I appreciated Frank's post, but the thread was locked before I could say as much. There is one very important thing that I would add to this list:
A true prophet preaches Christ.
I've walked in the light of the Lord long enough to have seen many different types of preachers, evangelists, self-proclaimed prophets of all different shapes, sizes and temperaments.
I've seen and interacted with individuals who were generally regarded as "prophets" who were little more than charlatans. Some had a message that strayed from the faith and meandered into something terribly wrong.
Some of these people actually fit some of the aforementioned descriptions from Brother Ravenhill. They were abrasive, bold, rejected by some believers, isolated, anti-establishment and seemingly unconcerned with whether or not other believers received their message or proclamations.
In other words, on the surface, they fit much of the previous descriptions -- but with the exception that their message brought a message that wasn't centered on Christ Jesus.
The things mentioned by Brother Ravenhill are certainly a good description of how prophets are received or perceived. However, such descriptions are moot and incorrect if such a person is presenting a message or motivation that meanders beyond Christ and his Word.
I met one preacher with a hellfire and judgment message who visited a church for a series of meetings. He was abrasive and forthright. He told stories of what "God was doing" in his ministry -- from healing the sick to actually raising many people from the dead. He said that his message was one of repentance too -- and he boldly denounced anyone who rejected his words. He even spoke of church people and sinners alike who died at his meetings (similar to Ananias and Sapphira).
Initially, I was intrigued by this sort of boldness. Yet, there was something wrong. Not only were there certain "checks" that just didn't add up with his message of Christ, but there were parts of his story that just didn't pass the musters of Biblical truth. His stories were filled with supernatural tales of miracles and evil. He mentioned that a 12-foot tall owl spoke to him and that the devil once chased him (even opening and closing the gate of a fence).
That man was all about forcefully proclaiming a message that wasn't entirely within the realm of truth. He was all about people being "slain in the spirit" -- and even belittled anyone that he prayed for who didn't "fall under the power of God" as "resisting the Holy Ghost" (talk about on-the-spot peer-pressure for some people). In the end, that man walked away with some enormous "offerings" to "further the work of an apostle."
In other words, that man exhibited many of Brother Ravenhill's descriptions but his message (and methods) weren't from the Lord. For obviously reasons, such men -- apostolic and prophetic impersonators -- are somewhat easy to spot to those who know the Word.
While there are some outright phonies out there who will actually play upon such things (even modeling their "prophetic" ministry with a certain air of abrasiveness that is actually attractive to some people), I do think that most would-be prophets in the church are well-meaning.
Whereas the preacher that I mentioned before was proclaiming a Gospel that was very different from the one that Paul preached, there are others who meander in much more subtle ways.
One thing that I have noticed is that some people cannot rejoice with someone examining their words to determine if what they've said is really from the Lord. I think that a real man of God will rejoice when believers search the Scripture to verify that his words align with and do not exceed God's Word.
What happens when the words cannot be confirmed by Scripture?
In keeping with recent examples: What happens when a person declares that a particular natural event or phenomenon is a sign from God or an act of God's judgment?
It would be easy to proclaim ANY event as a sign or act of God's will. We can say that high tide each and every day is because God wills it. We can say that the Sun "rising" in the east and setting in the west is because God wills it. Consequently, it wouldn't surprise us if we determine that a solar eclipse is a "sign" that God determined -- because it would certainly be in keeping with that sort of vague determination of "God's will" (as in determining that EVERYTHING that every happened or will ever happened is God's will). Such thinking begs the question why people pray for God's intervention if all things are predetermined by Him and are assigned to His "will."
Yet, it is in the specifics that determining the validity of a message or proclamation can be difficult. God's omniscience doesn't mean that we can assign the blame to God. This is what confused unbelievers do when they question how God can allow evil to happen in this world or let babies die. I don't think that we would rightfully dismiss the horrific killing of children during the Holocaust, believers during the Roman persecution or believers who were tortured and executed by communists as little more than "God's will" any more than we can declare that Christians who died in various natural disasters throughout history were under "judgment."
That is exceeding the general nature of God by pointing at specific events and claiming that they are specific acts of God in judgment for a particular reason. We aren't capable of making that determination outside of Biblical anecdotes.
No one should confuse someone question such a specific declaration with that of "scoffing" or "mocking" God's Word. Rather, they are simply questioning the specific nature of the declaration and trying to rightly divide the Word of Truth and determine the validity of the claim.
I am blessed to have had the opportunity to sit, speak and pray with Brother Ravenhill in his home outside of Lindale, Texas when I was a young teen. When I met with him (shortly before he died), he was very gentle, humble and patient with me. One thing that he pressed in me was the need to "test everything." Like I stated earlier, I think that most men of God would welcome that sort of godly scrutiny and verification. It is important to remember that scrutiny should't to be confused with cynicism or even worldly unbelief.
It would be a foolish man who quickly believes another man -- even a man of God -- simply because he knows him. If the Word of God teaches us anything, it is that even the best of men can be wrong or even fail.
*EDIT - I clicked "submit" before I mentioned one other thing on my mind.
I listened to a message by Brother Ravenhill a long time ago and I can't remember the specific message title. However, he spoke about the importance of a "weeping prophet." He mentioned how Jesus arrived to Jerusalem and wept over it just moments before driving out those who were selling things at the Temple. His point was that we must "weep before we whip" (or something like that).
There's an old saying that "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." The same is true with preaching the Gospel (literally GOOD NEWS). I remember hearing Nicky Cruz share his testimony about how he knew that David Wilkerson loved him. Although he treated Wilkerson with contempt and scorn, Cruz said that it is nearly impossible to hate someone who you know truly cares for or loves you.
Thus, I would add that a true prophet is brokenhearted with pure love for others -- and this love is evident to those who hear him.
