1. SPECIFIC TEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: Does the angel or prophet “specifically” acknowledge Jesus as Lord? While humans are capable of sometimes lying about this (giving lip service), this test works on angels and demons:

“2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” (1^st John 4:2-3, NKJV, New King James Version: © Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

P.S.: I think that for an angel (e.g., spirit) to confess Jesus came in the flesh is to imply that Jesus' tenure here in the flesh was without sin, and the only perfect role model & example (John 13:15; 1st Peter 2:21), thus showing allegiance to Jesus and admitting He beat sin. Thus, it would seem that this admission would suffice to show Jesus allegiance. (I, MYSELF, have "come in the flesh," but I AM NOT without sin, so the flesh alone is not the issue -- it is in the flesh without sin issue. --Editor)

A CLOSER LOOK at the "1st John 4" test: Just 'who' or 'what' are we testing here? People? Angels? Religions? (Since none of the other researchers seem to address this, I will try to.) Let's take a 'closer look' and start eliminating wrong answers: *IN ALL FAIRNESS* -- Even though I do not believe that this passage refers to mere mortals (human prophets), nonetheless, to be fair, there is some support for the 'mere mortal' human prophets interpretation of 1st John 4:1-3: “Beloved, believe not every spirit...because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1st John 4:1, KJV) -- However, I do not believe that is the correct interpretation. Let's see why: * FIRST off (1st), (before crucifixion) let us notice that Peter DENIED Jesus Christ in the strongest possible terms thrice, that is, three times: Matthew 26:34, 75; Mark 14:30, 72; Luke 22:34, 61; John 13:38 * SECOND (2nd), (after crucifixion) let us notice that Peter denied Jesus -by his actions, which spoke louder than his words: Galatians 2:11-14, where Paul said "when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." (v.11, KJV), referring to Peter denying the salvation by grace, thus denying Jesus also, when Peter insisted on a salvation by works method, by trying to compel "the Gentiles to live as do the Jews." (v.14, KJV) However, even when denying Christ in both ways (words and deeds) in both eras (before and after crucifixion), can we safely assume that Peter was "not of God" and possessed by "the spirit of the Antichrist," as implied by this interpretation of 1st John 4:1-3? God forbid, and certainly not! Jesus, Himself, said that Peter was saved, big-time, major-league: "That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church." (Matthew 16:18b, KJV) * THIRD (3rd), we see that (before crucifixion) Judas Iscariot confessed Christ so explicitly, both by his words and his deeds, that even his fellow-disciples thought that JUDAS was saved -and that maybe they, themselves, were lost: Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” And they [His disciples] were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, “Lord, is it I?” (Matthew 26:21-22, NKJV; Cf: Mark 14:18-19) * FOURTH (4th) and LAST, we find (after crucifixion) that both certain vagabond Jews as well as the seven sons of one Sceva (Acts 19:13-16) tried exorcism of Spirits -note that both groups explicitly confessed Jesus: "saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth." (v.13b, KJV) OK, did Judas and these other vagabonds have a spirit that "is of God" (1st John 4:2, KJV)?? ANSWER: Jesus clearly said to His Father that "none of them is lost, but the son of perdition [e.g., Judas Iscariot, the betrayer]; that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:12b, KJV) And, of course, the sons of Sceva were not saved and thus filled with the Holy Spirit, or otherwise, the evil spirit would not have "answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" (Acts 19:15b, KJV) Actually, the evil spirit probably could not have answered that way, because, had the Holy Spirit been in the sons of Sceva, the evil spirit (demon, fallen angel) would have been high-tailing it out of there as fast as possible! Therefore, both before and after crucifixion -both dispensations / eras, this test can *not* apply to people -who can give both false positives of salvation (Judas & sons of Sceva) -as well as false negatives to salvation (Peter). Some said that this may apply to religions and institutions -and it may apply somewhat, but the "clear language" of the passage says to test the "spirits" -plural of Greek: "pneu'ma," Strong's Number: 4151, which literally means "a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting," in other words, either a demon, angel, Holy Spirit, or a manifestation or vision of Jesus or The Father -remembering that even JESUS has and can appear in spirit form as He appeared to Saul of Tarsus. (Acts, chapter 9) So, in conclusion, the first (1st) of the five (5) Biblical tests of spirits and/or prophets presented in this paper, the "1st John 4" test for the spirits can NOT apply to mere mortals (persons, religions, etc.) with any certainty -just to angels -who are sensitive enough for it to work; however, it would not hurt to apply this test to people as well -as it helps gather information of the "prophet" being "tested." A person that fails this test would have to either be evil or making an honest mistake -or both, but this test is designed for "spirits," not "flesh," as we've found out by the process of elimination -and by looking at the actual original Greek language in the passage.

