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UNDERSTANDING PROPHECIES OF JUDGMENT



We want to touch on understanding prophecies of judgment. All prophecies must comfort, edify and exalt according to I Cor. 14. At the same time there are prophecies in the area of warning or judgment. How do we handle them? How do we receive them? And what are the laws involved in that area. First of all we want to point to the fact that any person who has reasonable wisdom and understanding of God's Word; or any matured person who has an understanding of God and how He works will always be able to predict a disaster before it comes. That is not in a prophetic realm. That is in a totally different area called prediction by the law. We know the law of sowing and reaping. If we sow the wrong seed we will reap the wrong result. It doesn't take a prophet to a give a word of prophecy to tell someone who is living in sin that look here something is going to happen. You don't need the Spirit of prophecy to give a prophecy like that. So we will talk of two major areas.



Section 1 : Sources of Prophecies of Judgment



The first major area on the area of receiving a prophecy that has some judgment involved. Understand that there are three different areas that we have impressions of pending judgment. You could sense it on a person's life or on a community or on a nation. The more wisdom you have the more you can move into that area. There are three major areas of those impressions.



1. Understanding the Law of God



The first is the law of God. Understanding of the law of God gives us an ability to sort of predict certain things coming. And that's more by study. People are sometimes confused between the ability to pick up future events based on their walk with God or knowledge of the bible or the Spirit of prophecy. We cannot use those things in the area of prophecy. But we can share and counsel in those areas.



Lets look in the book of Revelation and see the relationship of judgment to wisdom. Speaking about the manifestation of the anti-Christ. Chapter 13:17-18 So that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. Then it says in verse 18 This calls for wisdom; let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty six. Why doesn't he call a prophet? Instead he calls a wise man. There is an area where spiritual and natural wisdom gives us an ability to receive impressions of impending judgment based on the law of sowing and reaping. The more you know God's Word and the deeper your relationship is with God, the more your ability to do that is much greater than an average person.



I have studied God's Word on the life and the birth of nations and a whole prophetic realm in nations. I have some understanding on that subject. For example in the book of Genesis when Cain killed Abel God said that the earth will no more bear the abundance of the fruit that is supposed to bring forth because the earth have received innocent blood. Based on the understanding and there are many other scriptures that are in line with that, it tells me something, a truth, a principle, a law that in any city in any country where innocent blood is shed and the innocent blood hits the ground that nation will experience a famine somewhere along the line. So people who are not skillful in this area may think that a person who can predict such future events about a nation is an international prophet. However you can even do the same if you base it on that understanding of God's Word. I could predict easily by looking at the front-page news what will happen to that nation in three to five years time. This is based on wisdom and not based on the Spirit of prophecy or gift of prophecy. Wisdom can go a long way into the prophetic realm.



So the first area we need to understand on receiving a prophecy of judgment is that it was given based on the understanding of the law of God. We need to be aware that sometimes what we are picking up is based on the inner wisdom or inner understanding of reaping and sowing. Otherwise we could be prophesying to everybody all the time not under the Spirit of prophecy, not under the office of a prophet but under the understanding of the law of God. Of course as you fellowship with people you pick up in their lives certain things that are right and certain things that are wrong. Based on what you pick up you could easily predict based on wisdom and the law of God the person's life in three to five years time. That's not prophecy. Some people think that they are so great when they say an accident is going to happen. There is nothing great about receiving a prophecy like that. The prophetic realm deals with impression and we got to classify them correctly. So there are three realms that we got to watch out where, how and which way the impression comes. First is the law of God. And understanding of that law sub-consciously and consciously causes us to be able to receive areas of judgment in peoples' life or in a city or in a nation.



2. The Condition of the Heart



The second realm is where a prophet wrestles. An example for that is in the book of I Kings chapter 13. We deal with some false prophecy here. Why sometimes a false prophecy comes about. The first is wisdom and understanding and I talked about it in a positive sense. But sometimes it works negatively. People who know a lot of sowing and reaping can predict certain things by looking at person's life and they use it as a prophecy. It is not right. If I know you have not been spending time with God, it is easy for me to say such and such a thing is going to happen to you. There is no big deal in that.



