True or False Prophets: How Do We Know?

Following a Prophetic seminar hosted by a nearby local church, Pastor Trevor saw the conflicting perspectives from those who attended, and thought it would be helpful to the church to be reminded of the Bible’s helpfulness in distinguishing between true and false prophets. Based on Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians, it would seem as though prophecy is actually intended to be fairly common in local churches – not a rare gift possessed by a chosen few. And in order for a church to benefit by God’s messages through TRUE prophets – and to protect itself from FALSE ones, we need some criteria by which to discern. Without discernment, we will either believe anything or nothing, and both would be a loss.