Apparently, the demons are so evil that they are sensitive and vulnerable to the name of Jesus and thus incapable of admitting that Jesus is Lord. For them, according to this verse, it is impossible to admit Jesus is Lord (and Savior and very God, worthy of worship) without going crazy. A good example of this phenomenon is found Acts 16:16-18, where a woman possessed by a demon of divination acted crazy when her demon felt the presence of JESUS in Paul the Apostle. A better example of demons freaking out in the presence of Jesus is found in Mark 5:1-5, which tells of a man living in the tombs and possessed with an unclean spirit -a demon. This man was CRAZY: He cut himself and acted so wild that no man could tame him. MARK 5:6 says that "...when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him," -yes, the spirit worshiped Jesus -and this might make it seem like the spirit in the man was the Holy Spirit, but it was a demon, and here is the clue to indicate that: Verse 7, immediately following shows that the man acted even crazier when Jesus came closer: The demon, speaking through the man, "cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not." So, we can see that the demon was indeed VERY sensitive to the spirit realms, and his reaction here is proof that angelic beings (such as demons and angels) ARE indeed MUCH more sensitive to the spirit realms than are humans. Thus, we can conclude that demons will act crazy in the presence of Jesus, and Holy Angels will NOT.

For humans, a “false” prophet might be able to lie and try to trick you, but a “true” prophet will almost certainly never deny Jesus, so any “prophet” that denies the lordship and deity of Jesus is a false prophet. Period. This test is “specific” to Jesus’ Lordship & Deity.

2. GENERAL TEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: This test apparently only applies to people (not angels!), and it doesn’t even work well unless you get to know the person -or at least know about their lifestyle, but oh, does it work when you know how to use it: A “true” prophet does not lead a sinful lifestyle.

Here is what JESUS says about testing the spirits for false prophets, using the "general" test for righteousness:

Now, since we can trust Philippians 1:11 to be TRUTHFUL, we can TRUTHFULLY rewrite JESUS' statement to read: "Ye shall know them [the false prophets] by their fruits of righteousness -which are missing and lacking if they are indeed false prophets." Since we are using one scripture to substitute for another equivalent scripture, we are not violating Revelation 22:18-19 about adding to or taking away from these words of scripture. (That passage actually referred only to the Revelation of John in that context, but Bible scholars generally accept it to apply to the WHOLE Bible, and we did not violate it this time.)

Good example: King Saul, the predecessor to King David, was able to prophecy as a prophet of God when he was righteous: 1^st Samuel 10:11; However, when his lifestyle became unrighteous and sinful (such as his sin in 1st Samuel 15:24), he was not able to hear from the Lord, and he got desperate and tried visiting a medium, that is, a witch (see 1^st Samuel, chapter 28 re the witch of Endor), and of course, this stopped him from being able to “prophecy” or speak on the Lord’s behalf -at least in a normal manner. (I admit that Saul later did "prophecy," as shown in 1st Samuel 19:21-24, but this time it was because God struck him down with The Spirit and had him strip naked all that day and night, unlike the first time up in 1st Samuel 10:11. The first time, Saul had a clean heart before the Lord, as shown in 1st Samuel 10:9, but the 2nd time, God was striking Saul down to protect David and Samuel from being killed: Big difference. So, we can conclude that Saul no longer prophecied in a "normal" manner after he sinned!)

ALSO: Any theology they preach and believe must generally be line up with the word of God for them to be considered “righteous” by this test: Deut. 13:1-5 says even if the prophet can do miracles or correctly predict something that comes to pass, he or she must still not go against the word of God or ask others to worship other Gods. Also, here is "Statutory or Constitutional Authority," as told by Paul, speaking for JESUS: “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.” (1^st Cor 14:37, NKJV) See also: 1^st Timothy 6:3-4. Even angels must meet this high standard:

“8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9, NKJV)

Here is more "case law" (a term for "here's an example to set a standard" for all you non-lawyers out there) -this time from the New Testament:

Notice, please, that these people quite obviously DID perform miracles and prophecies which came to pass (or else they would not have made this defense when confronting Jesus), but even though this was true, nonetheless, these unholy and evil prophets fall into the category shown by Deut. 13:1-5, cited above.

Does the “general” lifestyle and theology of the “prophet” line up to pass the “general” test of righteousness, as required by all the scriptures above?