Secondly things that lead us to false prophecy and claiming that is a prophecy from God is in I Kings 13 and here is an old prophet and a young prophet. Verse 11-19 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words also which he had spoken to the king, they told to their father. And their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" And his sons showed him the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. And he said to his sons, "Saddle the ass for me." so they saddled the ass for him and he mounted it. And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, "Are you the man of God came from Judah?" And he said, "I am." Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread." And he said, "I may not return with you, or go in with you; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place; for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, "You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came." And he said to him, "I also am prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord saying, "Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water." But he lied to him. So he went back with him and ate bread in his house, and drank water.



So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. It happened that while they were eating the Spirit of God really came and real judgment came. And the poor young prophet died because the old prophet lied to him. How could that happened? The second area is the heart. When we desire something to happen to some people we tend to receive prophecies in that realm. Here the old prophet wanted this man to come. His heart was already made up and so he cooked up a prophecy and he called it a prophecy and said, "The Lord told me to bring you home." Such people are so used to handling prophecy loosely and say, "Thus say the Lord," too easily. And being so acquainted with "thus says the Lord," he just says, "The Lord told me." He probably hoped that nothing serious would happen. The old prophet just wanted to have a good meal fellowship and send that person off. But he doesn't realize how serious it is.



Many times when people are unhappy with certain things and they have to part fellowship and go their separate way, do you notice how easy it is for them to receive predictive judgmental prophecy from others?  That is not the Lord. The Old Testament prophets never give prophecies of judgment to such people who leave a fellowship. When a person has to leave any place or any fellowship the first natural thing that runs through the others' minds and hearts is the human desire to see justice done and to see that something is going to happen there. That's not correct. Even if it is a real prophecy its too colored and too polluted by the desire to see justice or even revenge done and it is so easy to predict judgment and disaster because of wrong desires. We got our own made up desires. That's the second area to watch out. First is the law, second is the heart.



3. The Influence of the Ruling Evil Spirit



The third area is found in the book of I Kings chapter 22 there were a bunch of false prophets against one true prophet. Verse 11 and 12 And Zedekiah the son of Chonaanah  made for himself horns of irons and said, Thus says the Lord,, "With these you shall push the Syrians  until they are destroyed." But this is not true. Zedekiah the false prophet says, "thus says the Lord." Verse 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, and said, "Go up to Ramothgilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."  And then they ask for Micaiah the true prophet to come. Micaiah came and the king said, "Tell me what did the Lord say?" Micaiah tried to make fun. He knows the king just wants to hear approval of what he already made up his mind to do. Just like some people do when they come for counseling. They are not asking for counsel and to change their ways or to give them a better way to follow. But they just want you to confirm what they have decided. If you cannot confirm what they decided they would think that something is wrong with you not them.



And so Micaiah tried to make fun of him and said in verse 14 As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak. In verse 15 the king said Micaiah shall I go to Ramothgilead. Remember the king here is king Ahab a terrible king. And he says Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king." And the king knew from the tone of his voice this fellow is just making fun. He said come on tell me the truth what the Lord said and then he told him what the Lord said. He says in verse 17 I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that has no shepherd; and the Lord said, "These have no master; let each return to his home in peace."  Then verse 19 Micaiah continued saying "Therefore hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside Him on His right and on His left; and the Lord said, "Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?" And one said one thing; and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord said to him, "I will entice him."



