Chapter 4.5
Prophets
The
Old Testament Prophet received messages
directly from God and
proclaimed His words
according to His command.
First Word
The Word Prophet is applied to
someone who receives or claims to receive messages directly from God. A Prophet provided a legitimate link between
the human and the divine. The word “Prophet” occurs over 100 times in the NT and
over 300 times in the OT, so it can be concluded that a Prophet played an
important role in the lives of God’s people.
The first QUESTION right out of
the box is; ARE THERE ANY
PROPHETS TODAY? Josephus, the Jewish Historian who was born at the time of Christ’
resurrection, discussing the validly of the writing available to him reported
that the OT Prophets writings quit about 400 years before the Birth of Christ
and that the succession of Prophets had ceased.
Jesus said that John the Baptist
was the last in the succession of Prophets. End of
Story, well not quiet; there was a new dispensation; New Testament Prophets.
Josephus 1.8.41 – The succession of OT prophets have ceased.
41 There hath not been an exact succession
of prophets since that time.
Matthew 11:10 -13 – John the Baptist was
the last OT Prophet.
10 He is the prophet that Malachi
announced when he wrote, 'I'm sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road
smooth for you.'
13 But if you read the books
of the Prophets and God's Law closely, you will see them CULMINATE in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way
for the Messiah of the kingdom. (MSG)
The Call
There was concern that when the Israelites entered into the
Promised Land that they would imitate the foreign “SOOTHSAYERS” by giving heed to their visions,
superstitions and would practice their detestable, abdominal ways;[1]
so God raised up a Prophet from among the Israelites to distinguish them from
the pagan Soothsayers.[2]
They were examples of godliness and were
teachers of the Law to the people; who then were responsible to teach it to
their children.
The
Function of Prophet was not simply a person who could foretell the future, but
one who spoke God’s will to His people. A Prophet seemed to have had unrestricted
access to the King, the Royal Court and the Temple. Normally he was not held accountable or
responsible (Most of the time) for
what he said or did, because his actions were under the control of God.
The
Call was primarily to A KNOWLEDGE
OF GOD; to be “In the Know”. To
exercise remarkable psychic powers; telepathic and clairvoyant; extrasensory
perception gifts to the
extent of naming NAMES of people hundreds of years before they
were to be born.
Along with fore-telling, there was forth-telling; reminding the
people of past events and how God had brought them through, and of the
consequences for their disobedience. From the time of Moses there was an
expectation of ANOTHER PROPHET who would be the coming Messiah.[3]
Purpose
The
purpose of a Prophet was TO GO where God sent
him and TO SPEAK what God
commanded him.[4] The calling brought liberty and freedom. They were unaffected by human bias and
criticism and were not intimidated or threatened by an unsympathetic or
antagonistic audience.
There seems to
be at least four major reasons for their calling.
1)
Rebuke: OBEDIENCE, almost half of the encounters of prophets
in scripture deals with the rebuke of sin and the call to obedience and
repentance. These rebukes were “Course
Correctors” in the lives of His people.
2)
Encouragement: HOPE, these words most often followed the
heavy heart of rebuke. Punishment for
Sin would surely come, but promises of blessings and mercy were just on the
other side waiting for them.
3)
Revelation: FAITH, almost
every prophet’s call came with foretelling. Prophecy about the awaited Messiah and the end
times. It also outlined the “IF” & “THEN” prophecies concerning their obedience to His
commands. It included information and Knowledge about God and His
attributes, His character and His purpose for them.
4)
Authentication: LORDSHIP OF GOD, prophecies
provided foreknowledge of events to authenticate that he was at TRUE prophet and that the people could turn to
him to receive direction from God. Some
prophets displayed signs and wonders, but these prophets were few and far
between.[5]
How God Speaks
Prophet: One who is
given insight into the mind of God and declares His messages to the people. He
speaks forth the words of God without modification or interpretation as if God
was his mouth; the spoken words required implicit obedience.[6]
In the beginning
for some reason, God has taken an interest in man and has chosen to reveal Himself
over the course of time. When men were
few, God communicated directly with them, but as they multiplied, He selected
certain people to carry His messages.[7] He helped them speak and taught them what to
say. Prophecy never came by the will of
man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit. God said, “I have put My words in their mouth”.[8]
God is the AUTHOR of Prophecy; scripture teaches that the Holy
Spirit kept these messages from ERROR and preserved
them for the guidance of His people. [9] “If there is a prophet among the
people, the LORD God will make
myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream”.[10]
God has used visions of Imagery like when Ezekiel saw the dry bones come to
life.[11]
He has opened eyes to see angel activity
in the PRESENT fourth dimension.[12] God has spoken through an external voice as
well as an internal voice[13]. The prophecy could come from a Personal
Awareness (“The
Word of the Lord came to me.”) We really do not know in what way God will
choose to make the mind of man aware of His Word.
