Over the past several months, I have spent a lot of time listening to podcasts, reading exposés, and hearing testimonies from those who have been wounded by the modern prophetic movement. It is truly heartbreaking to learn about missed predictions, questionable doctrine, manipulated emotions, and spiritual abuse.
Yet whenever these failures are brought to light, I keep hearing the exact same defense, even from Christian leaders I deeply respect: “Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.”
Normally, that adage is wise counsel. It reminds us not to ditch something good and biblical just because flawed people have mishandled it. In this context, folks usually mean: “Yes, there are abuses, but there is still some good in the movement, so we shouldn’t dismiss prophecy entirely.”
I completely agree that we shouldn’t treat prophecy with contempt (1 Thessalonians 5:20). But here is the problem: It’s not biblical prophecy. When we hold today’s prophetic movement up to the light of God's Word, i.e., test it (1 John 4:1), it's clear that we aren’t just dealing with dirty bathwater. After walking through the research and hearing so many accounts, I am convinced the truth is much more radical: there is no baby in the tub.
In the Bible, a prophet was not someone sharing vague impressions, spiritual hunches, or declarations so broad they could never really be proven right or wrong. Biblical prophets declared the actual Word of God. Because of that, claiming to speak for the Lord was a matter of life and death. Moses gave Israel a clear test in Deuteronomy 18:20–22: If what a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name does not come true, the Lord has not spoken, and that prophet was to be put to death.
Notice that Israel was not instructed to excuse the prophet, claim they simply “missed the timing,” or argue that prophecy is a skill that takes practice. To say “Thus says the Lord” when God hasn't spoken is blasphemy. It presumes upon God’s authority and wounds real people under the weight of false hopes. Jeremiah warned about leaders who told people what they wanted to hear: “They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:16). Slapping a spiritual label, like a claimed dream or angelic visitation, onto human imagination doesn’t make it God’s voice.
When modern prophecies inevitably fall flat, leaders of the modern prophetic ministries move the goalposts. They deceptively claim prophecy is naturally fallible, blaming listeners for understanding it wrong, applying it wrong, and for lacking faith. Others argue that New Testament prophecy allows for error. But the New Testament never asks believers to accept false statements as divine revelation. When John tells us to “test the spirits,” he is not telling us to stomach a blend of truth and error. He is telling us to separate truth from error.
What troubles me most is how easily this movement bypasses the requirement for biblical discernment. People are regularly told, “God says you must marry this person,” “God says you need to leave your church,” or “God says you have to give money to my ministry.” When questioning a prophet is treated as questioning God Himself, believers end up spiritually trapped. That is not ministry. It is spiritual manipulation.
God never designed us to live at the mercy of self-appointed prophets. His written Word is completely sufficient. Second Timothy 3:16–17 assures us that Scripture equips us for every good work. The Bible might not name your future spouse or tell you which job offer to accept, but it gives you every principle necessary to make wise, God-honoring decisions. You don’t need an extra-biblical revelation to know how to pursue holiness, love your family, flee sin, and walk with Christ.
If you drain the tub—clearing out the scandals, broken promises, and spiritual manipulation—what remains? In the rare instances where a “prophecy” contains something good and true, it is almost always a principle already taught in Scripture. The prophecy was not necessary. What was needed was to know, trust, and obey God’s infallible Word.
The church does not need to manufacture a prophetic buzz to find hope. God has already spoken decisively through His Son (Hebrews 1:1–2). God has already given us everything we need in His Word, in prayer, and in Christian community (Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 1:4).
The next time someone warns you not to throw out the baby with the bathwater, take a closer look at what is actually in the water. With the modern prophetic movement, I am increasingly convinced there was never a baby there to begin with.