Who Were the Prophets, and What Did They Say?

I've commented on this before; let me do so again. I don't think we truly fathom the nature of Biblical prophets and prophecy. We seem to have a very narrow understanding of what a prophet is and what a prophet does, but when you study the subject in Scripture, God can paint the fullest picture if we're willing to see it.

In the Old Testament and New alike, prophets arose as God's messengers to God's people. In the Old Testament, the prophet was one of three anointed offices appointed by God to rule Israel. A King was anointed--had oil poured over his head--by the High Priest of Israel, appointed for a lifetime to sit on the Throne and govern God's people. The High Priest was anointed and appointed for a lifetime of service in the presence of God on behalf of the people. Always with the priest, and almost always with the king, the right to succeed to that office was hereditary.

But with the prophet things were slightly different. The office was not hereditary; in fact the Bible is careful to point out that sons did not always follow their fathers in this ministry, and that sometimes men of totally unrelated occupations were chosen by God to deliver His Word. Sometimes Kings and Priests were also prophets; David was unique among the Old Testament personalities for having served the Lord in all three capacities though his ministry before the Ark in the presence of the Lord was a significant exception to established rules. And the anointing of a prophet had nothing to do with pouring oil over someone's head and appointing them a prophet. The office and ministry of the prophet was by divine appointment only, which may have been followed with an oily rite, but such a ritual is never recorded in the Scriptures. Becoming a prophet was about God's recognition, God's empowerment and anointing; being a prophet was about bending to God's will and boldly proclaiming God's Word.

Now Jesus is the fulfillment of all three offices...He was the anointed Prophet in the Gospels; He is the anointed Priest now; and He is soon (surely soon) to be the anointed King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we as Christians shall rule and reign as kings and priests with Him in His coming Kingdom. But until the return of the King, we have been entrusted with gifts and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His will here and speak His Word here. We have been appointed by Christ and anointed by His Holy Ghost as messengers, light-bearers, and witnesses in a world that doesn't readily accept the Word that we have for them. And we have a responsibility.

That responsibility is universal to all Christians. Jesus has given His Holy Ghost to all of us, so that we can all receive power and be witnesses (which is actually martyrs, someone who lays down their life for the Gospel). Jesus has given all of us authority to go and make disciples of all the nations. Jesus has promised to confirm His message with signs and wonders and miracles that will follow all those who believe. But within the greater body He has distributed gifts to individuals as He saw fit.

In 1 Corinthians 12 & 14, we are taught that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts throughout the body (the church) for use when the body comes together and for the purpose of encouraging and building up the body. Among the nine gifts defined by Paul, one of them is the gift of prophecy. it is definitely a speaking gift, one used to proclaim convicting and convincing truth to the benefit of believers and unbelievers alike. It is a supernatural and spontaneous gift that should be used only as the Spirit inspires.

In Romans 12, we are taught that God has given to each person a measure of faith by which to use the gift He has given to us by grace to fulfill a specific function in the body of Christ. In that listing of seven gifts, one of them is the gift of prophecy. And while it falls into a category of speaking gifts, it is also a gift of perception, of discernment, and of intercession. It is sometimes the place of the prophet to preach, but it is always the place of the prophet to perceive and to pray.

In Ephesians 4, we are taught that Christ has issued five different gifts to oversee and advance the kingdom that is the Church--apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. While any person can be used in the manifestational gifts of the Spirit as given in 1 Corinthians 12, and each person has a motivational gift as described in Romans 12, not every person is called to one of the ministry gifts of Ephesians 4. Sometimes referred to as the Five-Fold Ministry of the church, these five are offices of leadership, proclamation and service to the rest of the body, the prophet among them, and this prophet is one who brings God's word to God's people for their encouragement and their correction.

What the Bible reveals to be universally true is that the prophet, though appointed and anointed by God, is not always accepted by those to whom they are sent, and their message is not always appreciated. Some would like to classify the prophet as one who reveals the future--like a seer, diviner, or fortune-teller--but the primary ministry of the prophet was not foretelling, but forthtelling. And in their forthtelling, their message was universal: REPENT!

Listen to the speaking prophets like Samuel, Nathan, Elijah and Elisha; they offered counsel to kings and preached righteousness among the people. Read the writing prophets like Joel and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Malachi. Their message and ministry was the same. Each one of them saw things, perceived things supernaturally and did things under the direction of the Lord. Sometimes they saw tomorrow; most times they spoke about today. Unless they were revealing the coming of Christ and His Kingdom, their outlook on the future was almost universally bleak. Because of your sins today, you will be judged tomorrow! Their solution: REPENT!

Now consider the New Testament prophets, for which John the Baptist and Jesus set the standard. John the Baptist comes out of the wilderness preaching: REPENT! Jesus public preaching ministry was the same call: REPENT! When Jesus sent the disciples out to preach, their message was: REPENT!

Barnabas and Paul are included in a list of prophets and teachers from Antioch; Agabus shows up in Antioch and later in Ceasarea; Judas Barsabbas (who is probably the same as Jude, the brother of Jesus) and Silas traveled to Antioch to encourage the Gentile believers with the decisions made in Jerusalem. The daughters of Philip were prophetesses in the church at Ceasarea. Paul's words and ministry are recorded in the Acts and in his epistles, and we know he was not shy about the message of repentance. The apostolic postcard from Jude is more of the same. Of the prophets singled out by name in the Acts, Agabus is the only one whose words are recorded, and he sounds like some Old Testament harbinger of gloom and doom: famine for the world, prison for Paul. How do you think Agabus' ministry would go over in the Charismatic churches of today?

The preaching of Jesus and the writing of the apostles both contain lots of revelations about the future, but their outlook was no brighter than that of the Old Testament prophets. Apart from the return of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom, the future of the world is not a pretty picture, nor does it have a happy ending. And the one New Testament book devoted entirely to prophecy, penned by the Apostle John is a warning to the church: REPENT! because Jesus is coming, and you're not ready.

I have concerns about those who actually call themselves prophets, especially when I don't see the marks of the prophetic in their lives and ministries. Anybody can speak happy thoughts and good wishes over an expectant seeker. Anybody who is observant and intuitive can offer "readings" that are eerily accurate. Anybody with a little bit of persuasion and influence can move a crowd or an individual to respond. Anybody can proclaim inner healing and outward reactions as proof of their own power.

But why do so many prophets today want to foretell the future rather than forthtell the truth?

Why do so many prophets today want to make you feel good about yourself rather than make you feel convicted about your sin?

Why do so many prophets today play around with their gift, and even their anointing, doing and saying such foolish and frivolous things, rather than getting down to business with God and His people?

Why do so many prophets today tell us what we want to hear, what we pay to hear, what we came to hear, rather than what we need to hear?

I'll tell you why: it's because they don't want to preach repentance, and most folks don't want to hear it and don't want to do it.

Show me a man or woman who will stand before God's people and preach against sin. Show me a preacher who will take a stand for righteousness and call people to repentance. Show me a spokesman for God who will stop trying to ingratiate themselves to people for their own self-aggrandizement, and start speaking words that sound like they are coming from the mouth of a Biblical prophet. Show me that, and I won't have to see the title prophet on a business card to know that's what you are.