The
Person: God has raised up princes and priests, sheepherders
and farmers, as well as women and children and sometimes even used the pagan
enemy to become His Prophet. The message would be delivered in various
ways and could be a blessing as well as a curse.[14] Some Prophets would make themselves a spectacle
arousing curiosity; with the people wondering what he would do next, but this also
invited expected scorn. In the case of
Ezekiel, he ACTED
OUT the
Prophetic Word. Elijah could appear, confront
and then disappear. [15]
Symbolism was sometimes
used; Isaiah
walked naked,[16] Jeremiah broke a Jar,[17]
Ahijah tore
his new coat into twelve pieces,[18]
Ezekiel made a model of
a city.[19]
I need to pause here to say,
that the Canaanite cults practiced their magic in the same ways in order to coerce their gods to function correspondingly. The Prophets of God did it to coerce God’s Chosen
People to function correspondingly. Sometimes the same message was given to other prophets;
Micah
had the same message as Isaiah. The “Sons of the Prophets” all knew Elijah
was about to be taken by God.
Partial Knowledge: The messages
might contain certain aspects of truth that the prophet did not understand, but
would be reveled later through study or comparison to other prophets. A Prophet’s knowledge was imperfect, he was
not omniscient and only knew A part of God’s plan, so he prophesized in
part. He knew SOME of what would happen.[20]
I have always
wondered; does a thing happen because the prophet pronounced it or did he know
what was going to happen and predicted it. Neither,
he just called down the curse or pronounced the blessing or delivered the
message that God had commanded him.
Are you seeing it? It is the initiative of God moving
man; NOT the initiative of man moving God. IT’S IN THE BOOK
Ecstatic
Mental Gymnastics
Ecstatic Utterance: This phrase appears in most of the commentaries
and seems to be the norm for a Prophet and was probably considered a part of
his identity. Wikipedia; Ecstasy; an altered
state of consciousness characterized by
diminished awareness of objects or the total lack of the awareness of
surroundings. For the duration of the
ecstasy the ecstatic is out of touch with ordinary life and is capable neither
of communication with other people nor of undertaking normal actions.
His words would abound with imagery,
strange comparisons, peculiar expressions, parables, pictures, proverbs and
symbolism. It would contain literary exaggerations to
make a point; it might contain rhetorical questions, metaphors, similes, plays
on words and puns.
Make no mistake; when God delivered the message through
His prophet; it was clearly understood. The imagery was for “Mental Gymnastics” so you would not forget it. Oddly enough the divine possession was not
a continuous experience as they played various normal social roles in the community with secular occupations; in other words they also had a job; so should you.
Classes of Prophets
This
is more than you want to know, but I include it here because you have
probable heard the terms before; and wondered what they meant. The Prophets writings or books in the Bible
are divided into TWO CLASSES which are known
as the Former
Prophets and the Latter Prophets.
The Former Prophets include the
books of Joshua,
Judges, Samuel and Kings and cover the
time of the Hebrews entrance into the Promised Land to the destruction of the
city by King Nebuchadnezzar. These
Prophets set forth the history of their particular period of time in Israel.
(We do not know who wrote these books; they are anonymous.)
The Latter Prophets are those that
followed after the time of the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. These Prophets
interpreted specific phrases of Israel’s history complementing and providing
greater insight and understanding of the Former Prophets writings. (These
books are NOT anonymous.) The Latter Prophets are further divided into TWO CATEGORIES based on the
volume or length of their written works.
The Major Prophets books of the
Bible include Isiah,
Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
The Twelve Minor Prophets include Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and
Malachi.
Concerns
Social
Concerns: As a Prophet and a
Leader, Moses concerned himself with social welfare, humane treatment, giving
to and helping the homeless and was the enemy of the oppressor.
The
Standard: This is the standard for a prophet and even
for OUR LEADERS today.
Exodus 2:11 – Concern for oppression
11 Now it came to pass in those
days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their
burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. (NKJV)
Exodus 2:17 – Stood up to the oppressors
17 Then the shepherds came and
drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their
flock. (NKJV)
Deuteronomy 24:19-21 - Help the stranger,
fatherless, widow
19 When you reap your harvest in
your field, and forget a SHEAF in the field, you shall not go back to
get it; it shall
be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the
work of your hands.
20 When you beat your OLIVE
trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless,
and the widow.
21 When you gather the GRAPES of your vineyard, you shall not glean it
afterward; it
shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. (NKJV)
Schools of the Prophets
The schools for the Prophets were not what
you would think. Some were already
Prophets and the other were NOT
there to learn to become a Prophet, but were there because of a sincere desire
to SERVE God.
