December
7, 1997
Prophecy - Old versus New Testament
Let us examine the nature, character, and purpose of Prophecy in the
O.T.
This is the way God communicated with the
prophets of the O.T.
Numb 12:6 (NIV) he
said, "Listen to my words:
"When a prophet of
the LORD is among you, I reveal myself to him in
visions, I speak to him in dreams.
The role of the prophets in the O.T.:
JUDGMENT
The O.T. prophets were used by God to judge
God’s people.
Judg 4:4 Deborah, a
prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading {[4] Traditionally judging}Israel at that time.
Same as before. «By your
Spirit you admonished them through your prophets»
Nehe 9:30 (NIV) For
many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit
you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention,
so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples.
Prophets were people who were widely recognised
for their divine calling.
1Sam 3:19 (NIV) The
LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of
his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from
Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested
as a prophet of the LORD.
21 The LORD continued
to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
The role of the prophets in the O.T.: TALK
with GOD
In the O.T. people could ONLY communicate with
God through the prophets. The sin that separated man from God did not allow a
direct communion, as in the N.T.
1Sam 9:9 (NIV)
(Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God,
he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer,"
because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
Same as before: the prophet was the means of
talking with God.
1Sam 28:15 (NIV) Samuel
said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"
"I am in great
distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and
God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by
dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
Same as before: the prophet was the means of
talking with God.
1Kin 22:7 (NIV) But
Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can
inquire of?"
The role of the prophets in the O.T.:
FORETELL ABOUT CHRIST
All of the prophets’ focus was the foretelling
of the Messiah coming.
Matt 3:3 (NIV) This is he
who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
"A voice of one
calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for
him.'" {[3] Isaiah 40:3}
Jesus Himself said:
Matt 5:17 (NIV)
"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.
The purpose of the prophets was to prepare the
ground for the gospel of Christ
Acts 10:43 (NIV) All
the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name."
The abolishment of the O.T. type of Prophecy
The scripture below draws a line of separation
between the O.T. and N.T.
Luke 16:16 (NIV)
"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the
good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his
way into it.
The above means that since the prophesies came
to be fulfilled, this O.T. type of prophesy (i.e. the foretelling of the Messiah coming) has no more reason
for existence, for Christ has come.
With regard to the 1st reason of
O.T. prophecy, there is also no more reason for God to judge Israel for
breaking the Law. Since Christ, the world moved out of the Law, and into the
new era of Grace, in which people are no longer judged on the basis of keeping
the Law, but on the ground of their obedience of Faith to the One whom God sent
to justify freely all who believe in Him.
(Galatians 3:10-14, 20-25)
With regard to the 2nd reason of
O.T. prophecy (which is to ask / hear
from God), N.T. believers no longer need to go to prophets/ seers in
order to converse with God. Let’s remember why:
What is the difference in the N.T.?
As prophesied, the GREATEST difference between
O.T. and N.T. people of God is the following: there is no longer the gap of sin
separating man from God. In fact, God’s Spirit is now so near to man that it
even resides within the believer’s heart, which has been changed by God, so
that it can be a holy place.
Ezek 36:26 (NIV) I will
give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your
heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
The Bible states clearly that the O.T. prophecy
has come to an end, the last prophet being John.
Matt 11:13 (NIV) For
all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. (also before: Luke16:16)
In the NT the Spirit of God «writes» God’s
words directly in the hearts of people.
2Cor 3:3 (NIV) You show
that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with
ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not
on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
(compare with start: Numb.12:6)
As a result, all NT believers are taught
directly from God (they don’t need
prophets any more).
John 6:45 (NIV) It is
written in the Prophets: `They will all be taught by
God.' {[45] Isaiah 54:13}Everyone who listens
to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
Prophecy in the NT is no longer for the
selected few, but common among all believers.
Acts 2:16 (NIV) No,
this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 "`In the last
days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all
people.
Your sons and daughters
will prophesy, your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants,
both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
The scriptures below speak for themselves ...
