Growing In The Apostolic

Growing in the Prophetic
and dogmatic in giving or receiving prophecy. Often we do not, and are not
supposed to, fully understand the revelation until the circumstances unfold
that actually bring its fulfillment. God purposely gives the information in
a dark saying or parable. We must resist the temptation to manufacture
the interpretation before it is clear. If we don’t, we are setting ourselves up
for disaster.
Many times the ones who are best at receiving a revelation seem worst at
interpreting it. We cannot mold a true revelation around the interpretation
we prefer. Revelation often comes in bits and pieces, and thus, we need to
have enough humility and patience to know when more understanding is
needed before we proceed.
When it comes to the fulfillment of a prophecy, we encourage people to
have an attitude of “open expectancy.”
In light of this, it is important for us to be cautious about being overly
confident and dogmatic in the ministering of prophecy. Often we do not,
and are not supposed to, understand the revelation until the circumstances
unfold that actually bring its fulfillment. This helps us to know how to make
a godly response to those circumstances when they are at hand.
The grace to receive revelation is not the same as the grace to discern the
interpretation. We have people who interpret prophetic revelation with much
greater clarity than the people who receive the revelation. The other distinct
grace from God is the ability to apply what has been interpreted. We have a
council of prophetic people who are regularly involved with this.
I have seen seasoned prophetic ministers receive words from the Lord that
predicted events with great accuracy. Nevertheless, they rarely know when
or how the events will actually take place.
Bob Jones has an amazing gift of prophecy, but he says that he tends to
miss it on interpretation and application. One time Bob gave a person a word
along with the phrase, “By the end of the year.” Well, the end of the year
came and the prophecy had not come to pass. I went back to Bob and questioned
him about it. It turns out that “by the end of the year” was not a part
of the revelation.
“Well,” said Bob, “why would the Lord give it if it weren’t going to happen
by the end of the year?”
The prophetic information or the revelation itself does not help people
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