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It seems to me that the belief that a true prophet of God is infallible is wide-spread among God's people. I held this belief myself for a time. Does Scripture teach this? First of all, let me make it clear that to say that prophets are fallible is not saying that there is error in the prophecies of Scripture. The Church is not saying that there is error in the prophecies of Scripture. The Church has judged those particular prophecies to be accurate, and time and events have confirmed the accuracy of those whose time has come. However, this does not mean that all prophets are infallible, or that even those whose prophecies are included in the Scriptures were infallible. Does the Bible say that true prophets of God are infallible? Can it be established that the prophets whose words comprise the canon never prophesied something not included in the Scriptures that was inaccurate? Deut. 18:20-22 and I Sam. 9:6-9 might be used to support a position of the infallibility of true prophets. In Deut. 18:20-22 God told the Hebrews to kill a prophet who gave a false prophecy. If implemented, this would guarantee that no prophet would give two false prophecies, but it does not tell us that a true prophet is infallible. I Sam. 9:6-9 indicates that so far Samuel's prophecies had come to pass; but we have no statement in his old age indicating that he had been 100% accurate in prophecy (I Sam. 12:1-5; 25:1). If he was 100% accerate, would this mean that this happens with all prophets? Would it mean that he was infallible, or that he had been careful? More to the point, in I Cor. 14:29 we read, "And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment." If prophets are infallible, why would it be necessary to judge what they prophesy? In II Cor. 13:1 we see that "every fact is to be comfirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses." Does this not also apply to prophecy?
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