There is much uncertainty in the world around us today. It seems like everything around us changes. Jobs change. Relationships change. Fortunes vanish. In this world where change is in the very air that we breathe, there is a desire in the human heart for a certainty to be grounded upon. In this world of uncertainty and fear, we long to be able to know what is eternal truth and sink our teeth into this rare delicacy. Some have given up looking for the elusive truth, but God in His Word has promised that there is a truth and we can know it!

John 8:32  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus has told us that not only is there a truth, but that we can know it, and if we know it, it will make us free. Do you want to be free? Then we need to know what the truth for today is. A second question always arises as to whether there is a group of people who believe this truth that Jesus said we could all know. If there is absolute truth, then there must most certainly be a movement proclaiming this truth, and if there is such a movement, surely the God of heaven would reveal to us how to identify this movement of people that believe and follow the truth from the Word of God. What is this prophetic movement of destiny and can it be found in America? Could it be America’s prophetic movement of destiny which will spread from America throughout the world?

Revelation 12:1, 2  Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

In prophetic vision, John saw many terrible and sometimes frightening things, but the focus of this vision was neither. It was not frightening, nor was it terrible. It was one of the most beautiful sights that John had ever beheld. “A great sign,” he calls it. It was the symbol of a woman clothed with the sun, standing upon the moon with a crown of twelve stars encircling her head. Clearly this is a symbol, for no woman has ever been so beautifully adorned, nor has any woman ever stood upon the moon. What does this symbol of a beautiful woman represent?

A Woman = A Church

II Corinthians 1:1; 11:2  “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are at Achaia… For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Jeremiah 6:2  I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and a delicate woman.

Isaiah 51:16  And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, “You are My people.”

Throughout the Old and New Testaments a woman represents a church. Paul longs to present the church at Corinth to Christ as a “chaste virgin.” In Jeremiah, the Lord says that He has likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman, Zion being God’s people or God’s church. If the woman is lovely and chaste, it represents a pure and holy church. If the woman is a corrupt adulteress, an impure, corrupt church is being depicted. In Revelation there are two women, one pure and lovely, the other corrupt and abominable. This woman of Revelation 12 is clearly the pure and holy church. The focus of Revelation is how the many world events depicted relate to God’s people. In Revelation 12, a view of God’s true people from Christ’s ascension to His return is seen. Thus it is a great sign. The woman clothed in the sun depicts the character that God’s people are to have, clothed in the righteousness of the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2; Jeremiah 23:6; Revelation 19:7, 8). The fact that the woman, or church, is standing upon the moon shows the relation of the old covenant dispensation. God’s church is surely founded upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles (Ephesians 2:19, 20). Just as the moon reflects the illumination of the sun, so the old covenant types and shadows were like the moon, faintly showing the glory and love of God. When the true light has come, the reflection in the mirror was no longer needed; but this was still the foundation of the church, for without these types and ceremonies the glory of the gospel would not have been recognized. So God’s church stands upon the prophets and ceremonies of the old covenant, crowned with the greater light shining from the work and writings of the twelve apostles, but clothed in the spotless purity of the Son of God, the Sun of Righteousness. So it is the most dearly beloved object of God’s love and protection.

The Apple of His Eye

Deuteronomy 32:10  He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

Above everything else in this world, God loves and protects His people. The fury of the world may be unleashed against them. The assaults of the enemy may beat upon them. They may be forsaken and despised in this world of sin, but God’s hand is still over them. Throughout the turbulent past, God has never forsaken His true people. Those who have held to Him and His Word have been as the “apple of His eye.” Though men have attempted to destroy God’s church again and again, God has protected and shielded His people. Revelation 12 is devoted to the trials and triumphs of God’s true people and how, despite the horrendous persecution unleashed against them, God never allowed them to be consumed.

Revelation 12:3, 4  And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:9  So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:5  She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.

