cautious approach to prophecy might have turned some in Thessalonica a little skittish on the whole “prophetic utterances” thing, leading them to shun prophets and thus “quench the Spirit” (1 Thes. 5:19). The answer was not to mute the Spirit’s voice speaking through the prophets of the early church, but to approach everything with discernment. So, in 5:21–22, Paul says, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” In our day, nearly two millennia