They would hopefully join themselves to a prophet to ASSIST them and learn spiritual things and
to be used of God.[21] “Here am I, send me”.[22]
The thing that is overlooked, is that we
only know of the Prophets that are mentioned in the Bible, and they represent
only a small portion of the total number of prophets that God has raised up.[23]
Scripture indicates that the many un-named prophets tended to band
together seeking each other’s fellowship. They would settle here and there and build
loosely connected schools or colleges which would became their homes.[24]
We first see the Schools of the
Prophets during the time of
Samuel who might have possibly organized them and then nothing more is said
about them until the time of Elijah and Elisha, and then after them, the
schools or “Sons of the Prophets” are
not heard of again.
Some commentaries indicate that some of
these schools of the “Sons of the
Prophets” were really not that well respected and
were considered to be a superstitious group that
had attached themselves to the Prophets for “NOTORIETY” and “HEAD KNOWLEDGE”; [25] they
were thought to be without any of their own personal spiritual experience and
it seems that the EARLY prophets DID
actively
dissociated themselves from such groups; but that changed later on.
Elijah and
Elisha provided supervision to one of the schools of the
“Sons of the Prophets” as they would occasionally stay with them. The students had learned of many things
listening to men such as these and some of them clearly had the prophetic gift.
It is thought that we owe the safe guarding
of the Prophets Oracles
to such groups as these. Scripture
supports that Elisha occasionally would avail himself of their services. As a side note; Elisha performed more miracles
than any other OT prophet.
There are references that suggest that the Prophets and Priest coupled
themselves together in what is suggestive of a “Prophet-hood”, which was much
like the Priest-hood;
a prophetic guild
or a professional association, as there were prophetic quarters located within
the temple.[26]
It is possible that some Prophets were
officially connected or even employed by the temple as Jeremiah and Ezekiel
were both Prophets and Priests.
Old Testament Prophets
The
Message Bible states;
“It is the task
of the prophet to stand up at such moments of catastrophic and clarify who God
is and how He acts. The disaster becomes
a lever for prying people’s lives loose from their sins”.
The “Position” of a prophet gives way to the
idea of a “Prophetic
Office”. We often hear spoken in the church about the
office of Pastor,
Prophet and Teacher; but the Church has nothing to do with
it. The position is not inherited, elected, nor
appointed, installed or ordained by the church, it’s
a Gift from God to His
people; God Himself raises up the Prophets.[27] It’s not an office, it’s a FUNCTION. Sometimes a Prophet is appointed by God before
he is even born; his function can be for a short period of time or for a very
long period of time.[28]
In the earliest
of times, a Prophet was called “a visionary”; a “MAN
OF GOD”,
or a “SEER”;[29] a
messenger of God who could see into the future and tell
you how it would unfold depending on the path that you took. He is not actually “predicting”, he is passing on
messages from God. However, a Prophet in
essence “predicts”
the future as he reveals matters known only to God. A Prophet could also see into the PRESENT; things of the fourth dimension that were
not visible to men[30]; (Angel activity). The Progression: God provided 3 prophets
before the Kingdom of Israel was divided; when it was divided he sent 17
Prophets to the Southern Kingdom and 10 more to the Northern Kingdom. He provided 4 prophets during their exile and
3 more when they returned.
God
has sent a bunch of prophets. I say
all of this, as it reminded me of the guy in Hell who wanted to return to his
family to warn them about spending eternity in torment and was told; if they
didn’t believe the Prophets they will not believe someone returning from the
dead.[31]
The first man
that God called a prophet was Abraham, but
it was the person of Moses that set the standard for all the future
prophets that were to follow. OT Prophets FORETOLD of future
events and the expectations of the results based on their obedience.
Mentioning a
few; Moses, [32] Aaron[33], Joel[34], Jonah[35], Amos[36], Hosea[37], Isaiah[38], Micah[39], Nahum[40], Zephaniah[41], Jerimiah[42], Gad[43], Habakkuk[44], Samuel[45], Nathan[46], Daniel[47], Ezekiel[48], Obadiah[49], Haggai[50], Zechariah[51], Malachi[52], Elijah[53] and Elisha[54].
Name meanings: Isiah; Salvation of Yahweh, Jeremiah;
The appointed one of the Lord, Ezekiel; God Strengthens, Joel; Yahweh is God, Micah; Who is like Yahweh, Nahum; Consoler, Zephaniah; The Lord
hides, Malachi; The
messenger of the Lord. Some that prophesized; that were given
messages from God, were not called to be Prophets, but were called to be
leaders; men such as Moses, Saul and David.
Some prophets who you may not have even
thought about included King Saul[55]
who prophesied at least once; Balaam who had conversations with his Ass[56],
Seventy Elders who prophesied only once[57]. Abraham, the father of Israel[58], the
Apostle Paul[59], Arron the brother of Moses, Miriam the sister
of Moses[60], Debora
a prophetess[61], and in
some sense of the word both Mary the mother of Jesus and her cousin Elizabeth
both prophesized.
The difference between the Major and Minor
Prophets was not about their
significance; but about the amount of writings that has surfaced that they
authored.
