DOES GOD STILL GIVE NEW REVELATION?

There is a popular belief & teaching today in many churches that God is still giving new revelation to individual Christians. If you do a quick google search, I have no doubt you will find many youtube videos of preachers in the pulpit speaking to their congregation by prophesying some next exciting wave or movement of God that is about to hit the world, or the lives of the people in their church. And this exciting new wave of things often pertains to being blessed with unexpected money, a new car, a new house, etc. Also, it can sometimes mean that God is getting ready to set in motion future events that will shift the church in a new direction to expand the kingdom of God in this world so that Christians will become the first & not the last. In most cases, it doesn’t matter if these new revelations are supported by scripture, because the underlining thought process behind this type of behavior is that God is still giving new revelation to the church outside of the bible. These new revelations given by those who do this believe that their words are just as authoritative as the apostles in the early church. In recent years this type of thinking has found popularity amongst book & movie enthusiasts. Books & movies that dramatize near-death experiences resulting in that person going to heaven & having private tours & a new experience with God. These individuals after being transported back into their physical body, often coming back with new revelations about Heaven given to them by God that’s not supported in scripture. Some reading this may be thinking these examples are being done by a fringed extreme few & not the majority of everyday Christians. And I would agree that these methods discussed may be done by an extreme few, However, the principles are done by many Christians. For example, how many times have you heard a person casually say “God told me to tell you XYZ.” Or “God gave me a word for you.” These types of statements are just a couple of examples of people who believe they are receiving direct revelation from God outside of the bible. They are often found starting their sentences with God told me this or God to me that.

The danger I see with this type of behavior is the authoritative nature behind it. What I mean is, people who claim God gave them new revelation are by default attributing the trustworthiness of God to whatever it is they are predicting will come to pass. If the prediction given doesn’t come to pass the so-called prophet in most cases simply just shrugs it off & moves forward to the next prophecy. However, the bible teaches us that, unlike men, God doesn’t dismiss failed prophesies so flippantly. To back this up let’s take a look at Deuteronomy 18:20-22 it states “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death. 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed”.

God is so serious about false prophecies being attributed to Him, that under old testament law anyone found doing this was commanded to be put to death. God is serious about the authentic truth of His word because it’s impossible for him to lie. Hebrews 6:18 states “18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. This is why we can have the utmost confidence & assurance that everything God said in His word is truth, and every prophecy yet to be fulfilled in the bible will come to pass. God is the author behind every word spoken in the bible, even though men wrote them down. To back this up let’s take a look at 2 Peter 1:21 it states “21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The problem today with so many people given new prophesies/revelations is there is no way to authenticate who is truly sent by God. The early apostles were personally selected by God to author the new testament through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And the way God authenticated them was by giving them the ability to perform signs & wonders. 2 Corinthians 12:12-13 states 12 I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles.

Another reason why it was so important for an apostle to bear these marks is that during the time of the early church anyone could have come along and claimed they spoke for God(much like they do today) and it would have been difficult to decipher the true apostle from the false one’s. But because the apostles were able to perform signs, wonders and miracles the people knew who spoke for God. Unlike today every so-called prophet is doing what is right in his/her own eyes. Meaning many of the modern-day prophecies are so contradictory with one another with no true biblical standard or way to determine if these new revelations are truly from God. If God is giving new revelation, then the church would be obligated to scrutinize & discern this new information. Because every word that God speaks is authoritative, meaning it needs to be written down and disseminated to the churches to be lived out as doctrinal truth for our everyday reproof & teaching. However, this is the exact opposite of what we are seeing. In most instances failed prophecies are treated as small mistakes or blatantly dismissed altogether. The true church can no longer keep silent about this egregious behavior. The bible commands us to defend the faith. Jude 3 states “3 Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people”.

Lastly, as Christians, we have to develop a healthy appetite for feeding off only the word of God. We do not need extra-biblical revelations because they add no value to our Christian growth. God’s word is enough to help up make wiser decision in life, or cultivate better relationships with family & above all else grow as a mature Christian in the Lord. 2 Timothy 3:16 states “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. The bottom line is no new revelation is given to the church other than what is written in scripture. The Lord has made this crystal clear in Revelation 22:18 it states “18 And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. So we can see God wants us to trust in His word and to know as His children he always has our best interest at heart. And if anyone comes to you with a thus says the Lord, and it doesn’t line up with scripture, we are to follow Galatians 1:8-9(see for reference) & reject it.