TOPIC 2.25 SUMMARY—Do prophets still exist? If so, what is their role today? CONTRIBUTORS: Chris Coleman Joe Wiles Discussed below are three very important topics in regard to the subject of prophecy. 1. Prophecy today 2. False prophets 3. Personal prophecy 1. PROPHECY TODAY— The gift of prophet seems to have been a temporary gift given by the Christ for the laying of the foundation of the church. Prophets were foundational to the church (Ephesians 2:20). The prophet proclaimed a message from the Lord to the early believers. Sometimes a prophets message was revelatory (new revelation and truth from God) and sometimes a prophets message was predictive (see Acts 11:28 and 21:10). The early Christians did not have the complete Bible. Some early Christians did not have access to any of the books of the New Testament. The New Testament prophets filled the gap by proclaiming Gods message to the people who would not have access to it otherwise. The last book of the New Testament (Revelation) was not completed until late in the first century. So, the Lord sent prophets to proclaimed Gods Word to His people. Are there true prophets today? If the purpose of a prophet was to reveal truth from God, why would we need prophets if we have the completed revelation from God in the Bible? If prophets were the foundation of the early church, are we still building the foundation today? Can God give someone a message to deliver to someone else? Absolutely! Does God reveal truth to someone in a supernatural way and enable that person to deliver that message to others? Absolutely! But is this the biblical gift of prophecy? No. Whatever the case, whenever a person claims to be speaking for God (the essence of prophecy) the key is to compare what is said with what the Bible says. If God were to speak through a person today, it would be in 100% complete agreement with what God has already said in the Bible. God does not contradict Himself. 1 John 4:1 instructs us, Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 declares, Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. So, whether is it a word from the Lord or a supposed prophecy, our response should be the same. Compare what is said to what the Word of God says. If it contradicts the Bible, throw it out. If it agrees with the Bible, pray for wisdom and discernment as to how to apply the message (2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:5). 2. FALSE PROPHETS— Jesus warned us that false Christs and false prophets will come and will attempt to deceive even Gods elect (Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18). The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing. Any believer who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine. For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:16-17 will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity. Therefore, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teaching by what the Scripture says. Jesus said a tree is recognized by its fruit (Matthew 12:33). When looking for fruit, here are three specific tests to apply to any teacher to determine the accuracy of his or her teaching: 1) What does this teacher say about Jesus? In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks, Who do you say I am? Peter answers, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and for this answer Peter is called blessed. In 2 John 9, we read, Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. In other words, Jesus Christ and His work of redemption is of utmost importance; beware of anyone who denies that Jesus is equal with God, who downplays Jesus sacrificial death, or who rejects Jesus humanity. First John 2:22 says, Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichristhe denies the Father and the Son. 2) Does this teacher preach the gospel? The gospel is defined as the good news concerning Jesus death, burial, and resurrection, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). As nice as they sound, the statements God loves you, God wants us to feed the hungry, and God wants you to be wealthy are not the complete message of the gospel. As Paul warns in Galatians 1:7, Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. No one, not even a great preacher, has the right to change the message that God gave us. If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:9). 3) Does this teacher exhibit character qualities that glorify the Lord? Speaking of false teachers, Jude 11 says, They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaams error; they have been destroyed in Korahs rebellion. In other words, a false teacher can be known by his pride (Cains rejection of Gods plan), greed (Balaams prophesying for money), and rebellion (Korahs promotion of himself over Moses). Jesus said to beware of such people and that we would know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20). 3. PERSONAL PROPHECY— There are some within the Christian faith, predominantly in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches, who view/practice the gift of prophecy as giving personal advice with a “thus says the Lord” presentation. Sadly, those who practice personal prophecy in this manner are often not any different than those who portray themselves as psychics. In fact, there are prophetic hotlines as “Christian” alternatives to psychic hotlines. Some in the personal prophecy movement advertise with statements such as “come get your prophetic reading,” again, very similar to the terminology psychics employ. This understanding and practice of the gift of prophecy is completely unbiblical. Biblically speaking, the gift of prophecy is the Spirit-empowered ability to declare revelation from God (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28). Prophecy sometimes, but not always, involves proclaiming revelation from God in regards to the future. In both the Old and New Testaments, God used prophets and/or the gift of prophecy to reveal truth to people. Prophecy is proclaiming the truth of God, it is special revelation, truth that cannot be discerned by any other means. Much of the Old Testament was once prophecy. Through a prophet, God would reveal truth that the people needed to know, and sometimes, that truth would be recorded in written form. This, ultimately, resulted in the Bible, the Word of God, the ultimate special revelation from God. The completion of the Bible impacts the nature of the gift of prophecy. The Bible contains all the revelation we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). The Bible is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). As a result, the gift of prophecy transitioned from primarily being a declaration of new revelation from God, to primarily (or exclusively) being a declaration of what God has already revealed, as recorded in His Word. This is not to say that God would never give one person a message to deliver to another person. God can, will, and does use people in whatever ways He sees fit. But, the fact that the Word of God is perfect and complete means that we are to rely on it for guidance. We are not to rely on prophets, prophetic hotlines, and prophetic readings. God’s Word contains the truth we need to know. God’s Word presents the wisdom we need to know to properly apply His truth. Beyond that, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and teach us (John 14:16, 26). Using the concept of personal prophecy to gain influence over people and making them dependent on “prophetic guidance,” is a blatant distortion of the biblical gift of prophecy. Any time people trust the fallible words of men instead of the infallible Word of God, it is a travesty. Information above credited to S. Michael Houdemann
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 23:07:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015