OT PROPHECIES of Jesus the MESSIAH
OT PROPHECY NT FULLFILLMENT
1.
Zechariah
2.
Isaiah 53:7 Be
silent before accusers Matthew
27:12
3.
Isaiah 53:5 Be
scourged and wounded Matthew
27:26
4.
Isaiah 50:6 Be
smitten and spat upon Matthew
26:67
5.
Psalms
6.
Isaiah 53:12 Put
to death with criminals Matthews
27:38
7.
Psalms
8.
Psalms 69:21 Would
suffer thirst John
9.
Psalms 69:21 Gave
gall and vinegar to drink Matthew
27:34
10.
Psalms 22:1 Utter
forsaken cry to God Matthew
27:46
11.
Psalms 34:20 No
bones would be broken John
19:33
12.
Zechariah
13.
Isaiah 53:9 Buried
in a rich man’s tomb Matthew
27:57-60
14.
Psalms
15.
Psalms 68:18 Ascend
into heaven Acts
1:9
16.
Psalms 110:1 Sit
at the right hand of God Hebrews
1:3
2 Corinthians 1:20 - All of God’s promises fulfilled in Christ
20 FOR ALL OF
GOD’S PROMISES HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN CHRIST with a resounding “YES!” And through Christ, our “AMEN”
(which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
(NLT)
Matthew 5:17 – Jesus came to fulfil the
Law and the Prophets
17 Do not think that I have come to
abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I
HAVE NOT COME TO ABOLISH THEM BUT TO FULFILL THEM. (NIV2011)
New Testament Prophets
It
was God’s “Will” that the OT be fulfilled in the Life, Death and
Resurrection of His Son Jesus the Christ. It was also God’s will that there be a NEW
TESTAMENT and with that an expectancy of a new period of
Prophecy. Scripture not only supports
that there were prophets in the NT Church, but goes on to name them; prophets
were also teachers.
Although there were many Prophets in the NT they
were not very conspicuous; there was John the Baptist’s father, Zacharias, the Apostle “John the Revelator”, Caiaphas
the High Priest,[62] Judas and Silas, Agabus, Barnabas, Simeon
and Lucius, Manaen[63]
and oddly enough they allowed WOMEN
to prophesy; Philip had four
unmarried daughters who prophesied.[64]
Jesus Christ as the greatest NT
Prophet,[65]
encouraged the needy, revealed the nature of God, exposed sin, showed the way
of salvation and the pattern and
method of Godly living. The Methodist
hang their hat on “THE METHOD” of Godly
living. It’s not how much you know about
God, but how you practice the Word in your everyday life; Godly Living. God not only gave us His written Word, but
He also sent His Word in Flesh to live among us; His ONLY begotten son, Jesus the Christ.
NT
Prophets FORETOLD some future
events, but mainly rebuked men for sin and declared their punishment, urging
them to repent. We believe that
eventually the FORE TELLING of future events CEASED because the scriptures ceased
to record it. The revelation of Jesus
Christ completed the prophecies of a Messiah and the “things to come” are already recorded
in Holy Scripture. However, the FORTH TELLING part did not
cease which is praising God and lifting up His attributes and expounding on the
truths already received and recorded in the Holy Scriptures. The
scriptures present concepts and precepts that line up like FENCE POSTS all in a
row. If a prophet’s words do not line up with the
other fence post in scripture, it should give you pause to ask why?
There are no new revelations, only NEW UNDERSTANDING of what has already been written.
Isaiah 28:10 –
Fence Post Precepts; they all must line up
10 For it is precept (post) upon precept (post), precept upon
precept; line (post) upon line (post), line upon line; here a little (post), there a little. (post) (ASV)
Presumptive Prophets
Any prophet that speaks
on God’s behalf presumptuously
will DIE.
Think about that one; speaking
presumptuously of God. The Prophet Nathan
spoke presumptuously to David when he told him to do all that was in his heart
to build the temple. That night God corrected Nathan; that it was
to be built by David’s son Solomon. Nathan straightened that presumptuous word
out immediately.[66]
SPIRITUAL GIFTS are a blessing
given as the Holy Spirit wills to God’s people; given to “equip the Believer”
for the “common good” and for the “building up the Church”.[67] However
these gifts can be abused.
a)
Gift
of Word of Knowledge is information and spiritual insight,
which is revealed in the person’s spirit. It can come from concepts that have been
planted in your sprit through studying the Word as well as “A WORD” directly from God.[68] The gift is not “all knowledge” but just “partial”. The gift operates only at the will of the
Holy Spirit.[69]
b) Gift of Tongues is linked to “The Interpretation of Tongues” and of
course that comes with much conversely; there are three kinds of tongues.
1)
Common
Tongue or
language not known to the speaker, but commonly spoken somewhere. This seems to
have happened ONLY ONCE at Pentecost and
documented no more in scripture. It was for the day of Pentecost only.
