BAPTIZING DIVINATION: HOW OMEN-READING BECAME PROPHETIC DISCERNMENT (PART II)

“Stop Looking for God in Numbers, Fleeces, Feelings, and Coincidences”

By Akin Ojumu

Perhaps the most dangerous feature of sign-driven Christianity is the confidence with which human interpretations are attributed directly to God.

A circumstance occurs. You interpret it. Then you announce:

“God told me.”

But notice what actually happened.

God did not audibly explain the event. Scripture did not explain the event. No biblical prophet explained the event. You observed something, interpreted it privately, and then attached God’s name to your interpretation.

That should make anyone who takes divine revelation seriously extremely cautious.

There is a profound difference between saying:

“I think this circumstance may be significant.”

and saying:

“God is telling me through this circumstance that…”

The second statement claims divine authorship for your interpretation. And Christians use such language with astonishing recklessness.

“I felt goosebumps, so the Holy Spirit confirmed it.”

“The doors opened, so God must approve.”

“I had peace, therefore God said yes.”

“I saw 444, so God was confirming His presence.”

“The pastor preached about the same thing I was thinking about, so God gave me a prophetic confirmation.”

Perhaps.

Or perhaps you experienced goosebumps. Perhaps an opportunity became available. Perhaps you felt calm. Perhaps you saw a number. Perhaps two people happened to discuss the same subject.

The problem is not believing in providence. The problem is turning providence into a private oracle.

Jeremiah 10:2

“Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them.”

Ancient paganism was saturated with this mindset.

People watched stars. They examined animal movements. They interpreted unusual births. They studied weather. They observed eclipses. They searched for signs of what the gods were supposedly communicating.

Modern Christians sometimes laugh at ancient superstition while reproducing its underlying logic.

The eagle flew overhead. The clock said 11:11. The preacher mentioned your favorite verse. The rain started when you prayed. Your hand began tingling. Three people independently used the same word.

Therefore:

“God is saying something.”

Same machinery. Different vocabulary. Ancient pagans called it an omen. Modern Christians may call it a prophetic sign. Changing the label does not sanctify the method.

Someone will inevitably object: “But God gave signs in the Bible!”

Of course He did.

Moses received signs confirming his commission. Hezekiah received a specific sign concerning his recovery. The shepherds were explicitly told:

Luke 2:12

“And this will be a sign for you…”

Jesus performed signs. The apostles performed signs.

But biblical signs have something modern omen-hunters frequently lack:

God identified the sign.

The shepherds did not see a baby in Bethlehem and begin brainstorming possible prophetic meanings.

An angel spoke. God supplied the interpretation.

The apostles did not see random numbers and conclude that Heaven was communicating. 

Biblical signs were not arbitrary circumstances privately decoded by individuals. God revealed what the sign was and what it meant.

That distinction destroys most of the modern “God sent me a sign” industry.

There is a world of difference between God giving a sign and explaining it, and you seeing something unusual and deciding what God must mean by it. The former is revelation. The latter is interpretation of an omen.

Christians rightly believe in divine providence.

Proverbs 16:9

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

God governs the world. He opens opportunities. He closes opportunities. He directs history. He orders circumstances. Nothing lies outside His sovereign rule.

But providence is not the same thing as revelation.

A closed door can simply mean you cannot go through that door. It does not necessarily contain an encrypted theological message.

An open job position means you may apply. It does not necessarily mean God has prophetically declared that job to be yours.

Someone unexpectedly contacting you may be providential. It does not automatically make the conversation prophetic.

A missed flight may alter your plans. It does not necessarily mean God is warning you about the destination or of an impending catastrophe.

Rain on your wedding day is weather doing what weather does. It does not automatically constitute divine commentary on the marriage.

Faith trusts God’s governance of circumstances. Superstition attempts to decode circumstances. Those are two very different things.

Providence means: God sovereignly rules what happens.

Omen-reading means: I assume what happened contains a hidden message from God that I am authorized to interpret.

The first is biblical. The second is spiritually dangerous.

The tragedy is that Christians who possess the written Word of God sometimes behave as though Scripture were insufficiently exciting.

Apparently, sixty-six books of divine revelation are not enough.

We need 11:11. We need prophetic dreams. We need feathers appearing on the floor. We need numbers on receipts. We need license plates. We need clouds shaped like objects. We need “random” Bible verses.

We need somebody on YouTube announcing that the algorithm has prophetically selected us. We need a fleece. We need a sign. We need confirmation of the confirmation confirming yesterday’s confirmation.

Meanwhile, the Bible sits unopened.

Paul writes:

2 Timothy 3:16–17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Complete. Equipped. 

Not spiritually stranded until 444 appears on the microwave.

When Christians need wisdom, Scripture says:

James 1:5

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God…”

Then exercise judgment. Study Scripture. Apply biblical principles. Seek wise counsel. Consider your responsibilities. Examine the facts. Make a decision. And trust the providence of God.

That may sound less sensational than chasing signs. It is also far more biblical.

The Christian life is not supposed to work like this:

Random event → mysterious sign → private interpretation → “God told me.”

It should look like this:

Scripture → faithful interpretation → biblical wisdom → responsible decision → obedience → trust in God’s providence.

That is less glamorous than deciphering angel numbers. It will probably not build a successful TikTok or YouTube prophetic ministry. It does not require a dream dictionary. It will not give you something mysterious to announce at the prayer meeting.

But it has one decisive advantage:

It is biblical.

So, stop looking for secret messages in numbers. Stop treating coincidences as private prophecy. Stop consulting dream dictionaries. Stop putting out fleeces. Stop assuming every strange feeling is the Holy Spirit. Stop turning providence into divination. 

Stop taking random circumstances, supplying your own interpretation, and then attaching God’s name to the conclusion.

God’s people are not commanded to interpret omens. They are commanded to hear His Word. They are commanded to understand His Word. They are commanded to believe His Word. They are commanded to obey His Word.

And where Scripture has not spoken specifically, Christians are called to exercise wisdom and entrust the outcome to the sovereign providence of God.

The universe is not your Bible. Your dreams are not Scripture. Your feelings are not Scripture. Your coincidences are not Scripture. Your repeating numbers are not Scripture. Your fleeces are not Scripture. 

And your private interpretation of an unusual event does not become revelation merely because you preface it with:

“God told me.”

God has already spoken. Open the Bible. S.T.U.D.Y.