The narrative continues to unfold before John. To his amazement, after beholding the most lovely woman his eyes had ever seen, he sees one of the most hideous sights. A great, fiery red dragon stands before the woman to devour her child as soon as it is born. Further down in the chapter these symbols are explained. The fiery dragon is none other than the archenemy of God, the devil himself. The Child that the woman bore was caught up to the throne of God and is to rule all nations with an iron rod. The only child ever born that fits that description is Jesus Christ. So, decoding the symbols, God’s true church is seen in labor pains to give birth to Jesus, while the devil stands ready to devour Jesus as soon as He is born. Sounds like the tragedy of Bethlehem doesn’t it? The devil, working through King Herod of the Roman empire, caused all the male children under the age of two to be slain (Matthew 2:16-18). God had miraculously preserved His Son by warning Joseph to flee into Egypt. Although the devil tried to cause Jesus’ death from His birth and all throughout His life, God was guarding His Son, until Jesus was caught up to the throne of God, safe from the fury of the devil. The devil was defeated, and he knew that the battle was now lost. Just as Jesus had conquered the devil on his own turf; so it had been successfully proven that any member of the human family, through the grace and power given them by our Savior, can overcome the devil just as Jesus did (I John 3:8, 9; Hebrews 2:14, 15; Revelation 3:21).

The Assaults on God’s Church

Revelation 12:5, 6  She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

After the devil’s loss with Jesus, in relentless fury and rage, he turned his assaults upon the one supreme object of God’s love and care in the world—God’s church. The devil knew that God’s people were that one object of God’s special love and watch care; and by attacking them, he knew it would bring hurt and anguish to God’s great heart of love. From this time forward (even before and during Old Testament times), all of the energies of the dragon were directed against God’s people. He seeks to get them to compromise; he moves upon the secular governments to crush them out; he seeks to infiltrate them with false believers. Through any and every means he can use, he seeks to overthrow the ones upholding the truth of God before the world. All throughout history, he has thrown derogatory names against the ones dearly beloved by God. God’s true people, holding forth the words of life to those in darkness, have been called a sect, a cult, an off-shoot, or any other name to impugn their reputation from time immemorial. This method has succeeded in preventing men and women from receiving the gospel, and it still seems to be working today. Although, John saw a vicious warfare launched against the true people of God, Christ had given a most precious promise that was to be their hope through the proceeding centuries.

Matthew 16:16-18  Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to Him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

Jesus made the most wonderful promise, that the gates of Hades would not be able to overcome God’s church. Jesus was establishing His church upon the precious truth that Peter had uttered. The truth that Christ is the Son of the living God is the cornerstone of the church. It is the mighty rock that will not be overcome in the hurricane gale. The church that was firmly established upon Christ and His truth would not be overcome. Many people have mistakenly thought that Peter was the rock that would not be overcome; but in reality, Peter was overcome by the devil four times after Jesus said this (in the very next verse, when Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan!” to Peter, Matthew 16:22, 23; and Peter denied that he was even a disciple of Jesus three times, Matthew 26:69-76). Peter could not possibly have been the rock that the church was built upon, for he failed numerous times throughout Scripture (John 18:10, 11; Galatians 2:11-14). The rock that Christ’s church was firmly established upon was Christ himself, the petra, or large, sturdy foundation stone, not Peter, the petros, the rolling pebble. I am sure that this promise was repeated again and again by the church as they were persecuted and hunted like wild beasts by their enemies. To all earthly appearances it looked as if their cause was lost; but all the might of Omnipotence stood behind that promise, and it would not fail. Although the devil’s winds would blow against God’s church, it would not, could not, be overthrown.

The Great Tribulation

Revelation 12:13, 14  Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.

