{"id":206,"date":"2018-05-25T12:51:47","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T12:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/?page_id=206"},"modified":"2019-08-05T20:19:20","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T20:19:20","slug":"faqs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/faqs\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Frequently Asked Questions<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Why sending letters to the churches?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is a prophet in the Bible?<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

How do I know whether a prophetic word is from God?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you affiliated with a church?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why sending letters to the churches?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus desires to speak to his church, he wants them to prepare for his return, and so he shares these messages through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I receive letters and deliver them.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I am led to large churches that have stood for hundreds of years; other times to home churches that are not on a map or in a directory.\u00a0 Either way, it is the guidance of the Holy Spirit that tells me where to go, and with whom to share the message.\u00a0 The message is from Jesus Christ, and I am a faithful messenger.<\/p>\n

What is a prophet in the Bible?<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a general sense, a prophet is a person who speaks God\u2019s truth to others. The English word prophet<\/em> comes from the Greek word prophetes<\/em>, which can mean \u201cone who speaks forth\u201d or \u201cadvocate.\u201d Prophets are also called \u201cseers,\u201d because of their spiritual insight or their ability to \u201csee\u201d the future.<\/p>\n

In the Bible, prophets often had both a teaching and revelatory role, declaring God\u2019s truth on contemporary issues while also revealing details about the future. Isaiah\u2019s ministry, for example, touched on both the present and the future. He preached boldly against the corruption of his day (Isaiah 1:4<\/a>) and delivered grand visions of the future of Israel (Isaiah 25:8<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Prophets had the task of faithfully speaking God\u2019s Word to the people. They were instrumental in guiding the nation of Israel and establishing the church. God\u2019s household is \u201cbuilt on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone\u201d (Ephesians 2:20<\/a>).<\/p>\n

More than 133 named prophets are mentioned in the Bible, including 16 women. In addition, numerous others prophesied, such as the 70 elders of Israel (Numbers 11:25<\/a>) and the 100 prophets rescued by Obadiah (1 Kings 18:4<\/a>). The first named prophet in the Bible is Abraham<\/a>. In Genesis 20:7<\/a> God spoke to Abimelech in a dream, saying, \u201cNow then, return [Abraham\u2019s] wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you will live.\u201d God had revealed Himself to Abraham on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n

In the New Testament, John the Baptist<\/a> foretold the Messiah (Matthew 3:1<\/a>). Jesus Himself came as prophet, priest, king, and Messiah, fulfilling the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.<\/p>\n

The early church also included prophets. For example, Ananias was given a prophecy about the apostle Paul\u2019s future (Acts 9:10\u201318<\/a>). Acts 21:9<\/a> mentions four daughters of Philip who could prophesy. Prophecy is listed as a spiritual gift in 1 Corinthians 12<\/a> and 14<\/a>. In the end times, two \u201cwitnesses\u201d will prophesy from Jerusalem (Revelation 11<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Usually, the prophets God sends are despised and their message unheeded. Isaiah<\/a> described his nation as a \u201crebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord\u2019s instruction. They say to the seers, \u2018See no more visions!\u2019 and to the prophets, \u2018Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions\u2019\u201d (Isaiah 30:9\u201310<\/a>). Jesus lamented that Jerusalem had killed the prophets God sent to them (Luke 13:34<\/a>).<\/p>\n

How do I know whether a prophetic word is from God?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone who \u201cspeaks forth\u201d a message is actually a prophet of God. The Bible warns against false prophets<\/a> who claim to speak for God but who actually deceive the people they purport to inform. King Ahab kept 400 such false prophets in his employ to tell him what he wanted to hear (2 Chronicles 18:4<\/a>; cf. 2 Timothy 4:3<\/a>). In the New Testament we have many warnings against false prophets. Jesus taught, \u201cWatch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves\u201d (Matthew 7:15<\/a>). He later noted that, in the end times, \u201cfalse messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect\u201d (Matthew 24:24<\/a>). Revelation speaks of a false prophet who will arise in the Tribulation and deceive people around the world (Revelation 16:13<\/a>; 19:20<\/a>; 20:10<\/a>). To avoid being led astray, we must always \u201ctest the spirits to see whether they are from God\u201d (1 John 4:1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A true prophet of God will be committed to speaking God\u2019s truth. He or she will never contradict God\u2019s revealed Word. A true prophet will say, like the prophet Micaiah just before his fateful confrontation with Ahab, \u201cAs surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says\u201d (2 Chronicles 18:13<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Are you affiliated with a church?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus Christ is the one who is sending his prophets to the churches by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet\u2019s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.\u201d\u00a02 Peter 1:21<\/a><\/p>\n

We have been collaborating with churches from all denominations but we are neutral in our affiliation. Jesus Christ\u00a0 is reaching out to his entire body and not a specific denomination.<\/p>\n

For more information about what I believe, see my Statement of Faith<\/a>.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Frequently Asked Questions Why sending letters to the churches? What is a prophet in the Bible?\u00a0 How do I know whether a prophetic word is from God? Are you affiliated with a church? Why sending letters to the churches? Jesus desires to speak to his church, he wants them to prepare for his return, and so he shares these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-206","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":257,"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/206\/revisions\/257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/letterstothechurches.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}