Rebuttal of "An Analysis of  'Event-Styled' Prophecy
And Its Application to False Prophecy Concepts"

The following is a rebuttal of Mr. Concern's analysis of 'Event-Styled' Prophecy which at the time of this writing is contained at the following URL: http://www.geocities.com/nccg_concern/prophecyterms.html

It should be noted that what seems like a logically-consistent rebuttal of 'event-styled' false prophecies actually falls flat when one zooms in on the Achille's Heels of Mr. Concern's arguments. I shall term these weaknesses as "A Misunderstanding of the Fruits of Prophecy", "A Misconstruing of So-Called 'Informationally Determinable False Prophecies'" and "A Misapplication of the Biblical Text". With this, let me introduce you to the "Misses".

1. A Misunderstanding of the Fruits of Prophecy
In quite a few places in his article, Mr. Concern shows a general misunderstanding as to what the fruits of prophecy are. One such example is the quote below (emphasis mine):

When the situation surrounding this particular incidence of the Prophetic Process, the prophesied event, and the particular audience is taken into account, the effect of a genuine prophecy must be one or more of the three Biblically-allowed criteria (1 Cor. 14:3), which are:

• to strengthen,
• to encourage,
• or to comfort.

Incidently, there are some other "fruits" which may also apply to this, as they are directly indicated as "fruits" of the Holy Spirit, as seen in Gal 5:22-23:

• love,
• joy,
• peace,
• longsuffering,
• gentleness,
• goodness,
• faith,
• meekness,
• temperance

For the purposes of this discussion, we are going to primarily focus on those shown to us in 1 Cor. 14:3, as they are very specific to Prophecy.

It should be noted that this is Element #7 in the "Prophetic Process" outlined by Mr. Concern. According to Mr. Concern, the criteria in 1 Corinthians 14:3 must apply in all prophecy, otherwise it is not true prophecy. 1 Corinthians 14:3 is given below, in its proper context (verses 1-5), from the New King James Version:

Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation [NIV "encouragement"] and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

The context of this verse is clear to those who can entertain an unbiased mind. It is here Paul is saying that if anyone wants to desire a spiritual gift, it is better to prophecy than to speak in tongues because those who prophesy are speaking to the edification of the church whereas those who speak in tongues only edify themselves. Regardless of your tongues theology, Paul is not so much lying down rules for the nature of prophecy, but is rather stating the superiority of prophecy over tongues. Thus, a Scripture removed out of context is a pre-text.

But even if Paul were to be saying what Concern insinuates he said, this statement could be falsified on many counts. First, not all biblical prophecies comfort, encourage nor comfort man. It seems Concern is stuck on these two things because he later says:

• Unsubstantial, Missing-Criteria-Flawed False Prophecy: God says that if you go outside today, you will then see a bird eating a large purple insect. That's nice, but hearing about this does not do anything at all for me, and certainly doesn't strengthen, encourage, or comfort me.
  
• Substantial, Missing-Criteria-Flawed False Prophecy: God says, that person you don't like is going to be your opponent in the chess tournament today, and he is going to cheat, and because of that, he will win the game with you, and then he will go on to win the entire tournament. Ugh! and if I believed that, I would feel angry, which has nothing to do with being strengthened, encouraged, or comforted! (Incidently, this would contradict the fruits of the Holy Spirit as shown in Gal 5:22-23).

Thus, it seems that Concern's theology of prophecy is a feel-good, Dr. Phil approach where God is barred from telling you anything that could make you feel depressed or that you may deem as irrelevant (although if God told me I would see a bird eating a large insect and I did, I would find that rather encouraging -- I suppose its subjective). Thus, God has obviously toned down from Old Testament and even New Testament times and is a huge cosmic Daddy who likes to give His children pats on the back and not hurt their self-esteem. For all intents, He is a secular humanist, if we follow Concern's logic.

First, there is a problem in this approach. If you'll noted, in the NKJV, the word "exhortation" is used instead of "encouragement" (I included how the NIV translates it in brackets). In the Greek, it is "paraklesis" (Strong's 3874). It comes from the verb "parakalew" (Strong's 3870) which means "to call to one's side, to admonish, to console, to entreat, to address, to beg, to instruct". While it is true that "paraklesis" generally does mean "to encourage" in the Greek New Testament text, its verbal form "parakalew" does not always mean this. For example, Matthew 8:5; 8:31; 18:29, et al. are usually translated as "begging". And in other places, such as Luke 3:18; Acts 2:40; Hebrews 13:22, it is used to convey the idea of teaching. The noun form, "paraklesis", could certainly be argued to have this latter meaning in Acts 13:15.