2)
Public
Tongue is
normally of exhortation, but sometimes comes with PROPHECY which requires interpretation of a message from God… “Thus says the Lord”
3) Prayer Tongue or language is a
“heavenly language” directed to God alone in prayer and in song. This private
tongue seems to be found across all denominations although rarely
discussed. Most denominations are
Cessationists; Teaching tongues have ceased, even though some of their members
privately operate in this gift.
My prayer is
that the Gifts of “Word of Knowledge” and “Interpretation of Tongues” with prophecy
be done with the fence posts of the messages all lining up with scripture and
not done presumptuously.
When the Apostle Paul spoke giving his opinion,
he would qualify it by saying; that what he was saying was NOT coming from the Lord, but from himself. A concept we should model.
1 Corinthians 7:12 – Paul says, I speak
now; NOT the Lord
12 But to the rest I, NOT THE LORD,
SAY: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is
willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. (NKJV)
Deuteronomy 18:20 – Speak God’s words
presumptuously DIE
20 But the prophet who speaks a word PRESUMPTUOUSLY in My name which
I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other
gods, THAT PROPHET SHALL DIE.' (NASB)
False Prophets
False Prophet: In the NT there was a guy named Bar-Jesus [70]mentioned
as a false prophet as well as a woman who called herself a prophet named Jezebel; [71] then
there was Simon the Magician[72] who tried to buy the Holy Spirit. There was also a Lying
Prophet [73] who
said he got a message from God through an angel and tricked another Prophet.
Test the Prophets; that’s what we
are told; that many false prophets have gone out into the world.[74] There were THREE TEST for a True Prophet.
1)
Doctrines: If they are able to give signs and wonders, but
their teaching contradicts the doctrines of Moses concerning the one true God,
they are a False Prophet.
2)
Prophecy: If 100% of what
they say does not come to pass then they are a False
Prophet.
3)
Morals: If their lifestyle is immoral or their message
strengthens the hands of the evil doers they are a False
Prophet.
NOTE:
Fulfilling these three requirements did not automatically validate
someone as a True Prophet of God, as they could have guessed at something and
it turned out right. They also needed
the recognition of
an organized group of disciples who recognized the prophetic claim as genuine
and accepted the
Prophets authority; otherwise he would not have any influence in the community.
Characteristics: Today, a Prophet’s teachings must line up
with the FENCE POST of scripture. A
true Prophet will speak of future deliverance by the Messiah; he will glorify Jesus Christ and confess that He is the incarnate
Lord. The Prophets Character
and life style will conform to scripture. Their actions and reactions will proceed from
a loving heart and be administered to the hearer in a loving way. They
will edify the Church and will be known by their fruits.[75]
Dueling Prophets: King
Ahab had two prophets of Jehovah; Zedekiah[76]
who prophesized that the king would have victory over the enemy and Micaiah[77]
who prophesized and warned of defeat. Which one was the True Prophet? The answer comes from looking at their lives.
The True Prophet’s life reflects
holiness; he seeks to identify sin and call the people to holiness.
The False Prophet is a man of
immoral life and one who ignores immorality in others. The Lord says “They wag their OWN tongues, prophesy false dreams and lead people astray
with their reckless lies.”
Today some who
have written with GREAT INSIGHT into God’s word, that if they had not
messed with predictions of the future, they would NOT be considered FALSE
PROPHETS.[78] I find myself predicting the end times based
on when the Anti-Christ sets up an image of himself in the temple, 3 ½ years
into the tribulation period and it’s all in the scriptures; but I am reluctant
to expound on it even though I see a time line revealed.
In the end times the Anti-Christ will have
his own false prophet who will do SIGNS and WONDERS and quote the
scriptures and many will be drawn to him.[79]
Understand that the Prophet’s work in the beginning will be good stuff with
only slight variations from the Bible Scriptures; many will follow THE MAN, instead of THE WORD.[80]
Follow the MAN: The People's Temple of the
Disciples of Christ was founded in 1955
by Jim Jones. Members of the “People’s
Temple” followed Jim Jones to a place in Guyana known as "Jonestown". They had stopped following THE WORD and were following THE MAN and on November 18,
1978 under Jim Jones direction, drank the ‘COOL
AID” and 920 people died in an organized
mass suicide/killing. FOLLOW THE WORD, NOT THE MAN. When you
stop reading the Word you will NOT
even notice that the “fence posts”
don’t line up anymore and you will drink the “COOL AID.”
Sampson
– Did it his way
Sampson was called by God
before he was ever born to take the Nazirite vow and be a judge over Israel.[81] Although Sampson
was a Judge in Israel, he did not seek God in his actions; far from it,
According to Josephus the Jewish Historian, he became full of pride and
arrogance stating that God had nothing to do with his success, although later
he finally did seek forgiveness.
