Why Authentic Prophetic Ministry Cannot Be Faked

By John E. Thomas

True prophetic ministry can’t be faked. Sure, people can make something up and act like it’s a word from God, but that isn’t prophecy. They can even present brand-new information and facts we’ve never heard of—but it still isn’t prophecy.

The word prophecy means to speak for another. True prophetic ministry is when we speak words from God and are carried along by the Holy Spirit. We are “taken” to a new place by the Spirit’s movement and activity, not human movement and activity.

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21 ESV)

The spark, the fuel, of prophecy is God Himself. That is why true prophetic ministry can’t be manufactured. Anybody can reveal hidden information. Even demons can do it. It isn’t hard. But only the Holy Spirit can speak words from God and carry people with His voice.

In this season when there is so much self-promotion and some prophetic individuals are lobbing “words” that don’t come to pass—is there a way we can recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice more easily?

How can we discern when He is carrying someone along versus when that person is trying to carry themselves?

Here is one way the Bible says we can “weigh” prophetic words and recognize when something is really from God.

Discerning Prophecy and Spiritual Experiences

Peter gave us a plumb line by which to judge prophetic activity:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:16–21 ESV)

Peter was, of course, telling the story of the Transfiguration, when he, James, and John went up on the mountain with Jesus. The glory cloud descended, and they saw Jesus standing there talking to Moses and Elijah. A voice spoke out of the cloud: “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.”

That story seems obvious to us today, but at the time, the disciples didn’t really understand what had happened. They heard the Father clearly say, “This is My beloved Son,” but they had their own ideas about Jesus and what He was going to do. They thought He was going to bring about God’s kingdom by force. They were expecting a warrior like King David who would overthrow Rome and cast their enemies out of the land. They couldn’t understand what really happened on the Mount of Transfiguration until it was “more fully confirmed,” as Peter wrote in verse 19.

What confirmed that experience?

The cross, death, and resurrection of Jesus. They realized the truth of the Transfiguration because Jesus Himself proved it.   

“Wisdom is justified by her children,” Jesus said. The fruit or outcome of something proves what is wise and what is not. A spiritual experience, by itself, is not enough for us to know if something is good—what is the fruit of that experience? Does the fruit line up with God’s nature? Does it show us the truth about His heart and what He’s doing on the earth?

After Jesus’ ascension, when the disciples looked back on their experience on the mountain, they could see the fruit. They became able to judge the experience and see a clearer picture of what God the Father was doing.

In the same way, we can understand what Isaiah 53 was talking about because we know what happened later. “By His stripes, we are healed.” We can understand Psalm 22 because we can look back and see how it came to pass. “They cast lots for My clothing.”

The Mount of Transfiguration was an incredible experience…but its true value came from Jesus’ life and ministry, which proved it.

The Goal of Prophecy

Accurate information and even jaw-dropping spiritual experiences do not automatically equal prophecy.

Paul ran into a girl with a spirit of divination called Pythos. This was the same spirit behind the Oracles of Delphi: people who had a “serpent” living in their bellies that would communicate without opening the person’s mouth. (The word ventriloquism comes from this experience.) People came from all over the world to listen to these oracles as they talked about the rise and fall of kings, who was going to win what war, and all kinds of other impossible-to-know facts.

There is plenty of knowledge out there, and we don’t always need to hear from God when we want facts. But if we want to know God, the only One who can reveal Him is the Holy Spirit. It takes God to reveal God. The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority, but He takes what is of Jesus and reveals it to those who are surrendered to Him. That is real prophetic activity.

Far too often, we get swept up in what sounds intriguing, when God is not in a hurry. Some even call Him “slow,” but He is not slow as humans measure slowness—He is patient. He doesn’t ever feel panicked, like He has to force something to happen, nor does He worry that things will fall apart if He doesn’t act right now. He already knows the outcome, and we can trust Him when we don’t know.

Prophecy is not about sharing knowledge. That’s what fortune tellers and diviners do, but prophecy teaches us to trust God. That could mean telling us something we didn’t know previously. Knowledge could be the vehicle, but it is not the goal of prophecy. The goal is trust in Jesus—we see His beauty.

“Oh my goodness. I am seeing this come to pass! Now I realize I’m in the middle of God’s plan. I can recognize how all of this fits. I can see the patterns in Scripture. Now I know God really is with me. He really does know things I don’t know. I didn’t see any way this could happen, and yet it is happening! Wow, Jesus! You’re amazing.”

Prophecy helps reform our thinking so we end up trusting God more than we do ourselves. When seeing the beauty of Jesus is our desire, we step into a special, holy realm where it is immensely safe to go after the things of the Spirit and practice them. We get to experience Jesus the way He really is, and judging prophetic words becomes easier:

• Does this experience/prophetic word invite me to trust more in knowledge?
• Or does it invite me to trust more in Jesus?

The What of Prophecy vs. the Who

Being prophetic is a truly humble thing. We can give incredible, show-stopping prophecies and not be remembered later. The prophecy is remembered, but we are not, because we are not the point. The point is Jesus.

This happens again and again in Scripture. Off the top of your head, do you know which Old Testament prophet said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem? Or which one said Jesus would minister mostly in Galilee or ride into Jerusalem on a donkey?

Most of us don’t know who said these things because the “who” isn’t as important as the “what.” Prophecy is about the words of God and His heart, not about the prophet. The Holy Spirit carries us along, and we speak His words and consequently reveal His beauty.

In many ways, prophecy is the safest place in the world because all it does is offer an invitation. “This is who Jesus is. Isn’t He marvelous? Put your trust in Him.” And that invitation cannot be faked.