Verse 20-22 kind of baffled me. If I understand it right a prophet has to prove his worth by speaking some true prophecies before the people were supposed to listen to them. If they got it wrong, dead meat. You'd have to be pretty brave to be a prophet! It seems the real issue is the are a lot of temptations and they are easily led astray. I think there is some application in that spiritual advice is needed but there is probably a way to approach the giving of advice that doesn't lead someone astray if you are wrong about it. On the other hand, who really knows. Maybe this doesn't really apply today where we don't really have prophets. Giving someone advice is simply that.

Interesting for sure. Thanks for the replies both greg and Tony.

I wonder when this rule for prophets ended. It must have made communications from. God much more straightforward. But seems like there are plenty of people coming up in the old testament who spoke fake prophecy and didn't die. But I can't think of any. I'll be on the lookout in the coming year.