Pat Robertson has offered his prediction for 2007. He claims God told him there will be “mass killing” from a terrorist attack against America after September of this year. He added, “I’m not necessarily saying it’s going to be nuclear. ... The Lord didn’t say nuclear. But I do believe it will be something like that.” So, God did not say “nuclear” but Robertson added it anyway. Though he hedged his bet a little he was still admitting to going beyond what he thought God told him. That does not sound like a true prophet.
As tragic as the prediction sounds, considering Robertson’s track record we are probably in pretty good shape. Last year he claimed that God told him large ocean storms would hit America (he must have been a year behind on that one). And in 2005 he claimed it would be a good year for George W. Bush (that worked unless you count Hurricane Katrina, Harriet Miers, Tom DeLay, and Jack Abramoff). That does not sound like a true prophet.
Despite these and other prediction problems, Robertson now claimed, “I have a relatively good track record. ... Sometimes I miss.” Wait, I thought these predictions were coming from God. Is Robertson saying God was wrong sometimes? Or, is Robertson admitting to making incorrect predictions and falsely accrediting them to God? That does not sound like a true prophet.
Such problems should be bothersome to Robertson since he claims to interpret the Bible literally. Maybe he needs to check out Deuteronomy 18:20-22:
UPDATE [1/4/07]: Journalist Terry Mattingly has an excellent post over at GetReligion about this issue. He writes:
As tragic as the prediction sounds, considering Robertson’s track record we are probably in pretty good shape. Last year he claimed that God told him large ocean storms would hit America (he must have been a year behind on that one). And in 2005 he claimed it would be a good year for George W. Bush (that worked unless you count Hurricane Katrina, Harriet Miers, Tom DeLay, and Jack Abramoff). That does not sound like a true prophet.
Despite these and other prediction problems, Robertson now claimed, “I have a relatively good track record. ... Sometimes I miss.” Wait, I thought these predictions were coming from God. Is Robertson saying God was wrong sometimes? Or, is Robertson admitting to making incorrect predictions and falsely accrediting them to God? That does not sound like a true prophet.
Such problems should be bothersome to Robertson since he claims to interpret the Bible literally. Maybe he needs to check out Deuteronomy 18:20-22:
“But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
UPDATE [1/4/07]: Journalist Terry Mattingly has an excellent post over at GetReligion about this issue. He writes:
Dear Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, please speak to the Rev. Pat Robertson tonight. Please tell him to shut up, sooner rather than later. Urge him to retire to his prayer closet and close the door for a few years. Maybe he can bench press some massive leather-bound copies of ancient Bible commentaries, or something like that.Amen, indeed! Mattingly has some other great thoughts on this that are worth checking out.
Amen.
Based on Deuteronomy 18:20-22 I predict Pat Robertson will die this year...maybe...
ReplyDeletenotthesun: Thanks for the comment. I’m not sure I would go so far as to predict that. After all, I make no claims to be a prophet. However, you probably have just as good if not better odds of being right. What I’d to see—but won’t predict—is that Robertson fully devote himself this year to preaching the love of Jesus.
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