The dragon persecutes the church when he sees that he has lost the battle, but God is looking out for His people. He gives them two wings as of an eagle to make a speedy escape into the wilderness where they are nourished and protected by God. During the period of terrible persecution, God’s people sought refuge in the solitary escapes of this earth. The church was forced to flee into the wilderness. Bible prophecy even gives the length of time that God’s people were forced to flee into hiding. It was for a time, times and half a time. This period of a time, times and half a time is referred to in the same chapter as “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Revelation 12:6). A time is used elsewhere in Scriptures to denote a year (Daniel 4:16, 23, 25, 32). “Times” therefore would be the dual of time, or two years; and half a time would obviously be half a year. Therefore the time period of a time, times and half a time represents a period of three and a half years. In the beginning, each month was thirty days, resulting in a year of three hundred and sixty days (Genesis 7:11; 8:3, 4). Thus prophetic years are always calculated by God’s original plan before the earth’s orbit was altered by the catastrophic events of the flood and shortly thereafter. Three and a half years would be forty-two months (Revelation 13:5). In forty two months, there are one thousand two hundred and sixty days (42 x 30 = 1260). Thus the time, times and half a time found in Revelation 12:14, Daniel 7:25, and Daniel 12:7 are the same as the one thousand two hundred and sixty days (Revelation 12:6; 11:3) and the forty-two months (Revelation 11:2; 13:5). A day in Bible prophecy represents one literal year (Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34). Thus God’s church was to flee into the wilderness where God would protect and feed her for one thousand two hundred and sixty years.

This time period began in AD 538 when the beast power for the first time had temporal and political dominion. Long were the years of seclusion and hiding for God’s true church; but in 1798, when the Papacy received its deadly wound, the true church was able to safely emerge from its wilderness fastnesses. During this “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21), the apostate church, which claimed to be the true church, launched attack after attack on the true people of God. The gates of hell had prevailed against the church denomination and it became the foretold antichrist, but the gates of hell could not overcome God’s faithful people. If a person was looking for the true church during this time period, they could not look at externals; for the apostate church, the beast, had all the externals. For one thousand two hundred and sixty years, it looked like the dragon and the apostate church were winning. The beast power, the apostate church, had the organization. They had the churches. They had the seminaries. They had the cathedrals. They had the priests. They had the kings. They had all the learned men. And from a human standpoint, it looked like the gates of hell had prevailed against God’s church, but God’s church was not the cathedral or the church organization. The people who had the truth and had fled into the wilderness to preserve the truth were God’s true church. They were stripped of all the external things that people look at today, but they had the Bible and were following it. During that time, if a person was looking for the external attributes of a church, he would have ended up in the beast’s church! So today, if we are looking for the externals such as church buildings, great and learned men, organizations and denominations, we may find ourselves in an apostate church! This is a very important topic for us to understand.

The Pillar and Ground of the Truth

I Timothy 3:15  But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

What is the church of the living God? It is the pillar and the ground of the truth. During this period of papal persecution, you could go to the big church in the big city. It would be beautiful. Many people would be there. The choir, pomp and ceremonies would dazzle your senses, but the pure truth could not be found there, so it was not God’s church. It had the organization and the hierarchy; they could trace their beginnings to the apostles, but it still was not God’s church because the truth was not there. When we look for a church in which to worship God, we are not to look for the right age group, the most beautiful church, the prettiest choir, the pleasing oratory of the preacher, but for the truth of God. The truth is what is important.

II Peter 1:12  For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know, and are established in the present truth.

John 4:23, 24  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Not only must the truth be preached there, but “present truth” must be taught and lived. Perhaps the best example of present truth versus pleasant truth is found before the flood. I am certain that there were a great number of churches with their spires rising to heaven before the flood. There might have been many good things that were preached from these pulpits. The words might have sounded good and even been very beneficial; but if they were not warning of the coming flood, it would all have been useless. It does not matter how beautiful and pleasing the sermons may have been; those in the pews were still lost if they did not receive “present truth.” Present truth in Noah’s day was to get ready for the coming flood. Those who accepted and acted upon present truth were saved; those who did not were lost. So today there is present truth. Present truth today is “prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (Amos 4:12). Are we prepared for Jesus glorious second coming, when He will search everyone through and through? Pleasant truth is pleasing words that might be true; but if it is not preparing God’s people for the imminent return of our Lord, it is only pleasant truth and not present truth. In order for us to worship our Creator aright, we must worship Him in “spirit and truth.” In the antediluvian world, during the dark ages, and today, if we are not worshipping where present truth is taught and practiced, we may find out too late that we are in the beast’s church.

