What is Prophecy?
Prophecy is found throughout the Bible from Genesis, the first book of the Bible to the Book of Revelation the last book of the Bible.
One of the ways in which God speaks to us
What Prophecy is not.
Prophecy is one of those terms in Christianity that is often misunderstood. There are at least two incorrect concepts about prophecy.
The first
The second issue
The primary message a Prophet brings.
Another important point is that Old Testament Prophets were primarily used by God to give direction to the rulers or kings of the Old Covenant. Here are some examples of those Prophets, Eli, Samuel, and Nathan?
Prophecy and Prophets were very important to Israel. The evidence of their importance is in the fact that 17 of the Old Testament books (Major and Minor Prophets) were inspired and written by Prophets. The primary function of these prophets was to warn the people of Israel to the consequences of walking away from Him and worshipping other gods.
New Covenant Prophets and Prophecy.
As New Covenant believers we don’t see the same emphasis on prophets as in the Old Testament. This can be understood by the fact that as believers in Jesus Christ His Holy Spirit lives continuously in us, not simply upon or onus on certain occasions.
God has chosen to speak to us directly about His plans. I am not saying that prophecy is unimportant today, but it has a different function and that is primarily to confirm what God has already said.
It appears that prophecy has two functions in the new testament:
- to confirm what God has said
- to build up an individual. 1 Corinthians 14:3 “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men”.
Prophecy can be for an individual (1 Cor 12) as well as for a group of believers as in the local church.
I need to be careful here, I am not saying that New Testament prophecy is only personal prophecy, God can and does use the prophetic gift to speak to the Church in general.
The New Testament makes it clear that prophecy is a spiritual gift and part of God’s plan to communicate with us:
- Romans 12:6 “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith”.
- 1 Corinthians 12:10, “to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills”.
- 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy”.
- 1 Timothy 4:14 “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership”.
- 2 Peter 1:19-21, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”.
Three parts of Prophecy:
In practical terms, we can see that prophecy has three parts, revelation, interpretation and application. This is true of the New Testament as well as Old Testament prophecy.
- Revelation-This is the actual impartation from the Holy Spirit to whoever receives the prophecy, it may be:
- audible (as in a voice),
- visual as in a vision,
- in dreams,
- and in messengers (Angels).
- In other words, God is communicating to us His plan and purpose.
- Interpretation –Since the Revelation may be symbolic, it means the prophet must interpret the message that is being conveyed. In other words, what is God saying?
- Application –The prophet or the one the prophecy is for must interpret the prophecy in other works what do you do with the interpretation? This is often the most difficult part because there may be a subjective clouding or influence by the person’s own point of view. There may be more than one way to interpret and therefore apply.
Old Testament Examples
Joseph’s Dream
A very important account of Jacob’s son Joseph is given in Genesis Chapter 37. Remember Jacob had 12 sons and God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. So this is a significant account of one of those sons, Joseph.
At the time Joseph was the youngest son and Jacob’s favorite. His other brothers “hated him” (verse 4) because he was the favored one. As time goes on Joseph has a prophetic dream and he shares the dream with his brothers. The following is the prophetic dream: ”5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf. 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words”.
As you can see, they could not see the truth because their hatred clouded their minds. So, from that day forward all they could think about was how to get rid of him first by killing him but eventually selling Joseph into slavery.
Later when Joseph becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt the brothers, in fact, bow down to him. Joseph then rescues the family from sure death and brings them into Egypt.
You see, this is the point, God’s word was fulfilled. Joseph knew it from the beginning, his family came to know it in the end.
Another example, Nathan confronts King David.
Another example is in the life of King David. In this case, a Prophet named Nathan confronts David with the truth. Remember David is described by God, “as a man after my own heart”. despite this closeness between God and David, David sinned before God in the situation with Bathsheba.
You may recall in 2 Samuel 11, David used his authority as King to seduce the wife of one of his soldiers, Uriah. Uriah wife was Bathsheba. She became pregnant. What follows is a tragic story of ruthlessness and betrayal on David’s part. King David sent Uriah on a suicide mission upon which he is killed. Then King David takes Bathsheba to be his wife.
Obviously, God was displeased with David’s treachery and sin. God sends Nathan the prophet to confront David. Nathan tells a story about a rich man and a simple farmer with only one lamb. To make a long story short (read the passage) the rich man takes the poor man’s lamb and uses the lamb in a banquet meal.
Upon hearing this story, David replies in 2 Samuel 12:5 “ So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! 6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.” To which Nathan replies, “You are the man!”
Nathan then prophesizes that King David will experience war and bloodshed against his kingdom and that the child born of Bathsheba will die.
History shows that what was prophesized by Nathan all comes to pass.
Now for a New Testament Example
We see another example in Acts 21, a prophet by the name of Agabus meets with the Apostle Paul. In very dramatic fashion he takes Paul’s belt and ties his own hands and feet. And says, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
Now when the friends of Paul heard this prophetic word, they pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem”. (Wrong application!)
Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” So, when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”
What is critical to understanding in this event is to see that Paul already had a word from the Lord in the previous chapter. Chapter 20 starting at 22, “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
As you can see, when the prophet Agabus spoke, Paul knew it was of the Lord. But Agabus’ interpretation was for Paul not to go to Jerusalem. However, Paul has already received a word form the lord that he was to go to Jerusalem in despite the danger that would befall him. That is why he didn’t let the cries of his friends dissuade him from his mission.
Conclusion
When you receive personal prophecy, it should be something that the Lord has already spoken to you about. Prophecy should be the confirmation of what you know God has said. Now it is also possible that the prophetic word reveals something that you are not aware of previously. In that case just “ponder it in your heart” until further revelations are made to you.
All prophecy must end with the individual asking with assurance the key question of, “Lord what are you saying to me…!”.
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