One of the saddest things that I have ever heard from a Christian is that God doesn’t talk to His people anymore, or that God doesn’t require the use of prophets anymore. What exactly was the purpose of the ancient prophets? All throughout their prophecies they are declaring the coming Wrath of the Lord, and interpreting His Divine plan for Salvation through Jesus Christ. It is NOT the same thing as the anti-Christian title of “psychic”. The prophets were not fortune tellers!
So what does the Bible say about prophesying? Has the office of prophet ceased? Let’s look at some scriptures and see what the Word truly says about this…
First, in 1 Samuel 10:5 we are told that Saul is going to run into a company of prophets who will be prophesying. We are never told who the prophets are, so we can assume that not every individual prophet is listed in the Bible. We know of the famous ones, but God gave the gift of prophecy to many in those days!
In Matthew 10:41, Jesus said, “He who receives and welcomes and accepts a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward,”. Obviously He wouldn’t say this if there were no more prophets after the Old Testament. Then He tells the Pharisees in Matthew 23:34 that He is sending them prophets and teachers because they constantly think they can escape the judgement that is coming to them. The work of the prophets has not yet been completed, and will never be completed because not everyone reads and can properly interpret the scriptures! The Pharisees spent their life studying the Word of God and honoring the ancient prophets, but still couldn’t understand the Gospel, and recognize the coming of Jesus Christ. Serpents!
In 1 Corinthians 12:28 Paul is telling us the positions that God appoints to the people in the church. Can you guess what one of these positions is? If you said prophet, you would be correct!
There is more than enough scriptural evidence to confirm that prophets exist today. To see it any other way would be foolish. We are warned in the Bible of false prophets that will rise up in the last days, but wouldn’t it be logical that if there are false prophets, there must be real ones too?
I haven’t even shared my own experiences with the gift of prophesy; experiences that can’t be explained by the natural mind. The Word stands firm without my testimonies, and I can’t understand why there would be any confusion about this topic. The reality is that it is a powerful gift, and where there is power, there is opposition (the devil). He has set up stumbling blocks for those in the Body of Christ, and he has done well. However, Christ has already destroyed the works of the devil; the problem is that a good amount of Christians still don’t know how to walk in that authority and power. In Ephesians 2:19-22, we are told that we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and that Christ holds us all together. We are not separated from them, but we are in fellowship with them, and we are all a part of the temple that is for our Lord!
To answer the question in the title, yes I have heard from Him. In fact, why wouldn’t I? We have been reconciled by the Blood of Jesus Christ. God isn’t an imaginary friend that lives in a place called Heaven. No! He is a personal God that wants to speak to His creation and have a relationship with them. If you believe in Him, you should be hearing from Him regularly. If you aren’t, then there’s a problem, and it’s not with Him!
If we hear from Him, why wouldn’t we share what He says?
The gifts [charisma] are meant to operate till the coming of the Lord.
Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift [Gk: charismata] as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. [1 Cor 1:7]
The passage below is talking about Agape love.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.[1 Cor 13:8-10]
When the perfect comes, all these imperfect gifts will be done away with. This is obviously speaking about heaven where love is perfect, and there we will know all things even as we will be known.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. [1 Cor 13:12]
There is the prophetic gift and then there is the prophetic ministry. Both aren’t the same.
I have the prophetic gift, and it’s given for strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. [1 Cor 14: 3]
If this had passed away, then it was unnecessary for Paul to write 2 chapters on it.
However, the prophetic ministry is a special office in the five fold ministry. This person will move in the prophetic all the time, that is his ministry. This you can see in Eph 4:11.
Sidharth
Comment Submitted: February 28th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I like your inclusion of 1 Cor 12:8-10. That is the only verse that people can seem to find to support their warped ideas that the gifts have ceased. Of course, they have misinterpreted the verse, and your interpretation is more of the way I understood it.
A lot of people think that perfection is referring to the Bible, but nowhere else [that I have found] is this confirmed.
Comment Submitted: February 29th, 2008 at 7:50 am
I’ve also wondered why so many people think that spiritual gifts and the Holy Spirit are not for today. Clearly, the Scriptures don’t support that thinking. I suspect it is often because people are trying to reconcile their beliefs to match their experiences, and there are a lot of churches that don’t experience the power of God. I’ve been in churches that teach that God doesn’t do miracles anymore, so of course they are not believing in faith for such things, and that causes them to not see it. I feel really sad for the people who love God but are hindered by such teaching.
This is why we must all study the Word ourselves, to know that we are believing the Truth and aren’t being misled by confused / deceived teachers and preachers.
Comment Submitted: February 29th, 2008 at 2:10 pm