A friend, Bob Hartung, sent me an email about testing the spirits, and I googled and found several websites quoting the material he sent me; then, noticing their websites appeared to be missing things, I emailed them. One of them, HidingPlaceMinistry.org, run by Dr. C. Wayne Thorn (coincidentally local to my area), emailed me back. (I'm mentioning their names and such to give them credit where credit is due.) He sought the input of his friend, Evangelist and Pastor, Cheryl Eaton, who, in turn, sought special counsel from Bishop, Dr. John Weatherley, who has several online ministries. After much research with them (for we studied the scriptures daily like the Bereans: Acts 17:11, to see if those things were so), I came to the conclusion I might have been wrong, so I'm presenting both (or all) views to be fair and balanced.

Cheryl suggested that the calling and gifts (including the prophetic gifts) are without repentance, that is permanently irrevocable. Let's look at the verse to which she refers:

"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance."--Romans 11:29 (KJV)

"for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable"--Romans 11:29 (NASB)

"God's gifts and God's call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded."--Romans 11:29 (The Message)

YES! "the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine" (Deut 7:11) -- "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear" (Mark 4:28) -- 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.–Galatians 5:21-22, KJV So, why not fruits of accurate prophecy?

Supporting Cheryl's theory are actual examples in the which Some 'unrighteous' prophets (Balaam, Numbers, chapter 22) and people (both the Witch of Endor, and King Saul - who contacted her - in 1st Samuel, chapter 28 - both of whom were practicing witchraft) were surely not righteous, and yet still heard from God, implying the prophetic gifts are permanent and irrevocable (Rom 11:29) as she says. Two other examples of less than stellar people got a Word from God: Jonah (the rebel) and Saul of Tarsus (Paul the Apostle). But Paul's heart was right - he believed he was doing right, and so he was not totally evil: In his mind, he was defending God's name against these 'Jesus freaks,' but when Jesus, HIMSELF showed up, and correct Paul, please note that Paul accepted the correction. This is proof that he was not "totally" evil, lending support to my theory that one should be righteous.

However, the question then becomes whether God spoke to them because of a gift -or rather because of His sovereign will. It is quite obvious that accurate prophecies are a fruit from the prophet (who is a tree in this sense). Then, also, we must ask: Just how 'unrighteous' were Balaam and that witch? (Enough to be called 'unrighteous?') Lastly, what if an unrighteous person prophecies to you? Should you ignore it? (Even the Devil was partly right in his conversation with Eve, and we all know that he is not righteous.) Scripture is quite clear that wheat and tares (righteous and unrighteous) shall grow up together (Matt 13:3-43), *including* unrighteous prophets, who will look like righteous ones and 'fit in' until the end gathering.

In summary, it is not clear what 'fruits' Jesus means when He speaks of these false prophets, but a false prophecy would definitely disqualify a person; however, this still does not explain how a witch (who was not guaranteed to be 100% accurate) heard from God. The bottom line is that you must apply all seven (7) tests to be sure. EVEN STILL, you may not know right away whether the prophet 'passes' or 'fails' the test; why, even JESUS did not know the day of His return:

"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."--Mark 13:32 (KJV) And, as shown in other research, Jesus was very GOD the SON -and even Jesus had things He didn't know. (Now that He's ascended, Jesus surely knows the 'day and hour' -and even exact second!)

3. SPECIFIC TEST OF ACCURACY: This is the “classic” test or the “gold test” of a “true prophet”: Does the prophecy or prediction come true? (Deuteronomy 18:22) If the “prophet” or “angel” or dream or vision says anything false about things past, present, or future, you can scratch it:

“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22, NIV, New International Version: © Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society) “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deut. 18:22, KJV)

4. GENERAL TEST OF ACCURACY: Is the general prophecy a method permitted by God, that is, did the "prophet" use a forbidden witchcraft method to call up the spirit, or did it appear in one of the permitted ways, such as a vision or an angelic visitation? (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) Don’t cheat. Cheating, like taking drugs, may seem good for a while, but in the end, it is deadly.

Huh? What’s a “necromancer?” Think “Necrosis, tissue death.” Let’s look at this passage in another version to get clarity:

If you ask God for an answer via, say, calling up and “speaking with” the dead -or the Ouija board -or even astrologers and horoscopes, then any answer you get may be -and probably will be from a demon, not God or His Holy angels.

