Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. - 1Corinthians 12:4-11 (ESV)
As is widely documented, Kris Vallotton is a false teacher and prophet hailing from Bethel Church in Redding California. Bethel is a spiritual and doctrinal cesspool that accepts nearly every modern false teaching available today. Vallotton serves as the number two in charge to the alpha heretic, Bill Johnson. They believe in false prosperity, false signs and lying wonders, gem stones, gold dust, glory clouds and angel feather manifestations, grave sucking, dead raising teams, experiential Christianity, divine on demand healing, and the teaching of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, just to name a few of the heresies. Vallotton is one of their chief proponents of the prosperity gospel and has written books shaming poor people into believing their poverty is a "mindset." The other primary focus for Vallotton is serving as the premier false prophet for Bethel. He created and operates their "School of the Supernatural"' where they believe in teaching the gifts. Once per year Bethel holds a weeklong conference where they charge people across the world hundreds of dollars to falsely teach them that they can learn how to be a prophet. As if God has nothing to do with deciding who His prophets are. As if they key verses do not expressly teach that only the Holy Spirit decides who receives what gifts. Along with this annual grift Vallotton usually puts out something about the prophetic that gives us a glimpse inside the mind of the false prophets. It is invaluable to us as discerning Christians so that we might more easily spot false teachings. One such offering was a handbook Kris put out through his website called, 'Rising Prophets Handbook." Normally I would link it above but it seemingly has fallen off his website and the Internet. I will copy paste directly in order for us to reason together once more. Kris begins with an opening letter:
"Hi there, Do you ever question the call on your life or the importance and significance of your destiny? The truth is, you were made for greatness, the call on your life is like no one else's. But, the question is: have you begun to prepare and equip yourself for the call? On my journey from businessman to prophet, I experienced several bumps in the road and many emotions all over the map I spent several years questioning the legitimacy of the call on my life; wondering how it would come to pass or if I was capable. I want to encourage you; the Lord equips the called, but it is our responsibility to position and prepare our hearts for the journey. In the beginning years of my journey, I did not have tools, resources, or a prophetic community to help guide and equip me in my call. This is where my passion to see prophets of our day rise up in strength and wholeness and be surrounded by a healthy prophetic community originated. It is time that the prophets of our day are empowered and equipped in their call. You have been given a heavenly assignment and a consequential commission are you ready for it? Between the promise and the palace (the place of fulfillment) is always the process. I have created the Rising Prophet Handbook to help enrich your journey from the promise to the palace. My prayer is that as you dive into these pages that you receive truth and clarity in your call and begin to see the fruit of a thriving prophetic ministry." - Kris Vallotton
Well hi Kris. Did you know that one of the hallmarks of false theology in America is the overemphasis on individual calling to some nebulous form of greatness? This largely stems from the teachings of the Purpose Driven Church and Life. It creates this false sense in believers that God has somehow miraculously called everyone who believes to some level of greatness that is largely unachievable. True Christianity understands that the mother who raises godly children or the man who represents Christ in his workplace leads an extraordinary life. The difference is in how we view greatness. The world and people like Vallotton try to sell greatness as the world sees it when God wants us pursuing greatness as God would have it for His kingdom. A common hallmark of the false prophet network within the apostate church today is that God need not be involved. Notice how Kris believes it is high time for prophets to be properly empowered and equipped for their call. Excuse me? Does God call someone to be His prophet and not empower them? Does He not equip them? Notice also how in Kris' world, the successful prophet resides in the "palace"; a clear reference to the life of Joseph. If one looks at the lives of the known Old Testament prophets, living in the palace hardly comes to mind.
"First and foremost, it is essential to have context for prophets in both the Old and New Covenant realities. Prophets have been called by God for thousands of years; they have been a gift to the Church, formed, foretold, and shaped history. However, the prophetic mandate shifted when Christ died on the Cross. Let's take a look at the differences." - Kris Vallotton
This is a crucial point to understand as absolutely nothing has changed regarding prophets between the Old and New Covenants. Kris and his fellow false prophets however must pretend that there has been this shifting of the prophetic mandate, whatever that gobbledygook is supposed to mean. If not, the entire false prophet brigade can be dismissed as such. The Old Testament actually demanded the stoning to death of false prophets. Claiming to hear from God and speak presumptively on His behalf is serious business but not according to Kris Vallotton. For him, there was some kind of shift that now allows him to be wrong prophetically, up to 35% of the time, and still be considered a solid prophet. What total and absolute garbage. Why would I listen to anyone who claims to hear from God and gets anything wrong? Does God stutter?
