During the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Michael L. Brown, radio host and apologist for the charismatic movement, said, “As many of you know, I believe in prophetic ministry today, recognizing from the NT that every word must be tested. Some well-known charismatic prophets have spoken of a major change (or, shift) concerning the virus by mid-April, by the end of Passover season.”
You barely have to test this “prophecy” to see it’s vague nonsense. Things could get better or worse, and these guys would say, “See? A major shift!”
This is called a “shotgun prophecy.” Take a shot at a month or season, scatter some unspecific terms, and whatever happens, your prophecy was just broad enough, it’s going to hit something you can take credit for.
The COVID-19 outbreak exposed every modern-day prophet and faith-healer as a fraud. Bethel Church in Redding, CA, who claims to heal the sick, told their faith healers to stay away from local hospitals.
In January, Sid Roth had twenty of the most high-dollar prophets on his show Supernatural to give their predictions for 2020. Guess how many predicted corona? Zero!
Shawn Bolz had to postpone his prophecy tour. Shouldn’t he have been able to warn us this was coming and scheduled his tour for after the pandemic?
Do not be taken by these snake oil salesmen. Jesus said, “Beware false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). In 1 John 4:1, we are told, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world,” when we understand the text.
