Should we condemn a prophet that gets even one prophecy incorrect?

[Bohm_Bawerk]

I’m really interested in the gift of prophecy (I don’t have the gift myself), but it was said in the days of old that if a prophet even prophesized one thing incorrectly, the prophet was not from God:

“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. Do not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22).

It was also said in an earlier verse that a prophet who made even one incorrect prophecy was to be put to death:

“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.” (Deuteronomy 18:20).

I understand what the Church teaches about private revelation. My question is, should we condemn a prophet that even gets 1 thing wrong? Can a genuine prophet ever make a mistake in his prophecy?

 

[sojo]

Interesting question! The first quotation does NOT say that if one thing is wrong, everything the prophet said is wrong:

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. Do not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:22). (my emphasis)

It is saying the one message that did not come true was NOT from the Lord. It doesn’t cast judgment on whether that prophet is a true prophet or not.

The next quote:

*But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. *(Deuteronomy 18:20). (my emphasis)

Likewise, the above does not say that a prophet who errs (by accident) in one prophecy is not a real prophet at all. It says if the prophet “presumes” to speak in the Lord’s name… which I take to mean they are purposefully and with knowledge saying the Lord directed them to speak such and such but knowingly were not so directed. To claim “the Lord sayeth such and such” when one knows the Lord never said any such thing and therefore you are just pushing your own agenda… that is a grave sin.

However, maybe there are other scripture references that do say a prophet must be infallible??? I can’t think of any, and it somehow rubs against the grain for me as we are all imperfect vessels. Many holy people, saints and prophets have had to be repeatedly dealt with before they did as the Lord commanded them. Poor Jonah had to suffer through being swallowed by a whale before he finally conveyed the prophetic message he was supposed to preach.

Looking forward to hearing from some folks more educated on scripture!

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Thanks for the response Sojo. Great to see you :tiphat:

 

[sojo]

Good to see you, too! I’m spreading my wings and trying to branch out a bit to sub-boards and threads less familiar to me. Sacred scripture is not one of my strong points, though I have read the “big books” all the way through a few times. Hoping my visit here will get me to dig in again a bit more prayerfully.

 

[Paul_Infirdigno]

I dont think a Prophet of GOD would make a mistake, if he’s a prophet of GOD then hes given a special grace not to be fooled by illusions. kind of like a mystic.

 

[sojo]

I understand that prophets are different from saints, but still… it seems Blessed JPII who is about to be a full saint was much taken in by Fr. Maciel who is now acknowledged to have been an immoral predator and fake. Even then Cardinal Ratzinger was convinced of the horrible reports of abuse by Maciel (which have only become worse with time), but he was unable to convince the Holy Father of this. Upon JPII’s death, our wonderful German Shepherd immediately took action (thank goodness) against Maciel.

But perhaps a prophet is in a different category than a saint?

Hoping to hear some scripture or church teachings on whether prophets must be infallible in their prophecies!

 

[midori]

Jonah would like to have a word here.

 

[sojo]

Midori - you got that right! Jonah is a heck of a lot more than just some funny fish story we teach our little ones! But he didn’t preach the wrong thing, actually. He was just obstinate about teaching the RIGHT thing. But he relented at last after being fish food for a while.

I “thought” I got Jonah until I was teaching my son that story in home school. So I went and read it over again along with some commentary. A real light bulb moment for sure.

 

[midori]

I remember reading the story of Jonah and Ninevah when I was little, and how humiliated he was. It’s an inspiring lesson in how true repentance can cause God to change his mind and exert his mercy rather than his justice-- but man, I felt sad for him. Partly sad for his embarrassment, partly sorry that he would rather see a city full of people destroyed than be “wrong”.

Thinking back on it, I can just imagine the Internet forum chitchat if Ninevah was a modern-day thing. You’d get your skeptics who wouldn’t see God’s mercy, but would rather take the lack-of-destruction as a sign that it was a false prophecy to begin with, rather than a signal that the repentance was so strong that God’s heart was changed.

I need to go re-read Jonah, too. But it’s helped me remember that prophecies are often conditional.

 

[Dave_Noonan]

Midori - you got that right! Jonah is a heck of a lot more than just some funny fish story we teach our little ones! But he didn’t preach the wrong thing, actually. He was just obstinate about teaching the RIGHT thing. But he relented at last after being fish food for a while.

I “thought” I got Jonah until I was teaching my son that story in home school. So I went and read it over again along with some commentary. A real light bulb moment for sure.

Actually, Jonah’s prophecy didn’t come true (3:4), which was part of the whole problem to begin with. Jonah knew that God might be merciful and relent from punishing Nineveh (4:2) and thus ruin his prophetic career.

 

[sojo]

Well alrighty then… this student needs to go reread the whole thing yet again!

 

[Mintaka]

As God Himself says in the same book, God is allowed to have mercy on people. It’s a conditional prophecy; if people respond the way God wants them to do, He will not call down His wrath on them.

There are plenty of conditional prophecies in the Bible. Pretty much the first thing people usually do about messages from God, at least in the OT, is repent and/or negotiate with the Almighty and His prophets. Jesus seems reasonably amenable to this approach also (although I think usually He doesn’t soften anything, He’s usually not offended at a good try).

 

[Bohm_Bawerk]

Jonah would like to have a word here.

Jonah wasn’t incorrect though. He clearly gave the correct Word of God under exceptional circumstances. The LORD said He had held back the wrath He was about to unleash unto those in Ninevah because they had repented. Jonah was a genuine prophet.