Evangelist Perry Stone opened a recent telecast of Manna-Fest by issuing a stern warning over unhealthy trends in the modern prophetic movement. “There’s been three bad habits that have occurred in the Charismatic community, and I want to share these with you, and they’re concerns of mine,” Stone said.
The first problem is the casual use of the phrase “God told me.” Stone explained, “Never ever get up and say that the Lord told you something unless you absolutely know from the Word. Don’t just look at somebody and say that unless divine inspiration is upon you.” He warned that repeating the phrase as a habit leads to confusion and undermines credibility.
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Stone also cautioned against what he called “prophetic roulette.” He described one church where conflicting words of prophecy created chaos, saying, “I called ‘em dueling prophets. I had to sit both them down and say, you need to keep your mouth shut because you all are contradicting each other.”
A third danger is manipulation through false gifts. Stone recounted an example of a man copying predictions from a psychic and presenting them as divine revelation. “That is an abomination before God,” he said. “Manipulating a gift when it’s not a real gift and saying it’s from God can be borderline blasphemy.”
Learning to Hear God Personally
Stone urged believers not to depend on constant personal prophecies from others. “You need to learn to hear from God for yourself,” he said. “God will speak to your heart, into your spirit when you’re saved and filled with the Holy Spirit, and He does it by putting a burden on you or impressing you with information.”
He added that many answers are already available in Scripture. “People will say to me sometime, do you have a word for me? I would just say, I sure do. Go home and read your Bible,” Stone said.
Dreams, Visions and the Last Days
Citing Joel 2:28, Stone explained that prophecy, dreams and visions are increasing in the last days. “As the Spirit of God begins to move in the earth there’s one thing I can tell you. He brings revelation,” he said.
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Stone differentiated between the experiences of younger and older believers. “Young men who are young in the Lord, who are starting in the ministry, need a vision to convince them it came from the Lord,” he said. “The older you get, if you stayed in the Word, you have extreme Bible knowledge. You know the symbolism of the Bible.”
Warning Dreams of Water and Fire
The evangelist shared that he has experienced troubling dreams he believes serve as warnings. He described repeatedly seeing coastal flooding and massive waves. “I keep seeing seawater rising. I see seawater coming in. I see large waves coming in,” Stone said. “I would say I’ve seen tsunamis, oh my goodness, 20 to 25 times.”
Stone linked these visions to biblical patterns of judgment. “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the time of the coming of the Son of Man,” he explained. “Noah’s sign was extreme water and destruction by water. Lot’s sign was destruction by fire. Water is connected with Noah. Fire is connected with Lot.”
He pointed to activity in the Pacific Ring of Fire as further evidence of prophetic fulfillment. “It’s awakening. Something’s happening where things are awakening, and this is called the Ring of Fire,” he said.
Looking Toward Christ’s Return
Stone closed with a reminder from Luke 21 that end-time signs will be evident in both the heavens and on the earth. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars, and on the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring,” he said. “When these things begin to happen, look up, lift up your head, for your redemption is drawing near.”
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He encouraged believers to recognize the seriousness of the times and rely on God’s Word and Spirit for discernment. “God is going to give us dreams and visions,” Stone said. “When everybody starts seeing the same thing, you know it’s something that’s set to happen.”
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a background in journalism from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine.