God’s true church did have the truth, and to them it was worth more than all the riches in this world. Because of their great love for the truth, they were forced to separate from the established church, just as many of the prophets, apostles and Jesus Himself were forced to do. Although they separated themselves from the established church, which boasted of being the only true church, they were still the true, beloved church of God. They had present truth, and thus they were the “church of the living God.” History records the noble deeds of these great men and women of faith who stood for the truth irrespective of the cost. Some were castigated by their friends and loved ones for separating themselves from their former churches; others lost their property and even their lives because of their stand for truth. They loved present truth enough to die for it, and God did not forsake them, just as He had promised.

God’s Church Through History

One can study about St. Patrick, who fearlessly preached truth in Ireland. Then there was Columba of Scotland, who started a missionary training school on the island of Iona and sent missionaries throughout Europe teaching present truth. Both of these great men taught the truths from the Bible that we know today. They kept the Sabbath and sacredly held to the Scriptures, but they were only free to carry on their activities far away from Rome in the British isles. They had to be in the wilderness. In India, there were the Nestorian Christians, sometimes called the St. Thomas Christians. For a thousand years they had the Bible, and they were living by this Holy Book. They kept the Sabbath and did not have all of the pagan forms of worship that had come into the apostate organization of Rome. They had the truth, thus they were the church in the wilderness. In the heart of Africa, there were the Abyssinians and the Ethiopians. When the Portuguese arrived, these faithful Christians already believed in our Lord and Savior and were keeping His holy Sabbath day; but they had to flee into the jungles of Africa in order to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Revelation 12:15, 16  So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

The most graphic depiction of how God’s church, His true people, fled into the wilderness, was the people that fled into the very heart of the Alps in Italy, frequently called the Waldenses, or the Vaudois. God preserved them by miracle after miracle. During this fearful time, millions were burned at the stake: their only crime being possession of the Word of God. They were able to flee into those mountain valleys, and there they found a fortress. The Scripture says, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever” (Psalm 125:2) [593]. God truly was surrounding His people who were keeping the Sabbath and living by every word of God. Crusade after crusade was launched against them, but God protected His people during this time, in their mountain villages in the Alps. It is by them that our Bible was preserved. It looked like the gates of hell were prevailing against God’s church; but they were not, because God had His hands about His people. The beast, the apostate church, appeared to have all the advantages, all the external things that people look for; but they were devoid of the truth; and thus, no matter what they had, they were not God’s church. God’s church has always been and always will be those who have and follow the truth—present truth, from God’s Word.

Revelation 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

They loved the Lord Jesus Christ so much, that they were willing to sacrifice their life rather than sacrifice their convictions. Do you have that much faith? Are you willing to follow God’s Word and His Law regardless of the cost? Are you willing to lose your job, family, even your life in order to gain the truth from God? The church in the wilderness regarded no sacrifice too much to obtain the favor of God.

God’s Final Church

Revelation 12:17  And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

God’s Word foretold the time when God’s church would come out of hiding. After the long period of persecution, no longer was it forced to flee to the caves and mountains. It was to come out into the open with a message to go to the entire world. How can God’s true people be identified? By two simple points: 1) God’s true church in the last days keeps all the commandments, and 2) God’s true church in the last days has the testimony of Jesus Christ. With these two simple points, it is possible to positively identify God’s last day people. Shortly after 1798, when the papal persecution came to a halt, God’s church was to emerge as a worldwide church with a worldwide message bearing these two distinguishing marks.

God’s Final Church Keeps All the Commandments.

