In this current article, we will be seeing a few more important truths we need to be clear on before going into the details on the potential reasons for the prophetic movement veering of track.
The role of the prophets according to scriptures from the Old to the New Testament hasn’t changed as we suppose it to have.
Prophets are still called to a ‘set apart life’ themselves and they are calling is to call the church to be set apart unto the Lord.
Their role is to bring correction to the church when it veers off track.
They prepare the church for the times ahead by providing foresight of its future. They bring to the church fresh revelations of Christ and the Father according to the seasons. They have knowledge of the mysteries of God.
Now in the Old Testament the spirit behind the prophets was according to the law but in the New it is according to grace and truth. In the Old it brought forth condemnation and judgement but redemption found its place. In the New redemption became primary with judgement and condemnation while still present, took a back seat. In the Old Testament the spirit of the prophets rebuked and urged God’s people to get right with God. In the New it primarily pleads and urges the children to return to the Father. In the Old the prophet’s primary role was to reveal the Holiness and the Righteousness of GOD. In the New it is the Love, Grace and mercies of God and as we approach the end times; it is revealing Christ the soon coming king of kings, judge of all men, ruler of all the universe and Lord of all!
From what we have seen till now there has been no change in the roles of the prophets whatsoever but the manner of conveying the message and the spirit behind it is what has changed. Also, their primary focus on God’s nature has changed as in accordance with the seasons.
Now, out of the few things that have changed; one is, in the New everyone can hear God and therefore they don’t need to go to prophet for guidance as in the Old. Not only that, because of the spirit of prophecy indwelling them they can tap into all the realms those with the gift of prophecy and the prophets operate in to a certain measure!
Not only that most of the prophets’ work in the Old was involved in tearing down but in the New most of their work centers on building. Also, in the New Testament the prophets lay the foundations needed in the church along with the apostles.
Having established the role of the prophetic, we need to bring light on an important verse, as this has been central to the current prophetic movement.
1 CORINTHIANS 14:2
but he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
This verse shows that the main purpose of prophecy is to edify, exhort and comfort.
In the New Covenant, the Spirit is building His temple, maturing Christ’s Bride. Therefore, everything He does and says to the body is in that context only which is to edify, exhort and comfort!
However, this should not be taken to imply that it means that we have to prophecy only positive things to people as it is commonly done in many circles today. We will go into the ‘why it happened’ later which is important to the theme but for now we will look to correct the errors in such a thinking and let scripture interpret scripture.
Luke 3:18 calls John the Baptist’s strong preaching as an exhortation. His ministry in Isaiah 40 is called comfort and John openly corrected sin in God’s chosen. Scriptures speak for themselves. From this, we can concur that comfort or exhortation can also be achieved in the context of correction and confronting sin in accordance with scripture.
Now, there are those who would categorize John’s ministry as relative to the Old Covenant and thereby imply that it is not for today. We cannot set aside John the Baptist’s ministry as from the old covenant because Matthew 11:13 says that all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. This implies that the ministry of John the Baptist was not in the Old Covenant.
If some would say, his ministry was in an intermediate timeline between the two covenants, his message however was continued on by Jesus. Jesus started his ministry by preaching repentance. Also, Jesus’ prophecies to his disciples regarding the end times and His warnings are not at all positive if we judge by the standards, we have set for on what prophecy should be. Also, Jesus’ address (John’s prophecies) to five of the seven churches contains quite a few stern words.
This shows that correction, rebuke and exposing sin also come under edification, exhortation and comfort. Just as rebuke and correction has to be done with the intent to edify, exhort and comfort; any ‘positive prophetic word’ that does not accomplish that purpose must be questioned.
Whether the prophecies are in God blessing us or encouraging us in our walk or comforting us when we are sad or bringing in correction it has to ultimately edify, exhort or comfort. Those prophesying should always relate to the body with only the intent to edify, exhort and comfort it.
Another important truth in this light is that we need the whole counsel of God on a particular truth. For that we need to go through all scriptures that talk on that truth and then combine them together with the Spirit’s help. Only then our doctrine will be wholesome or else it will lead to error and extremes in the longer run.
For an instance, there was a time when people took John 14:13 to an extreme and began claiming all sorts of things. The context of that passage was on relationship with God, which involved love and obedience to Him from our side. There are several other Bible verses teaching us to ask according to His will (1John 5:14); have a clear conscience when asking (1 John 3: 21,22); not regard iniquity in the heart (Psalms 66:18)….When combined we have a clearer picture about how and when to ask in Jesus in name.
In the same light one cannot come to a conclusion on the role of the New Testament prophetic ministry from only a single verse of scripture ( 1 Corinthians 14:3). There are other verses on prophecy that bring forth its purposes. There is that predictive nature to prophecy; intended to warn, prepare and equip the church ahead of times. Also there are prophets who are called to and prophecies intended to restore the relationships between the Fathers and children as prophesied in Malachi.
Then there is that aspect of prophecy intended to bring light to darkness in the world!
The Spirit of prophecy; the Spirit of God convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. In 1 Corinthians 14 :24 it says that the unbeliever is convicted of his sins while prophesying. It clearly shows that prophecy brings to light to darkness in people’s lives; an aspect of prophecy that we seem to have lost today for so many different reasons. An aspect that is needed within the body also.
While some may dismiss it by saying that the light is only needed for non-believers; who is there to correct the believers when they are missing the mark? While it is true that the role the prophets have in exposing and correcting sin has greatly reduced in the body due to the indwelling of the Spirit in every believer. The role is still needed to guide the immature and infants and even sometimes those of age who need correction. The fact that this has been absent has been one of the greatest causes as to why sin has rampant among believers and leaders today.
