Tizaz
Statute 52
Overview
This statute states that prophecy and the casting out of demons do not by themselves prove that a person is righteous or holy. It gives Balaam, Caiaphas, Satan, and demons as examples and ends by distinguishing a lawless ruler from a true king.
1Not everyone who prophesies is righteous, nor is everyone who casts out demons holy.
2Even Balaam son of Beor, although wicked, prophesied by divination, and Caiaphas prophesied under the false title of chief priest. Even Satan foretold things, as did the demons who are with him. Yet because of this they do not have so much as a spark of the fear of God. In their ignorance they trust in the will of the malice of their thoughts.
3It is therefore clear that when the impious prophesy, their prophesying does not reveal their wickedness. Nor do those who cast out demons belong to the righteous merely because they cast them out. They lead one another astray, like the teaching of laughter, and both those who practice it and those who associate with them go to ruin.
4A lawless king is not a king, but a tyrant.