I’ve heard people testify that God told them so and so, or God spoke to them. Are they really hearing a voice?
Ezekiel 1:25
NKJV - 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.
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Asked January 14 2022
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Anonymous
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
James Kraft
We are to test the spirits to see if they are from God. The Spirit of God that lives in the believer, Ephesians 1:13-14, will always agree with the bible. God said. John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that BELIEVETH on me HATH EVERLASTING LIFE. Gods word, and He cannot lie.
First John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that BELEVE on the name of the Son of God, that ye may KNOW YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.
The Spirit always agrees with God. First John 1:8
Danny Hickman
"Test the spirits to see if they are from God" is talking about teachers and preachers. People, Paul is calling messengers spirits, he's not talking about angelic beings. We wouldn't know an angelic being from a real human if our lives depended on it. (Think about it)!! The scripture you reference have nothing to do with hearing voices or anything like that, in my opinion.
The people who say 'God said this or that to me,' could very well have heard a voice. God says things like 'You'll be fine now,' or 'Don't worry, I'll be with you.' He says words of comfort to the people He reaches out to in that way.
When people recite long elaborate conversations they had with God, they are probably making it up. Full stop!!
The "long conversations" are not conversations at all, they are instructions given in a spiritual way such as a dream or a vision. Dreams happen when we're asleep. Visions happen when we know for sure we're wide awake, and it couldn't possibly have been a dream. God speaks to us in many ways.
Recognizing when God speaks is not easy.
A preacher who doesn't hear from God can preach the word, but he/she is deciding on their own what the people need to hear from the word of God. (If they preach the bible and not CNN or Fox). The messenger who keeps his/her spiritual ears open to God WHILE STUDYING the Word preaches what the Spirit gives him/her to preach.
Like I said, It isn't an easy task. If you can do it SOMETIMES, it's worth everything.
Yes, God speaks!!
Danny Hickman
False prophets were a problem in the first century and they are still in business. They're worse now than then. Their motives are the same: power and money.
Satan craves power, but he doesn't need money. Paul doesn't waste a lot of time warning us about Satan and his demons.
People pluck 2 Cor. 11:14 out of the bible and make the narrative simply about Satan. Paul wasn't warning us about Satan, he was telling us to beware of false teaching people. That's who we're to look out for. In essence, he says 'You shouldn't be surprised when people pretend to be someone they are not; even Satan, ruler of the dark kingdom, disguises himself as an angel of light.'
He's proving his point about people, using hyperbole. If you overlook the context, you start to beware of satan at the expense of not keeping your eyes open for false teaching people. That's what the church does.
We are no match for demons. Even the disciples couldn't cast a demon out of a boy (Mark 9:18). Paul doesn't warn us about Satan speaking to us and pretending to be God. Nowhere are we told such as that. We have the Holy Spirit with us to teach us, guide us, and help us. He's our defense against the evil one. We don't have to keep our eyes peeled to be sure he doesn't sneak up on us when we're not looking. We have to beware of people!!
Put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6). That's how we defend ourselves against Satan. Believing the gospel of Jesus Christ is our defense against false teaching and "voices."