Day 155: Who Are The Prophets?
Today, we take a very brief survey of the role that Prophets played throughout the Scriptures. It is important to understand the basic functions of this gifted role before we can understand the role of these people within the Church.
Ephesians 4:11–13
It was Christ who gave … some as Prophets, …12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ…
Simply stated, a prophet is someone who speaks for the One True God giving His Truth, Wisdom, Direction, Counsel, Encouragement, Exhortation, etc. When we think of Prophets, we first think of the Prophets of the Old Testament—those powerful (and many times, strange) men who spoke, “Thus says the LORD…”. Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel are some of the best known Prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures. These men were God’s “mouthpieces” speaking to the people giving them direction directly from the Lord God. The LORD gave instructions for determining who was a true prophet and who was a false prophet (see Deuteronomy 13 and 18; Ezekiel 12:21-14:11 for examples).
In the New Testament we think of John the Baptist, The Apostle John and, of course Jesus, as the key prophets. But there were also “ordinary people” who were recognized as prophets: Agabus (Acts 11:27-28), Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32), and the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:19).
Jesus, of course, was THE Prophet that Father God had promised to raise up among His people (Deuteronomy 18:18; John 1:21; Acts 3:22-25). Jesus recognized Himself as a prophet even though He was not honored by His own people (Matthew 13:57). But many did recognize Jesus to be a prophet (Matthew 21:11). We could even say that Jesus is not just a Prophet; He is the source of all prophecy.
In the book of Revelation, John is having a discussion with an angel and something strange and wonderful is revealed:
Revelation 19:10
And I (John) fell at his (the angel’s) feet to worship him. And he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of/about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
There are two ways that we could take that last statement: 1) The testimony (the Word) that Jesus gives us is the spirit of prophecy or 2) the testimony (the Word) that we speak about Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. This statement may be ambiguous on purpose so that both meanings can be implied. Whatever the case, in our times, Prophecy is tied together with the instruction of Jesus and the Gospel about Jesus.
The Prophets Gave Guidance and Exhortation to Israel.
It is beyond the scope of this study to deal with the topic of the Prophets and prophecy in depth. Here we are going to give some general observations about the Prophets.
The Prophet is not just someone who foretells the future. Most of the books and writings of the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures are concerned with calling Israel away from idolatry, sin and rebellion back to devotion to the One True God. In this context, the future realities of both judgment and salvation are revealed. Based on what we see in the Hebrew Scriptures we can observe the following five general roles of the prophets:
- The prophets direct people to the Truth of the One True God,
- The prophets leads the people to true worship,
- The prophets give guidance to the people of God, calling for repentance,
- The prophets warn of judgment,
- The prophets reveal the “secrets” of God (this is related to revealing the future, specifically the full redemption and salvation that is yet to come, or the “secrets” of the human heart.
When we look at the full role of the prophet in the Old Testament, we can say generally that the prophet was a covenant mediator and enforcer—calling and directing the people of the Lord to faithfulness, justice and hope.
One simple way to think about the role of the prophets and their messages is to recognize a pattern of things that the Lord called them to challenge. First and foremost, the Prophets challenged idolatry: worshipping or give “first place” to things other than the One True God. This idolatry always leads to ignorance:
Psalm 135:15–18
The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold; they are man-made. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear. Indeed, they cannot breathe.
18 Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
In turn, this ignorance of the Lord’s ways will lead to injustice—not being able to live out the goodness and excellence of the Lord God in practical life. The Prophetic Word warns us about this great danger.
The Prophets Gave Direction to the Early Church.
It is clear that prophets were also functioning in the early church. Consider this:
Acts 13:1–3
Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch… 13:2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 13:3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them off.
This passage marks the beginning of the Missionary Journeys of Paul. Paul was originally name Saul and was a violent persecutor of the early church. Yet he was “hand-picked” by Jesus to be His Apostle sent to the Gentiles/nations (see Acts 9 and 26). Here in Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas are “set apart” for the work that the Lord had for them. Notice that in the church there were prophets and teachers. As they were worshipping the Lord, the Holy Spirit speaks to the community: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul…” Saul and Barnabas were being set apart for Apostolic work.
We are not told how the Holy Spirit spoke to the whole community. The fact that the prophets are mentioned in this context may mean that the Spirit spoke through them. This is a key verse for understanding how the prophets worked in the early church.
Take a look at what Paul says to Timothy:
1 Timothy 1:18; 4:14
I put this charge before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, in order that with such encouragement you may fight the good fight…..
4:14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have, given to you and confirmed by prophetic words when the elders laid hands on you.
Apparently, Timothy’s own ministry had been initiated by prophetic words and the elders’ laying on of hands (a way of officially recognizing and sharing responsibility). Timothy had received direction through the prophets. His spiritual gifting was confirmed by prophetic words.
This has just been a very brief overview of the role of the Prophets in both the life of Israel and the Early Church. We want to turn now to the question, “How do the Prophets and Apostles fit in the ministry of the church in our times?”
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
