The Seven Characteristics Of A True Prophet Of God

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The Seven Major Qualifications of Prophets:

1) Anointed To Prophesy and Fully Dedicated To God
2) Have Many Fruits and Gifts of the Holy Spirit
3) Bold in Preaching and Teaching
4) Full of Fearlessness and True Humility
5) Genuinely Loves Christ And His Righteousness
6) Not After Fame or Fortune
7) Prayer Warriors Dedicated To Intercession

The above list of Seven Major Qualification for Prophets will be carefully explained later in this article. But first, I would like to address the fact that most believers think that anyone that makes an accurate prediction about something coming in the future in regard to Bible Prophecy is a true prophet of God. But that is not necessarily true. There are many false prophets in this world that make accurate predictions that do not glorify God or further God's Will, but serve to deceive believers into thinking they are more blessed and more approved by God than they actually are. There are also many psychics, astrologers, witch doctors, occultists, shamans and primitive traditional healers in the world today that can accurately predict events and reveal the future.

To test whether these are true prophetic voices of the Living God Yahweh and His Son Yahshua or not, more qualities other than accurate predictions are needed. A key Scripture that validates the existence of Prophets in this world today is found in the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians:

~*~ Ephesian 4:11-16 ~*~  “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

This passage of Ephesians tells us that - along with pastors, apostles and teachers - prophets are meant to edify the Body of Christ, and to equip the saints to minister to others. Another Scripture that applies to Prophets is the list of attributes that Bishops or Overseers in the Church should have, since Prophets oversee or guide all believers in a special capacity:

~*~ 1 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; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); 6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

Although not every Bishop or Overseer has to have all of these attributes, especially as regards marital status - where the man might be a widower or taken a vow of celibacy to serve God instead of being married to one wife - all of the other traits should manifest themselves in any servant of God that has a leadership role, including those who are prophets. Verse 7 above is also important, as these Overseers need to intercede for the Church with the world outside the Church, which is hostile to it. So they need a keen ability to instill trust and good will in others.

The following study covers all the important aspects of being a true prophet, most of which are alluded to in the above listed Scriptures. In my study, I have broken down the characteristics of a true prophet into seven categories, as follows:

1) Called Or Anointed To Prophesy, and Fully Dedicated To God: A prophet must receive his calling and his prophetic gifts from God the Father, as was the case for all the Prophets in the Bible. Some were also anointed to Prophesy, such as was the case with Elisha, who was anointed by Elijah to take his place.

A true prophet is also fully dedicated to the one true God, not compromising God's authority by giving it to any false gods or religions, but only directing people to love and follow God the Father and His Son. As it says in John 14:6, a true prophet must believe that Yahshua is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that the only way to the Father is in Christ alone. Any person who claims to be a born-again prophet of God, but that still follows the teachings and practices of other religions apart from Christ is an agent of darkness.

One cannot claim to be a Christian and at the same time believe and practice Metaphysics, Witchcraft, Satanism, mysticism, spiritualism, shamanism, AMORC (Rosicrucianism), Universalism or Ecumenism, Islam, Freemasonry, New Age ideology, Hinduism, Mind Science, Gnosticism and so forth. Prophets must see the Bible as the infallible Word of God. If they are so led, true prophets also should be able to see that the Book of 1 Enoch, the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Jasher or Upright Record are biblically sound ancient texts that can greatly enhance and deepen our understanding of the events that took place in the Book of Genesis.

2) Displays All the Fruits, and Many Gifts of the Holy Spirit: In addition to having accurate prophecies or predictions, a true Prophet must have the characteristics of Christ, which includes all the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 lists these as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If the person with supposed prophetic gifts does not display all of these fruits, that person is not a true prophet of God. In Matthew 7:16-20, Yahshua clarified that we would know His true servants by their spiritual fruits.

3) Bold in Preaching the Word of God and Teaching New Disciples: A true Prophet must be very familiar with the Word of God in the Bible, and should be able to boldly preach Scripture to teach, rebuke, discipline, correct and instruct both new and seasoned believers. As it says in Scripture:

~*~ Timothy 3:16-17 ~*~ “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 

They must also be zealous in fulfilling the Great Commission described in Matthew 28:19-20, where Yahshua said:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 (and) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” 

See also, Isaiah 58:1, where God says to Isaiah:

“Cry aloud, spare not;

Lift up your voice like a trumpet;

Tell My people their transgression,

And the house of Jacob their sins.”

Prophets should therefore be bold, even yelling and loudly admonishing those they are trying to instruct and convict of their sins and shortcomings before God. They should also be familiar with the teachings of other books mentioned or alluded to in the Bible, such as the Book of Jasher or Upright Record, the Book of Jubilees, and the Book of 1 Enoch. Knowing the basic foundation behind the Gospel in the Stars should also be evident, since Yahshua told us to watch for many of the End Time Signs in the Heavens that are prophetically described in the Book of Revelation.