1Cor 2:6 (NIV) We do,
however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,
... we speak of God's
secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden
and that God destined for our glory before time
began... as it is written:
"No
eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"{[9] Isaiah
64:4}—
10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit
searches all things, even the deep things of God... 12 We have not received the spirit of the world
but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand
what God has freely given us. ..
16 "For who has
known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" {[16] Isaiah 40:13}
But we have the mind of Christ.
As the Holy Spirit now resides within the
believer’s heart, it reveals its nature through the conscience:
Roma 9:1 (NIV) I speak
the truth in Christ--I am not lying, my conscience
confirms it in the Holy Spirit--
The conscience reveals God’s judgment, within
man’s heart.
1Cor 4:4 (NIV) My conscience is clear, but that does not make me
innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
2Cor 1:12 (NIV) Now
this is our boast: Our conscience testifies
that we have conducted ourselves in the world...
The conscience by itself may be of no object,
if it were not for the faith in Jesus...
1Tim 1:5 The goal of
this command is love, which comes from a pure heart
and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
So, our walk with the Lord entails an intimate
combination of good conscience and sincere faith.
1Tim 1:18 (NIV)
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once
made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have
rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
1Tim 3:9 (NIV) They
must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a
clear conscience.
The faith can go wrong when people lose the
«voice» of the Spirit in their conscience...
1Tim 4:2 Such teachings
come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences
have been seared as with a hot iron.
In the absence of the Spirit’s direction
through the conscience the gate to sin is open ...
Titu 1:15 (NIV) To the
pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe,
nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and
consciences are corrupted.
The following 2 scriptures portray that the conscience is the gateway of God’s
communication to man.
Hebr 9:9 (NIV) This is
an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices
being offered were not able to clear the conscience
of the worshiper.
The coscience is where both the sin, and the
righteousness reside, through the conviction by the Spirit.
Hebr 9:14 (NIV) How
much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences
from acts that lead to death, {[14] Or from useless rituals}so that we may
serve the living God!
We have seen that in the N.T. God reveals
Himself to all His children, who may all potentially prophesy. Further, God
makes His decrees known to man through man’s conscience. All this demonstrates
the method through which He communicates with His children. And we have said
all this to demonstrate why the Lord does not use any longer the O.T. type of
prophet to go to the people to pronounce judgment, or to call to repentance. This practice is done away with in the N.T. where there is
NOT even ONE instance of God calling people to repentance using prophets!
(For, He uses the conscience to
call to repentance)
Now let us examine the Prophecy in the N.T.
Let’s start by saying a word about the O.T.
prophets. According to the scripture below (and
else-where) God actually assumed control over them, and His word spoke
through them.
2Pet 1:19 (NIV) And we
have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay
attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and
the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own
interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man,
but men spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.
Peter had every good purpose to explain this to
the early church, for the following reason. As the people came to the
realization that the prophecy is subject to man’s will (see below), they came to doubt the authenticity of the O.T.
scriptures.
1Cor 14:29 (NIV) Two or
three prophets should speak, and the others should
weigh carefully what is said.
The reason that necessitates the discernment of
the prophecy is the following:
The Spirit of God reveals God’s will and word
in the heart of man. This is a spiritual «language», since the Spirit has no
tongue or voice. If the Spirit «could» speak itself, it would not «need» the
prophets - it would! After man has received the word of God in his heart, his
conscience calls him to speak it out loud (same
as the conscience calls man to repent and ask for forgiveness).
The problem is that man understands the voice
of his own conscience according to the degree of spiritual maturity, and to his
measure of faith. That’s why Paul says:
Romans 12:6 (NIV) We have different gifts, according to
the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying,
let
him use it in proportion to his faith.
We conclude from all the above that there is a
«rich portion» of human soul in the N.T. prophesy, which was not the case in
the O.T., where the Spirit spoke directly through the prophets, using their
mouths. In the N.T. the Spirit never overides the will of man, and his
sovereign control over his words. Man is always in control!