"Have you ever noticed that God is the One who said, "Love your neighbor and hate your enemy"? That's right! Under the Old Covenant, it was God who actually sent the children of Israel into the Promised Land and commanded Joshua to kill everybody in the land"it was the genocide of Gentiles. Even some of the familiar stories we tell in Sunday school, at their core, reflect this hatred toward the enemies of God. Why did David kill Goliath? Because the Philistines were enemies of God. It reads like a good story until you consider what David was doingkilling people who didn't love God. Goliath and the Philistines were the bad guys because they didn't love God. In fact, Israel's first king, Saul, was removed from his kingship because he extended mercy to a king who was condemned to death. Sometimes we try to skip over these realities, but it is very important for us to deal with them in a healthy way in order to make a proper comparison of Old and New Covenant realities. If we are prophesying out of an Old Covenant perspective, we are going to release words of condemnation and judgment. Old Covenant prophets judged cities and nations. This was the prophetic mandate under the previous system. The moral of the Old Testament was that we couldn't be good enough to get into Heaven. We need a Savior. This is why everything we see under the Old Covenant is often so severe. The severity of the law confronts us with the severity of sin, and again, how desperately humankind needed a Savior. Sin is so serious that it deserves judgment; hence the reason why the prophetic voices under the Old Testament often released words of judgment. Time after time, the people of God were reminded through the prophets of God that they were in dire need of a Savior." - Kris Vallotton
It is always reassuring that when false teachers try to exposit the word, they fall so dramatically short that it becomes obvious they are not to be trusted. While it is true that there are many Old Testament stories of God's people killing the enemies of God it is in tying this in some manner to the role of prophet that is so egregiously wrong. Jonah prophesied repentance. Many of the prophets to the exiles prophesied the great return to Jerusalem. The recurring theme of the role of prophet in the Old Testament is the same as in the New Testament - repent! The Old Covenant was the Mosaic Law and the prophets were mostly trying to get Israel to return to the one true God and stop serving false idols. Hmmm, sound familiar? What is Kris' point? That people today do not need the Savior? That the church is somehow not as backslidden as Israel was? That idolatry is now under control? Please.
"Jesus came to the earth to be the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. He did not come to abolish prophecy but to give it a new set of rules. Instead of judgment He instructed us to use prophecy to encourage and uplift the body of Christ. So in the New Testament, we see a transition from judgment to encouragement, from declarations of famine to promises of feasts. In Matthew 11 Jesus began to explain the changes He was going to implement, that John the Baptist was the last of his kind, the last of the old covenant prophets. He was considered the greatest, the fulfillment of prophecy, but still, those born of the new Covenant would be greater than him. John sang the dirge but Jesus played the flute, John preached a gospel of repentance, and Jesus the gospel of good news. John himself preached in Matthew 3:11, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." To further the prophetic symbolism of John the Baptist, he was killed by beheading which is interpreted as a symbol of beheading the Old Covenant system of prophecy. With the ushering in of the new covenant with Jesus' death and resurrection, Old Testament prophecy was made obsolete. There was now no longer a need to punish sin or to show a world they needed a savior. The Holy Spirit was now available to the entire Body of Christ which also gave the gift of discernment. Individuals now have the ability to judge prophetic words that are given because the same Spirit resides in the giver and the receiver. No longer are people judged but by the words they speak." - Kris Vallotton
Wow. This is breathtakingly bad. The notion that Jesus came to give prophecy a new set of rules is absurd on its face and unsupported biblically. Kris needs this to be true because he knows that what he speaks is false and therefore he should be stoned to death. Jesus did not instruct us to encourage and uplift. There is no transition from judgment because judgment has yet to come. The fact that John baptized with water and Jesus with the Holy Spirit is not a commentary on prophesy but rather on baptism. No one with any seriousness believes the beheading of John the Baptist was a symbol of the beheading of the Old Covenant system of prophecy. What is more absurd however is the notion that there is no longer a need to punish for sin or show the world they need a savior! A lesson Kris will learn the very hard way I am afraid. Look, this whole elimination of judgment and declaring everything is puppies and rainbows under the New Covenant is debunked in the very chapter Vallotton references:
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." - Matthew 11:20-24 (ESV)
This is Jesus, serving in His role as Prophet, condemning the cities who refused to repent! This is the problem with false prophets like Vallotton. They spend so much of their time trying to explain why it is ok that they claim to hear from God but then get so much wrong. It is not ok beloved and while we no longer stone them due to civil restraint, we are told to mark and avoid them. Vallotton would continue about the New Covenant:
"Under the New Covenant, there are different guidelines for judging prophetic words. Prophetic words must fall in line with the Bible and nature of God, point the receiver to God and not another person or object, the word must be encouraging and not point out sin, and the receiver should consult Holy Spirit as to the prophetic word's accuracy. These guidelines are more subjective than under the Old Covenant guideline of accuracy, so it requires a relationship with God to interpret prophetic words. It also follows that if someone does give a bad prophetic word, it doesn't make them a false prophet and they don't have to be killed. Prophetic people can hear from the wrong spirit or be influenced by previous knowledge but if they do not solely tune into the voice of God and say what God is telling them, they will get it wrong. Giving feedback is important to help grow someone who is nurturing their prophetic gift. In a New Covenant prophetic atmosphere, there are bound to be messes that need cleaning, so it's important to cultivate a culture where it is alright to mess up as long as you are willing to help clean it up. It is unfortunate that there are prophetic people today that still live under the Old Covenant idea of prophecy, claiming that every natural disaster or terrorist attack is God's judgment for unforgiveness or lack of repentance. While this idea was true during the Old Testament, it is no longer true today. The truth is that Jesus sacrificed everything to give us a new set of guidelines to live and relate to one another and to God. We are no longer judged by God so why would we need to judge one another? Prophecy should be used by all believers to build up, encourage and exhort all people inside and outside the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 14:3 says "But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them." I encourage you to ask yourself if the words you've given or the words you have received strengthened, encouraged, and comforted yourself or others. As prophets, it is our role to be a gift to the Church to strengthen, encourage and comfort." - Kris Vallotton