The true Prophet will also never contradict the Word of God with his prophecies, but steadfastly teach and uphold what Scripture says about God's Loving, Pure and Perfect Character, God's Salvation, Mercy and Grace, and God's Judgment, Wrath and Vengeance. As it says in Isaiah 8:20: “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them!” The Law refers to the first five book of the Bible, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch. The Testimony is found in the histories, Psalms and prophetic writings of the Old Testament.

4) Full of Fearlessness and True Humility: A prophet must be fearless to preach the Word of God, but also very good at instilling the fear of the Lord. As it says in Psalm 25:14: “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.”

The fear of the LORD is not simply about feeling fear toward God's judgment, or terror when thinking about one's broken relationship with God. To fear God actually means having a deep reverence for Yahweh God and His Law, a great love for His righteousness, and a great respect for His limitless power and authority. As it says in Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverse mouth I hate.”

But Scripture also teaches that God cannot reveal His secrets to a proud or arrogant person. In fact, as it says in Numbers 12:3, the prophet Moses was more humble than all the other men who were on the face of the earth at that time. True prophets are also fearless. They don’t ever compromise the Word of God, but are bold, forthright, and always willing to die for the truth. Read 1 Kings 22:10-51 to see how this was displayed by the virtually unknown Prophet Micaiah, a suffering and bold prophet who is seldom mentioned by pastors and false prophets!

5) Genuinely Loves Christ, And Leads People To Christ And His Righteousness: true prophets of God will display a deep and genuine love of Yahshua or Jesus, with the same ability to lead others as Christ led His followers when He walked the Earth in the land of Israel over 2000 years ago. Indeed, it was Yahshua Himself that  commanded us to love one another just as He loves us. When we do love others in the same exact way that Christ loves, it is a sign that to the world that we are Christ's true disciples (John 13:34-35 ). If one performs miracles, and prophecies accurately without fulfilling all of God’s moral commandments to flee worldliness and shun sexual sin, that prophet should be seen as lawless and untrustworthy, and as a false prophet. As it says in Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

A true prophet does not seek to receive praises or worship from people. Instead, he will humble himself, and allow the people to see the Spirit of Christ shining through his words and actions.. A true prophet also will not allow people to depend on him. Instead, he will encourage them to inquire directly from Christ (John 1:24-36). The purpose of those with a prophetic ministry is to help in bringing people to desire to be born again so that they can listen to the Spirit of God within them and follow Yahshua Ha Mashiach or Jesus the Christ.

True Prophets are preachers of holiness and righteousness (2 Peter 2:5, Isaiah 58:1). Not only do they preach holiness, they practice what they preach. The Bible says that both Enoch and Noah walked with God. This means that they were very godly men that exuded holiness, had a great love for God, and had much respect for His power, authority, and creativity (Genesis 5:22-24; Genesis 6:9).

6) Not After Fame or Fortune: True Prophets don’t seek after fame and popularity, but rather seek to have a very deep level of intimacy with God. They are also not capable of being bribed. No one - not even a king, president or high-ranking governmental official - can bribe a true prophet to compromise the Word of the Lord. Also, though true prophets can perform miracles, signs and wonders, they don’t advertise or brag about their ability to perform miracles (John 7:1-5).

A true prophet is also not money-conscious or looking to achieve great wealth. He does not ask people for an offering before he prophesies, or ask people to “sow a seed” in order to claim the fulfillment of their prophecies (Daniel 5:13-17; 2 Kings 5:14-19; 1 Timothy 3:3, quoted earlier). A true Prophet also doesn't prophesy at his own choosing, but only when moved by the Holy Spirit per the Will of God (2 Peter 1:17-21). This means you can’t pay a true prophet to prophesy to or for you.

7) Prayer Warriors Dedicated To Intercession:  True prophets are tireless intercessors; real spiritual warriors and watchmen who bear the burden of the saints and the nations of the earth in their hearts. They pray unceasingly for the lost, and shout the truth from the rooftops, calling all who can hear them to repentance, fasting and prayer. As it says in Isaiah 62:6-7:

 “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

They shall never hold their peace day or night.

You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,

7 And give Him no rest till He establishes

And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”

This concludes my study. I undertook this study of the seven characteristics of true Prophets because there are very few studies of this type available on the internet. Therefore, the Lord laid it upon my heart to help believers find a way to determine who should serve as a prophet within each congregation of the faithful. May this article serve as an accurate and helpful guide as to what Scripture says a true prophet should be like.

With Love From
Your Sister In Yahshua,
Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
http://pillar-of-enoch.com

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