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THE
GIFT OF PROPHECY
Lesson 23
Page 1 of 2
Coming to
terms
The remnant is identified
in Revelation as keeping the commandments of God
and having the testimony of Jesus. Revelation
12:17 In Revelation 19:10 we learn that the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
What is the spirit of prophecy?
Knowing that Satan has obscured the law of God,
should we be surprised to learn that he has
counterfeited the spirit of prophecy?
For the sake of
definition, the gift of prophecy or
the spirit of prophecy is the gift of
knowing the unknown. Webster says prophecy
is, a prediction made under divine
influence and direction, or a discourse made or
delivered by a prophet under divine
direction.
The Bible interchanges
the idea of prophesying under divine influence
and the gift or ability to prophesy. King
Saul, for example, received the ability to
prophesy even though he was not considered a
prophet.
When they arrived
at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him (King
Saul); the Spirit of God came upon him in power,
and he joined in their prophesying. When
all those who had formerly known him saw him
prophesying with the prophets, they asked each
other, what is this that has happened to
the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the
prophets?
A few good questions
Is the gift of prophecy
in all churches today? Is this gift
prevalent throughout the world? Is it
limited to Christianity? What
characteristics distinguish those who speak in
Gods behalf? How can we tell if
someone is truly giving a revelation that came
from God? What distinguishes a
prophetic revelation from a
sanctified or educated guess? These
issues must be studied carefully, for there is a
growing interest in manifestations of
supernatural power.
Paul speaks about
spiritual gifts
The most eloquent writer
in the Bible on the gifts of the Spirit is the
Apostle Paul. Perhaps his position on the
subject is appropriately encompassing because, of
all the writers in the Bible, he is one of the
wealthiest recipients of spiritual gifts. Few
would contest that Paul stands head and shoulders
above his contemporaries due to his combination
of natural ability and spiritual gifts. He
influenced the theology of Christianity more than
any of his peers.
Paul points out there are
several different gifts of the Spirit. These
include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing,
miraculous powers, discernment of spirits,
speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues
and prophesying. He stresses that the gifts
have a direct purpose. They bring growth
and harmony to the Church instead of chaos.
Notice some of his comments:
1.
Paul says the gift of prophecy is for believers.
This is in direct contrast to the gift of tongues
that is for unbelievers. I Corinthians 14:22 Paul
also points out that there many be an ecstatic
experience of joy in the Lord, where a person may
speak in a language beyond words; however, he
emphasizes such experiences are to be private and
not public. I Corinthians 14:2, 9-17
2.
Paul says that the manifestation of spiritual
gifts is given for the common good of all. I
Corinthians 12:7 This text does not imply that
every believer receives the manifestation of some
spiritual gift. Rather, the manifestation
of spiritual gifts occurs for the common good of
all mankind believers and non-believers
alike. Paul recognized the value of spiritual
gifts and clearly encouraged the church to seek
for them, especially the gift of prophecy. I
Corinthians 14:1 But, desiring a gift does not
mandate the receipt of the gift.
3.
Paul clearly says the Holy Spirit
determines what gift (if any) a person receives.
I Corinthians 12:11 He goes to great lengths in
Chapter 12 to point out that the body is made up
of many parts. Since the body of Christ has
many members, we all benefit in the
administration of the gifts to those upon whom
the gifts have been granted. I Corinthians
12:27-30 He clearly points out that God has
not appointed everyone to be an apostle,
prophet, miracle worker, teacher.
4.
Paul stresses there are something more important
than the gifts of the Spirit. It is the grace of
the Spirit. Paul says, Desire the greater
gifts, faith, hope and love. I
Corinthians 12:31, 13:13 The gifts are temporal,
while the graces of the Spirit are eternal. Paul
points out that if we speak with the tongues of
gifted men or even angels and have not love, it
is nothing. {13:1} If we have the gift of
prophecy and the gift of faith and have no love,
it is nothing. {13:2} If we give all we
have to the poor and die a martyrs death
and have no love, it is nothing. {13:3}
Love, agape love (love that is God like), is more
important than all other gifts. In fact,
the gift of tongues, knowledge and prophecy will
pass away {13:8-10} but love will never
cease. {13:8}
A brief survey on the
gift of prophecy
The Bible does not
provide a clear definition of what it takes to
become a prophet. A job description is also
missing. Apparently, the post or job of
being a prophet is an appointment
rather than the achievement of a sanctified
state. And each appointment within the scriptures
appears to be unique to the circumstances of time
and place. For example, the boy Samuel was called
to be a prophet during the time of the judges of
Israel. The physician Luke was called to be a
prophet during the time of Christ. Anna and the
four daughters of Phillip were also called to be
prophets too! Luke 2:36; Acts 21:9 Prophets are
human beings and have failings too. Remember
Jonah and the whale? Did you ever hear about the
infamous Balaam? See Numbers 22:23. Notice
the following points about the office of prophet:
1.
