Search — Theology Explorer

Judges 4:6 Judges 4:14 Deborah Barak prophetic authority

Did Deborah command Barak? She relayed God's command ('has not the Lord commanded you?') but Judges 4:14 shows her using her own words more forcefully.

Analyzing the nature of Deborah's authority over Barak

Deborah prophetic authority governmental authority

Deborah as prophet relays God's instructions but doesn't make the strategic decisions — her leadership is different from governmental leadership.

Distinguishing prophetic leadership from governmental leadership

judges Judges 5 Deborah judges Judges 5

Conclusions on Deborah: she was a leader (not priest/king/military leader) but a judge and prophet; she had less leadership than other judges in some ways.

Summary conclusions on Deborah

1 Kings 21:8 Jezebel Ahab 1 Kings 21:8

Rebuttal: Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab's name with his seal — proving she did NOT have independent authority; she was a cult leader, not a legitimate example.

Refuting the Jezebel argument

judges Deborah Old Testament women prophetess

Summary of what women were in the OT: town representatives, queens with limited authority, one judge for decades, prophets with clear divine approval.

Final summary of women's roles in the OT

spiritual gifts prophetess women apostles

Preview of NT topics: Were women apostles, elders, deacons, teachers? Do female prophets mean women can be elders? Does God's gifting of women mean no role restrictions?

Preview of upcoming content

1 Corinthians 14:28 1 Corinthians 14:32 hupotasso Pauline style 1 Corinthians 14:28

Two more key terms: 'en ekklesia' and 'hupotasso' found throughout the context

Mike continues demonstrating the passage's consistency with its surrounding context using Greek terms.

judging prophecy view flow of argument prophecy section

Style Argument 2: The passage interrupts the flow of instructions about prophets -- rebutted

Mike addresses the claim that these verses break the flow of the prophecy discussion.

Joel 2 Acts 2:15-18 Joel 2 women prophesying Acts 2:15-18

Acts 2 and the Joel prophecy: men and women prophesied publicly at Pentecost

Mike cites Acts 2 as scriptural evidence against the utter silence view.

submission Anthony Thiselton marriage authority

The scenario of a wife judging her husband's prophecy illustrates the authority problem

Mike illustrates why judging prophecy creates a specific submission/authority issue.

1 John 4:1 1 Corinthians 12:10 1 John 4:1 testing prophecy 1 Corinthians 12:10

Judging Prophecy Hinge 1: Was testing prophecy a real practice in the early church?

Mike establishes that testing/judging prophecy was indeed a regular church practice.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 testing prophecy 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 prophecy vs. scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 confirms testing prophecy was standard practice

Mike provides additional scriptural evidence for the practice of testing prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Corinthians 14:6-28 1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Corinthians 14:6-28 structural parallel

Judging Prophecy Hinge 2: The passage's structure mirrors tongues/interpretation with prophecy/judging

Mike shows how 1 Corinthians 14's structure supports the judging prophecy view.

1 Corinthians 14:29-36 D.A. Carson 1 Corinthians 14:29-36 structural analysis

D.A. Carson's structural analysis: verse 29 maps the two-part expansion

Mike quotes Carson's explanation of how verse 29 introduces the two topics expanded in what follows.

1 Corinthians 14:32 hupotasso 1 Corinthians 14:32 prophetic self-control

The 'spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets' means self-control, not a hierarchy

Mike interprets verse 32 as a parenthetical about prophets' ability to control themselves.

1 Corinthians 14:37 1 Corinthians 14:39-40 1 Corinthians 14:37 1 Corinthians 14:39-40 prophetic context

Only the judging prophecy view properly accounts for the prophetic context running through the entire passage

Mike shows prophecy is the continuous context from verse 29 through the end of the chapter.

1 Corinthians 14:29 eldership Craig Keener 1 Corinthians 14:29

Debate over who judges prophecy: prophets, elders, or everyone?

Mike addresses the objection that it was prophets, not elders, who judged prophecy.

1 Corinthians 12:10 1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Corinthians 14:39 1 Corinthians 12:10 1 Corinthians 14:1 1 Corinthians 14:39

Problems with the 'other prophets judge prophecy' view

Mike argues against the interpretation that only other prophets test prophecy.

judging prophecy church governance elder role abandonment

If elders do not judge prophecy, they abandon their God-given role

Mike argues the elder's doctrinal role makes their involvement in prophecy judgment unavoidable.

Mormonism self-validation prohibition Islam

It may not be necessary to decide exclusively who judged prophecy

Mike suggests the identity of the judges may not need to be precisely defined for the view to work.

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

This video is Part 13, the final video assembling all puzzle pieces from prior 12 videos

Mike explains the relationship between this summary/application video and the previous detailed videos in the series.

1 Timothy 2:12 methodology women in ministry series 1 Timothy 2:12

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

Women prophesying congregationally in the Bible — some speech to mixed groups is permitted

Mike uses biblical prophecy as evidence women can speak in congregational settings.

1 Corinthians 11 Luke 2 Acts 21 Deborah 1 Corinthians 11 women prophesying

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

1 Corinthians 14:29-35 — women silent in judging prophecy, not silent in general

Mike interprets the controversial silence passage.

