I kid you not, I received my first “2019 prophecy” in my inbox on November 26, 2018. And when I clicked on that link, I saw two other links that were published as early as November 3.

My real prophecy for 2019 is that there are many false prophets among us—people who claim to be speaking in the name of the Lord, but who are speaking on their own behalf.

Horoscopes or Prophecies?

Many of the so-called “prophecies” that I read online sound like Christian horoscopes—they are generic enough that surely they will apply to someone out there in cyberspace. For example:

• “What appears to be a step backward for many will be a step forward” (see here). [Of course that will apply to “many” people in the world.]
• “For many, 2019 will mark the end of a half-hearted lifestyle, one that only produces just enough to get by until we die.” (see here). [This too will apply to “many” people in the world.]
• “2019 Will Be a Year of Opportunities of a Lifetime” (see here).

I’ve noticed that such “prophecies” become really popular each year for about a month before and after New Year’s, just in time for Christians to get their horoscopes for the year.

False Prophecy and My True Prophecy

In most cases, it seems to me that those who write these so-called prophecies are among “those who prophesy out of their own imagination” (Ezekiel 13:2) as they proclaim “‘peace,’ when there is no peace” (Ezekiel 13:10; Jeremiah 6:14).

They declare that:

• “2019 is a year of transition into the blessings” and a year of “extreme acceleration” (see here).
• “2019 is going to be the year of BREAKOUT! The storms that many of you faced were not sent to destroy you nor to make you become disillusioned. They strengthened you and built you up”  (see here).
• “In 2019, God will demonstrate the power of a decree with rapid breakthrough following.” (see here).

Most of this sounds like the prosperity gospel wrapped in the language of “prophetic.”

“ Most 2019 prophecies sound like the prosperity gospel wrapped in the language of ‘prophetic.’

Why are the “prophets” not proclaiming that for “many” God will send discipline to call them out of sin? And why are they not proclaiming that “many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

Well, I am here to prophesy just this.

I’m not even kidding.

Am I too Skeptical?

Before people start commenting on how I’m being too skeptical or that I’m not open to hearing from God, let me first say that I actually believe I have heard from God about what you are currently reading. Of course, anyone who claims to give a prophecy must actually have heard from God, right? 

Second, I will simply say I am not being too skeptical. In am actually doing what the Bible instructs believers to do—we are to “beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15) and to test prophecy (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).

Perhaps Hearing but Misapplying?

I suppose it is possible that some people who are sending out these online “prophecies” are actually hearing from God. Maybe God is speaking to them, about their lives, but these individuals are wrongly concluding that these “prophecies” are meant for everyone in the whole entire world to read, so they put them online for that purpose.

This could be analogous to how there was a prophet, who had truly heard from God, and who told Paul that he was going to be arrested if he returned to Jerusalem. Those who heard the prophecy wrongly interpreted the implications of this prophecy by telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem. Paul disagreed with them and went to Jerusalem anyway (Acts 21:10-13).

Misunderstanding Prophecy

My contention is that many Christians, especially those in the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement, have misunderstood what a “prophecy” is—and I think this is true of both many “prophets” out there as well as those who want to read their “prophecies.”

“ My contention is that many Christians have misunderstood what a “prophecy” is.

First, I don’t think that prophecies were ever meant to be delivered en masse to random people literally around the globe. In the Bible, prophecies were directed to a specific people group, usually individuals, at times to a congregation, or even to a whole nation—but it was still to a specific group of people.

Second, as I discuss in my book Simply Spirit-Filled, prophecy is not just about the future. I will come back to this point in a future blog post.

Hold on to True Prophecy

Despite all that I have said above, I don’t want you to become cynical of all claims of prophecy. And, I certainly don’t want to make you reject the gift of prophecy all together. Instead, I will echo the words of Scripture:

• “Eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Corinthians 14:1).
• “Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all; hold on to what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21).

I do recommend, though, that if you are looking for true prophecies, you stop looking online. Except perhaps to the post that you just finished reading .

You might also be interested in these posts:

• Is Speaking in Tongues Only for a Few? Only for the Gifted?
• 10 Bible Verses You Can Legitimately Declare Over Your Life
• How to Break Generational Curses

Andrew K. Gabriel, Ph.D., is the author of Simply Spirit-Filled: Experiencing God in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit (forthcoming) as well as three academic books, including The Lord is the Spirit. He is a theology professor at Horizon College and Seminary and serves on the Theological Study Commission for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. You can follow him on Facebook or on Twitter.

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