Of course, prophecies in Scripture are not by all means always "strengthening, encouraging or comforting" if one follows Mr. Concern's criteria. Imagine how strengthening, encouraging or comforting hearing the words that your virgin wife will be raped if you do not keep Yahweh's laws (see Deuteronomy 28:30). Scripture is replete with prophecies that do not meet Concern's criteria (unless, of course, one rids themselves of Concern's narrow-minded definition of "strengthen" -- then one can be "strengthened" by the knowledge of knowing that if they keep Yahweh's commandments, they will be protected from His wrath). Even Yah'shua (Jesus) in the New Covenant prophesied Peter's death (John 21:18-19) which could be argued does not fit this criteria. Likewise, since Concern is so fond of quoting Jeremiah 28:9 and 28:15 to prove false prophets, let me quote Lamentations 2:14 NKJV (which many believe to have been written by Jeremiah) to demonstrate a fruit of true prophecy:

Your prophets have seen for you

False and deceptive visions;

They have not uncovered your iniquity,

To bring back your captives,

But have envisioned for you false prophecies and delusions.

Within these three categories, we could list the exact, non-Biblical effect that the False Prophecy caused (or would have been expected to cause) upon the audience. Some example potential False Prophecies fully identified this way would be:

• Weakening, Oppositive-Criteria-Flawed False Prophecy (insult): God says that because you are ugly, when you finally meet a girl that likes you, it is a sign from Him that you are supposed to marry her.
  
• Discouraging, Oppositive-Criteria-Flawed False Prophecy (self-doubt): God says that you aren't spiritual enough to make this decision for yourself and you need me to help you.
  
• Discomforting, Oppositive-Criteria-Flawed False Prophecy (fear): There is going to be a gigantic earthquake next week, repent now!

A quick note: the Book of Revelations is not Criteria-Flawed due to being Discomforting, Oppositive-Criteria-Flawed (fear), and can never be referenced as an excuse by False Prophets for making fear-generating prophecies. The reason for this is discussed near the end of this article.

The jaws of the False Prophet Trap #4 (or 3) read like this:

• Blessed* [is] he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time [is] at hand (Rev. 1:3)

*One often finds Revelations 1:3 translated as "Blessed is he that readth [sic] . . ." But the actual Greek is "makar'i on" which is the word "Happy" and means joyousness springing from within, and is in contrast to "blessed" (which is the expression of good opinion by others). It is also rendered as "Happy" in at the least the Jerusalem Bible, Phillip's Modern English, the New Revised Bible and shows no changes whatsoever in any of the oldest extent Greek manuscripts.

This statement is specific to one thing, and one thing only: the prophecies contained within the Book of Revelations. John, as the major personal apostle of Jesus who has great apostolic authority, has outright declared that the readers of that book (Revelations) are expected to be made 'happy' by its contents [I can name MANY people who are TERRIFIED by the book -- does this disprove Revelation?). This is a unique, pre-defined Criteria-Validity point of expected happiness for this one set of prophecies alone. The book of Revelations meets the Criteria-Validity requirements in order to do its unique job, which is being the Book of Revelations [Revelation is unique and above his rules simply because its Revelation -- circular reasoning] and the things associated with that role.

Modern-day prophets might be technically able to make (functionally) open-ended prophecies about the "second coming" (unless that's actually False Prophet Trap #3), but unlike John's special instance of the book of Revelations, the contents of the messages that will be delivered to them by God will unquestionably match the Criteria-Validity requirements within 1 Cor. 14:3, which are:

• to strengthen,
• to encourage,
• or to comfort.

[Again, the two witnesses are free from this criteria, so if we really want to insist on following it, how else would we know who they were if this truly is suppose to be our bias?]

In practical application, this means that a real Prophet will never make prophecies like "Bad things are coming, the first horse of the apocalypse just showed up, repent quick!" [Because they are about making people feel better about themselves, according to Concern -- what about Proverbs 29:5, Ezekiel 12:24 and other Scriptures which speak against prophets flattering the people?] That would be Criteria-Flawed, despite the fact that the book of Revelations may sound like that in places. [I.E. Revelation IS Criteria-Flawed according to his logic, he just hates to admit it because he's dishonest.]