What's happening here? What strange story is this that takes place in the spirit realm? Lets consider every avenue. First of all there was this heavenly conference going on. And in that conference God has determined judgment to come on king Ahab. We see predestination is on two levels. God said in the book of Romans that he has chosen Pharaoh for destruction. That didn't take place at the beginning. It took place after many plagues. Pharaoh kept resisting God until God says this is the last straw. From this moment on there is no chance of turning back. God is going to put His destructive judgmental power on him. So it got down to the second level of predestination where there is no turning back. King Ahab had already gone into that area. He continually disobeyed God. He and Jezebel did one evil after another. And he reached a point where he had dropped into the judgment slot destined for judgment.



So now God was going to bring judgment on Ahab. If you read carefully that incident looks like as if God was about to pronounce judgment. From verse 21 it looks like this spirit came from a totally different place because he was a demonic spirit. In the Hebrew's understanding that when it says, "God sent," it is "God permitted." And it was this evil spirit that came. A spirit of false prophecy came and sort of demanded for Ahab. As usual when people fall into a judgment category evil spirits will make demands.  You will understand more of it as you go through a teaching on that subject. You remember how Satan makes demand for Peter. Satan asked for Peter in the gospel of Luke. Jesus told Peter, "Simon, Simon Satan desired to have you." Why did Satan demand for him? Peter was under Jesus' protection and covering. But Peter was opening his life to more errors of judgment like how he resisted Jesus from going to the cross. There is something he did right and there is something he did wrong. Every time you sin and every time you do something wrong there is a grace area that covers you. But it reaches a time where Satan, the accuser of the brethren will demand justice from God. And he will demand that God remove that protection because God cannot legally protect you anymore. God being God of love will protect you as much as possible. And Peter was opening too many doors but yet Jesus said, "I prayed for you."



So there is this king Ahab and there comes this spirit from the enemy and wants to take over Ahab and the whole place. The Lord says, "Let him have it." See God is protecting our lives all the time. But Satan and demons make demands when we give in to the wrong thing. The grace will cover us. There is a limit of grace. There is no more protection if you go too far. What happens here is that the evil spirit is now given the right over Israel. For so long king Ahab had worshipped idols. King Ahab has turned to evil after evil until he dropped into the judgment category. So an evil spirit is now going to reign and rule over Israel as a principality and power and cause all of Israel to be deceived.



There is such a thing as principality powers, wicked rulers of darkness of this age, wicked spirit in high places as mentioned in Eph. 6:18. Every city has a spirit. Every nation Satan assigns demonic forces. When we pray for a nation or a city we can through prayers and intercession push aside all the wrong spirits and place in hand angelic powers to assist and help. So some nations are under the direct influence of guardian angels that God sent. But some are totally controlled by demon forces. Evil spirits controlled people like Hitler and through him ruled Germany during his time because he yielded to those spirits.



And so here is Ahab and Israel was the chosen of God and here Ahab has yielded to evil and idolatry so long until God's patience has come to a point that if God don't do anything, (please understand this phrase is in human terms), quote unquote He would have been guilty of not being the Lord who guards His own laws. So understand that every time God operates judgment it is because He has to do it to protect the lawfulness of His creation. Its just like if criminals are no more punished. And every time you commit a crime all the police say is, "Never mind." What will happen? In the end society will not respect the people who guard the law. But if the law is guarded and anyone who breaks the law is punished, then people are motivated to keep the law.



So God has spiritual laws that govern over these areas. And it reached a point where if God doesn't step in and allow something to take place then here is going to be an area where God's law and His character are not fulfilled. God allowed the whole of Israel has come under this false spirit. And here we are talking about impressions.



Our impression we received in the area of judgment are influenced No. 1 by the law and the inner understanding we have on God's Word and God's law.



Secondly they are influenced by the decision in our heart.



Thirdly there is a spirit over a city and a country. When you enter into any place a city or a country that is under the control of that spirit, it becomes easier to sense those kinds of thoughts. Like for example if you go to a city that is ruled by lust and you could be a righteous person. The moment you step across those borders you could sense that there is greater pressure in that area. Each spirit has a certain influence. Or if you go into a country where pride is the ruling force.  You could be a humble person but the moment you step across those borders suddenly there is a greater pressure to be proud. See each spirit ruling force is over that country. But if a country is ruled by guardian angels then the moment you step into that country you sense the peace of God, the presence of God. Or if a city has an open heaven over it, as you enter that area there is a drawing to seek God even though you never think about God much or is a backslidden believer. So such things are happening all the time.



