time to time in utterances. But he was called to be a pastor and a teacher. He did not have a specific calling in the area of the prophet like I do. So I knew he doubted for a moment, because he didn't sense any unction within himself to prophesy at that time. And it was therefore only natural for him to wonder for a minute whether I really had a "word" or not. But we knew each other well, and I had ministered in the Spirit there several times. So he gave me the benefit of the doubt and said, "Yes, go ahead and give it at the end of praise and worship."

As I have written in this post and in others, God uses me in an unusual combination of speaking in tongues, interpreting the message, and acting out the gist of the message.

Is this Scriptural?

Certainly.

We have already seen the account of Agabus acting out a prophecy by taking Paul's girdle, binding his own hands and feet, and so on.

In Hosea 12:10 (Amp). the Lord says:

"I have also spoken to you by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions [for you], and [have appealed to you] through parables acted out by the prophets."
I had never seen a prophet act out a prophecy or a parable, until I saw Sister Goodwin minister. After learning from her for several years, she laid her hands on me and the same anointing began to flow through me.

I did not, and I do not, choose to act these out in some kind of fleshly way in order to make it more dramatic, or to crave the attention of men. To do so would grieve the Spirit of God, and He would cease using me at all in utterances. No, from the moment that anointing came into me, the tongues, interpretations, and gestures have all been wrapped up together. It came as a "package deal," I guess you might say.

So when praise and worship ended, I stepped forward and turned on my portable tie microphone.

And I waited.

You see, I can not prophesy at will.

Neither can anyone else.

I knew what the Lord wanted to say, but I had to wait for the unction to speak it out. In a few seconds, that unction came.

This word flowed through me in a church service in my home church towards the end of 1999. Through tongues and interpretation, I began to speak and act out this parable. The word was along these lines:

"Just as with a tall man...

And a short man...

Walking down the road together.

And the short man looks down the road,

and he is afraid...

Because there is a bend in the road...

and he can not see around the bend in the road.

And the short man says, 'I am afriad...

For I can not see around the bend in the road.'

And the Tall man says,

'Behold, I am Tall.

And I can see around the bend in the road.'

Thus saith the Lord,

I am that Tall Man to you.

You can not see around the bend in the road of life...

But I can.

I can see things that you can not see.

And I can tell you this,

There is nothing around the bend of the road...

That is bigger than Me.

For you know not your future,

But I do.

And some would worry,

What shall I do?

What shall I face in the future?

What shall become of me?

What about my job?

What about my family?

What about my health?

What about the year 2000?

Know this, Saith God, that I am with you...

so there is no need for fear.

All that the future holds...

The victories and the challenges...

We will walk through them together.

For did I not say unto thee...

I will never leave thee nor forsake thee?

You do not walk this road alone.

So roll the cares of the future over onto Me.

You are not sufficient for them, but I am.

Lift not the burdens that are not yours to carry.

Release the future unto Me.

Fear no evil, for I am with you.

And go forward in confidence...

For the God that is Greater than you...

is your constant Companion."

I acted out the message with these and other gestures:

When I said "tall man," I held my hand out over my head, indicating a tall man.

When I said "short man," I held out my hand indicating a short man.

"Walking down the road together..."--I walked in place. And so on.

There was such an unction, such a powerful anointing in that word. It spoke directly to the hearts of the people. It broke the Spirit of Fear off of them, and released them from worry.

If you remember that time, there was a great deal of concern, especially in Christian circles, over the possibility of all the computers in the world crashing on January 1, 2000. I knew in the natural, of course, that just about everybody was somewhat concerned about this possibility. And there was an overall bondage on the congregation because of that concern. But more than that, I knew by the revelation of the Spirit that there were five people, or five families, that were very worried over matters in their personal life. This word was directed more to them than anyone else. But this word, never-the-less, broke the Y2K worry and fear off of all of us. None of us were huddled down in a hole in the ground with food and guns when the clock struck midnight. We had been prepared. God had reminded us that He was with us. He is obviously bigger than Y2K, or anything else. So what is there to fear?

And being delivered from fear in that instant, then the Presence of God just filled the sanctuary.

When I finished the message in tongues I returned to my seat beside the pastor.

We waited a minute or two in silence. Then he turned to me and asked, "Would you mind if I change the order of the service? We can schedule another time for you to minister."

