**Is Your Gift from God or the Devil? - Part 3 **
When we receive what seem like “negative” revelations about “bad things” that might happen, we might wonder if these revelations came from the devil; but the devil cannot give what he does not have. Satan does not have revelatory insight. He does not have the revelatory gifts of the Holy Spirit, so he cannot impart revelatory insight to others.
There are often times when the Lord gives revelatory insight to people about things that may seem negative. The Old Testament prophets were often inspired to deliver messages that seemed very negative for the people of God, but God always had a good and redemptive purpose for each of these messages.
One prophet gave so many “negative” messages to King Ahab that the king hated to see him coming!
“But Jehoshaphat said, ‘Is there no prophet of the Lord still here by whom we may inquire?’
“The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies [anything] good for me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla’
“And Jehoshaphat said, ‘Let not the king say so [perhaps this time it will be different].’”—2 Chronicles 18:6-8 (AMP)
The devil may try to deceive us into thinking that if we receive revelatory insight that seems to be negative—or even destructive—then it comes from an evil source and must be rejected.
This happened to Peter. Peter thought that Jesus’ prophecy about His coming crucifixion had to be wrong. Jesus quickly corrected him and pointed out the source of the deception.
“From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer a great deal because of the elders, the high priests, and the scribes. Then he would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘God be merciful to you, Lord! This must never happen to you!’
“But Jesus turned and told Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an offense to me, because you are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts!’”—Matthew 16:21-23 (ISV)
Satan does come to steal, kill, and destroy, as we’re told in John 10:10, and he can try to instill fear and condemnation in us, but just because revelatory insight seems negative, that does not mean that it comes from the devil.
Does Satan Know the Future?
Satan may try to convince you that your revelatory gift is from him rather than from God, even though this could not possibly be true. This is one of his common deceptions.
How can the devil give anyone revelations about future events when he doesn’t know the future himself?
God is all-knowing. Satan is *not *all-knowing. Satan does *not *know the future. He *cannot *give anyone insight into future events.
If Satan knew the future, he would never have rebelled against God. When Lucifer rebelled against God, he had deceived himself into believing that he could “be like the Most High God.” This is what we are told in Isaiah 14: 12-15:
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.” (NKJV)
If the devil knew the future, he would never have influenced people to crucify Jesus. The Bible tells us this in 1 Corinthians 2:7-8:
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (NKJV)
The crucifixion of Jesus has done more damage to the work of Satan than any other event in the history of the world, and yet Satan was the driving influence behind it because he couldn’t see what would happen afterwards as a result.
As another example, if Satan was all-knowing, why didn’t he reveal the location of the baby Jesus to King Herod? Herod killed many, many children in his efforts to find and kill the baby Jesus. All Jesus’ parents had to do to avoid this danger was to move to Egypt. Herod and Satan were unable to find Jesus in their search.
As a modern-day example, John Paul Jackson once gave a prophetic warning to a graphic artist. He gently warned her that if she did not lose weight, it would cost her her life. She believed the warning, but she did not do enough to lose the weight and alleviate this health risk. She died a few months later, still a young woman.
Even though this seemed like a very negative message, God had a redemptive and good purpose for giving the woman this warning. He loved her so much that He wanted to prevent her from needlessly dying before her time.
The Devil is Limited to Information
The devil has no access to true revelatory knowledge. Just like any person who lacks revelatory gifts, Satan is limited to *information *that he can gain through his senses.
So, how do psychics help the police find dead and missing persons?
Simple. If devils inspired the killing or harming of people, then those devils are fully aware of the location of their victims. Demons communicate with each other, just as people do. Demons who inspire acts of violence against people can share the information about their evil deeds with other demons who can share that information with the “familiar spirits” used by psychics.
Every “accurate prediction” made by psychics, mediums, and occultists can be explained as a result of information-sharing and sheer guesswork.
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