Third point is very important. When a place or a country is under a ruling spirit, people who are not aware or trained in this area of prophecy and who easily yield themselves to the spirit of prophecy tend to pick up from that spirit as well. And if they are not discerning they don't realize that they are picking it up the influences that are so much in that spirit because that place doesn't have an open heaven. They can hear from God but at the same time they are hearing a lot of other things. And it could enter into their soul and they cannot differentiate.



At the time when that evil spirit was ruling over Israel, every prophet who prophesied kept hearing the same message, "Go to Ramothgilead." That evil spirit is ruling and giving a false message to those prophets. The angels of God have left that is why Israel was lost. All these false prophets like Zedekiah and this bunch of prophets prophesied the wrong thing because they pick up false messages from that evil spirit. Some of them may be sincere even. We don't know all of them.



Lets see this on a smaller scale. Every time you go into a home that has a ruling spirit. When the Spirit of God is there you sense Him. When there is another spirit that is ruling at home, say a spirit of violence, you enter into that home you could sense it. Now when you are sensing the presence of a evil spirit in a home and because you are coming into that spirit territory, you have to be more careful in discerning what you are picking up because it may not be God. Even though you are a true prophet you can still pick up a wrong thing because you are entering into the boundary and territory of that spirit. This explains why every other prophet got the wrong prophecy except one. Micaiah had a bigger vision than that and saw that spirit ruling over Israel.



So these are the three areas to watch out as you deal with prophecies of judgment. Whether you are picking up because of the wisdom, the law of God. Picking up because of the condition of the heart that is influencing your prophecies. Or picking up because you are picking from the evil spirit that is in that place. Once you are tuned into the spirit realm you receive everything in the spirit realm. We got to discern which is of God until we have fine-tuned to that which is from God. We could clear out all the other wrong things.



Those are the first three areas that cover the precaution people must take to move into this area.

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Section 2 : Nature of Prophecies of Judgment



Then we look at the positive side. And on the positive area is to understand that a prophecy of judgment has three other qualities. We are talking about the second area now. The first quality is the purpose of a prophecy of judgment is not to predict judgment. People think that's what its for. Why should God be going around sending alarm to people by predicting judgment on peoples' life and families? Why should God be doing that? It is not for that purpose.



1. Reveals The Area of Negligence



The purpose is to tell the people whom you are giving that kind of prophecy and warning to tell them to do something. It is to reveal the negligence of that person more than to bring about the judgment.



Lets look at I Samuel. Lets say you have been living your life in half obedience. And some time God sent people to warn you. Lets say God revealed something to me a prophecy for you. It is not for me to come and tell you that this thing is going to happen. That's not the purpose. The purpose is to say this is where you neglect. So please get these areas correct so that these prophesy of judgment will not come to pass. That will get rid of about 99% of doomsday prophecy. None of them give any solution. God never tell a problem without giving a solution as well. Every prophecy in this bible that is a judgment, God gives the people a solution. Jeremiah, Isaiah, they tell people what to do. It is that the people don't want to do what they are told to do. The purpose of any prophecy that deals with judgment is to reveal negligence and specify areas to do to prevent the judgment and not to make a hero of a doomsday prophet.



In I Samuel Eli has been very negligent as a high priest. And a man of God came to Eli one day in chapter 2:27. Here is where a typical example of true prophecy that covers judgment. I Sam. 2:27-29 And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, "Thus the Lord has said, 'I reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh. And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest; to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then look with greedy eye at my sacrifices and my offerings which I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves upon the choicest part of every offering of my people Israel? Therefore the Lord the God of Israel declares; 'I promise that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me for ever'; but now the Lord declares 'Far be it from me; for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming, when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity which shall be bestowed upon Israel; and there shall not be an old man in your house for ever.



