Christian Cyclopedia

Gift possessed in apostolic times whereby the sources of prophecy (divine, human, or demonic) were discerned (1 Co 12:10; 1 Jn 4:1). It was a gift needed at a time when many false prophets were in the world (2 Jn 7). Later (by Ignatius [see Apostolic Fathers, 2] and in the Didache [see Apostolic Fathers, 8]), rules for judging prophets were given.