Abraham, the venerable father of Israel, was not
perfect even though he was a prophet! In fact,
the first time mention of the term prophet in the
Bible is in Genesis and it applies to Abraham.
Now Abraham moved on from there in to the
region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and
Shur. {2} And there Abraham said of his wife
Sarah, She is my sister. Then
Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took
her. {3} But God came to Abimelech in a dream on
night and said to him, You are as good as
dead because of the woman you have taken; she is
a married woman. {4} Now Abimelech had not
gone near her, so he said, Lord, will you
destroy an innocent nation? {5} Did he not say to
me, She is my sister, and didnt
she also say, He is my brother? I
have done this with a clear conscience and clean
hands. {6} Then God said to him in the
dream, Yes, I know you did this with a
clear conscience, and so I have kept you from
sinning against me. That is why I did not
let you touch her. {7} Now return the mans
wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for
you and you will live. But if you do not return
her, you may be sure that you and all yours will
die. Genesis 20:1-7
Abraham
is called a prophet because God directly
communicated through him. Abraham prayed for
Abimelech and God spared his life. Jesus spoke to
Abraham from time to time and those who came to
know Abraham recognized the relationship between
them. (This scripture reveals the fact that
prophets can make serious mistakes. Even though
Sarah was Abrahams half sister, she was his
wife. The prophet intentionally misleads
Abimelech on this matter for fear that Abimelech
would kill him and take his beautiful wife.
2.
The Bible treats the office of prophet as a
divine appointment. When God has a spokesman, He
speaks through that person. He (the Lord)
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.
Numbers 12:6
3.
God warned Israel that no one should imitate the
office of prophet. If anyone claimed to be a
prophet and in reality, they had not been
appointed as such, the consequences were to be
fatal. Even more, if the testimony of a former
prophet leads people to stray from the commands
of God, he was to be put to death. Jesus said,
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 of the Lord your God commanded you
to follow. You must purge the evil from among
you. Deuteronomy 13:1-5
4.
When God speaks through a prophet, the situation
is unavoidably difficult for two reasons. First,
if a person rejects the words of a prophet, God
will hold the person accountable. Secondly, and
more importantly, if the prophet has spoken
presumptuously, he must be put to death. The
litmus test of a prophet is accuracy in
prediction. If anyone does not listen to my
words that the prophet speaks in my name, I
myself will call him to account. But a prophet
who presumes to speak in my name anything I have
not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks
in the name of other gods, must be put to death!
You may say to yourselves, How can we know
when a message has not been spoken by the
Lord? 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. Deuteronomy 18:19-22
5.
When God gives someone the ability to prophesy,
people recognize the power of God is uniquely
upon that person. Remember the text about King
Saul? Notice this one about Samuel: And all
Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that
Samuel was attested as a prophet of the
Lord. I Samuel 3:20
6.
A prophet cannot obey the words of another
prophet if they are contrary to what he has been
told. Notice the story: Now there was a
certain old prophet living in Bethel, whose sons
came and told him all that the man of God had
done there that day. {13} So he said to his sons,
Saddle the donkey for me. And when
they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted
it. {14} And rode after the man of God. He found
him sitting under an oak tree and asked,
Are you the man of God who came from
Judah? I am, he replied. {15}
So the prophet said unto him Come home with
me and eat. {16} The man of God said,
I cannot turn back and go with you, nor can
I eat bread or drink water with you in this
place. {17} I have been told by the word of the
Lord: You must not eat bread or drink water
there or return by the way you came. {18}
The old prophet answered, I too am a
prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by
the way of the Lord: Bring him back with
you to your house so that he may eat bread and
drink water. (But he was lying to him.)
{19} So the man of God returned with him and ate
and drank in his house. {20} While they were
sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came
to the old prophet who had brought him back. He
cried out to the man of God, who had come from
Judah, This is what the Lord says:
You have defiled the word of the Lord and
have not kept the command the Lord your God gave
you. {22} You came back and ate bread and drank
water in the place where he told you not to eat
or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried
in the tomb of your fathers. {23} When the
man of God had finished eating and drinking, the
prophet who had brought him back saddled his
donkey for him. {24} As they went on his way, a
lion met him on the road and killed him, and his
body was thrown down on the road, with both the
donkey and the lion standing beside it. {25} Some
people who passed by saw the body thrown down
there, with the lion standing beside the body,
and they went and reported it in the city where
the old prophet lived. {26} When the prophet who
had brought him back from the journey heard of
it, he said, It is the man of God who
defiled the word of the Lord. The Lord has given
him over to the lion, which mauled him and killed
him, as the word of the Lord had warned
him. {27} The prophet said to his sons,
Saddle the donkey for me, and they
did so. {28} Then he went out and found the body
thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the
lion standing beside it. The lion had neither
eaten the body nor mauled the donkey. {29} So the
prophet picked up the body of the man of God,
laid it on the donkey, and brought it back to his
own city to mourn for him and bury him. {30} Then
he laid the body in his own tomb, and they
mourned over him and said, Oh my
brother! I Kings 13:11-30
7.
