Unfalsifiable Prophecies

The “prophet” Erica Greve

Take a look at the prophecies that are receiving attention today. The vast majority of them are "unfalsifiable."

What do I mean by saying they're "unfalsifiable"?

There's no way that you would ever be able to prove that they're false or true. The predictions contained in them are highly vague—like the jibberish words found in fortune cookies. They're the polar opposite of the Bible's prophecies, which are highly specific.

To show you what I'm talking about I'll compare one of the prophecies given by "prophetess" Erica Greve—of Bethel Church, in Redding, California—to another prophecy given by the prophet Elisha of Scripture.

Erica Greve's Unfalsifiable Prophecy

On  January 22, Greve released a list of prophecies for the year 2010. All the prophecies are vague, but let's look at just the first one.

Greve says 2010 will be the year that the body of Christ will "win together." The victory will be achieved, in part, by more churches partnering together, according to her. She said:

I believe the new revelation coming forth from the Father's heart will result in [denominational] streams coming closer together, churches partnering more frequently, and significant outpourings of His presence touching multiple places at the same time. (See her full prophecy here.)

But how could it possibly ever be determined if more churches partnered together in 2010 than in 2009? The answer is—it couldn't be determined. There would be no way of knowing whether or not more churches worked together this year.

This prophecy is unfalsifiable. It would be akin to saying that this year children will experience more joy. Or that this year God will smile upon school teachers. These prophecies sound nice and inspiring, but how would you ever know if they were fulfilled or not? You wouldn't know. You couldn't know.

Elisha's Falsifiable Prophecy

Now let's look at a falsifiable prophecy given by Elisha in  2 Kings chapter 7. His prophecy is so specific—unlike Greve's prophecy—that no one is left scratching their head and wondering whether or not it was accurate.

The background to Elisha's prophecy is given in 6:24-31 where we learn that the Israelites living in Samaria were under siege by the Arameans. Severe famine  resulted. The people were so hungry they resorted to cannibalism.

The terrible state of affairs was God's punishment for the Israelites' sin. Yet instead of repenting of the sin, the king of Israel became angry at God and sent someone to kill the prophet Elisha.

In response, Elisha told the king that the horrific situation in the city would improve the very next day, with food becoming affordable. Elisha's prophecy was so specific that it not only included the exact day of its fulfillment, but also the exact price that wheat and barley would be sold for on that specific day:

Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." (2 Kings 7:1)

Yet Elisha's specific predictions didn't stop there. When the king's royal officer mocked Elisha's prophecy—saying it was impossible for the famine to be ended in a single day—Elisha gave another prophecy directed at the officer. Elisha said the officer would live to see the reversal of the famine the next day, but he would not live long enough to enjoy any of the newly acquired food (2 Kings 7:2). Elisha's prophecies came true exactly as he gave them (see the rest of 2 Kings chapter 7). God miraculously provided enough food for the entire city, so that wheat and barley were sold for the prices Elisha had predicted. And the official who mocked Elisha was trampled to death at the city gate by a stampede of people buying food—before he could partake of any of the food himself.

Elisha's specific prophecy passed one of the key tests for a prophet given in the Bible in Deuteronomy 18:21-22—the accuracy test. According to this passage, if a a prophecy does not come true, then the so-called prophet is a false prophet.

Ironically, the accuracy test can't even be applied to the unfalsifiable prophecies given by Greve and many other so-called prophets today.