A modern-day prophet would also not be seen pulling off a "this is supposed to make you happy" statement at the beginning of an otherwise obviously Criteria-Flawed prophecy in an effort to provide the same type of criteria-validity as Revelations. [In other words, the Book of Revelation is free from his three criteria, simply because to include it would mean it would be a "false prophecy" according to said criteria. While John could SAY that his book should make people happy, if anyone else says their prophecies should make people happy, they are false simply because they are not John -- thus John is a true prophet because he's John -- circular reasoning]. Modern-day prophets (not to mention the many False Prophets who vainly call themselves "apostles") would have a tall order in believing they have same apostolic authority as John, and should find it difficult to get around the 1 Cor. 14:3 criteria requirements by redefining Criteria-Validity for themselves as special case prophets [Ah, yes, but Ephesians 4:11-16 says that the office of apostle and prophet shall exist until there's a unity in the faith, something that has not yet happened with the many different denominational bodies floating about. Plus, Concern falls back on his criteria requirements which I, the author, of this rebuttal believe I have already demonstrated to not be biblical].

....Not that most of the modern-day False Prophets bother with any of these details, or necessarily understand them. [Then it is the job of Mr. Concern to enlighten us, since he seems to be purporting to be the expert of prophecies by being the one that "understand(s) them".] They are seen to flounce about, issuing Discomforting, Oppositive-Criteria-Flawed False Prophecies (due to fear) while superficially emulating what they thought they saw in the book of Revelations, unaware as to why such statements, when coming from them and especially when used in the wrong context, are nothing more than Criteria-Flawed False Prophetic Statements.

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

 The difference between a Informationally-Determinable False Prophecy and a  Non-Predictive False Prophecy is subtle. Non-predictive ones would have happened anyway as a natural state of affairs. Informationally-Determinable ones are able to be rationalized beforehand by making an educated guess (hypothesis) using the information at hand. Informationally-Determinable ones have the technical ability to become Prediction-Failed, but the information at hand may suggest to the person that it is not likely.

There is an additional Biblical reference to prophecies not being related to any part of the will of Man ("will" being thelema in the Greek, IE: what an individual wishes or has, through material mental processes, determined shall occur). 2 Pet. 1:21 through 2 Pet. 2:3 shows this (the original Bible text does not contain a chapter break between Chapters 1 and 2;

21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost.

1: But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2: And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. (KJV)

Peter is expressly telling us that genuine prophecies (which he references as "old time") do not do this, but the False Prophets and False Teachers do. He is warning us about Informationally-Determinable False Prophecies, in addition to False Prophets who will make False Prophetic Statements about things they wish God had said to them.

Mr. Concern makes the argument using 2 Peter 1:21-2:3 that Yahweh doesn't give prophecies based upon a person's will. By will, Mr. Concern argues that Peter is talking about prophets not being able to determine what they either wish or can mentally figure out what will happen.

Let us consider at least two verses before 2 Peter 1:21 to see if this definition of "will" holds water. I will use the KJV, as Mr. Concern did.

 2Pe 1:19  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

In verse 19, Peter makes it clear that they (the apostles) have a more sure word of prophecy that is important to heed to. He then in verse 20 states that it is important to note that when reading the Scriptures (of which I'm sure he considers his writings) that no prophecy given in them is of any private interpretation. For example, I cannot read into the prophecies but must take them on their own merits and conside their context. He then explains, in verse 21 (the first verse Mr. Concern uses) that these prophecies didn't come as man willed, but as the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) willed they came. This is why they are not of private interpretation -- they were given directly by God Himself. In verse 1 of the next chapter (2), he then compares the false prophets of ancient Israel to the false teachers that will come. It should be noted, Balaam excepted, the word "prophets" is never again mentioned in this chapter. This is Peter's teaching regarding false teachers. These false teachers will bring in false doctrines that will ensnare people. Because of this, verse 2 reveals that many shall follow their evil ways and then the truth shall be spoken of as evil. And verse 3 tells us because they are lustful (KJV "covetnousness"), they shall speak falsely (KJV "feigned words") in order to make money off people. These verses are not so much counsel on "Informationally-Determinable False Prophecies" as they are counsel on taking Scripture and prophecies on their own merits and remembering their source (God) as well as remembering to disregard those false teachers who teach false doctrines.

