Spiritual discernment goes hand in hand with prophetic ministry. Prophets, similar to apostles, deal with spiritual order, patterns, and structure. They are foundational and minister into belief systems (Ephesians 2:20).
Familiar spirits attack prophetic ministry. Prophetic ministry training includes discerning demonic powers and evil spirits. In prophetic ministry, prophets carry a great blessing for the body of Christ. They also have a significant responsibility guarding their ministries against demonic encroachment while avoiding familiar spirits.
Balaam was a true prophet that went bad and failed. Not every prophet makes it. Power, money, prestige, honor, promotions, and enticements are demonic assignments designed to pull on common ground in the heart. Prophetic ministers must avoid theses demonic assignments used to corrupt God's true prophets.
Jezebel spirit can get you in serious trouble. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbal, king of the Sidonians. Her father was the high priest of the goddess Ashtoreth a female deity. She was given to wed Ahab king of Israel to form a covenant between the two nations. Jezebel was a wicked queen. She set out to murder the prophets of Jehovah by the thousands. The few that remained hid themselves in caves. Others compromised their prophetic ministries and gave themselves to her.
Spiritualism is a counterfeit of the Holy Spirit. Some things look like the Holy Spirit but are not. A spiritualist operates inside the spirit realm unlawfully with help from familiar spirits and divination. For example fortune telling. For almost every move of the Holy Spirit, there is a demonic counterfeit.
If one prophesies by faith alone is he or she in danger of tapping into a spirit of divination? If a prophet that has not been granted permission to prophesy and yet does, is he guilty of sin? Answers to these questions take us into advanced prophetic training.
Prophetic ministry requires prophetic language. Every call of God has a unique language of faith. When God called Jeremiah into ministry, he responded, "I cannot speak, I am a child."
False Prophets from Jezebel's prophetic ministry can prophecy false words that can get you killed. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbal, king of the Sidonians. Her father was the high priest of the goddess, Ashtoreth a female deity. She was given to wed Ahab, king of Israel, to form a covenant between the two nations. Jezebel was a wicked queen. She set out to murder the prophets of Jehovah by the thousands. The few that remained hid themselves in caves. Others compromised their prophetic ministries and gave themselves to her.
There is a rise of rebellious and false prophets. In fact, false prophets will try and spiritually mug you in the name of Jesus. More on this in a minute. After the ascension of Christ, he gave five gifts to equip saints for the work of ministry. We call these the five-fold ascension gifts. These gifts are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:10).