Look at the depth of it. It tells him where he actually went wrong. You don't come to someone and say judgment is going to come. That's not the way. The Lord will tell you where you went wrong. Do you look at God as a father? Does the father come to the child and say, "You are wrong," and smack. Never, the father will say, "Son this is where you have made a mistake. And if I don't do anything about it you are going to repeat." That's what a father is like. Remember God in the Old Testament, God in the New Testament is still the Father. When He gives such a prophecy He will tell you what is wrong. A judgmental prophecy must reveal to people what actually is wrong and give them a chance to amend. Not just to predict and say Eli this is going to happen. No, he says Eli this is a specific wrong you have done. It would involve a word of knowledge, a revelation. A lot of prophecies of doomsday only claim to be a word of wisdom. That means they predict something in the future but they have no revelation in the present. A true prophecy of judgment sees through a word of knowledge the exact condition that is causing the future catastrophe. Even Jeremiah when he predicts all the wrong things that is going to happen. Ezekiel saw all the evil and spoke about the exact evil. Even Ezekiel saw the exact writings and the idol worship that goes on right in the temple. So there was a specific word of knowledge not just a word of wisdom or disaster.



And here the man of God who was a stranger and doesn't know Eli at all gives a word of knowledge and said, "You have honored your sons more than God when you should correct your sons for kicking and doing the wrong thing in my sacrifice. Your exact failing is to honor your sons more than God."



Here is another prophecy of judgment in chapter 3 this time Samuel is the one who has it. In verse 11 and 12 it talks about the terrible catastrophe that will come upon Eli's house. And in verse 13 And I tell him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. He tells him what he did not do and what he should have done. I hear many doomsday prophecy years ago. The prophet thinks he is very clever or smart. As I said it doesn't take a clever prophet or a smart anointed prophet to do all these. When you have lots of wisdom you could predict. To know the future is good. But you also must know present.



So point one every prophecy or caution or warning or judgment that carries with it a prediction of disaster or catastrophe must also have a word of knowledge and tell where the failings precisely are. Then it gives a person a fair change to undo the cycle of destruction that they have locked into.



2.  Reveals the How, When and the Who



Secondly lets look at I Kings 13 the prediction of the young prophet. And here is another unknown prophet who died because the old prophet led him to disobey the Lord. When a prophecy is in areas of judgment or warning it not only must contain a word of knowledge or a revelation the exact fault or problem that is going to cause the judgment. It must also reveal if it is of the Lord and if its accurate it will reveal the how, the when and the who. It doesn't just reveal what will happen. It will reveal how it will happen, when it will happen and many times through whom it will happen.



That makes it different from the other first section I covered where you can receive a sort of warning or prophecy because of the wisdom of knowing the law of God, the condition of the heart and the ruling evil spirit in that place.



The first is important if you receive something through wisdom and the impressions that come through your walk with God, you receive a real prophecy to warn and to give to somebody that warning usually is specific not general. Don't just generally say this is going to happen. Many years ago there was a true prophet who predicted disaster for our country. He is a true prophet and I know that person and I heard the tape. People asked me what about it. I said, "Well God bless him a true prophet but the prophecy is wrong."  Any economist can predict that you don't need a prophet. Besides he didn't tell how it is going to happen, when it is going to happen. A prophecy of that magnitude must be more specific. I mean any Tom, Dick or Harry can stand up and say this disaster is coming. He is not specific enough. And in fact I had a word from the Lord that is opposite from his. So the Lord told me about three periods in the country. To give him the benefit of doubt he may be talking about that period.  But he was wrong. These other two must happen before that. But I don't go round and say thus say the Lord and say the whole body Christ must hear what I have from the Lord, which the other prophet claimed. Remember if you got a word from the Lord there is somebody else who also hears from the Lord. You are not the only one who hears from God. You are not the only Elijah minus the seven thousand who did not bow their knees to Baal. Even Elijah so mighty thought that he was the only one who can hear from God. He forgot that there are seven thousands who did not bow their knees to Baal.