Sampson did not check with God about Delilah; he only saw her outward
beauty and wanted her. Without God’s guidance a holy wedlock can become an unholy deadlock. Sampson not only intermarried with a
Philistine woman, but she was also a prostitute; bringing shame to his parents TWICE over.[82] However God was planning to use this marriage
for His own ultimate end.
Thousands of Philistine warriors could not bring Samson down, but one lone harlot ensnared him. This unholy marriage cost him his
strength, his liberty, his eyes and finally his life. As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that workin’ for you Sampson?”
Josephus
8:300 – Sampson slew 1,000 with a jaw bone of an
ass
300 Samson broke his bonds asunder and catching up the
jawbone of an ass that lay down at his feet, fell upon his enemies,
and smiting them with his jawbone slew a thousand of them, and put the rest to
flight and into great disorder
Josephus
9:301 – Sampson became proud and vaunted himself
301 Upon this slaughter Samson was too
proud of what he had performed and aside that this did not come to pass by the
assistance of God, but that his successes was to be ascribed to this own courage and vaunted himself, that it was out of a dread of
him that some of his enemies fell, and the rest ran away upon his use of the
jawbone.
Josephus
9:302 – Samson asked forgiveness for what he
said.
302 But when a great thirst came upon him, he
considered that human courage is nothing, and bare testimony that all is to be
ascribed to God, and besought him that he would not be angry at
anything he had said.
Josephus
11:306 – Delilah was a
harlot
306 However he at length transgressed the laws of
his country, and altered his own regular way of living, and imitated the
strange customs of foreigners, which thing was the beginning of his miseries;
for among the philistines he fell in love with a woman that was a harlot;
her named was Delilah,
and he lived with her.
Prophets Today
Prophets
Today
FORTH
TELL of
what has already been written in the sacred scriptures, they lift up and praise
the attributes of God and His Son JESUS
CHRIST;
they speak the concepts written in the Bible into men for the building up; edification,
exhortation, and for their encouragement, comfort and consolation.
The function of
Prophet was given for the “PERFECTING” of the
Believer and the building up of the Church.
Since we still need to build up the Church and we will not be perfected
until the return of Christ; till then, we most certainly still
need the function of a Prophet. God has written down His Words so that
everyone can know His Will in their life; they can study for themselves like
the “Sons of the Prophets” did. There are no new
revelations, just new enlightenment.
God Himself placed
the FUNCTION of Prophet at
the top of the NT
Church callings.[83] The gifts and calling of God are IRREVOCABLE.[84] It’s in the Book even
if your Church says that the gifts and calling have ceased.
Our SALVATION is not based on
Church doctrine, but on our FAITH in JESUS CHRIST plus nothing
else, and that includes Church Tradition.
When I read some of the extraordinary commentaries written by students
of the Word, I see at work the qualities of the function of a Prophet although
they would never call themselves a prophet.
They don’t prophesy as such, but they do exhort, edify, comfort the
reader and lift up the attributes of God[85] and
expound on the scriptures, digging up nuggets of gold. Matthew Henry,
Merrill C. Tenney, J. Vernon McGee, Finis Jennings Dake.
In the end times God will send
two witnesses who will prophesize to the Jews; and as a bonus the Gentiles will
get in on it too, and then the end will come shortly thereafter.[86] I’m so ready !
The Take Away
The Spirit of Prophecy bears witness to Jesus. In the last days God said
He will pour out his Spirit on all people. “Your
sons and daughters will PROPHESY”.[87] All Christians have the potential to be able to
Prophesy. [88]
The Holy Spirit receives the Words directly from Christ and speaks them to us.[89] It was
the desire of Moses
that every Believer be able to prophesy.[90] Paul encouraged every Believer to seek this
gift and implied that they all had the ability to receive the prophetic
inspiration of the Holy Spirit and they should be eager to operate in this
gift.[91] (Kind of messes with your theology doesn’t.) As we read the
scriptures, under the Spirit’s inspiration, we will receive the reiteration of
truths already written in scripture receiving NEW
ENLIGHTENMENT; not new revelation.
HOLD
ON,
while there will be no Fresh Revelations about God in Jesus Christ or the way
of Salvation or the principals of Christian living, there is NO REASON that God will not use Prophesy to guide, warn or
encourage an individual, a Church or even a Nation.
Do not scoff at prophecies when you hear them, but TEST everything
that is said.[92]
Hold on to what is good and discard that
which does not line up with the Fence Posts of scriptures.
