In the old days, we read broadsheet newspapers, which were difficult to fold in crowded trains and buses. The more respected newspapers were broadsheets — tabloids were dismissed as ‘rags’. These days, however, most newspapers come tabloid-sized, and since they all print trash, size doesn’t matter much. (The young don’t read newspapers; they thumb tabs on handhelds.)
This to me, is analogous to what appears to have happened with the downsizing of prophetic ministries from well-known and respected prophets to those of the loud and questionable kind. The credibility of older prophets was because their messages were not uttered daily — and never with the equivalent of garish, online prophetic headlines like the screamers written by today’s frantic though talented sub editors of tabloids.
I edited a country newspaper, back in the early 1970s and with some nostalgia remember the clinking linotype machines as they spat out lead type, and the swish of letterpress and offset printing presses. Times have changed so much that it’s pointless to liken those days to these. But, just as news is news, prophecies are prophecies, and in both, it’s the source that matters.
When presentation appears to be what matters most, we need to pay even more attention to the source. Was it the Spirit of God, or the online speaker’s own spirit? Was it sourced in prayer, over an open Bible, or composed in haste to meet an online, daily deadline? And what of the prophet’s past, posted pronouncements? Did they come to pass in the timespan that was stated with such certainty?
I have no problem with nonconformists, maybe because I am one. Those who judge others yet appear not to be subject to any authority, and have fervent online followers, are of course excluded. True, Elijah appeared suddenly, out of nowhere, and John the Baptist also (although much was spoken about him before his birth). Still, I prefer to know more about one who prefaces his words with “The Lord says…”
Online prophets may act like Elijah, but although Elisha had “the Elijah Anointing” he delivered prophecies in a less confrontational way. He did not try to behave like Elijah. After all, it was the mantle that had within it the power, not the one who wore it.
The ‘bottom line’ of this post should answer the question I asked at the top: “Have Some Prophets Gone Tabloid?” Yes, some have, in my opinion. That said, I’m not about to go back to sourcing my news from broadsheet newspapers — and certainly not from trashy tabloids! My source is paid-for subscriptions to people or organizations that are more field-based than office-based. From the front lines and with the action as close as possible in real-time video.
I also check the face of the prophet’s wife: does it match at least some of the freedom that he projects? There may be exceptions to every rule, but by definition, they are rare. And double-check those who present their latest prophecies in headlines that would be the envy of those old tabloid subeditors. Not to mention those who preface their prophecies with “The LORD says..” or variants of it.
AI makes for overkill and means that nothing that visual can be believed as those old headlines could. As the old saying goes: “Those who believe nothing will believe anything.” Treasure that old King James Version of the Bible. Yes, it has its mistakes, but most of them are minor and are now well-known. Just don’t read your Bible through someone else’s commentary so you don’t have to think for yourself. Anyone for a second-hand, well-used “rhema” real-time word that God spoke to someone who searched the scriptures — mined it and struck gold!
Someone else’s view may be mica — otherwise known as Fool’s Gold for its likeness to the real thing. I grew up on goldfields, and have grown up as a Christian on the KJV and the NKJV. Sure, I have a few commentaries, but I use them to test the words the Lord reveals to my heart in spoken “rhema” words.
I love “rhema” words: they are “hot off the press” headlines from Heaven that make me jump up and shout “Eureka!” or “Bonanza!” Heaven’s headlines are believable!