1 Corinth.
14: 32 The spirits of
prophets are subject to the control of
prophets.
Man chooses HOW to say what he senses within
his «heart», WHEN, IN WHAT WAY, to WHOM. In so doing, there is a large part of
malpractice...
About the false prophets
Starting with the O.T. we will see that there
is more than one cause for false prophesy. One may be the worship of a false
god. Another, the prophet speaking of himself.
The prophets of Baal were so true in their
gifting, and so convinced of their god, that they even «slashed themselves until their blood flowed»!
They prophesied same as the prophets of the true God. The difference was in the
nature of the God they called upon, but the nature of both the true, and the
false prophet is identical - both human, both believing in their god, both
prophesying...
1Kin 18:25 (NIV) Elijah
said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it
first, since there are so many of you. Call on the
name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the
bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from
morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was
no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began
to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god!
Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and
must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and
slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their
blood flowed.
29 Midday passed, and
they continued their frantic prophesying until
the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered,
no one paid attention.
Being a prophet is no guarrantee that he speaks
of the Lord. Prophets do speak «presumptuously».
Deut 18:22 (NIV) If
what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come
true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
The key to note here: did that prophet speak «presumptuously» on purpose? Oviously not... He thought he was «seeing» the
right thing... only, the outcome proved him wrong!
Same as before: «prophesying
to you false visions and the delusions of their own minds»
Jere 14:13 (NIV) But I
said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, `You will not
see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this
place.'"
14 Then the LORD said
to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my
name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,
divinations, idolatries {[14] Or visions, worthless divinations}and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore,
this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I
did not send them, yet they are saying, `No sword or famine will touch this
land.' Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine.
Same as before
Jere 23:26
How long will this
continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who
prophesy the delusions of their own minds?
Same as before
Ezek 13:3 (NIV) This is
what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the foolish
{[3] Or wicked}prophets who follow their own spirit
and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among
ruins.
Ezek 13:9 (NIV) My hand
will be against the prophets who see false visions and
utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my
people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter
the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD.
It is important to note here that the false
prophets are not of a different nation, but come from the chosen people of God
«Your prophets, O Israel, are like jackals among ruins». God does not consider them as heirs «They will
not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house
of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel».
And I insist as before: Would they willingly want to lose the promise? Would
they willingly want to go against the Lord God of their people? Obviously, they
had been subject to deception... They thought
they were right with God, but they were on the wrong track...
What God tells us below is that a false prophet
may even be accurate in his prophesy of the future. Still, the accuracy is
irrelevant. The focus must always be on the Lord God. Important to note here
that the Lord may have even used a false prophet to test His people.
Deut 13:1 (NIV) If a
prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you
a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken
takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have
not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the
words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out
whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD
your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey
him; serve him and hold fast to him.
5 That prophet or
dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD
your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of
slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you
to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
Note: in spite of the fact that the Lord has in
fact used that false prophet, he still needs to be put to death! If we look at
things from the false prophet’s angle, he would be content with himslef that he
really had an accurate understanding of the future. He would have difficulty
accepting that he is a false prophet - of course he would insist that he is a good
prophet!
False prophets in the N.T. are also to be
expected:
Matt 24:24 (NIV) For
false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.
Same as we said in the beginning of this
section: We must test the spirits! Take nothing for granted.
1Joh 4:1 (NIV) Dear
friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the
spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
We read several of Paul’s condemnations in his
epistles of brothers-in-Christ who proclaim a corrupted gospel, having mixed
new, carnal elements in it. As we see below, in the N.T. a prophet is ALSO
someone who preaches the gospel - not only those who foretell the future, or,
speak on the behalf of God to carry a message.
Ephe 3:5 (NIV) which
was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by
the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is
that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members
together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
1The 2:14 (NIV) For
you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ
Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches
suffered from the Jews, 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets
and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men 16 in
their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they
may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit.
All the above support the view that the «false prophets» who «have gone out into
the world» are not of other gods, but Christians who
have mixed their faith with their carnal nature (which is ruled by satan), thus corrupting the gospel.
