Word of knowledge?

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by mfblume

I believe it is through the same principle noted here:

Deut 13:1 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

I think that's a good principle to go by generally. But I've found that a vision or Word of Knowledge can be misunderstood by both the speaker and the receiver(s). For example, I often share the story of how I was talking to a woman about how I wasn't prepared for the sudden passing of my mom and she shared about the sudden passing of her grandmother and how it deeply effected her. She didn't get a chance to say goodbye and was left feeling a big void in her life. I then saw a vision of her petting animals and felt the impression to tell her that the Lord was with her through her grandmother's passing and still is. In our conversation I had assured her that God was with her, even when she was at the, "petting zoo". She looked at me all crazy and said that she hadn't been to any "petting zoos". I apologized and explained that I saw a vision of her petting animals through a wooden fence and felt the Lord impress upon me to tell her that He was with her. At this point, I was thinking that maybe the vision was symbolic, like Peter's pigs in a blanket vision. But after I explained, she was deeply moved, because her family had gathered after the funeral at her dad's farm. While feeling alone and spiritually numb, she went out to pet the animals to cry and be alone.

It wasn't a petting zoo... it was her dad's farm.

I'm a city boy. Born and raised in the inner city. I don't think of farms that often. However, I have taken my kids to petting zoos etc. where they were able to interact with animals commonly seen on farms. As you can see, my understanding of the vision was limited by my own personal understanding and experiences.

It's kind of like the interpretation of tongues. It is an "interpretation" not a translation. Thus, the words you feel led to ascribe to the utterance might not be exactly the words someone else with a greater vocabulary might be led to use as they interpret.

So, with Deuteronomy 13:1 in mind, I'd advise that one not write off a gifted prophet or seer if the vision or message doesn't seem to make sense initially. Sometimes the Spirit will enlighten you with insight to understand it later. Sometimes with a bit of explanation, it begins to make far more sense. In addition, prophecies aren't always fulfilled the way we assume they might. For example a prophetic word over a sick person might be, "I, the LORD, will lift you up my child, and in that day, saith the LORD, you shall see my glory." We might assume that by "lift you up" that the LORD is promising a healing. But realize after their passing that indeed, the LORD has lifted them up... to Himself in Heaven, and yes, the loved one is now beholding His glory.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

Don't we have an advantage by having the Spirit of God present in us to guide and direct us? IOW, do we always have to wait and see if that thing comes to pass before we pronounce or recognize whether this person is a false prophet or not? I would say that there are times that test our faith, and times when we are made very well aware in order to ward off any damage at the outset. I don't believe all things are the same as under the OT.

The Lord gave me a word about a preacher who would fall. Ten years later he did fall. So, that is a warning from the Spirit of God? It it not? IOW, I didn't have to put my trust in the man only to later find out the truth of things.

Amen. Sometimes it takes time for a Word to come to pass.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by mfblume

That verse in Deut is saying IF IT DOES come to pass... the way to determine its origin is to see if it brings glory to God or not. So, I think that covers it.

The only concern I can see would be that some people could accuse a man of being a false prophet until the vision, dream, or Word comes to pass. For example, Pressing-On's vision of a preacher's fall took 10 years to come to pass. If Pressing-On shared that vision openly, a number of people could have thought Pressing-On was a false prophet during the 10 years that it took the Word to be fulfilled.

So, I think much caution should be taken when examining a Word, vision, comes to pass. For example, Pressing-On's vision of a preacher's fall took 10 years to come to pass. If Pressing-On shared that vision openly, a number of people could have thought Pressing-On was a false prophet during the 10 years that it took the Word to be fulfilled.

While we certainly shouldn't rush to accept any Word, vision, or dream as being from God, we also need to not rush to discard a Word, dream, or vision if appears to not be coming to pass.

I had a shocking revelation while talking to a friend about the first church I attended. An evangelist known for walking in the prophetic declared that our church would be used to bless the churches throughout and surrounding our community. He had said that our church was the, "spout where the glory comes out", and that everyone who heard this Word would see it with their own eyes.

Well, I remember how excited we were to hear that Word from God. We started outreach ministries, boosted the youth group, we even eventually bought a church on wheels. But we also suffered a terrible church split. At the end of the church split well over half of the foundational families that had attended the church since I started attending had left. The new pastor wasn't liked by a number of people and so there were changes in leadership and ministries replaced by new ministries. Years later, the church still isn't filled to even half of capacity and the church is really no more prominent in the community and among other churches than it was before. In fact, some will say that things went downhill.

While talking to this older brother who attended that church with me, I shared how disappointed I was that the vision didn't come true. He smiled and said, "Chris, where did all those families and lay-ministers go?" Well, I began thinking about it... two started churches (one of which is still up and running today), and numerous lay-ministers and families now serve and attend... churches throughout and surrounding our community. And that's when it hit me... the vision did come to pass. For twelve years I felt like the Word given was just something said to get us all hyped up. In fact, the split and all the families leaving actually served to fulfill the prophecy. He saw that I got it and said, "Giving birth to a vision can be painful."

Visions, dreams, and Words from God are often fulfilled in ways that we'd never imagine at the time they're given. As a result, it could be easy to label one a false prophet until one's eyes are opened to the fulfillment that is quite often staring us right in the face the whole time.

[Aquila]

Is it possible to get Word of Knowledge and Word of Wisdom confused? I think some people do. Here's my understanding of what they are:

Word of Wisdom - Divine wisdom or insight about a situation that is delivered straight from God.

Word of Knowledge - The impartation of knowledge pertaining to Scripture, a person, situation, or chain of events that the gift holder could not have known by any natural means.