“Let the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge.” 1 Corinthians 14:29. (R. V.) GoPH 197.1
This scripture requires that those who listen to the prophets should “judge” what is prophesied in order to know whether it is true or not. GoPH 197.2
In harmony with this instruction is the counsel given in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21. GoPH 197.3
“Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophecies [Greek). Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good.” GoPH 197.4
The word “prophesyings” does not mean “the active exercise of the gift” as some suppose, for it is a plural noun and not a verb denoting action. GoPH 197.5
This same Greek word appears in 2 Timothy 1:18 and there is translated “prophecies.” GoPH 197.6
If it is the act of prophesying that is meant, then we must “prove” or “judge” or “try” the act of prophesying—we must see the prophet in the act of prophesying and prove the exercise of the gift. GoPH 197.7
But it is the “prophecies,” - the things spoken or written that we are to “prove.” Therefore it matters not whether we are present when the prophet prophesies or absent, since it is not the act of prophesying that is to be proved but the “things” that are prophesied. GoPH 197.8
But how shall we prove them? GoPH 197.9
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11. GoPH 197.10
Prove the prophecies that are prophesied, by the Scriptures, and hold fast that which is good— that which is in harmony with the Scriptures. GoPH 197.11
A. F. Ballenger.