And here in I King 13 look at how precise this man of God is. Verses 1-3 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the Lord; "Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and he shall sacrifice upon you the priests of the high places who burn incense upon you, and men's bones shall be burned upon you. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign that the Lord has spoken: "Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out."



And in verse 5 the altar split apart and the ashes poured forth and everyone was frightened. You need a sign from God. But look at how specific. He predicted when it would happen. He predicted by whom it would happen. He predicted how it would happen. And he predicted the details of what will happen about the men's bones being burned there.



Now lets look at the fulfillment in the book of II Kings. Hundred of years later king Josiah came to the exact place. This is hundred of years later and there were many other kings before him and he was among the last few. And here is Josiah he was named by the prophet. II Kings. 23:15-18 Moreover the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, the altar with the high place he pulled down and he broke in pieces its stones crushing them to dust; also he burned the Asherah. And as Josiah turned he saw a tomb there on the mount; and he sent and took the bones out of the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. Then he said, "What is yonder monument that I see?" And the men of the city told him, "It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things.  It is specific.



People don't understand how specific things must happen. Like for example last year I got caught into the Spirit and that Monday meeting I got no word. The prophecy went on for about forty five minutes to an hour. And part of it was recorded. He predicted judgment on a certain nation and he predicted there would be an earthquake. He predicted certain things that have happened. That's what I mean if it was a true prophecy it will be specific. It is different from wisdom that you could just have from the Lord. And the earthquake did happened. All these things are specific. If you really move into that area and you function as an international prophet it is important for us to understand all these laws that are involved. Any Tom, Dick or Harry can just say disaster is coming run. You don't need to be called a prophet to do that. But it takes a real prophet to tell who, when, how and the details.



If you study any negative prophecies or judgment, you would see how detailed they can be. Like Jeremiah he predicted the people who would come and conquer Jerusalem. He predicted when and these details were there because he was a true prophet. So that's the second law when it comes to prophecy of judgment. If you don't have the details it may not be from God. You could just be picking up impressions. And that is why not every Tom, Dick or Harry should handle it. When you have a true prophecy with judgment and warning and caution, handle it carefully. When you carry a spoon and you carry a knife you do it differently. You carry a spoon in any way. You could put it in front of you nobody will be hurt. But when you carry a knife you hold it in a certain way so that if anybody accidentally knocks on you they don't get hurt. The sharper the knife the more careful you are. So treat a prophecy that contains judgment with more caution. For it can easily cut and cause bleeding.



3.  It is Conditional



The third law involved in understanding a prophecy of judgment. Lets look at the book of Jonah. His prophecy in Jonah chapter 3 verse 2 is specific. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you. Verse 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he cried, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Do you notice he was specific in the time? If you predict disaster, disaster surely would come anytime from now to a thousand years. He says forty days it will come. So that we know when it doesn't come you are a false prophet. Don't try to play safe. If a prophecy is right to give to the body of Christ there is warning it will contain all these details. If you don't have these details yet, then it is not ripe yet. You either are not hearing deep enough or you got to be careful of the first three areas you are picking up. And Jonah predicted destruction. But after 40 days nothing happened because Nineveh repented. As I said a prophecy must have the first area they must tell people why it is happening. Although its only one or two sentence recorded here, I believe Jonah would have mentioned why the judgment was coming because of the evil. That is why the king when he heard it he quickly repented. He knew all the evils they had done. The king and everyone repented. And when God saw the repentance God said, "I will not bring the judgment. I will not allow it because they have repented."