Revelation 14:12  Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

James 2:10  For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Mark 10:17-22  Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The final church is a commandment-keeping church. God’s church of the last days will not sanction the violation of even one of the commandments, for they know how highly God esteems His Law. They are “those who keep the commandments of God”—all of His commandments; for to break one makes a person or church guilty of breaking the entire Law. Thus God’s last day church is a Sabbath-keeping church. They will not excuse themselves that one commandment does not matter or that it was changed, without any inspired proof. They will keep all of the commandments including the Sabbath. Sometimes people tell me how wonderful different churches might be; but even if they lack just one thing, it is enough to be lost. It was that way with the rich young ruler. So those who break just one commandment have rejected following Jesus. God’s final church will follow at every step of the way, not just the convenient steps. They will follow and love the Lord so much that they keep all of His commandments, including the most special commandment of all, the Sabbath commandment.

Isaiah 58:12, 13  Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words.

It has been specifically prophesied that God’s last day church will restore the Sabbath to its exalted position. Through the apostasy of the Dark Ages, when the church was forced to flee into the wilderness, the truth of the Sabbath was lost sight of to a large extent. God’s true church in the wilderness upheld God’s holy Sabbath, but it was forgotten by most of the world. There was a breach made in God’s Law; but God’s last day people were to be the repairers of the breach, the restorers of streets to dwell in. The gap in God’s Law was to be made up by the keeping and preaching of God’s special Sabbath day. Not only does God’s last day church keep all of the commandments; but it is specifically prophesied that it will keep and teach God’s holy, seventh-day Sabbath.

I John 2:3, 4  Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

There are many churches today, all claiming to be Christian churches; but that profession does not mean that they are God’s final people. God’s Word emphatically states that if we say we know Him, if we say that we are Christians, but we do not keep His commandments, we are liars and the truth is not in us. God’s true church will not be a liar who claims to follow God, but does not keep His commandments.

The Testimony of Jesus = the Spirit of Prophecy

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

God has given two marks to identify His people in the final generation. The name that appears on the church sign is not the mark. God’s church is not identified by a string of leaders dating back to antiquity. God’s church is identified by two simple character points: 1)They keep the commandments of God and 2) They have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Obedience to the commandments is self-explanatory, but the “testimony of Jesus” is explained elsewhere in Revelation. John’s accompanying angel explains the “testimony of Jesus” as the “spirit of prophecy.” Not only has God promised to send an Elijah messenger with an Elijah message, calling the world to repentance, but this is one of the two identifying marks of God’s last day church.

Ephesians 4:11-13 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Some have thought that when Revelation was finished, that God would no longer send prophetic messengers with prophetic messages, but this is not what God has told us. Paul when listing some of the spiritual gifts puts apostles and prophets as the top two gifts, and then says how long God is going to give these gifts. He has promised to continue sending these spiritual gifts until we all grow up into the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” and until “we all come to the unity of the faith.” These two things do not happen until just before Jesus comes again.

Ephesians 4:14 … that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.

God has promised to send these spiritual gifts to His people so that we will not be deceived by the devil’s deceptions. Today every wind of doctrine is furiously blowing, but with an understanding of this important Biblical topic, we need not be blown about. Our faith need not be tossed around by the cunning deceptions the devil has prepared for our souls if we are taking advantage of the precious spiritual gifts, particularly the gift of prophecy, that God has given to us. God’s special promise to His people living in the last days is that He will pour out His Spirit and that our sons and daughters will prophesy. While all of the spiritual gifts are to safeguard us from deception and are to continue until Jesus comes, the gift of prophecy is the one gift singled out as particularly important for our time.

I Corinthians 14:1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

Acts 2:17, 18 “And it shall come to pass in the last days,” says God, “That I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.”

Test all Things

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

I Thessalonians 5:19-21 Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good.