How can we discern the spirits? The easy way is
to compare the prophesy to the scriptures, if there is agreement to the Holy
Bible. For instance, if a modern day prophet gives a personal warning and
calling to repentance -which was the
ministry of the prophet in the O.T.- it is easy to identify the lack of
both the knowledge of the scriptures, as well as lack of real communication
with the Lord. That «prophet» in facts translates the very carnal thoughts of
his soul into «the Lord told me...».
Prophecy in the Church of the New Testament
In the N.T. (where all things are done inside, and for the {local} Church) the prophesy is:
1) within
the Church congreggation -so that it may be discerned by the others
2) it
is for the purpose of instruction and encouragment,
not for calling to repentance -which, as we said earlier is done directly by
the Spirit in the heart, through the conscience.
1 Corinth.
14: 30 (NIV) And if a
revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop.
31 For
you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be
instructed and encouraged.
The N.T. prophesy that convicts people of sin
does exist, but again under two conditions:
1) again
within the Church congreggation -so that it may be discerned by the others
2) it
is not between spirit-led brothers in Christ, but from re-born believers to
sinners, and it is not in the form of «do
this, or else, I the Lord, will do to you that...!». This is not the case,
because as we said we are no longer in the era of judgment, but in that of
Grace. Hence, the Spirit leads to conviction by making the sinner come to the realisation of the existence
and presence of God:
1Cor 14:24 (NIV) But if
an unbeliever or someone who does not understand {[24] Or or some
inquirer}comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by
all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.
So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among
you!"
the key here is: the secrets
of his heart will be laid bare
So, we have concluded that the role of prophesy
in the Church of Christ is completely different than in the O.T. It is for for strengthening, encouragement and comfort as well as for the edification of the church and it is performed only within the local
church, for the spiritual safety of the believers. It is never on a personal
basis, which used to be the practice before Christ. Let’s read on:
1Cor 14:3 (NIV) But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their
strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
4 He who speaks in a
tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies
the church. 5 I would like every one
of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have
you prophesy.
Note: I would like
every one prophesy. We have repeatedly seen that in Christ, all prophesy. Paul says:
1Cor 12:10 (NIV) to
another miraculous powers, to another prophecy,
to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different
kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he
gives them to each one, just as he determines.
All can prophesy, as the Spirit determines to
manifest Himself. But, there is also another type of prophesy in the N.T. - it
is a God appointed ministry, not the manifestation of the Spirit.
1Cor 12:28 (NIV) And in
the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third
teachers, ...
The purpose of the appointed Prophet, within
the 5-fold ministry, is for the building up of the Body of Christ, so that all
may reach maturity.
Ephe 4:11 (NIV) It was
he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of
service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity
in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
In the Church of Christ the Office of the appointed Prophet
performs a different function than the prophesy as manifestation of the Holy
Spirit.
Acts 11:27 (NIV) During
this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 One of them, named
Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would
spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of
Claudius.)
We see below that God placed Teachers in the
Body, alongside the Prophets, that they may discern... that’s why prophets and teachers went together, like the two
wings of an aeroplane!
Acts 13:1 (NIV) In the
church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought
up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and
fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the
work to which I have called them." 3 So after they had fasted and prayed,
they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Last, we see an example of how an appointed
Prophet uses his own choice of words to pass on the message he received in his
spirit. Obviously, he could have explained, without using the belt to tie the
hands and the feet. He was just dramatising the message, subject to his
personal character...
Acts 21:10 (NIV) After
we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from
Judea.
11 Coming over to us,
he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The
Holy Spirit says,
`In this way the Jews
of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the
Gentiles.'"
As the purpose of prophesy in the Body of
Christ is to edify, so is the objective of this study: to edify, by providing
the Biblical background, that man may compare himself to God’s reality, so that
he may examine his own soul in the light of the Word, and take all his thoughts
captive to the obedience of Christ!
George Markakis