On several recent "Prophetic Perspective on Current Events" programs, host Rick Joyner has gone on and on about the amazing prophetic gifts possessed by his close ally and friend, Bob Jones. This is not the Bob Jones of the infamous Bob Jones University, but rather a modern day prophet who met the Arch Angel Gabriel when he was only seven years old.
Jones appeared on Joyner's program just last week and on Monday's broadcast, Joyner spent the bulk of the program marveling about what a "legend" Jones is, calling him "one of the most remarkable prophetic voices ... in our times."
Joyner's relentless fawning over Jones reminded us of this short excerpt from John MacArthur's recent book "Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship," which presents a rather different view of Jones and the entire movement of self-proclaimed modern day prophets and apostles that he, Joyner and their ilk inhabit :
Perhaps the most bizarre admission of modern prophetic error came during an extended interchange between self-proclaimed prophets Mike Bickle and Bob Jones—two of the most well-known figures associated with the Kansas City Prophets. While discussing the topic of "visions and revelations," Bickle asked Jones to talk about the numerous times his prophecies have been wrong. Here is a transcript of their conversation:
Mike Bickle: "Tell them about the error in your life; the measure of error that you have and the measure of accuracy, 'cause I want people to understand a little bit about that?"
Bob Jones: "Well, I've had a lot of measure of error in my life. I remember once that I got into pride. Every time I get into pride, boy, Papa [God] sure knows how to pop my bubble. And I got into pride and called a church into a three-day fast and told them that certain things was going to happen, and they went into a three-day fast. It was terrible. And after that three-day fast—it was terrible, and the Spirit didn't even show up that night ...."
Mike Bickle: "You called people to a fast?"
Bob Jones: "I sure did, and it wasn't of the Lord; it was of my pride. I thought you could force the Lord to do something through fasting—boy, I found out real quick you couldn't. So there's a bunch of old saints that was ready to stone me, and so I was ready to get out of there and I went home like any good prophet, and I resigned. And I bawled and I squalled and I finally went to sleep and when I went to sleep the Lord come and took hold of my hand. And [in my vision] I was about like this little girl right here ... only I was in a lot worse shape because I had a Pamper [diaper] on and I had really messed it good. It was running down both of my legs. And the Lord had a hold of my hand and I was a bawlin' and a squallin'. . . . And I heard a voice sort of speak, puzzled I can say, 'What happened to Bob?' And my [heavenly] counselor spoke up and said, 'He had an accident."
Mike Bickle: "Spoke some wrong words."
Bob Jones: "'Yeah. He had an accident. He messed his Pamper real bad: And I think, 'Oh boy, here it comes.' And then I really got a surprise. A gentle, tender voice said, That boy needs more insurance. Let him know we've got him covered from them accidents. Give him a higher insurance policy.' That wasn't what I was looking for because I just resigned. 'Clean him up—tell him to go back into the body and prophesy twice as much. This time, he'll do what I'll tell him to: The next thing I knew I was back in bed, and boy, I come awake and man, I mean sweat was rolling down." ...
Mike Bickle: "So there has been errors; there's been a number of errors."
Bob Jones: "Oh, hundreds of them."
Jones's comments illustrate two of the primary problems with modern prophecy: it is chock-full of errors and inaccuracies, and it abounds with a level of sacrilegious lunacy that certainly does not find its source in God. Jones may have chosen just the right analogy in comparing his prophetic errors to a dirty diaper, but he is wrong about everything else. His claims to be a true prophet are obviously bogus. He does not have true visions of heaven. And God has certainly not given him "insurance" that allows him to get away with hundreds of errors as if it's no big deal.
Fewer than three years after that interview, Bob Jones was temporarily removed from public ministry by the Metro Vineyard Fellowship of Kansas City in Olathe, Kansas, whose senior pastor was none other than Mike Bickle. It had come to light that Jones was using false "prophecies" as a means of gaining trust from women whom he then abused sexually. "The sins for which [he was] removed from ministry include[d] using his gifts to manipulate people for his personal desires, sexual misconduct, rebelling against pastoral authority, slandering leaders and the promotion of bitterness within the body of Christ." He nevertheless returned to the charismatic limelight after a short hiatus, and as of this writing, he is still speaking in charismatic churches, presenting himself as an anointed prophet of God, and making prophecies that are demonstrably false and often patently ridiculous.' Thousands of gullible charismatics still hang on his every word—as if all the scandal and false prophesying never happened. The fact that Jones's online biography compares his ministry to that of the prophet Daniel only heightens the blasphemous nature of the whole fiasco.
