These Dangerous Prophets Are Peddling the Latest ‘Snake Oil’ in the Body of Christ

I love the prophetic ministry. It is a great asset to the body of Christ and like anything else, when accessed with the right spirit, it is a tremendous blessing and necessity. When accessed with a tainted spirit, it is abused, misused and misunderstood. As I function in the prophetic ministry, I continue to understand the importance of functioning in God’s timing and in His love.

There have been times when God has directed me to bring correction to others and I obeyed, but I wept at having to do so. I find myself understanding that judgment and accountability are guaranteed even in a dispensation of grace. It saddens me to see prophetic people dismiss the prophetic blueprint Jesus modeled while here on the earth.

We have this imbalance in the prophetic that declaring judgment and rebuking others is the hallmark of this facet of ministry. Some take joy in prophesying another’s demise without bearing the fruit of His love to seal the word released. Some never pause to ask the Lord if it is in the realm of personal and spiritual jurisdiction to utter such correction, or if it is even ordained by God Himself.

Jesus Is Our Standard for the Prophetic

As I meditated of these things, the Lord led me to the passage where Jesus wept over Jerusalem as He prophesied judgment upon it (Luke 19:41-44). As I read it, I found no indication that Jesus reveled in bringing this word to the city of Jerusalem. He did not delight in their destruction. He wept because He wanted the people to grasp the time of their visitation and the things that make for peace.

I found myself wondering how many prophetic voices there are right now who have spent more time weeping and interceding than they have cursing and rebuking individuals and their ministries. Do these people tremble with fear at the thought of having to deliver such a word? Do they groan in travail for those whom they believe are in error? I wonder how many prophetic voices are hearing from the Father, the One who chastens those He loves (Heb. 12:6), the one Whose love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6).

The Latest Snake Oil Peddled Within the Body of Christ

Let me share something about the prophetic I have come to understand. If a person delights in rebuking people and declaring judgment over them while shunning the very thought of weeping in intercession for others they wish to correct and judge, that is not the prophetic. That is a serpent. Natural snakes do not shed tears, but they produce an oily substance to lubricate their eyes, which then drains into their mouth.

These serpentine prophets speak as if their tongues are anointed as the “oil” travels from their eyes to their mouths. They profess to see and to decree, but their hearts are far from God. They shed no tears for those they are rebuking. Their goal is to suffocate the life out of someone or to inflict such a venomous blow that death comes expediently to the person and to the move of God. They are not interested in advancing God’s kingdom, but their own, and they relish in wrath. This is the latest snake oil being peddled among the body of Christ.

Offended at a realm of ministry manifesting that is beyond comprehension to the mind and revelation, challenging your own personal intimacy with Christ? No problem. Simply create a YouTube channel or another form of communication and spend hours discrediting other ministers and authentic moves of God while inviting others to donate to your “ministry” that is birthing contention instead of intercession.

Cure every ailment you have with the supernatural realm and with revival through envenomation rather than prostration before the Lord. Snakes may lie flat, but they are not postured for divine purpose. Please hear me when I say not everything that glitters is gold. There are things done in the name of the Lord that are not authorized by heaven, and there is a simple solution to knowing the difference.

The Mark of Maturity in the Prophetic

Test the spirit (1 John 4:1). Authentic prophets of God weep and intercede, taking no pleasure in bringing correction, yet understanding that correction is necessary because they have the Father’s heart. They stay in their lane of authority. They know that judgment awaits unrepentant hearts, but they long for those very ones to know the time of their visitation and the things that make for peace (Luke 19:42, 44). They have submitted themselves to God, and they have become seasoned salt, attaining sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to rightly discern what is truth and what is false.

They drip with the anointing, having their faces wet with tears from intercession, travailing and the desire to see pure motives manifest within the body of Christ. They are ever mindful to not grieve the Holy Spirit by not wasting their breath on unwholesome talk that does not bring grace to those who listen (Eph. 4:29).

Let me be so bold as to make a loving suggestion. If you question a move of God, ask the Holy Spirit about it. If you question the character of a leader, pray. Stay in your lane, and be spiritually mature enough to admit that you are not the leading authority on how God moves. Operate in His love, and remember that there is a blueprint for the prophetic office. His name is Jesus. {eoa}

Dawn Hill is a Christ-follower and a freelance writer. She writes a blog called Lovesick Scribe.

This article originally appeared at lovesickscribe.com.