The Confusion with The Prophecy Gift

Within the church we hear the phrases "they prophesied over me" or "they spoke prophetic utterances" But what does that really mean and is it of God? 

First we need to understand the word being used "prophecy" and the biblical usage of that word as well.

A)   In The Old Testament, specially selected individuals would be given divine truths from God Himself and they would relay those truths to the people.  These truths were not from or by any other means.  They would simply foreth-tell divine revelations from God.  Primarily, Old Testament prophets would proclaim the will of God.

B)   In The New Testament, something new happens.  There are no prophets but Apostles.  The Apostles made known the things of God through Jesus Christ and it was Jesus Christ that revealed the things of God. 

The Holy Spirit or Emotionalism?

So many times we hear Christians say "I felt the Holy Spirit today" or "I was over come by the Holy Spirit and it felt..." But how do they know and how do we know it was in fact the person of the Trinity- The Holy Spirit- and not our own human feeling and emotions (or a different spirit for that matter)?

First we must ask:  Can we feel things apart from the Holy Spirit that is caused by ourselves or another spiritual force?  The obvious answer yes.  

So knowing we can the next logical question is: How do we know what is causing our feelings?

Can we idolize and worship our own feelings and not God?
 

Tongues of Angels of 1 Corinthians 13

This is the one and only go-to verse, 1 Corinthians 13:1, for people who believe there is a kind of language in heaven that is not of this world.  Here is the major flaw in this thinking.

Paul is using a Hyperbole. 

Hyperbole is a figure of speech.

Just like if someone went to a concert and listened to their favorite singer said "that singer has the voice of an angel".  That is a hyperbolic expression.  The voice was not literally an angle from heaven voice.  It is describing the positive effect from the human voice. 

What is Paul saying then:

He said that it doesn't matter if he speaks to people with his own language or if the Spirit gives him the ability to speak in another language he has never spoke before; its all useless if there is no love. 

An interpretation that he is talking about a language of Heaven that angels speak to each other is a poor understanding of literature comprehension and adding into scripture what is not being said.  Because of this failed biblical hermeneutics; people are confused and deceived. 

Speaking In Tongues

This is a very simple subject that is made difficult because of the hearts and minds of man.  When we let The Holy Spirit speak through scripture and let Him tell us what he is saying in scripture we can see exactly what it is. 

Acts 2, 1 Cor 12, and chapter 14 is where The Holy Spirit, through Paul, addresses this gift. 

The Montanists of 170 AD and Charasmicits of Today

The saying 'history repeats itself' is true for false teachings and pseudo-Christian movements.  A perfect example is Montanism and the Charasmatic, Word of Faith movements.   First lets took at what the Montantist believed and taught in the late 2rd century then we will look at what the Word of Faith and charismatic movements are teaching now.

Montanus, a self described Christian around 160 AD jumped to fame when he started teaching that he had visions from God.  He teamed up with two other followers, Maximilla and Priscilla, who also claimed to be receiving visions and messages form God.  Their visions were so energetic and grand that it drew a large crowd and soon become a movement.