7 Characteristics of Funky Prophecy That'll Make You Cringe
By Jamey Escamilla • January 14, 2021
As of right now as I’m writing this, there’s a lot of chaos in America right now.
There was a wild election, and some people say that the election was stolen.
Our nation’s capital was vandalized.
A pandemic is still sweeping through the world.
Don’t worry… this isn’t going to be an article about the election or the pandemic.
And in the midst of all this, many are standing up and prophesying “the word of the Lord”.
Prophecy about the election, the pandemic, the state of our country, justice for evil doers.
Now more than ever, I think people are seeking words of wisdom.
They want to know what’s going to happen. What’s all this going to lead to?
And that’s understandable.
We need to hear God’s voice right now, so we NEED prophecy.
But one thing we DON’T need is funky prophecy.
Wait… what’s “funky” prophecy?
Well, first, let me ask you, “What’s prophecy?”
Prophecy can be many things, but to put it simply, it’s just predicting the future as God reveals it to you.
The only way someone can know what’ll happen in the future is if God shows them.
And sometimes, I believe God shows us the future.
I’ve met true prophets – people that said that something is going to happen, and it did.
Or, they might have told me something about myself that no one else knows. That’s also prophecy.
But as you might have guessed, prophecy can get funky, and even harmful.
I’m going to give you the characteristics of it so you can better differentiate between true and false prophets, use prophecy in your life the right way, not be swayed or deceived
1. Funky prophecy gets it wrong
Of course, the obvious way to know if prophecy is funky or not is this:
Did it come to pass?
If it didn’t, the person who said it would has obviously missed God.
It happens. We’re only human, and we don’t often see what God is showing us crystal clearly.
Something that really helps me out with this is writing the prophecy down.
I’ve written down just about every prophecy spoken over me.
I do this so I can go back, read it, and be encouraged by it.
I also try to write down any public prophecy that’s been given over anything that I feel is important.
It’s just something that’s good to do – keep records.
2. Funky prophecy will get twisted when it’s starting to look like it’s not coming to pass
I’m seeing this a lot lately.
A prophecy is spoken that something very specific will happen.
When it starts looking like it’s NOT going to happen that way, or when it just doesn’t at all…
… the person who prophesied it, along with everyone who still believes it, will start to twist the prophecy in order to keep their credibility.
I’m kind of hesitant to use this example because I don’t want to open a can of worms, but here it goes.
MANY people said that Donald Trump was going to serve a second term as president.
At the time I’m writing this, it doesn’t look like he is. There are a few days left until Joe Biden is inaugurated.
So now, MANY people who prophesied it are saying things like:
“It DID happen. Trump DID win. The prophecy DID come to pass, but the election was stolen!”
“I said that he would have two terms, but I didn’t say when that second term would be. It could be in 2024.”
“He was elected in God’s eyes.”
“I prophesied that he would be president, but a lot of things have to fall into place first, like the integrity of our elections. Those things DIDN’T fall into place.”
“God changed his mind.”
C’mon. I think we just missed it.
I just don’t think that God would tell us that Trump is going to win, and then he doesn’t win.
I can guarantee you one thing: if he DID win, the prophets would smile and say, “You see? Just like I said it would.”
But now because of the outcome, some are saying, “It’s NOT like I said it would be.”
I wish Trump DID win. But even if he doesn’t, that’s OK. Jesus is still on the throne, and we’re going to be OK.
But let’s get off the election.
Twisting prophecy can happen in any situation, and we should be aware of it.
Which is why most funky prophecy is like this:
3. Funky prophecy is usually broad and vague
When funky prophecy is given, it might include broad language.
In other words, someone might say something like, “Next month, something big is going to happen.”
Why is this funky?
Because the person is using unclear, broad words in order to cover all bases (and their butts).
Think about it: ANYONE can say that “something big is coming next month”.
