If a prophecy doesn’t come to pass, does that make the messenger a false prophet? Let’s see what the Bible says.
My cessationist friends might declare all modern prophets to be false, but I am confident prophecy is still valid today. For one thing, I find nowhere in the Bible that says prophecy has ended. 1 Corinthians 13:8 is often quoted as scriptural proof of prophecy ceasing. However, the context of the whole chapter, is that multiple gifts, including prophecy, will end “when the perfect comes” (I Corinthians 13:10). I can’t see perfection having come yet. That is more likely a reference to when God’s kingdom is ruling on earth.
A second reason I believe in prophecy is the number of prophecies that have come true in my life. One example is in 1984 an elder in the church I was in prophesied an event that indicated I would be a missionary. At the time I was a 20 year old college drop-out, with a hidden drug problem. Yet in 1996 God did bring me to China as a missionary and in 2004 the event prophesied happened exactly as promised.
Many Christians believe a prophet must have a 100% track record to be considered a true prophet. They cite Deuteronomy 18:22 to back that up. They are correct in that the passage does say if a prophecy fails to come about then it proves the person is a false prophet. We must be careful though, to never build our theology on one verse. Every verse in the Bible must be interpreted in light of the whole Bible.
There is at least one example of God giving a man a specific message, the man delivering that message, and then the prophecy not coming true as stated. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and give the inhabitants a message (Jonah 1:2). Jonah eventually did prophesy in that city and what he said was very detailed. He gave an event and a time frame (Jonah 3:4). Considering what had transpired to get him to Nineveh, I doubt Jonah would have given any other message than exactly what God told him to say.
Yet, when the time period (40 days) expired, the event (destruction of the city) did not occur. Does this make Jonah a false prophet? No, he gave the message that God had given him. God changed his mind and showed mercy to the residents of Nineveh because they repented (Jonah 3:10).
On another occasion God clearly states what He intends to do, but then changes His mind. When the Israelites worshipped the golden calf, God told Moses that He would destroy them and make a new nation out of Moses’ descendants (Exodus 32:10). Moses pleads with God to be merciful and God relents. This was not prophecy, because Moses did not give the message to anyone but it was God declaring intent and then not following through.
These two passages show that God has said He will do something and then not do it. In both cases, it was because of His great mercy that God chose not to wipe out large numbers of people.
Now back to my original question. If a prophecy doesn’t come to pass, does that make the messenger a false prophet? I have to conclude that a prophecy that doesn’t come to pass does not necessarily prove the person is a false prophet. God could have mercifully relented in what He said He would do or changed His mind in response to the prayers of His people.
Paul instructed us to “not despise prophecy but test everything” (I Thessalonians 5:20-21). He told the Corinthian church to “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said” (I Corinthians 14:29). When listening to prophets, we need to prayerfully consider the message and let the Holy Spirit guide us in our response to the prophecy.
All knowing God, thank You for continuing to speak to Your people in various ways. Give us wisdom and discernment to hear what You are saying. Keep us from being deceived and give us good judgment as we weigh every message and test every spirit.