Of course, there are also points where Mr. Concern quotes biblical passages and his point doesn't logically follow. One is the following list:

• Another potential vector of attack would be the prophet claiming that his spirituality is of the same level of apostolic authority as the Apostle John, and as such, his prophecies contain their own Criteria-Validity.

• John wrote about his eye-witness account of experiences with Jesus and is the author of 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and the book of Revelations.
• Revelations 21:14 states that "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (KJV). So, some set of twelve apostles will be specially honored by having their names enscribed in the foundations of the New Jerusalem. Apparently, in the oldest extant Greek manuscripts, the article "the" that refers to the apostles in Revelations 21:14 is repeated for emphasis. This yields a reading such as "THE apostles, not some other combination of apostles." This fact should also be self-evident due to the method being used to honor the named individuals. 
• These things suggest that the 12 'apostles' being referenced should be the same ones talked about in Matthew 10:2, the ones that Jesus had with him, in person, during his lifetime. There's no mention of some special, unknown, extra apostle (like someone alive today who believes he has the same apostolic authority as the apostle John) whose name goes on the city foundations too. 
• Any new 'apostle' of such a special stature who appeared among us today would have to be be extremely filled with the Holy Spirit. Hopefully, any supposed prophet who makes this claim will be closely examined for exhibiting only those fruits (Gal 5:22-23, 1 Cor. 14:3) as opposed with someone accepting such a statement at face value or based upon questionable information

First, it should be noted that aruging from authority is a logical fallacy because, while it can be debate that John was an apostle of high-level authority, this doesn't mean that Yahweh can't bring forth other apostles and prophets of the same authority. Ephesians 4:11-13 states that apostles and prophets will exist until we are unified in the faith (something that has yet to occur).

Second, he argues that John was an eye-witness account of the activities of Yah'shua (Jesus). It should be noted that Paul, aside from a visionary experience, was not. And yet he constantly argues for his apostolic authority (Romans 1:1; 11:13; 1 Corinthians 9:1-2; 15:9; et al.). What if a modern day apostle indeed does see Messiah? Is that not enough? All the Scriptures teach is you need to be a witness of His Resurrection (Acts 1:22; 1 Cornthians 15:3-11).

Third, he argues from Revelation 21:14 that because there are only twelve apostolic names on the city, that there can only be Twelve Apostles. Actually, there were at least 15-17 mentioned in the New Testament. First there were the original Twelve (Matthew 10:2-4; Luke 6:13-16); after Judas died, there was Matthias (Acts 1:26); then after James, one of the original apostles, died (Acts 12:2, compare to Matthew 10:2), James the Greater replaces him who presided at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. This same James saw Messiah resurrected, thus passing the test of apostleship (1 Corinthians 15:3-11). Likewise, Paul himself called himself an apostle, as already noted. He and Barnabas are both called apostles in Acts 14:14. In Romans 16:7, some argue Junia and Adronicus are likewise called apostles, although the same verse can also be interpreted to mean they were liked among the apostles. So at the least, we have 15 apostles mentioned in the New Testament and at the most, 17. It does not mean, however, there weren't more. So even if only Twelve Names are mentioned on the city gates, this does not discount apostolic succession.

Fourthly, I believe I contradict his fourth position in both my second and third ones.

Likewise, the last point is not worth mentioning since I believe I have already sufficiently proven his understanding of Galatians 5:22-23 and 1 Corinthians 14:3 is flawed.

Likewise, regarding Revelation 22:18-20, Mr. Concern has this to say:

Revelations 22:18 talks about this. The straightforward KJV looks like this:

22:18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

Evidently, God will not be pleased with those who enjoyed Revelations so much that they had to write the sequel.

The oldest available Greek manuscripts are in agreement about what this verse says, and examining them yields clues as to more clear meanings. The same verse below includes my comments about the greek in parentheses:

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words (speech) of the prophecy of this book ('biblion' means booklet, singular), If any man shall add (append) unto these things ('tauta,' plural), God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book (KJV).

We can see from this that John is not talking about adding to the singular booklet of Revelations itself. He's talking about adding to the prophecies themselves, which is a much broader category of potential additions. It's not just a matter of a man not being allowed to write Revelations Chapter 23, or the book of second Revelations; the prophecies regarding the "second coming" are being specifically referenced.

The only question mark about this is: since it said "man", does it automatically disqualify additions made by God in the form of prophecying through a man? Was God finished with end-time Prophecies when the last period went into the Book or Revelations?

