Having been pressed by Ahab to speak only what the Lord had revealed, at this point Micaiah replied as God had instructed him: “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd. And the LORD said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace” (v. 17). This was clearly a prophecy of the death of Ahab, and it was obviously unpopular. Micaiah was imprisoned. But as he was being taken to prison he called out, “If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me” (v. 28). Moreover, he challenged all the people to take note of his prophecy.
Here there is precisely the problem with which John was dealing in his churches. It is the question of who is right. And there is one test—a most important test—by which true and false prophets may be distinguished: fulfillment. Whose prophecies come true? Will Ahab be killed or will he not? Will Israel be scattered or will they return victorious? In this case Micaiah was vindicated.
This is the test that Jeremiah gives: “The prophet who prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him” (Jer. 28:9). Or, to present it from the negative side, it is also the test given to the people of Deuteronomy: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:22).
But suppose the prophecy of a false prophet does just happen to come true? It is conceivable. Or suppose that the prophecy is of such a general nature or involves such didactic material that it is just not capable of being tested in this way. What then? In that case, says Deuteronomy, the prophet is to be tested by whether or not he leads the people to serve false gods. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them, thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God testeth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 13:1-3).
John has already indicated that behind every prophet stands a spirit, either the Spirit of God or the demonic spirit of antichrist (v. 3). He has spoken of the need to test the spirits by their origin. But how are they to be tested? How can a normal Christian know whether the spirit is of God or of antichrist? Here John applies precisely the test given in Deuteronomy 13, though in terms appropriate to the situation occasioned by the Gnostic challenge. “What do they say about Christ?” is John’s question. Do they acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh or do they deny this? If they deny Christ, they are not of God no matter how marvelous their activity.
John’s test has both a positive and negative expression, as is also the case with the similar test held forth by Paul in 1 Corinthians: “Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3).