By using the phrase, “next month”, that gives the prophet a period of 28-31 days plus however many days that are left in the current month they’re prophesying in.
It gives them wiggle room for it to happen.
For what to happen?
“Something big.”
“Something big” can mean anything. Something bad. Something good. Something WE think is big, but you might think is small.
Literally anything could happen by “next month” and they’ll say that THIS is the event they prophesied, after it happens of course.
A lot of folks are using words like “could” or “possibly” in their prophecies.
Like this: "Jesus could come next month."
Why do they prophesy like this?
Because if what they say DOESN’T come to pass, they’ll simply say, “I didn’t say that it definitely would happen. I said that it COULD happen.”
It’s just too vague, and the reason why some people prophecy this way is because by doing so, it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to be proven wrong.
Now, not all “vague” prophecies are bad. Sometimes, that’s just the way God gives it to us.
But if we are prophesying like this from our flesh, and are doing it IN ORDER TO sound spiritual, and at the same time, protect ourselves from being proven wrong, THAT’S bad.
4. Funky prophecy might say what’s popular, rather than what’s truthful
If a prophecy is spoken mainly because it’s what people want to hear, it might be funky.
It’s easy to prophecy things when you know people will like it.
I think this is getting especially popular on social media.
On YouTube, there are videos of people prophesying – saying that God told them the future.
However, a lot of people make TONS of videos about prophecy, usually prophesying the same thing.
And my fear is that they’re doing this because they’re getting a lot of subscribers.
They’re more than likely going to keep prophesying because it’s what people want to hear.
Let’s not prophesy because people like it, but because God told us to.
5. Funky prophecy wants to get something out of it
I know someone who has an entire website about prophecy.
I’m sure he believes in everything he says, and I’m sure he’s trying to help.
But I’m also sure that he’s doing it for money – it’s probably at least $10,000 a month.
Honestly, I don’t have a problem with people making money from ministry.
Especially if you’re putting in the work, helping people, and creating value.
But of course, our prophecies should never be driven by this.
I don’t know if this man is or not, but I do believe that his prophecy is very much unbiblical.
And gain should never be the point of our prophecy. The point of prophecy is to give.
6. Funky prophecy might sound good, but could be something that the Bible has already told us
Often times, I hear prophecies like this:
“You’re going to be blessed, the head and not the tail! God is going to prosper you!”
And I’m like, “Yes, but tell me something I don’t know.”
The Bible has already made several things clear.
We’re a blessed people. We win. God wants us well.
So, “prophesying” to people and telling them that they’re going to be blessed is not really a prophecy, in my opinion.
It’s just quoting what the Bible says.
We don’t need a prophecy over our life that we’re going to be blessed, we just need to believe it.
7. Funky prophecy usually comes from someone who isn’t a real prophet
You’re probably thinking, “That’s obvious.”
But let me explain.
Not everyone has the office of a prophet, but ANYONE can prophesy.
Some people are designated by God to be actual prophets.
And that means that God is mainly going to use them to prophesy – they have a special gift to hear God’s voice.
But God can use anyone to prophesy, as well.
Now, from my experience, I don’t see many designated prophets prophesying something funky.
Usually, it’s just some random Joe acting out in his flesh.
Again, random Joes COULD be used by God to prophesy, and they COULD be right.
But most of the time, if there’s funky prophecy, it comes from normal Christians who THINK they’re being used by God to prophesy.
In conclusion
Prophecy is an important factor of the church, so it should be done with reverence.
In the end, here’s what I believe:
I think more Christians should put their trust in the Bible.
As a Christian, you also need to learn to hear God for yourself. What’s he telling you lately?
When it comes to prophecy, our best approach is this:
Pray, and say, “God, if this prophecy is of you, let it be done in my life.”
That way, if it’s not of God, it won’t affect you, and probably won’t even happen anyways.
Believe in prophecy and protect yourself from funky prophecy.
But don’t depend on it.
Depend on God, and His word.