[1] Deuteronomy 18:9 – Do not learn the pagan’s detestable ways
[2] Deuteronomy 18:15 - God will raise up a prophet from among you -- Amos 1:1 – Amos was a sheep breeder AND a Prophet --
John 1:21 – Are you the expected Prophet; John the Baptist said NO
[4] Jeremiah 1:7 – Go where I send you and Speak what I command
[5] 2 Kings 6:12 – CLAIRVOYANT; even knows
words spoken in King’s bedroom -- 1 Kings 13:2 – Naming NAMES before they were born -- 2
Kings 2:5 – All the Prophets knew that Elijah would be taken away
[6] Exodus 4:16 – Prophet; One who speaks forth for God -- 2 Peter 1:21 - Prophecy came by the movement
of the Holy Spirit -- Exodus 4:12 – God will help you speak and teach
you what to say -- Jeremiah 1:9 - I have put My words in the Prophets mouth
[7] Genesis 15:1 - The Word of the LORD came to ABRAHAM -- 1 Samuel 15:10 - The
word of the LORD came to SAMUEL -- 1
Kings 18:1 - The Word of the LORD came to ELIJAH
-- Isaiah 38:4 - The
Word of the LORD came to ISAIAH -- Jeremiah
28:12 - The Word of the LORD came to JEREMIAH
-- Ezekiel 1:3 - The
Word of the LORD came to EZEKIEL --
Jonah 3:1 - The Word of the LORD came to JONAH -- Haggai 1:3 - The Word of the LORD came by HAGGAI
-- Zechariah 1:1 - The Word of the LORD
came to ZECHARIAH
[8] Deuteronomy 18:18 - I will put my words in his mouth
[9] Isaiah 45:21 – God is the AUTHOR of
Prophecy
[10] Numbers 12:6 – Make Myself known by VISIONS
and DREAMS
[11] Ezekiel 37:10 – Visions of Imagery;
the dry bones came to life
[12] Numbers 22:31 – God opened eyes to see the PRESENT Fourth Dimension -- 2 Kings 6:17 – Angel activity is unseen in the PRESENT Fourth
Dimension
[13] 1 Samuel 3:8 – God spoke audibly OUTWARDLY -- 1
Kings 13:18-22 – God spoke audibly INWARDLY
[14] Numbers 12:6 – Make Myself known by VISIONS
and DREAMS
[15] Hebrews 1:1-2 –God spoke in various ways through His Prophets -- 1 Kings 17:1-3 – Appeared
gave the message Disappeared
[16] Isaiah 20:2 – SYMBOL -
Isaiah walked around naked
[17] Jeremiah 19:10 – SYMBOL
- Jeremiah broke a Jar
[18] 1 Kings 11:30 - SYMBOL -
Ahijah tore new coat twelve pieces
[19] Ezekiel 4:1– SYMBOL - Ezekiel made a model of a city-
[20] 1 Corinthians 13:9 - We prophesy IN PART
[21] 2 Kings 9:1 – Sons of the Prophets given assignments
[22] Isaiah 6:8 – Isaiah’s famous words; Here
am I. Send me -- 2 Kings 2:5 –
Sons of the Prophets had the prophetic gift
[23]
Deuteronomy 18:15 - God
will raise up for you a Prophet
[24] 2 Kings 6:1-2 – Sons of the Prophets built a school -- 2 Kings 22:14 – School of Prophecy College their Dwelling place
[25] 2 Kings 2:16 – Some Sons of the Prophet lacked
Divine understanding -- Amos
7:14 –Amos DISASSOCIATED himself with the school of Prophets
[26] Jeremiah 35:4 – Prophets Quarters within the temple
[27] Amos 7:14 – A Prophet is not inherited, he is appointed by God
[28] Jeremiah 1:5 - Before you were born I appointed
you a Prophet
[29] 1 Samuel 9:9 – A Prophet was previously called a seer
[30] Numbers 11:25 - The Seventy Elder Prophets (NIV2011)
[31] Luke 16:31 - They will not listen to someone from the dead
[32] Exodus 3:6 - The Prophet Moses
(KJV)
[33] Exodus 7:1 - The Prophet Aaron (NIV2011)
[34] Joel 1:1 - The Prophet Joel (NLT)
[35] Jonah 1:1 - The Prophet Jonah (NASB)
[36] Amos 1:1 - The Prophet Amos (MSG)
[37] Hosea 1:1 - The Prophet Hosea (KJV)
[38] 2 Kings 19:20 - The Prophet Isaiah (KJV)
[39] Judges 17:5 - The Prophet Micah (MSG)
[40] Nahum 1:1 - The Prophet The Prophet Nahum (KJV)
[41] Zephaniah 1:1 - The Prophet Zephaniah
(KJV)
[42] Jeremiah 29:29 - The Prophet Jeremiah
(NIV2011)
[43] 1 Samuel 22:5 - The Prophet Gad
[44] Habakkuk 1:1 - The Prophet Habakkuk (KJV)
[45] 1 Samuel 3:20 - The Prophet Samuel (KJV)
[46] 2 Samuel 7:2 - The Prophet Nathan (KJV)
[47] Daniel 2:19 - The Prophet Daniel (KJV)
[48] Ezekiel 1:3 - The Prophet Ezekiel (KJV)
[49] 1 Kings 18:4 - The Prophet Obadiah (NIV2011)
[50] Ezra 5:1 - The Prophet Haggai
[51] 2 Chronicles 26:5 - The Prophet Zechariah (KJV)
[52] Malachi 1:1 - The Prophet Malachi (KJV)
