Acts 16:16-21 Some time later, as
Paul and his companions were traveling back to the place of prayer from Lydia's
house, they ran into a fortune-telling slave girl. In Jewish culture, a medium
was not to be tolerated (Lev 20:27, Deut 18:10-11) The spirit of divination had
free run in gentile culture, which lacked such prohibition. That this girl
began to cry out the truth is a testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps the demon of divination was attempting to conceal its true nature, or
perhaps it could not help itself, in crying out that Paul and his comrades had
come from the most high God to proclaim the way of salvation. Paul was not
fooled. The annoying way in which she continuously cried out the same things may
have been a clue. Perhaps it was the slave girl's only means of crying out for
deliverance, since she was under its (the demon's) control. In any event, Paul
used the authority of Christ to cast out the demon. No details on what
happened; how long did it take for the slave-girl's owners to realize that she
had lost her familiar spirit? Time is not that big a deal in this case, as much
as the fact that once the fortune-telling spirit was gone, they had Paul and
Silas arrested and charged with disturbing the peace.
It
is curious that the owners made no mention of Jesus, but instead accused Paul
and Silas of being Jews (which they were) but missed the whole point of the
matter. The deliverance of the slave girl did not take place according to
Jewish law or custom, but according to God's supernatural power through
Christ. This must have been what really
disturbed those who considered themselves Roman.
What
is the difference between the predictions of a medium or fortune-teller and the
prophetic words that are spoken by a person in the power of the Holy Spirit?
This can be looked at from at least two perspectives. One aspect is the motives
and desires of the person seeking to receive a "word". Anyone
patronizing a fortune-teller is not looking for God. They are either looking
for knowledge about the future apart from God's plan and sovereignty, or they
are looking for supernatural knowledge for the sake of proving that God is not
the ultimate and sovereign Lord of all creation (both natural and supernatural).
The one who receives a prophecy from the Holy Spirit is primarily seeking to
hear what God is saying to him or her. In many cases, it is simply a
confirmation of what the Holy Spirit is revealing to them directly, not
trusting their own discernment of spirits, but looking for a trusted and
independent confirmation. It is not usually knowledge about what will happen in
the future, but of what God thinks about the persons and situations involved.
The emphasis is on hearing from God.
The
second dimension of differences is the source itself. Supernatural revelation
that is not from God is not necessarily true. It may be supernatural, but lying
spirits deceive. God, on the other hand, does not deceive, but often His
revelation is uncomfortable. Although He speaks from a nature and character of
perfectly holy love, His words into our lives run counter to the ways and
desires of both the world and the flesh. And so we can discern whether a word
is from God or not on this basis alone. If a word from supposedly supernatural
source caters to our desire, either of the flesh or for worldly glory or
achievement, then there is a strong possibility it is not from God.
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