My point is this; Evangelicals have long held the position that a true prophet of God must have all their prophecies come to pass or they are not a true prophet of God! If any one of their prophecies fail to come to pass, they are a false prophet.

Is this your understanding of the evangelical view of Deuteronomy 18:22?

Deut. 18:22 "When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him."

If EGW did prophesy falsely at any time, then the "canonization" of her works ought to be reversed.

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James, are you understanding "presumptuously" and "falsely" to mean the same thing? The Hebrew root "zadown" (Strong's number 2087) from which we get "presumptuously" does not include "falsely" in its scope

Although I agree with you, that did not answer the question. Both a true prophet and a false prophet can be presumptuous; it is a human characteristic which we all fall prey to. However, the motives of the false vs. true would presumably be different. Deut. 18:22 actually calls the prophet "presumptuous", and not "false", a point I find important. I am not willing to read that as "false."

... because you are hung up on a little word: "presumptuously"; and splitting hairs over roots. Read on ...

"But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die." (Deut. 18:20)

By definition, a false prophet is simply one who "presumptuously" declares, "Thus saith the Lord ..." when nothing of the kind ever happened.

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I didn’t really address Alchemy first and second point properly.



This is a HUGE assumption that I have always heard thru out my years in the Church. It’s not even biblical for the Lord says clearly in Num 12:8 that He speaks in “dark speeches” to prophets. Dark Speeches comes from the Hebrew word chiydah (H2420 that means “a puzzle, a riddle” that is difficult to solve). This word is used 17 times in the Bible where 9 times it is used in Judges relating to the difficult riddle Samson gave at his wedding party.

Thus in Num 12:8 it is clear that the word of the Lord given to prophets comes in an obscured language and does not come with the interpretation and is given as a puzzle to be solve. In the whole Bible, I think only Joseph and Daniel that we read got the interpretation of some dreams. But as Alchemy correctly noted that not all the interpretation were given to Daniel. I will extend also to most other prophets.


It is true that Abraham spent 12 years with the incorrect understanding that Ishmael was the promised son. Now the birth and life of Ishmael was part of a prophesy also. Abraham had 2 sons, like the Lord had 2 sons. Abraham’s 2 sons were a type & shadow of the Lord’s two sons that Paul explained in Gal 4.

The first son, was birthed by Mama Egypt, was a carnal son that refused to hear the Holy Spirit, received the law outside their body on stones, and tried to keep it with their own vow, will & ability of the flesh. Paul says Ishmael represents the earthly Jerusalem. Also Paul tells us that Ishmael persecuted Isaac. The bible doesn’t tell us in what way, but it was so bad that Ishmael and his mother had to be cast out. The Lord’s second son represents the Overcomers, that constitute the New Jerusalem, and rely on Jesus to keep His vow to write all His laws on their heart via the personal teachings of the Holy Spirit. Also, Paul tells us that the second son represents the New covenant, whereas the first son represents the Old covenant.

I don’t believe the above was reveal to Abraham. Only the part of his understanding was corrected. Only the part that Ishmael was not the promise son when he got the news that Sarah was going to be pregnant. I really doubt that more than that was reveal then. So to say that the Lord corrected everything to Abraham when he got the news Sarah was going to have a son, is a HUGE assumption that is not said in the Bible. For sure Abraham got some more revelation afterwards especially when he offered Isaac as a sacrifice. But I do not believe that Abraham understanding was nearly complete as you are assuming.


I agree with the highlighted and underlined above, but disagree that everything was corrected and reveal to Abraham about Isaac & Ishmael.

The interpretation rarely comes to the prophet itself, but it is reserve much later on depending on the timing when He will fulfill that prophecy. The fulfillment of prophecies often comes sometimes in the futur generations.

I see this principe in this story of Abraham. Abraham only got the correction of his understanding of the promise son just 1 year prior to the birth of Isaac, but I doubt that much more than that was given to him then. This is what I see standing out in this story.

But, what if the prophet doesn't understand what God told them? What if the prophecy is conditional?