I note that the sentences make no reference at all to any type of exception, or new prophecies, or anything. It also doesn't exclude them. It is silent on this point.

I wonder why. Maybe it's False Prophet Trap #3.

One could be led to believe by the context of this verse that bona-fide prophecies that do the activity described in 22:18 are not forthcoming, and that's why John can speak in such strong terms regarding discouragement of people attempting to add to it.  The whole context is like this (KJV):

22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.
22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

The False Prophet traps have so far been all very concrete, but if one exists here, it requires each Christian to make his or her own decision. Christians have means of making personal verifications with God as to the meanings of Scripture, if they choose to use them. At a minimum, this is a gray area that False Prophets everywhere might be encouraged to play games with by making their own prophecies regarding the "second coming". If it's yet another False Prophet Trap due to your own interpretation of Rev. 22:18, then so far, we have three of them, and this would be one of the biggest of them all. Lots of self-professed prophets in the recent past have been unable to keep their mouths shut about the "second coming".

Revelation 22:18-20 is misunderstood by many people. Many people think it is talking about not adding to the biblical canon, although it should be noted that the biblical canon wasn't formalized until the Concil of Nicea in AD 325 (even though every book in the canon was in use prior to this date). Thus, the idea of the Bible being a singular book is a myth -- it is a library of books which are all inspired by Yahweh Elohim through His Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). Likewise, John, the writer of Revelation, receives a command from Yah'shua (Jesus) in Revelation 1:11 to write the things he sees in a book (singular). People will be judged by what they read in this book and hence, it is not to be sealed (hidden) for this reason (Revelation 22:7,9-10). This is why in Revelation 22:18-20, the reader is forbidden from adding to the things in the book and taking away from them -- since it is a book that'll judge those who heed it.

However, Mr. Concern is extending this warning to include ANY PROPHECY related to the Second Coming. Where it says in the KJV to not "add unto these things", he is forbidding from Yahweh to reveal any more than what is written in the singular Book of Revelation. Two things should be noted.

First, in verse 18, it says to those "who heareth the words of the prophecy of this book" to not "add unto these things". What things? Verse 19 gives a paralleism. "[I]f any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life . . ." So obviously the things being added to and taken from are the Book of Revelation. The biblical author is speaking against altering the document in question moreso than he is forbidding anymore to be said on the same subject. In other words, the words in this book are so important that one shouldn't tamper with the original wording given to the Apostle John.

This is an another attempt of Mr. Concern to twist something out of the text that simply isn't there. There are many cases in his article where he does this, making his arguments more "biblically flawed" than anything. It is for this reason I think that the sound biblical Christian shouldn't heed him because like the false teachers mentioned in 2 Peter 2:1-3, he is fond of twisting things out of their original context to make a point. 2 Peter 3:16 describes this as "wrest[ing] . . . the Scriptures unto . . . destruction." Again, a Scripture taken out of context is a pretext.

It is for this reason that I believe Mr. Concern to be a false teacher and hence not worth listening to, just like he counsels people not to listen to people who break his criteria of "false prophets". However, if you do read, tread carefully. Know your Bible well and read every verse he suggests in context.

Conclusion
In this article, I have demonstrated how Mr. Concern misunderstands the fruits of prophecy based upon a flawed understanding of 1 Corinthians 14:3 and Galatians 5:22-23. I then demonstrated how his criteria regarding "Informationally Determinable False Prophecies" was faulty using simple logic and the Book of Acts as my proofs. Finally, I demonstrated how Mr. Concern twists the biblical text out of context to prove a point. This to me is evidence that Mr. Concern is a false teacher according to 2 Peter 2:1-3 and shouldn't be heeded. His lies bring in damnable heresies that teach falsehoods concerning the nature of prophecy and revelation, if we are to take the biblical text at its face value. Now, provided, he probably doesn't know and it is for this reason I extend the same call of repentance to him that he is so eager to extend to the church I belong to (Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon) due to some mistakes we made in our past from which we already repented of long before he entered the picture. As such, I expect my arguments to be noted and any corrections to his site to be made, if he is truly seeking an open dialogue. If this article is ignored, inspite of the fact it is featured on the Internet, I can then expect he truly is not open to dialogue nor change and I really do not care to discuss this further with him. I believe this article enough is sufficient to expose his faulty logic and therefore, I do not believe commentary on the subject is any longer needed to prove my point.