dangerous fraud and ought to be forbidden: if it is, it is worthy of the greatest attention. Are the words of The Lord ever to be lightly regarded, does He ever say things which may safely be ignored? It is clear from the Bible that prophecy needs to be considered by those to whom The Lord is speaking, and this cannot be done unless we are sure what has been said.

This scepticism, which today is bearing such deadly fruit, arises from our failure to judge prophecy scripturally and give it its proper place. It is true that there are difficulties connected with the prophetic gift, but there always were, and there is an answer for each of them.

(A) The prophet may be prophesying out of an evil heart. This is not a great difficulty, except in a large Meeting where the prophet is unknown. But there are two infallible signs whereby such a one can be detected:

1. All Spirit-filled believers are immediately jarred by the prophecy and find themselves uneasy and unable to accept it. The Holy Spirit has borne witness to the deception.

2. The false prophet, whether in or out of an Assembly, always has a harsh and overbearing spirit and insists on being accepted. Whereas the true prophet has a meek and gentle spirit as has His Lord, and in his prophecy has no axe of his own to grind, as the false prophet always has.

(B) The meaning of the words may be misunderstood or misapplied. This is especially possible where no record of them is taken. An example of such a misunderstanding of the Lord's words is given in John 21:21‑23 for our warning: and the whole Jewish Nation has misunderstood their own