To safeguard their members from deception, mature churches should be able to differentiate between "rogue" and "real" prophets.
To clarify biblical standards on how to exercise prophetic gifts, Charisma Magazine re-published an excerpt from Bishop Joseph Mattera's latest book, "The Purpose, Power, and Process of Prophetic Ministry."
With the emergence of so-called "social media prophets" disseminating "the word of the Lord" to both the body of Christ and the world, Mattera contends that the biblical method to do this is through the umbrella of a local church assembly. This is done so that mature prophets/leaders may evaluate the prophetic word for the sake of the church's "health and safety," as well as to guarantee appropriate "pastoral application" of the message to the receiver.
Mattera referred to this method as the "vetting principle," and he based it on the apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 14:29, which says, "Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said."
Citing passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:17 until 1 Corinthians 14 as further references, Mattera added that when the apostle Paul taught about the demonstrations of spiritual gifts, including prophecy, it was in the scope of a local church meeting.
"Hence, the healthy and biblical practice of the gift of prophecy should have a corporate dynamic," he remarked.
"Unfortunately, despite these clear instructions in the New Testament, I have heard of numerous people in the body of Christ following so-called "internet" prophets who now find themselves with the ability to reach a huge audience-without paying the price of being vetted as a mature leader in a local congregation (1 Tim. 3:1-12)," said Mattera.
He observed that while the public do not know the lives of these self-proclaimed prophets, their records (proofs of accurate words delivered), their values, their marital and family status and their accountability system, they are capable of delivering a supposed prophesy which thrills and impresses many.
What Mattera finds worrisome about these social media prophets is their lack of accountability, since conveying messages via Facebook, Instagram, and other forms of media bypasses the local church as well as the spiritual leaders God has sent to shepherd Christians.
With all of the strange teachings, questionable doctrines, and prophetic voices with no accountability in the church today, local church pastors are finding it more difficult to properly disciple people.
Mattera, on the other hand, said that the preachers must persevere.
"The only recourse for shepherds of churches is to continue to be faithful by consistently teaching, making disciples and preaching the whole counsel of God both in public gatherings and house to house," he said. "This is the only way the sheep can have more discernment and flee from unaccountable prophetic leaders and strange doctrines that incite questions rather than godly edifying (Acts 20:25-32, 1 Tim. 1:3-7, Heb. 13:9.)"
He also prayed that all nine manifestations of the Spirit's gifts would thrive for the edifying of Christ's body, so that Jesus might be exalted in His church.
