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The Amish Voice 5
Does this mean that he must be a true
prophet? For example, suppose the
prophet says, "Thus saith the Lord; the
enemy is coming to invade us, but we
will be ready to meet this army and we
will defeat them." Suppose also that the
enemy does come and the enemy is
defeated. Does this mean that this
prophet must be a true prophet?
Sometimes what a false prophet says will
happen
actually
comes
to
pass
(Deuteronomy 13:1-2). God allows it to
happen; but look at what the false
prophet is saying: "Let us go after
_______________ gods, which thou hast
not known, and let us serve them" (Deut.
13:2).
Is this the right kind of message? Would
God ever tell His people to go after other
gods? This message is contrary to God’s
Word and contrary to God's Ten
Commandments (see Deut. 5:7-9). It is a
false message. This prophet is trying to
turn the people "away from the
_________________ your God" (Deut.
13:5).
Would a true prophet ever give this kind
of a message? Why not? The sign or
prediction must be tested by God's Word.
It must not go against or disagree with
what God has said. It must agree with
what God has said and build upon it.
How was the false prophet punished
(Deut. 13:5)?
__________________________________
__________________________________
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Suppose there were a man living today
who claimed to be God's prophet. One day
he says: "On August 28 there will be a
great earthquake in California." Suppose
that this happens just as he predicted, and
then the prophet says: "This proves that I
am a great prophet of God. Now I want
everybody to follow me. Don't believe the
Bible because the Bible is filled with
stories that are not really true. I'll show
you the true way to live. " Is this man a
true prophet? Why or why not?
Are There Prophets Today?
We do not need prophets today because
we have God's Word—the Bible. In the
Bible, God has told us all that we need to
know about the future. If you want God
to speak to you today, you do not have to
look for someone like Isaiah or Jeremiah
or Daniel. Today, God's message is found
in the Bible, and the Bible is God's
complete and finished message. Does God
want anything to be added to His Word
(Revelation 22:18)? ________
Does God want anything to be taken
away or subtracted from His Word
(Revelation 22:19)? ________
The Bible contains everything we need,
and nothing is missing or lacking. Nothing
needs to be added.
If we want to learn about the future, we
do not have to find someone with a crystal
ball or someone who claims to be able to
predict what will happen. The Bible has
all of the answers. God warns us about
trying to get the answers in the wrong
way (see Deut. 18:9-14.). If we want to
hear God's message today, we can open up
the Bible and read it!
This does not mean that the Bible
answers every question we can think of
about the future. Here are some
questions the Bible does not answer:
What year and day will Christ
return? (see Matthew 24:36).
Who will be elected as the next
President?
Will I be alive 10 years from now?
Can you think of any other questions about
the future which the Bible does not
answer? God does tell us all we need to
know about the future, and the answers
are found in the Bible. We can trust God
because He knows
everything
about the
future. What we do not know, He does
know!
We do not know what the future holds,
but we know Who holds the future!
If we leave God's Word out (neglect and
forget the Bible), then we leave God out.
God is the only One with all the answers
and all the wisdom. So if we leave God
out, we will be in the dark. If a cook
refuses to look at the cookbook, how can
he or she follow the recipe? The cook
must look at the book where the recipe is
found.
Why Is Prophecy Important?
Why does God tell us about the future?
Let's look at ten reasons:
1. Prophecy warns unbelievers.
The
future for unbelievers is not a happy one.
Death and judgment await them. The
wicked are warned about the future again
and again (see Proverbs 14:12; 2 Thess.
1:8-9).
2. Prophecy comforts believers
because
their future is bright and happy (1 Thess.
4:13-18). The Bible gives strength to live
by and comfort to die by. A believer
can bravely face death
because he knows what
God has said about the
future
(Philippians
1:21-23; 2 Cor. 5:8).