Predictive Programming

Who Really Leaks the Future? — A Short Prophetic Reflection (Blog)

People say the devil has to tell you what he is planning. I hear it a lot — predictive programming, “the Simpsons predicted 9/11,” a movie that seems to line up with a public figure’s deal, or a plot that reads like tomorrow’s headlines. At first glance it sounds convincing. But the Gospel gives us a different—clearer—lens: the devil never speaks truth. He is the father of lies. The Spirit of God is the revealer.

The Lie: “The Devil Told Us”

The premise that evil itself whispers accurate blueprints into human creativity is seductive because it explains coincidences. But Scripture says otherwise. Jesus exposed the origin of such deception: “Ye are of your father the devil… he was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” (John 8:44, KJV). The devil’s job is to blind, to confuse, to steal truth — not to reveal it.

“Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” — John 8:32, KJV

If the devil cannot speak truth, then who is the source behind those eerie “predictions” that show up in art, television, and film?

The Source: The Spirit of Truth

The New Testament tells us there is a Spirit who does reveal truth — sometimes to people who don’t even know they are speaking it. Jesus promised: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13, KJV). The Spirit moves freely in the earth; He convicts, illuminates, and — at times — whispers of things God is doing.

That does not mean every writer or artist is a prophet. Men and women create under many influences. But the Spirit is sovereign: He can lay truth in a heart, a dream, or an image — sometimes long before the hour comes. The fact that a screenwriter had “no idea” about a political deal, or an animator set a joke that later lines up with history, doesn’t disprove God’s hand. It suggests the Spirit can use the ordinary: breath, water, air — the life that flows in us — to carry truth.

Water, Baptism, and Memory — A Symbol and a Thing

Much of my writing returns to water and baptism. Water is not only symbolic in Scripture; it is the carrier of life. Baptism is a public sign of death to the old and resurrection with Christ. Water in the body is what ties us to creation — it carries memory, it carries life. If God uses the created order to communicate (and He does), then water is a likely medium.

Consider: creation begins with water and Spirit (Gen. 1 imagery; “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”). Baptism is a participation in death and resurrection (Romans 6). Water, life, and Spirit are intertwined. The Spirit can use the created to reveal the Creator’s truth — even through dreams, art, or the breath of a writer.

Why the Truth Sometimes Shows Up Through Unbelievers

There are times when truth arrives through hands that don’t know they hold it. The Bible shows us God using unlikely vessels — and He can do the same today. The writer of a movie, the cartoonist, the pundit — they are in the world and share the same air, the same water, the same created order that the Spirit moves through. That does not always make their work prophetic; sometimes it is coincidence, sometimes coincidence salted by Providence, sometimes the Spirit seeding an image that will later bear witness.

Scripture warns us, though, to test everything: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1, KJV). Discernment matters. We do not accept strange “revelations” because they line up with headlines; we test them by the Word and by the fruit they produce.

How to Discern — Practical Steps

1. Root everything in the Word. If a so-called revelation accords with Christ’s nature and Scripture, it bears weight. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6, KJV).

2. Ask the Spirit to confirm. The Spirit leads into truth (John 16:13). Pray for clarity and for the mind of Christ.

3. Watch the fruit. Does this vision draw people toward God or away? Jesus taught us to know trees by their fruit.

4. Remember spiritual warfare. We wrestle not with flesh alone: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against… spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12, KJV). That explains why deception is so plausible — but it also reassures us that truth is stronger.

5. Test the messenger. Are they humble? Do they point to Christ? Are they guided by love and holiness?

Final Word — Truth Wins

The devil is a liar; he cannot be the source of the deep, living truth that comes from God. The revelation that turns up in a script, a cartoon, a song, or a dream — whether through believer or unbeliever — should be judged by the Spirit and the Word. God can and does use water, breath, and the created order to carry truth. That truth endures.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” — Romans 8:14, KJV

If you want to read this further, look at Scripture’s pattern: water and Spirit at creation, baptism and resurrection, the Spirit as revealer of truth. Stand in the water of your baptism, keep your ear to the Spirit, and let the Word be the measuring-stick. Truth will prevail — not because men are perfect, but because God is.

— The Artist ONE