“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own heart, “Hear the word of the LORD!”. Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!” Ezekiel 13:1-3
In I Corinthians 12-14 Paul shows that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, “the sign gifts” as they are often called such as prophecy, miracles, and speaking in tongues, were part of the infancy, the immaturity, of the church and would one day cease as the church matured. They are called sign gifts because they accompanied the ministry of the apostles witnessing that the Holy Spirit was truly at work in them. Paul calls them the signs of an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). When the apostles died the authority of the church transitioned to local elders and these gifts ceased.
Tongues had the additional purpose of being a sign of judgment to unbelieving Israel (1 Corinthians 14:22). The purpose of this sign was fulfilled by the covenantal judgment of God on Israel in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans. The sign gifts did cease in the first century, coinciding with the death of the apostles, the judgment of Jerusalem, and the writing of the New Testament.
The question is then how are we to understand the charismatic movement today? What are we to make of millions of Christians speaking in tongues, prophesying, and the many other so-called manifestations of the Spirit? What do you say if someone says to you, “I have a word from the Lord for you.”? As a recent example, I had been looking for a place for our church to rent and called a pastor of a local charismatic church that had a large gym to see if they would be interested in renting to us. He seemed favorable and said that he would discuss it with his elders and deacons. A week later he called and said that one of his deacons had a vision from God that they were not supposed to rent us the facility. What are we supposed to say to things like this? Did God speak to him?
And it’s not just the charismatic movement either. In the broader evangelical church people try to hear God’s voice in order to determine God’s will for them. This is done by trying to determine which voice in your head is God’s voice. Elijah hearing God speak in the “still small voice” in I Kings 19:12 is the proof text for how evangelicals try to hear the voice of God. Could the still small voice in our own thought life be the voice of God?
Ezekiel 13 provides the answer. The false prophets of Israel were listening to their own hearts, their own spirits, and declaring that it was the word of the Lord when it was simply their own thought life. Inside the mystery of human thought life is no place to determine truth. Millions of Christians trying to hear God speak in a cacophony of voices going on in their heads is the reason for most of the nonsense that we see today. We speak to ourselves all the time and there is often much conflict going on inside our head and heart as Paul makes clear in Romans 7. But none of these voices is the voice of God.
However, God is not silent. He has spoken and He has spoken clearly and authoritatively. Hebrews 1:1 says that “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” The testimony of Jesus Christ is the Holy Scripture, both Old and New Testament, the Word of God. The maturation of the church meant a move away from the way God spoke in times past to the way He speaks to us now, through His Word.
A few verses later in Ezekiel 13 God describes the futility of these prophets’ words. They hope what they are saying is the word of the Lord. They try to talk themselves into being confident that they have heard the voice of God, but it is no use. Their message is filled with uncertainty. The people and even the prophets themselves are looking for assurance that they have heard God’s voice, but none comes. This uncertainty also characterizes the modern charismatic movement as well as those who search for the still small voice in their own heads.
When God speaks it thunders (John 12:29), the voice of the Lord breaks cedars in two; the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, (Psalm 29). Jesus is the sure Word of the Lord, and the Word speaks. It is sharper than a two-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The secrets of the heart are revealed when it is preached and causes men to fall on their face worshipping God, declaring that God is present among us. (I Corinthians 14:25). The Word of God is the voice of God.
So, the next time someone says they’ve received a vision or have had a word from the Lord for you, you can confidently tell them no they don’t. And, holding up your Bible, tell them that you have a Word of the Lord for them. 😊
His mercy endures forever!
Pastor Flynn