1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 14:29-35 1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur judgment of prophecy

Mike Winger idea 2023-11-22

Conclusion 7: 'Quiet' does not mean total silence

Mike restates the meaning of hesychia for practical application.

hesychia women's participation church practice

Bill Johnson Kris Vallotton Bethel Church

Introduction: purpose is biblical analysis of Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton, and the broader Bethel movement

Opening segment establishing scope and methodology of the livestream

Bill Johnson Kris Vallotton apostle

Bill Johnson considers himself an apostle, though he never explicitly claims the title — the structure and vibe of Bethel communicates it implicitly

Mike examines the apostolic self-understanding of Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson spiritual gifts prophecy

How Bill Johnson started the prophetic in Weaverville: asking people around a table 'what do you think Jesus would say?' then declaring they had just prophesied

Mike plays a direct video clip of Johnson explaining his methodology for launching the prophetic ministry

Jeremiah 23:16 Ezekiel 13:2 prophecy false prophecy Jeremiah 23:16

Three sources of prophecy in Scripture: from God, from Satan (false prophets), and from the prophet's own heart — the third type is what characterizes most Bethel prophecy

Mike introduces a biblical taxonomy of prophetic sources from Jeremiah and Ezekiel

Jeremiah 23:16 Jeremiah 23:25-26 prophecy false prophecy Jeremiah 23:16

Jeremiah 23:16 — prophets prophesying 'a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord'

Mike cites the specific Jeremiah text that establishes the third category of prophecy

Ezekiel 13:2 prophecy false prophecy Ezekiel 13:2

Ezekiel 13:2 — 'prophesy against the prophets who prophesy out of their own heart'

Mike cites a second OT prophet condemning heart-sourced prophecy

spiritual gifts Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry social engineering

Bethel's prophetic training exercise: pair off, give a 'word of knowledge' about your partner, then celebrate whether right or wrong — the goal is creating a risk-taking culture, not accurate prophecy

Mike plays a video of a Bethel training session to show how prophetic culture is manufactured

Bethel Church spiritual gifts social engineering

Bethel's prophetic culture is social engineering — a formula developed through experimentation and exported to other churches worldwide

Mike's meta-level analysis of what Bethel is doing with prophecy

Kris Vallotton Bethel Church prophecy

Bethel's rule that prophecy must only encourage — inconsistent with biblical prophecy, which often includes rebuke; also leads to 'prophetic art,' 'prophetic dance,' and 'destiny cards'

Mike critiques the artificial filter on prophecy and traces its trajectory into increasingly strange practices

John 5:19 prayer Bill Johnson healing theology

John 5:19 refutes Johnson's teaching that God responds to human declarations — Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing, not the reverse

Mike cites a specific text to challenge one of Johnson's specific claims about how God responds to human proclamation

John 1:14 Bill Johnson Kenneth Copeland Word of Faith

Q&A — Does Johnson teach 'little gods' theology? No — he teaches something more subtle: 'the Word becoming flesh again' in believers as they speak prophetically and heal

Q&A question from Rona, comparing Johnson to Kenneth Copeland

translation comparison Joseph Smith testability of religious claims

Unlike the Book of Mormon (golden plates taken away), the Book of Abraham papyri CAN be tested — this is unique

The Book of Abraham as a uniquely testable LDS truth claim

Mormonism prophetic authority false prophet

Central apologetic argument: if Smith lied about one thing as a prophet, he is a false prophet — and the evidence proves he lied

The logical conclusion of the Book of Abraham argument

Deuteronomy 18:20 Deuteronomy false prophet Joseph Smith Deuteronomy 18:20

Deuteronomy 18: the test for a false prophet — a prophet who speaks in God's name what God has not commanded shall die

Scriptural framework for evaluating false prophecy

Mormonism prophetic accountability LDS Church

Mike urges Mormons in positions of authority to speak out about the fraud even if it costs them relationships and community

Pastoral/ethical challenge to Mormons who know the truth

Jeremiah 31 Mormonism Islam Book of Abraham

Canonical closure argument: the New Testament closes the canon — there is no room for a new book of scripture

Theological argument against the LDS claim to new scripture

prophecy confirmation bias cold reading

People forget wrong guesses and remember right ones — the psychological principle behind why cold-reading / divine guessing appears more accurate than it is.

Explanation of the cognitive bias that makes Todd White's guessing seem supernatural.

Deuteronomy 18 Deuteronomy 18 prophecy word of knowledge

Biblical standard for prophecy: if you speak in the name of the Lord you must be right — a high accuracy rate, not 50% or even 30%, is required. Mike references his Sunday night verse-by-verse studies.

Theological grounding for critiquing Todd White's prophetic/word-of-knowledge claims.

Todd White cold reading word of knowledge

Todd White's 'divine knowing' is undermined by the guessing game that precedes it — if he already knew, why ask multiple wrong questions first?

Logical critique of Todd White's prophetic claims.

Matthew 7:21-23 discernment healing Matthew 7:21-23

Q&A: The Bible supports both sides — go out and pray for healing confidently, AND Jesus warned that false healers will claim to have cast out demons and healed in his name while he never knew them.

Viewer question about whether fake healing is condemned in the Bible.

eschatology David Mead numerology

David Mead's use of 'generation' and the founding of Israel (1948) as a prophetic countdown trigger

Mike briefly addresses Mead's broader eschatological system, which ties generation-counting to 1948.

Revelation Isaiah Jeremiah hermeneutics Old Testament prophecy interpretation

Reason 2: Future prophecy is extremely challenging — Revelation requires knowledge of the whole Old Testament

Second reason people are vulnerable to false predictions.

eisegesis hermeneutics prophecy interpretation

Reason 3: We allow people to break interpretive rules when handling prophecy — eisegesis masquerading as exegesis

Third reason people fall for false predictions.

hermeneutics eschatology confirmation bias

Reason 4: We see 'fulfillment' everywhere — vague general events matching vague prophetic categories creates false confirmation

Fourth reason people fall for false predictions.

false prophecy Jewish calendar blood moons

Reason 7: Astrological 'snake oil' — rare celestial events exploited as prophetic signs

Seventh reason people fall for false predictions.