Although the gift of prophecy will surely be given in the last days, we must be very careful. Jesus warned us repeatedly that there would be false prophets. The fact that there are counterfeits does not negate the fact that there are true as well. If there were to be no more prophets, Jesus would have said not to believe any prophets, but that is not what He said. We must be careful. If we accept anyone who claims to be a prophet with a message from God, we will surely be deceived, for there will be many false prophets, but if we apply the unerring tests from the Word of God we will be able to discern the imposters from the genuine.

Some have the equally dangerous idea that they must reject all prophets. Paul clearly warns against this, as well. He says, “Do not despise prophecies.” If we despise all prophecy without testing to see if it is from God or not, we are quenching the Spirit – a sin of which none desire to be guilty. The only safe path to travel is to “test all things; hold fast what is good.” How can we test all things? What tests does the Word of God give?

#1 – Keeping and teaching obedience to God’s Law and His Word.

Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

The first test and one that false prophets fail, is measuring them against the standard of God’s great Law. “To the law and to the testimony!” Ninety-nine percent of those claiming to be prophets do not honor God’s Law nor do they uphold the principles taught in the Word of God. If they do not teach others to keep all of God’s Law and are not keeping it themselves, there is no light in them. This means that if God is going to send a true prophet, he must be keeping all of the Law including the Sabbath.

#2 – Uplifting Christ in their lives and teaching.

Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

John 5:39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

In all their teaching, Christ must be the center. Christ is the theme and center of the entire Bible and in all that they say and do Christ must be uplifted. If Christ is not uplifted, we know they are false.

#3 – Their lives and work bears good fruit.

Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

A true prophet’s work will bear good fruit. As you see the result of their work, it will be to lead men and women to a greater love for Christ and His Word. It will not lead them further from God. Good fruit will be seen from their messages, their writings and their lives.

#4 – Their prophecies are fulfilled.

Jeremiah 28:9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.

All prophecies that a true prophet gives will be fulfilled. Many so-called psychics and prophets of today get a few things right, but utterly fail in others. This is not the way God works. God knows the end from the beginning and does not fail in one of His predictions.

#5 – Teach that Jesus came in the flesh.

I John 4:1-3 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

If a prophet denies that Jesus came in the flesh, he is of the spirit of antichrist. This test involves more than what many think. “Flesh” in the Bible frequently refers to more than just muscles and blood. It refers to the desires of the fallen human nature. (e.g. I John 2:16; Romans 8:8, 9; I Peter 2:11) Thus to acknowledge that Jesus came in the flesh is to believe and teach that Jesus came “in the likeness of sinful flesh.” (Romans 8:3) This does not mean that Jesus sinned, but that He came in our likeness and overcame the devil, so that through His strength, we also can overcome the devil. (I John 3:8) All true prophets, or even pastors or teachers, will teach that through the power that Christ supplies we can overcome our sins and walk even as Jesus walked. (I John 2:6)

#6 – Have visions and dreams.

Numbers 12:6 Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, and I speak to him in a dream.

Daniel 10:17  For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.

Numbers 24:3, 4  “Then he took up his oracle and said: ‘The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down with eyes wide open:’”

Another interesting and important point is that true prophets will be given visions and dreams. There are physical phenomenons that accompany these visions and dreams so that we can test whether they meet this test.

So far from our study of prophecy, we can see that God’s word has predicted an Elijah messenger will come. God’s word has said prophecy is the special gift for the last days. It is actually one of the identifying marks of God’s last day people. God has promised to continue sending the gift of prophecy until Jesus comes. Then there are six simple tests given in God’s word in order to test to see if someone matches the Biblical test of being a true prophet. Since we are right at the very end of time, very near to when Jesus is to come, the question is posed, “Has an Elijah messenger already come that matches the Biblical tests?”

Applying the Tests

Perhaps it would be worthwhile to review a few contemporary prophets. One contemporary prophet that comes to mind is a lady by the name of Mary Baker Eddy. She wrote Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and started a church. Some may think that because she was a woman that she was prohibited from being a prophet, but there were actually many women prophetesses in the Bible.

Judges 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

Exodus 15:20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

Luke 2:36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

Acts 21:9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesie