Did God get it wrong about Donald Trump?

In the months leading up to the Presidential election, numerous Christians claiming to have the gift of prophecy predicted that President Trump would be re-elected. Among these were:

 

·         Pat Robertson (The 700 Club)

·         Kris Vallotton (Bethel Church, Redding, CA)

·         Jeremiah Johnson (Jeremiah Johnson Ministries)

·         Sid Roth (host of “It’s Supernatural”)

 

Many other lesser-known Christians took to social media to share their own prophecies of a Trump victory. Well, today, on Inauguration Day 2021, we can say clearly that these prophecies did not come to pass. What are to make of this observation? If so many prophets agreed in their prediction yet the prediction was not accurate, a disturbing question arises: did God get it wrong about Donald Trump?

 

Perhaps we should ask a different question: are claims of modern-day prophecy actually legitimate?

 

It is this second question that I want to address in this post, because I believe the answer to that question is “no.” I do not believe that the gift of prophecy is still in operation today. (This position is called “cessationism” since it affirms that spiritual gifts like prophecy, healing, and speaking in tongues ceased at an earlier time in church history. The affirmation that such gifts continue is called “continuationism.” We didn’t get very creative with our titles in this area of theology!) In light of the very public prophecies made by those named above (among others), I invite you to consider with me just what has happened here, and that the problem actually lies with a mistaken belief in the continuation of the gift of prophecy.

 

(NOTE: To their credit, both Kris Vallotton and Jeremiah Johnson have now publicly apologized for their recent prophecies of a Trump win. See https://religionunplugged.com/news/2021/1/12/charismatics-are-at-war-with-each-other-over-failed-prophecies-of-trump-victory)

 

I always approach posts like this with a bit of unease since I am now publicly declaring a disagreement with some people whom I respect and care about. On this issue, that group would include personal friends as well as respected continuationist theologians like Wayne Grudem, Gordon Fee, and Craig Keener. I have been blessed by the ministries of the men just named, so I don’t take disagreement with them lightly; nevertheless, it is where I stand.

 

Since this post seems destined to be rather lengthy, let me give you the outline so you can scroll ahead to later sections if you wish:

 

Why address this question?

1.      The world has heard these prophecies and taken note of their failure

2.      Failed prophecies can weaken the faith of believers

3.      The question of modern-day prophecy has big implications for a local church

 

Why I don’t accept the validity of modern-day prophecy

1.      The fact of failed prophecies

2.      The conviction that Scripture is all we need for doctrine and behavior

 

Why address this question?

 

1. The world has heard these prophecies and taken note of their failure.

 

Do a simple Google search for “failed prophecies about Donald Trump” and you’ll find blog posts, letters to newspapers, and other articles in which non-Christians are gloating over the failure of these prophecies. I fear that serious damage has been done to the credibility of Christianity in the eyes of those who don’t believe.

 

It’s one thing to play the role of pundit and get it wrong. In that role, you are only claiming to have keen personal insight; it is only your reputation that’s on the line. But when you play the role of a prophet, you’re putting God’s reputation on the line as you claim to speak for Him. The esteem that others have for Him will correspondingly take a hit when a prophecy is proven false. I grieve when I read the condescending words of those who mock the Christian faith after observing those who mistakenly think they have heard a prophecy from God.

 

2. Failed prophecies can weaken the faith of believers.

 

I also grieve as I consider what those who believed these prophecies must be thinking. Whenever someone expects God to do one thing but He does another, that person’s faith can be shaken to its core. Sometimes a person’s faith doesn’t survive the disillusionment.

 

A failed prophecy can raise all kinds of faith-weakening questions. Did God not know enough to make the right announcement to His prophets? Did He have a plan in mind but He just wasn’t powerful enough to bring it to pass? Is He not wise enough to communicate to His prophets in an unmistakable way? Any of these questions will lead to a diminishing of God if you let them take root in your mind—but they are all strongly implied in a failed prophecy. If you let them run to their logical conclusion, you end up with a God who doesn’t inspire worship, so consequently, some people just stop worshipping Him.

 

I fear that many believers today just don’t appreciate how serious a claim it is to claim to speak in the name of God. It is a serious business with potentially everlasting consequences. If you claim to give someone a message from God and set them up to have false expectations, you may unwittingly become an accomplice to the unraveling of their faith.

 

3. The question of modern-day prophecy has big implications for a local church.

 

Every local congregation of Christians has to answer the questions, “What should we teach?” and “What should we do?” As a pastor, I want to teach my congregation everything that God has truly revealed. I grieve just knowing that some of my people have never read the entire Bible—if I thought we were missing out on new revelations from God through modern-day prophets, I would be beside myself! Man does not live by bread alone, according to Christ, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). If God is truly speaking through modern-day prophets, there is no question what a church should do—it should catalogue and study these revelations just the same as we study the words of the prophets of old. A church would be unfaithful and irresponsible to do anything else.

 

The question of modern-day prophecy also has big implications for how a church makes decisions. Imagine the potential difficulties if one part of a congregation expects God to lead the church by means of only one source (the written Scriptures) but another part of the congregation expects God to lead the church by means of two sources (the written Scriptures and modern-day prophets). What happens when the modern-day prophet speaks? How could a church take unified action in that case?

 

Think of it like this: imagine two Colonels in the Army out in the field together leading troops. One Colonel believes the General will only communicate with them through a personal messenger; the other Colonel believes the General may communicate with them through a personal messenger or over the radio. If a message comes over the radio purporting to be from the General, how can the two Colonels take unified action? One of them doesn’t even believe the General intends to communicate that way!

 

You can see how this whole question of communication can present quite a quandary. Thus, it is really a vital question for a church—vital enough that a church really can’t avoid taking a side on the issue. People are claiming to speak new revelations in the name of the Lord, and we have to decide if we’re going to believe them or not.

 

Why I don’t accept the validity of modern-day prophecy

 

1. The fact of failed prophecies

 

These failed prophecies concerning Donald Trump are just the latest failed prophecies from those who claim to have the gift of prophecy today. Interestingly, most continuationists do not dispute that predictions from modern-day prophets have at times failed to come to pass. These instances are usually explained away through appeals to a non-literal interpretation of the prediction, interference with the fulfillment from the demonic realm, or a misunderstanding on the part of the prophet. At least one continuationist theologian (Wayne Grudem) has, since the late 1980’s, attempted to defend the idiosyncratic view that the genuine gift of prophecy in the NT yields prophetic statements that might be a mixture of truth and error! (For an excellent though somewhat technical critique of Grudem’s position, see https://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj2h.pdf)

 

This simple observation about failed prophecies puts modern-day prophecy in very hot water when we consider the test for a true word from God in Deuteronomy 18:21-22:

 

“And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’--

when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

 

That final statement—“you need not be afraid of him”—must refer to future predictions from this so-called prophet. If the prediction under consideration has already failed to come to pass, then it is obvious that we do not need to heed that word. It would be redundant for God to state what the people would have already learned for themselves.

 

Thus, God was telling the people that they need not fear any later predictions from this person. This observation creates a standard of 100% accuracy for a true prophet of God. If a person claims to be delivering a revelation from God but makes a false prediction even once, he or she is disqualified from being a genuine prophet. This standard is one that modern-day prophets demonstrably have not met; thus, I conclude that the genuine gift of prophecy must not be in operation today.

 

2. The conviction that Scripture is all we need for doctrine and behavior

 

Historic Protestantism has always taken its stand on sola Scriptura—Scripture alone as our authority for doctrine and behavior. This claim about Scripture’s sufficiency for such needs seems only proper in light of statements like 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete [other translations: adequate, thoroughly equipped, thoroughly furnished], equipped for every good work.”

 

If the written Scriptures are enough revelation to make us adequate and thoroughly equipped for every good work, what need is there for further revelation through prophets today? A defense of continuing revelation can only amount to an affirmation that Scripture is not all the revelation we need to learn what God wants us to know about Him and His plans; that Scripture is not sufficient to allow us to make wise decisions about how we should behave. As I mentioned earlier, if modern-day prophets possess the genuine gift of prophecy, we should be hanging on to their every word in the same way that we seek to hang on to every word of the written Scriptures.

 

If you’re reading this and you’re Protestant, please consider two observations. First, you should already be comfortable with the claim that God ceased to give new revelations during at least one period in the past—the Inter-Testamental Period, those 400 years between the time of Malachi and the ministry of John the Baptist. If God ceased to give new revelations during that time, it should not be shocking to consider that He may have ceased again after the New Testament was completed.

 

Second, consider that many of the doctrinal differences that you as a Protestant have with other groups stem from claims of ongoing revelation. Progressive/Liberal Christians view the Scriptures not as a unique, once-for-all revelation from God but as a time-bound, historically-conditioned record of encounters with God that can still be expected to happen today (and that might correct erroneous viewpoints that Christians held in the past). The Roman Catholic Church teaches that God might still give new, binding, authoritative revelations to the faithful through the Magisterium of the Church. This belief is the source of distinctive Roman Catholic viewpoints on Mary and the saints, among other issues. Then of course there are the pseudo-Christian cults that rely on post-biblical writings or modern-day prophets as sources of revelation. So historic Protestantism has been unique in its emphasis on the sufficiency of Scripture, and I believe this emphasis must be sounded again to correct the misunderstanding of those who would promote a continuation of the gift of prophecy.

 

I realize that what I have written here is not all that could be said on this subject and it won’t settle the matter to everyone’s satisfaction, but this much at least needs to be said in this moment. You may have believed the prophecies about Donald Trump and might be very disillusioned today. Rather than allow your disillusionment to color your thoughts about God, I urge you to consider that what I have said is true—that the fault for failed prophecies lies not with God, but in a very unfortunate misunderstanding about the continuation of the gift of prophecy. 

Carving the Love of God into Your Children--Parenting Series

            There was once a man with a wife and three children. This man was a hard-working man who often worked long—and sometimes odd—hours, though it wouldn’t be fair to call him a workaholic. He was devoted to his job only because it allowed him to meet his goal of providing for his family. He really had a much greater devotion to his family, and above all else, to God.

            His devotion to God was on full display in the choices that he made. This man could have easily stayed out of church activities, and many people would have been understanding because of his work schedule, but he never missed church, and he even taught Sunday School for a number of years. His car transformed into a taxi on AWANA night, and many kids came only because he was willing to pick them up. In those days, Vacation Bible School was still normally held during the day, and he would take an entire week of his vacation time to volunteer.

            Despite this man’s busy schedule, he was still very devoted to his family. Rarely did he miss a ball game or a choir concert, and on one occasion, he even broke into a classroom when some props had been accidentally locked inside. Even when he knew he would be going back to work, he would still come home for dinner, and around the table he would often casually talk about things he had heard on the radio. Sometimes he would launch into a well-worn speech about how atheistic evolution was the dumbest idea he had ever heard.

            This man has grown older now, and his mind is not always very clear. He can’t really make it through his evolution speech anymore, but I am told that he never thinks more clearly than when he is praying. I guess old habits really do die hard.

            Since I am so familiar with this man, you may have already guessed that he is my dad. He is not perfect by any means—I could list his vices just the same as his virtues—but to me he has always embodied the ideals of Deuteronomy 6:4-9: devotion to God above all else, then to family as part of devotion to God. This passage is foundational for the subject of parenting, so let’s take a closer look at it today. Follow with me as I read it in context, beginning in v. 1 [READ Deut. 6:1-9].

The first lesson I would like to highlight from these verses is…

1. Teaching God’s commands to your children is simply part of your own devotion to God

            As we read vv. 4-9, perhaps you noticed an overall structure to these verses. In v. 4, Moses makes an assertion about God, and then we read this repeated phrase, “you shall…you shall…you shall.” Moses is simply teaching us a truth about God in v. 4, then he is telling us in vv. 5-9 what we should do in response to that truth. Notice that the command about parenting is simply one of those responses, and its tied up with the rest of them; it is not separated out as though it is in a category by itself.

            Let’s take a closer look at these verses before we draw an application from the overall structure. Verse 4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one,” or we could also translate, “the one and only.” This verse was the heartbeat of the Jewish faith. If football and TV had been around back then, you would have seen Jewish people sitting behind the goalposts with a sign that said, “Deuteronomy 6:4.” It had the same kind of place that John 3:16 has in Christianity today.

            The Jewish people lived in a time and place in which most people worshipped several gods. Some of them may have been seen as more powerful than others, but they all deserved some degree of worship. The God of Israel, however, declared that He was it—He was the one and only God, and as such He deserved all worship.

            Consequently, that’s exactly the point that Moses made with the first “you shall” statement in v. 5: “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” I think there is a profound thought in the way that Moses said this—he said, “you shall love.” That puts our response to God in the context of a relationship. Love speaks of intimacy and affection. If this is the proper way to respond to God, it must mean that this is what God desires to have with us—a relationship of intimacy and affection.

            Now since we’re thinking about the subject of parenting, let me point out that this is a powerful insight for pointing our children toward God. Our kids tend to love what we love, especially when they’re young. They will usually root for the same teams that we root for and take an interest in the same hobbies that we’re interested in. They will tend to love the people whom we love, and yes—they tend to pick up our prejudices, too. But if they see in our lives that we love God—that we have intimacy with Him and affection toward Him—they will very likely start to develop that same love.

            In v. 6, we find the next “you shall” statement: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” Jewish people back then associated the heart with thinking, rather than the mind or the brain like we do today. So in our language, Moses was simply telling the people to keep God’s commands on their minds. They were supposed to know them and think about them, which would allow them to carry out the next “you shall” statement in v. 7: “you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

            We’ll look more closely at this statement in just a moment, but for now, just recognize that Moses includes it as part of our overall response of love to God. He didn’t begin v. 7 with, “And now, on a totally unrelated note, teach your kids!” No—this task is simply part of our proper response to God in light of the fact that He is the one and only God.

            The final “you shall” statements come in vv. 8-9: “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The hand is the organ of action, and the eyes are the gateway to the inner man, so all of our actions and everything that comes into the mind or heart should be assessed by God’s commands. Likewise, our home life is to be arranged according to God’s commands. Everything that comes into our home and takes place there should be assessed by God’s commands.

            Now notice again how the command to teach our children is simply a part of our response to God in the same way as these other commands. I think this lesson can help us tremendously as we seek to be consistent in teaching and disciplining our children. Being consistent is one of the hardest parts of keeping the parenting process going moment after moment (let’s not even talk about day after day because each moment can have enough trouble of its own!). Its hard to consistently teach our kids because it requires effort.

            Sometimes its easier to let moments slip by without making the effort to teach or to discipline. But consider this—in many other activities we fight to be consistent because we think of them as acts of worship which express our love to God. We fight to be consistent in reading the Bible and praying and keeping our temper and holding our tongue and being honest because we think of these things in light of our relationship with God.

            We don’t give ourselves a pass on lying just because we didn’t feel like telling the truth. We fight to be honest because we love God, so here’s the key—we need to think of parenting in those same terms. The reason to fight for consistency as parents is because we love God; the reason to teach and discipline is because we love God. Its really not about our kids in the first place!

            This attitude is the bedrock of consistency in our parenting efforts. It allows us to say, “God, my kids are driving me crazy! I don’t feel like teaching or disciplining in this moment, but because I love you I choose to do what you ask.” Parenting is just as much a part of our response of love to God as praying and singing hymns; remembering this lesson is the key to consistency in our efforts.

Let’s take a closer look now at the specifics of the command to teach our kids. Here is the basic lesson that we discover in this verse…

2. Teaching God’s commands to your children is a moment-by-moment process that is carried out during the normal course of life

            Let’s read v. 7 once more: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” The four phrases at the end combine to describe the normal course of life. Wherever we are, whatever time it is, whatever circumstances we are in, we are to be teaching our children the commandments of God.

            The words “teach them diligently” translates a Hebrew verb that speaks of sharpening something. The word picture it creates in this verse is that of engraving or carving God’s commands into our children. I’ve never been into carving, but that’s a great word picture for parenting. When you carve something out of wood, for instance, you don’t hack off large pieces of wood with each stroke. It’s a slow and steady process—a delicate process—where you shave off tiny pieces with each pass of the knife.

            If we put this word picture for teaching in the context of the normal routine of life, the resulting thought is that we should take advantage of every circumstance and every moment to delicately carve our child’s character a little bit more than the moment before. That’s a beautiful way to think about parenting. It reminds us that the teaching process isn’t going to happen all at once. It encourages us to be patient, but also steady and deliberate.

            Let me point out an assumption within this command and an implication of this command. First of all, the assumption—this command assumes that you will be with your children in a variety of circumstances. You can’t teach them in a variety of circumstances if you’re not with them in a variety of circumstances.

            Now in Old Testament times, society was structured in a way that tended to draw parents and children together in various circumstances. Children were not typically educated outside the home—they were normally educated within the home, and boys would normally take on whatever occupation their father was in (“take your child to work day” was every day). So parents and children were together in the domestic setting of the home, an educational setting and an occupational setting.

            But consider the structure of our society today. You wake up in the morning and go to work—perhaps husband and wife both go to work—and your children go to school. You don’t see them again until at least the middle of the afternoon, and at various stages of life it might be more like 6- or 7 o’ clock. Then, they may have an activity in the evening or you may have an activity or a meeting, and before you know it, the day is over before there has been much opportunity for interaction.

            Now we can make some choices to structure our families in a different way, but we can’t escape from this structure completely. So what we must realize is that this structure tends to pull us apart rather than draw us together, which means that if we’re going to be together as families we have to make intentional choices to be together. The structure of our society will not help us with that, so we have to be thoughtful about how we can do it.

            In order to fulfill this command, then, we need to creatively and intentionally find ways to be together with our children. So what can we do? Well, for example, if you have other people over for dinner, don’t automatically send the kids off somewhere else to a kids’ table. If you can all fit around one table, do it. Let the kids listen to and even participate in adult conversation. They don’t have to sit there all night, but keep them together with you for a while.

            Or, if you take business trips at times, see about taking one of your children with you. That may not always be possible, but sometimes—with a little effort—it may, and what a valuable experience for your kids to see you in a business context. Those of you who farm have a great advantage in letting your kids work alongside you as they grow up.

            Finally, the implication of this command—you as a parent are the only one who will be with your child in a wide variety of circumstances, so this command gives you a role that no one else can fill. Schoolteachers cannot fill this role; pastors and Sunday School teachers cannot fill this role. The task of carving God’s commands into your children lies squarely at your feet because you are the constant for your children in all the comings and goings of life.

            But please don’t think of this role as an overwhelming responsibility; choose to see it instead as an unequaled opportunity. You are indispensible! You have a role that no one else can play! In terms of human relationships, you are the greatest influence in your child’s life and you are the object of your child’s greatest affections. That never really changes—its just not as cool for them to say it when they get older!

            You have a power to shape your children that is unrivaled, so if you will love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your might, and then delicately carve that love into your children, your influence can last for a lifetime!