[53] 1 Kings 18:1 - The Prophet Elijah (KJV
[54] 1 Kings 19:16 - The Prophet Elisha (NIV2011)
[55] 1 Samuel 10:10-11 - The Prophet Saul (NASB)
[56] Numbers 22:28 - The Prophet Balaam (KJV)
[57] Numbers 11:25 - The Seventy Elder Prophets (NIV2011)
[58] Genesis 20:7 - The Prophet Abraham (NIV2011)
[59] Numbers 11:25 - The Seventy Elder Prophets (NIV2011)
[60] Exodus 15:20 - The Prophetess Miriam (NASB)
[61] Judges 4:4 - The Prophetess Deborah (NASB)
[62] John 11:51 – Caiaphas the High Priest
Prophesied -- Luke 1:67-68 – Zacharias
filled with the Holy Spirit prophesized
[63] Acts 13:1 – Prophets and Teachers in
the NT Church; Barnabas,
Simeon, Lucius and Manaen -- Acts 11:28 – Agabus prophesized about an
upcoming famine -- Acts 15:32 - Judas and Silas were
prophets
[64] Acts 21:8-9 – Philip’s four unmarried daughters prophesied
[65] John 1:14 – God’s Word was made flesh and dwelt among us -- Hebrews 1:1-2 – God spoke to us through His
Son to us --
Matthew
21:10-11 – Jesus; the PROPHET from Nazareth --
Deuteronomy 18:15 – Jesus was the greatest Prophet -- Ephesians 2:19-20 -- The Church is BUILT on the Prophets and Jesus is the CORNERSTONE
[66] 2 Samuel 7:3-13 – Nathan spoke presumptuously to King David
[67] Ephesians 4:12 – The Gifts are for the building up of the body -- 1 Corinthians 12:1-7 – Gifts are for the Common
Good
[68] Numbers 12:6 – God will be made known by visions and dreams
[69] 1 Corinthians 12:11 – The Gifts are given as the Spirit wills
[70] Acts 13:6 - False prophet named Bar-Jesus NOTE: Bar means Son, so the
man was the son of a man named Jesus.
[71] Revelation 2:20 – Jezebel called herself a
prophet; misleading
[72] Acts 8:9 – Simon the Magician boasted he was someone great
[73] 1 Kings 13:18 – A lying prophet tricked God’s Prophet
[74] Deuteronomy 13:1-3 – God will test you using FALSE Prophets -- 1 John 4:1 - Do not believe every
spirit - TEST THE SPIRITS
[75] Matthew 7:16 - You will know them by their
fruits -- Numbers 12:6 –
Messages made known by visions and dreams
[76] 1 Kings 22:11 – Zedekiah proclaimed victory - False
Prophet
[77] 1 Kings 22:17 – Micaiah warned of defeat – True
Prophet
[78] Matthew 24:36 – No one knows the EXACT day
or hour of His return
[79] Revelation 19:20 – There will be a false prophet in the End time -- Matthew 7:15 - Beware of False Prophets pretending to be Good -- Matthew 24:11 - Many False Prophets will rise up and deceive many -- Jeremiah 23:30-32 – False Prophet steals
testimony of others
[80] Mark 13:22 - False Prophets will perform
signs and wonders -- 2 Peter 2:1
– There will be False Prophets among the people
[81] Judges 13:2-5 - Sampson
called to judge before his birth
[82] Judges 14:3a – Delilah
was not of their race nor faith. -- Judges 14:3b – Get me that woman for me to
be my wife -- 1 Peter 3:3-4 – Beauty should come from within not outward --
Judges 16:10 – Delilah was treacherous; a marriage made in Hell
[83] 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 – God appointed the FUNCTION of Prophet
-- Matthew 10:19-20 – The Holy Spirit will speak prophetically through
you
[84] Romans 11:29 - The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable
[85] 1 Corinthians 14:3 Prophecy is for Edification,
Exhortation and Comfort -- Ephesians 4:12 – The Gifts are for the
PERFECTING of the saints
[86] Revelation 11:3 – In the end times, Two Witnesses will prophesy
[87] Joel 2:28 - Your sons and daughters will
prophesy
[88] 1 Corinthians 14:31 – All Christians potentially can Prophesy
[89] John 16:13-15 – The Holy Spirit will speak the words of Christ to us
[90] Numbers 11:29 – MOSES
wished all Christians were Prophets
[91] 1 Corinthians 14:1 - Desire the gift of Prophecy -- 1 Corinthians 14:39 -
Be eager to prophesy; to forth tell
[92] 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 - Do not scoff at prophecies, but TEST them -- Revelation 19:10 - The SPIRIT OF
PROPHECY bears
witness of Jesus
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