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In the modern era, we have witnessed the rebirth of charismatic gifts. Praise be to God the giver of the Holy Spirit for his gifts to his church. However, with the resurgence of the sacred gifts, especially when it comes to the gift of prophecy, confusion can be introduced to Christian people, and consequently also to society as a whole. This becomes problematic when the gift of prophecy gets linked to utopian ideals that foster persuasive manipulative power, and hold the potential of altering the consciousness of otherwise reasonable human beings. Such manipulation is what we recently observed in regards to presidential prophecies uttered by leaders of various American Charismatic and Pentecostal movements. Such false prophecies communicated fear and a confusing political rhetoric that facilitated derision and judgment towards the church. Such “prophecies” also functioned to misrepresent conservative Evangelical Pentecostals and those in Renewal Movements. Thus, when it comes to spiritual gifts, we need the Spirit to guide us in their proper use. In this brief reflection, let me introduce four Biblical foundations that help us construct a proper theology for interpreting prophecy in a healthy and balanced way.

First, biblically speaking, prophecy builds up the church, and does not tear it down. It is rooted in Scripture. It is also affirmed through collective discernment. The book of Acts and Paul’s writings reveal a key feature of true prophets and prophecy, that is, “they build up the church.” Prophecy must always lead to the edification of the body of Christ, and not the division of it. Paul recognized the value of the gift of prophecy, but gave instructions for its proper use (1 Cor. 14:29-33), “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge… For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” An alleged Spirit-inspired prophetic word given to the church is fallible if it is not critically evaluated by the diverse church community. Furtherm