5. 'MIRACLE' TEST: When I took Intro to Prophecy at Evangelical University (Plant City), one of my professors, Dr. Gary Williams, taught on testing the spirits (and I mention him here to give credit where credit is due). He had all five (5) of my tests, and he added two (2) more (which are numbered #5 and #6 in this discussion). As I recall, he said that a true prophet performed miracles. So, I asked him for chapter and verse in the Bible. Dr. Williams said that this was not a mandate but rather a general rule -for most of the prophets in the Bible did, in fact, perform miracles. (I don't know about some of the minor prophets, since not a lot is written about them in the Canon of the Bible.) So, in brief, this is a general guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever -He changes not: Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8. He can (and does) still do miracles -in His time.
    ***    UPDATE: As of today, Friday, 11 February 2011, I have discovered I may be wrong: There is some scriptural support for the fact that true prophets *must* perform miracles -at least a few -and not just prophets, but ANY and ALL believers, but this must include prophets -especially:
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
MARK 16:17-18, Holy Bible, King James Version
    ***    Application: So, this would even apply to me (webmaster, Gordon Wayne Watts), right? I'm definitely a believer (and, some even say, a phophet), right? OK, I'm not bragging, but you see my other postings: I nearly won in court "the" Terri Schiavo case --all by myself (excepting that JESUS helped me) --and that is a major miracle, since I am not a lawyer, nor even an immediate family member, and normally a non-lawyer can not represent ANYONE else in court (and usually should not even represent himself-/-herself), but look what happened:

The following letter was written by Gordon Wayne Watts of Lakeland, Florida, who received a Bachelor’s degree from The Florida State University with a double major in Biological and Chemical Sciences with honors and was the valedictorian from United Electronics Institute. Watts, a non-lawyer, is best known for his lawsuit on behalf of Terri Schiavo[1], which lost 4-3 in the Florida Supreme Court, arguably doing better than even then Governor Jeb Bush’s similar suit[2] (lost: 7-0) or Terri Schiavo’s own family’s federal case[3] (lost: 2-1). Mr. Watts, who ran unsuccessfully for Dist. 64 Fla. House of Representatives[4], is a part-time political activist while he searches for a full-time job in his field.

Sources:
[1] In Re: GORDON WAYNE WATTS (as next friend of THERESA MARIE “TERRI” SCHIAVO), No. SC03-2420 (Fla. Feb.23, 2003), denied 4-3 on rehearing. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/dispositions/2005/2/03-2420reh.pdf
[2] In Re: JEB BUSH, GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA, ET AL. v. MICHAEL SCHIAVO, GUARDIAN: THERESA SCHIAVO, No. SC04-925 (Fla. Oct.21, 2004), denied 7-0 on rehearing. http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/clerk/dispositions/2004/10/04-925reh.pdf
[3] Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo ex rel. Schiavo, 403 F.3d 1223, 2005 WL 648897 (11th Cir. Mar.23, 2005), denied 2-1 on appeal. http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200511628.pdf
[4] Key Phrase search: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22florida+house%22+64+%22gordon+wayne+watts%22&cts=1255495265724&aq=f&oq=&aqi= and http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22florida+house%22+64+%22gordon+wayne+watts%22&fr=yfp-t-155&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8 -- Official Campaign pages: http://GordonWayneWatts.com/Campaign.html and http://GordonWatts.com/Campaign.html

6. APPLICABILITY' TEST: The prophecy must be not only true but also actually applicable, that is helpful to a particular need!
The New Testament version of the 'accuracy' “Gold Test” from Deuteronomy 18:22 is found in James 1:17, which reads: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” in the KJV, but it is more clear in the NKJV (New King James Version) and reads as follows: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” I have provided both the NKJV and the KJV, so please don’t think I’m pushing one version or using a Bible that translates wrong! I used both to be safe. OK, I’ll translate: If the prophecy is both good (helpful) and perfect (mature or correct and complete), then it is from God. It must be not just correct but also helpful to apply to your need. (And that is also why any prophet whose prediction or revelation comes true must ALSO not ask you to worship other “gods” or commit sin.)

7. HOLY SPIRIT TEST: Is there the testimony of the Holy Spirit, a gut feeling, so to speak? (Psalms 95:7-11; Proverbs 1:20; John, chapter 10; Hebrews 3:7; Hebrews 4:7) His sheep (us) hear his voice (the Holy Spirit), so we must chill out and listen carefully, however, we many be tricked, so we must use all five tests in order to get a good handle and “fine-tune” our intuition, our gut feeling, our ability to hear and understand the Holy Spirit.

Johanna Michaelsen rightly says you can't always trust your feelings, as she herself was fooled, so you must use _all five_ Biblical methods to be sure. (The Beautiful Side of Evil, © Harvest House Publishers, ISBN: 0890813221)

“For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Mal. 3:6, KJV)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Heb. 13:8, NKJV)