I’ve been wanting to do a teaching for some time on prophecies and how fluid and changeable they can be. God has been giving me many things concerning this over the past few weeks, and I feel now I can convey some things He would have people know.

When I was first called into the prophetic ministry, I knew very little about the prophetic. God showed me that I had much to learn. I was familiar with prophecies in the Bible, but that was about the extent of it. In the beginning, I was always under the impression that when a word of prophecy was spoken, it was “set in stone” and couldn’t be changed. I have found many people out there believe this also. However, I would like to share what I’ve learned from both God and personal experience.

First, let me be clear about something from the start: Jesus made many wonderful promises in His Word. They ARE unchangeable and never failing. Promises like His return, He’d never leave us or forsake us, anyone who calls on the Lord shall be saved ... all are beautiful promises. Of course these are just a few of many He made. Again, these ARE set in stone. No man or devil could ever chip away at these rock-solid promises. Thank God for that!! Having said that, I think we need to address what a prophecy or prophetic word is. Many definitions are out there, but I feel a simple definition would be, “What God plans to have happen in the life of a person at a particular time...” (This could also apply to a group of people) But I would like to add to this definition one important phrase I intentionally left off: “...if conditions are met.” I will deal with this phrase a little later.

If you study biblical prophecies, you will find many are unchangeable. This especially holds true for prophecies concerning the end-times. Prophecies by Daniel and John are, in my mind, as solid as you can get. The only question concerning these type prophecies is timing. They will happen, we just don’t know when.

However, many prophecies given by prophets in the Bible were conditional and could change even though they came from God Himself. You’ll find several prophecies of judgment on backslidden people in the Bible that came with the admonishment, “...if you’ll repent, this can be avoided.” Jonah comes to mind as an example. He was sent to Nineveh by God to tell the people that in 40 days their city would be destroyed because of their sin. That was the word of God. That was God’s plan for the people and their city. But repentance could change His mind. Of course they repented, and the city was spared. This is just one example of how PROPHECIES CAN CHANGE if conditions ARE met. And they can change as well if conditions are NOT met.

I really have two reasons for doing this teaching. The first reason is to warn you to be on guard when you give or a receive a prophetic word. Satan is not deaf and can hear the prophecy spoken as well as you can. You should know by now that he will immediately go into action to sabotage your word and see that it doesn’t come to pass. I keep telling you most prophetic words are not “set in stone’’ because I don’t want you to make the mistakes I made early on in my prophetic life. You see, back then when I would receive a word, I just assumed it would come to pass, and nothing could stop it ... not even me. Very foolish thinking. I would receive a fabulous word, be very happy about it, then just kick back on the sofa and wait for it to roll right to me. Not knowing the entire time I was “waiting ... doing nothing,” Satan was working overtime to mess everything up for me. After some confusion, pain, and depression, God mercifully revealed to me what I was doing wrong. I should have been praying and fasting for the word to come to pass. Praying and fasting against any hinderances the devil might use against it. Shamefully, I have to admit, Satan was more concerned about my word than I was. He wanted to stop it more than I wanted it to come to pass. That was a painful lesson I learned.

Now you may be thinking something like this, “Yeah, but the word was from God, and He could stop Satan from doing anything about it if He wanted to.” Yes that’s true. God can do anything. But remember the word is what God wants to happen to you and sometimes He wants to see how bad you want it. What God desires in your life and what you allow are two different things. God desires that ALL men be saved or born again, but we know many people will not choose that option for their lives. Keep in mind, many things can hinder a prophetic word given. Satan of course can directly or indirectly affect it, but your spiritual condition can also affect it. Imagine receiving a wonderful prophecy over your life, but unknown to you at the time, God doesn’t plan for it to come to fruition for five years. If during the time of waiting, you began to suffer spiritually (sin in your life, lack of fellowship with God, etc.), it stands to reason the prophecy for your life will be altered or never come to pass at all. I personally know of a woman who received a wonderful prophecy of how she would work with young girls one day and mentor them for Christ. When she received that word several years ago, everyone who knew her was so happy, for she was close to God and active in church. However, today, that same woman has completely turned from God and has no desire to get herself straightened out again. Of course that prophecy cannot come to pass now because of the way she lived her life while she was “waiting.” I can look back on her life and see how Satan slowly and methodically stole her prophecy, and worse yet, tempted her to turn from God. Again I tell you this so that you will pray and be aware of Satan’s schemes to steal your word. After all, the Bible tells us that Satan’s objectives are to STEAL, kill, and destroy.

The second reason for this teaching is to help you avoid confusion and possibly distress and anger. I know when a prophecy in my life didn’t come to pass (this was before I knew that Satan stole it), I was very confused and depressed. Of course in the beginning I blamed everyone but myself. I would say, “God must have missed it. The prophet must have missed it.” This can lead to confusion and worse, even labeling someone a false prophet. Are there false prophets out there? Of course. Do prophets “miss it’’ from time to time? Absolutely. However, I’ve found many folks label someone as false, simply because they are confused about their word from God.

I know as a prophet, I speak only what God gives me, even if I don’t fully understand what it means. If after the word has been given, someone wants me to help them try to figure out what it means exactly, I will try to, But I’m careful not to let my own reasoning or flesh get involved and taint what God has spoken. If you’ve had a prophecy given over you that hasn’t come to pass yet, and you know it was from God, it might be helpful to examine it and see if you can draw any conclusions. Of course before you do all of this, ask God to show you the truth. If He does, then you have your answer. But if He chooses not to at this time, let’s look at a few other things.

First examine exactly what the prophecy was ... exactly what did God say? Many times God says one thing and we hear another. Make sure the word you’re expecting is what God really spoke.

Second, examine your spirit life. Is anything in your life hindering this word from coming to pass? You know if something is not right between you and God. If so, repent and ask God to restore what you once had.

Third, you have to consider the possibility that it simply isn’t time for it to come to pass yet. ( I never did like that option ). If you’re like me, you want it NOW NOW NOW!!! That’s only natural, but we have to remember God’s ways are higher than our ways, so it stands to reason His timing is not always our timing. Be patient, as hard as that can be sometimes.

I hope this little teaching has helped you in some way. Guard you prophecy against the enemy. Rebuke the spirit of confusion and ask God to give you sound reasoning and a clear mind to receive. Remind God about your word everyday. He likes that. Tell Him you haven’t forgotten it and thank Him that it IS coming to pass. I truly feel in my spirit that the year 2008 will release many prophecies in people’s lives concerning ministries and power to do God’s work. I really feel many of them will come to pass very soon. That is my prayer.

Jay Maddox • www.rareairministries.org