By Andrew Williams
Series: The Year of the Prophet- Month 4: The Seer Realm & Divine Senses
Week 17: Interpretation & The Prophetic Riddle
Anchor Scripture: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” — 2 Peter 1:20–21 (NKJV)
The Teaching
In the prophetic process, there are three distinct stages: Revelation (what God says/shows), Interpretation (what it means), and Application (what we should do with it). The most common “pitfall” for a prophet occurs in the second stage: Interpretation.
Because we are human vessels, we have a natural tendency to “season” the pure revelation with our own “flavor.” We add our own “salt” (human wisdom) or our own “pepper” (human frustration). We take a pure, simple image from God and, in an attempt to make it “make sense,” we wrap it in our own cultural, political, or emotional biases.
For example, God might show a prophet a “shaking tree.” That is the Revelation. The prophet, who happens to be worried about the economy, might say, “God is going to shake the stock market!” That is the Misinterpretation. The “flavor” of the prophet’s personal anxiety has tainted the purity of the word. A private interpretation is one where the prophet tries to “own” the meaning instead of asking the Author for the “key.”
Prophetic Insight
The most dangerous words are the ones that are 90% God and 10% the prophet’s “opinion.” That 10% of human “flavor” is what causes the most confusion in the Body of Christ. To be a “clean” messenger, you must learn to separate the “raw data” from your “human analysis.” If God shows you a “shaking tree,” your first responsibility is to simply report the tree. If He doesn’t give the interpretation, stay silent on the meaning. Do not feel pressured to “explain” God. When you add your own flavor, you lose the authority of the original Word. Pure revelation doesn’t need your “help” to be powerful.
The Activation
Think of a prophetic word you’ve given or received recently. Identify the “Raw Revelation” (the core image or sentence). Now, look for any “Human Flavoring” that was added to it—words like “I think this means…” or “I feel like God is saying this because…” Today, practice stripping a word down to its barest form. Ask the Holy Spirit: “Lord, take away my flavor. What did YOU actually say?”
Daily Prayer: Lord God, I thank You that Your Word is pure, like silver refined in a furnace seven times. I repent for the times I have added my own ‘flavor’ to Your revelation. Forgive me for trying to be the interpreter of Your secrets with my own limited mind. I ask for the grace to deliver Your words ‘raw’ and unadulterated. Help me to distinguish between Your Spirit and my soul. Let my mouth be a clean channel for Your Truth alone. Amen.
