A CRITICAL DISTINCTION
One of the great mysteries of the Bible is that God distinguishes between his written word and his spoken voice. This will be a very difficult distinction for most people to grasp because all the attention in both Judaism and Christianity has been on the written word. And it will be rejected categorically because most theologies do not accept that God actually speaks directly to people — except through his written word.

This doctrinal issue is clearly evident in the fact that religious organizations and teachers do not actively teach followers to learn how to listen to God’s voice. There is an unspoken, but powerful understanding between the clergy and laity that the ability to hear God’s voice is a spiritual skill reserved for the trained clergy and perhaps a few other select individuals whom God has chosen and anointed to hear and speak on his behalf. In Biblical terms, people with this calling are identified as prophets. But not all prophets speak on God’s behalf. Many are false prophets. A false prophet is anyone who leads people away from hearing and interpreting God’s voice directly for themselves. In Religion is the Enemy we see that these humans led people astray.

Only true prophets are able to hear God’s voice and speak on his behalf to people. The Bible talks  extensively about “false prophets” who are discussed in detail in False Prophets.