The prophet cannot of his own power prove his
divine appointment as spokesman for God. Only God
can confirm or demonstrate the appointment.
Notice how this happened to Elijah. At
the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped
forward and prayed: O Lord, God of Abraham,
Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you
are God in Israel and that I am your servant and
have done all these things at your command.
I Kings 18:36
8.
The decision to become a prophet is not made by
man, neither is the office hereditary. God
chooses or appoints prophets. He told Elijah,
Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over
Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from
Abel Mehoiah to succeed you as prophet. I
Kings 19:16
9.
When people refuse to heed the words of
Gods prophets, God sends them a delusion
that they might be damned. See II Thessalonians
2:11,12 Notice this incredible story in the Old
Testament from which Paul took special insight:
But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of
Israel, First seek the counsel of the
Lord.{6} So the king of Israel brought
together the prophets about four hundred
men and asked them, Shall I go to
war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I
refrain? Go, they answered, for
the Lord will give it into the kings
hand. {7} But Jehoshaphat asked, Is
there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can
inquire of? {8} The king of Israel answered
Jehoshaphat, There is still one man through
whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him
because he never prophesies anything good about
me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of
Imiah. The king of Israel called one
of his officials and said, Bring Micaiah
son of Imiah at once. {10} Dressed in their
royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat
king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at
the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate
of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying
before them. {11} Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah (a
false prophet) had made iron horns and he
declared, This is what the Lord says:
With these you will gore the Arameans until
they are destroyed. {12} All the other
prophets were prophesying the same thing.
Attack Ramoth Gilead and be
victorious, they said, for the Lord
will give it into the kings hand.
{13} The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah
said to him, Look, as one man the other
prophets are predicting success for the king. Let
your word agree with theirs, and speak
favorably. But Micaiah said, As
surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only
what the Lord tells me. {15} When he
arrived, the king asked him, Micaiah, shall
we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I
refrain? Attack and be
victorious, he answered, for the Lord
will give it into the kings hand.
{16} The king said unto him, How many times
must I make you swear to me nothing but the truth
in the name of the Lord? {17} Then Micaiah
answered, I saw all Israel scattered on the
hills like sheep without a shepherd and the Lord
said, These people have no master. Let each
one go home in peace. {18} The king of
Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Didnt I
tell you that he never prophesies anything good
about me, but only bad? {19} Micaiah
continued, Therefore hear the word of the
Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with
all the host of heaven standing around him on his
right and on his left. {20} And the Lord said,
Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth
Gilead and going to his death there?
One suggested this, and another that.
Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the
Lord and said, I will entice him.
{22} By what means? the Lord asked.
I will go out and be a lying spirit in the
mouths of all his prophets, he said.
You will succeed in enticing him,
said the Lord. Go and do it.
{23} So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in
the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The
Lord has decreed disaster for you. I
Kings 22:5-23
10.
God is very protective about the way His name is
honored or dishonored by prophets. The story of
Naaman and greedy Gehazi confirms this point.
Speaking to Naaman, Elisha said, go
in peace. After Naaman had traveled some
distance, {20} Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the
man of God, said to himself, My master was
too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not
accepting from him what he brought. As surely as
the Lord lives, I will run after him and get
something from him. {21} So Gehazi hurried
after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward
him, he got down from the chariot to meet him.
Is everything all right, Gehazi
answered. My master sent me to say,
Two young men from the company of the
prophets has just come to me from the hill
country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of
silver and two sets of clothing. {23}
By all means, take two talents, said
Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then
tied up the two talents of silver in two bags,
with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of
his servants, and they carried them ahead of
Gehazi. {24} When Gehazi came to the hill, he
took the things from the servants and put them
away in the house. He sent the men away and they
left. {25} Then he went in and stood before his
master Elisha. Where have you been, Gehazi?
Elisha asked. Your servant didnt go
anywhere, Gehazi answered. {26} But Elisha
said to him, was not my spirit with you
when the man got down from his chariot to meet
you? Is this the time to take money, or accept
clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds,
or menservants and maidservants? {27}
Naamans leprosy will cling to you and to
your descendants forever. The Gehazi went
from Elishas presence and he was leprous,
as white as snow. 2 Kings 5:19-27
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