I said, "Go ahead and go with what you have in your heart."

He sent the Associate Pastor forward to give the announcements, but he never got to give them. He said something so beautiful. He said to the people, "You know, one of the names of God literally means, 'the Lord is there,' and He is, isn't He? Wherever we go, there He is."

With that added comment, the Presence of God got so strong in there, that the announcements were forgotten.

Everything was forgotten.

When He gets so strong in a room, all you can do is just worship Him. So we continued worshipping God for another thirty minutes or so. Then the Pastor went to the pulpit, taught the people a little bit about the move of God we had just experienced, and then turned to me and asked me if I had any more from the Lord.

I gave another couple of quick messages in tongues and interpreted them. Then we closed the service. I don't remember if we even received the offering or not. When God gets that strong in your midst, you don't care about anything but Him.

I got to preach my sermon the next Sunday night, and it bombed.

I bombed. ( lol ) :)

But I didn't care!

Now the reason I told you that long story is to get across to you an example of the difference between a believer prophesying and a prophet prophesying. The pastor that night sensed no anointing to prophesy. And indeed, there wasn't any anointing to prophesy from the congregational level, or from the pastor's office. But my, oh, my! There was a strong anointing to prophesy from the office of the prophet. I yielded to it. It proved real, bore good fruit, and we were all set free by the power of God that night.

Do not misunderstand me and think that I am discouraging prophecy from the congregational level, or in other words, disciples or believers prophesying. I'm not discouraging it at all. I simply want you to understand that it operates at a much lesser intensity of anointing from the congregational level. And without proper training and oversight, members of the congregation can experience what the disciples did at Tyre. They can indeed pick up something in their spirits from the Spirit of God, and can very easily draw absolutely the wrong conclusions from what they perceive, and be almost completely wrong in what they prophesy.

Kenneth Hagin estimated that the strength of anointing he experienced in prophesying from the office of the prophet was probably about 100 times stronger than what most believers are used in.

I agree.

The last lesson I want us to learn from Agabus is that his prophecy did not tell Paul anything new. It did not tell Paul something of which he was completely unaware. It merely confirmed what Paul was already understanding in his own heart from the Spirit of God.

Why did God send Agabus from Judea to Caesarea to merely "confirm" what Paul already knew?

There wasn't anything "mere" about it.

Paul was about to enter into the persecution and abuse that would in time lead to his martyrdom. This word brought him comfort in the loneliness of his imprisonment, in the discomfort, in the ridicule, and in being later abandoned by all but one or two of his staff ministers. It reinforced to Paul the fact that he was in the center of God's perfect will, and assured him therefore, that God would be with him in all the struggles, and that God would see him through the suffering into Glory.

In other words, God would accompany Paul "around the bend in the road," in the same way that 2,000 years later He assured us that He would do with us.

Such prophetic confirmations can serve to keep you steady through difficult times, and help you to stand strong against temptations.

I have never had a genuine prophecy given to me by a genuine prophet that was absolutely new to me.

Never.

And in the hundreds of messages in tongues and interpretations, or prophecies the Lord has given me to speak out to people, I don't know of a single one that was a complete surprise to the hearer.

Not one.

Sister Goodwin prophesied to me, but the overall message she gave, I had already known in my own heart for many years. It simply served to confirm to me what I knew the Lord wanted. Now there were a couple of elements, or a detail or two in the prophecy that were new, but it wasn't a prophecy that just took me by complete suprise.

Brother Hagin used to say, "If I give you a word, and it doesn't confirm what you already sense in your spirit--FORGET IT! I can miss it. I have missed it."

I agree.

Although there were numerous prophecies spoken in the Old Testament which took the hearers by surprise, I can find no New Testament example of one.

We Learn From Agabus:
Speak only what the Lord has revealed.
Do not add in our own conclusions or opinions.
Do not make decisions for other people.
Prophecy that flows through a true prophet will be more strongly anointed than that which flows through believers. Never-the-less it is perfectly legitimate for a non-Prophet to prophesy.
Although a minor detail or two may be new, the vast majority of prophecies and their content should serve mostly to confirm to the hearer what he or she already knows or suspects the Lord is telling them.


Copyright 2006 Mel C. Montgomery All rights reserved. Material may be copied and shared with others if done so in entirety, free of charge, and if attribution is given.