Prophetic Imagination

Prophesy against the false prophets of Israel who are inventing their own prophecies. Say to them, “Listen to the word of the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all!”   Ezekiel 13:2-3

God spoke through Ezekiel to those who claimed to be prophets but replaced the Word of God with their own opinions. The prophet’s role was to stand in the presence of God and hear the Word of God in order to speak that Word to the people. But these leaders looked at the market, discovered what people wanted to hear, and shaped their message to fit the need of the hour.

In Ezekiel’s time, the prophets knew that the people wanted to hear a message of peace, so they gave them what they wanted. They led God’s people astray by saying “peace” when God had said there would be no peace (see Ezekiel 13:10). What God said didn’t concern them. Their ministry was driven by demand, not truth.

The health of the church today depends on the prophetic teaching of God’s Word. This isn’t a matter of revealing new truths received directly from God, because God’s revelation has been completed in Jesus Christ. Every church needs a strong ministry of the Word so that God’s truth may be known among God’s people.

The leadership of the prophet is also important within the family. It is God’s plan that in every home there should be a prophetic ministry of teaching God’s truth to our children. Which father or mother feels adequate to do this?

But on the Day of Pentecost, Peter spoke about all of God’s people prophesying (see Acts 2:17). That doesn’t mean all of us are preachers, but it does mean God can use any of his people at any time to say something he will use to penetrate another person’s life. A friend of mine used to say, “Every Christian is like a pilot light—always lit and carrying within him or her the potential to light a larger flame.”

For further reading, see Ezekiel 13