And instead Jonah is the one who got angry now because now he looks like a false prophet. After 40 days he was sitting up there waiting for it to happen. When it didn't happen he was angry with God. He didn't understand the third law about the prophecies of judgment. Every prophecy of judgment can be averted. Even if there are no promises or condition given, there is no such thing as a sure clear destruction because there is always room for repentance. Even in the worse case scenario like king Ahab who killed, murdered, plotted against Naboth and took his vineyard (1 Kings 21). Elijah came to him and said this is the end. God will severely punish and judge you and destroy you. That is in the story in I Kings. And Ahab immediately repented. He humbled himself. The thing about it is that it has reached a point where judgment has to come. It has gone beyond that stage. But because he repented although God could not prevent it from happening because He has been decreed it must come, He says, "I will delay it. It will not happen in his time. It will happen in his son's time." Think about the marvel of God. Don't forget that all these cautions and warnings are not because God enjoy dishing out such pronouncements. They are made to turn people back to Him. Basically its still the Father the God of love. And every pronouncement of judgment can be averted. There are some areas and many times it can be completely removed. But where it has gone beyond a certain stage the most He can do is delay it until the mercy of God can reach more. So that's the third law that all judgmental prophecies are conditional. They can be cancelled, delayed or postponed.



Section 3: Safeguards in Prophecies of Judgment



What about people who receive it? When you receive such a thing on a personal side, what are the cautions involved. Let turn to Jeremiah 28. There are two little principles that we need to adhere to. Jeremiah confronts a false prophet. Hananiah the false prophet challenged Jeremiah. Verse 2 and 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. Understand the picture. Jeremiah received a prophecy about the king of Babylon coming to put Israel under the yoke. And he was a very visual prophet. He made a wooden yoke and he walked about town with the yoke on him and said, "This will happen to Israel. The king of Babylon will come and put us all in the yoke." And this false prophet Hananiah came broke the yoke and gave another different prophecy and said, "In two years it will be set free." So here is true prophet and false prophet in a confrontation.



In verse 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; and the prophet Jeremiah said, (these are the two little advice that we need to give) "Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words which you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord and all the exiles. Jeremiah will love that.



Verse 7-8 Yet hear now this word which I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdom.



1. Confirmation from the Word



There are two points in this place. No. 1 Jeremiah points to the fact that the word of God has been coming forth. He has all the time been pointing to this. Now without Jeremiah coming to the scene based on the book of Deuteronomy God already told that that at any time the people sin and turn against God, another country whose language they do not know will come and devour them and destroy them. That's found in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 28 under the curses.



Verse 49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you do not understand, a nation of stern countenance, who shall not regard the person of the old or show favor to the young. This is in the time of Moses. It has become the written Word. The written Word has already spoken and said that if they were to go against God, God will bring destruction to the nation. They don't need Jeremiah its already in the word.  But what Jeremiah was saying here to Hananiah. You see what Hananiah wanted was humanly good. Every one wants to have good news. But you can't receive prosperity, peace and blessings without worshiping the true and living God. You can't have sin and prosperity together. And Hananiah is like he wants the blessing; he wants that peace but he doesn't tell the people to get rid of those idols. And Jeremiah was saying to Hananiah saying all these years what the Word has been saying about what will happen. In other words Jeremiah was saying that his prophecy is in line with the Word. Any prophecy that carries judgment, caution and warning is from God will still be in line with the Word. And all the principles in the Word are not removed by the prophecy. In fact the prophecy is judged by the Word.



So if someone comes and predicts that you are going to have an aircraft accident because they saw this aircraft exploded and you are in it. You got to examine it very carefully. You got to check your life and see whether you have missed God in any area, whether it's a warning or whether it's symbolic. There are so many areas of interpretation. Which is why in the early days when this church first started relationship is not that smooth. There are false prophets that come. They didn't really come to prophesy but they gave wrong prophecy.  They say, "O one year or two years they will close shop." We haven't closed shop; in fact we opened more shops. These are normal things. They hear the wrong spirit. What was wrong? Their heart was already determined. They wanted to see disaster. And they are looking for disaster to happen. So when someone comes and say, "Pastor this is going to happen to the church; its great disaster." First of all I check my heart in God. And I know that as long as I walk in God every work of my hand prospers. Now if I do something wrong it is different. But if I know I sought the face of God and knelt down. And whatever you like it the entire church, the entire ministry has been given to me and it is my responsibility with God. I know that as long as I obey God He is going to bless every department right down the line. So the Word is there.



It is the same in your home. When people predict something is going to happen to your son, remember what the Word says. If it didn't pass the other three tests on the positive side about telling you the condition or tell you why it should happen and it doesn't tell you when, you know something is wrong. That person just knows how to pick up but they don't know what they picked up from the atmosphere. It may not be from the spirit of prophecy. Knowing how to pick up is an amateur thing. The professional prophet doesn't do that. Of course to the average Christians being able to pick up is a big thing already. So they get caught up. Examine it very carefully. What did the word say? I am not saying that God doesn't warn. When He warns His warning is always in line with the Word. And if there is a disaster going to take place, even that disaster would have been specified in the word. And so Jeremiah says, "Look here what I am saying is what the Word has been saying."



2.  Confirmation from the Counsel of Prophets



No. 2 in this point he says what I say agree with all the other prophets I am not the only prophet saying this. Although we are not going by the majority is right business. But the second point is important. Remember what I say that we have to handle a knife more carefully that we handle a spoon. A spoon could be a positive prophecy and it is easy to handle. But when you have knife you got to handle it differently. What would you do? I want to consult with other people. Two or three prophets must judge together. A prophecy of that nature needs to be filtered more carefully. Jeremiah says, "Has any of the other prophets said anything different from me?" He will say, "Hananiah you are the odd one out." Although you may be in the majority in this area right now with all your people under you but he says every other true prophet says the same thing like what I say.



So No. 1 is the word.



No. 2 is by the counsel of many in the same level.



Then when Hananiah in verse 10 broke the yoke from Jeremiah, Jeremiah gave a personal prophecy for Hananiah and saying that the same year he would die. Let me say it again when we deal in prophecy it's a very powerful realm. You can die instantly when you deal with the wrong thing in the wrong area. And Hananiah died in that same year because he tried to be funny. He broke the yoke without God telling him to do so. God ordered that yoke to Jeremiah. Hananiah broke that yoke without God telling him. So we must not take these areas lightly.



Summary



I summarize the principles again. When we deal with a prophecy of judgment we have to be careful of these three areas. Your inner radio must be tuned to these areas.



No. 1 is the law of sowing and reaping, or the law of action and reaction. You must have an inner understanding of the Word and have wisdom and your relationship with God is good and sound.



No. 2 is whether your heart has a certain inclination to certain things that make you magnetize and draw to yourself certain impressions.



No. 3 whether you are picking it up from the spirit that is over that place.



And then the second area. No. 1 If it's a true prophecy it will tell you why the disaster must happen. If it doesn't tell you why, it doesn't have a word of knowledge only have a word of wisdom something is wrong.



No. 2 it will be more precise than just any guessing. It will be so clear-cut that you know that an ordinary person cannot have that. Ordinary person can only predict and guess. But I will have some content of who when, and how that you know its supernatural.



No. 3 no matter how correct the prophecy of judgment is, it is still conditional. When people turn to God great is the mercy of God. Their repentance may avert, delay or postpone the judgment.



Then on the last area is on the people receiving any sort of prophecy. No. 1 both the receiver and the giver still have to abide by the Word of God. It is not just abiding on one verse. You cannot just pick one verse out of the context. You must have the general flow of God's Word from Genesis to Revelation.


No. 2 Is there a counsel of prophets or five-fold ministers apostles, pastors, evangelists, prophets and teachers who say the same thing and read that prophecy correctly? That is, is there a consensus of people who love God and hear from God?