Prophecy on the Street Corner
Let’s face it, prophecy is not particularly welcome in today’s church. First, not all churches are in unity in recognizing what prophecy is. Some confuse it with preaching. In a prior post I attempted to define prophecy as “discerning and proclaiming spiritual truths that edify the church which emanate from the heart of God through his Holy Spirit.” Prophecy in some denominations, including in some Assembly of God, Pentecostal and Charismatic congregations, might actually take place in connection with a worship service.
The use of prophecy seems to be substantiated by 1 Corinthians 14:29-33 which states: “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”
Objections to prophecy, as used in 1 Corinthians, comes on several fronts. Some claim that the early church “gifts” are dead. At least, according to these critics, some of them are and then some are not. For instance they believe that some spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues and discernment of spirits might have ceased in the first century. Other gifts like the word of wisdom, teaching, evangelism, administration and hospitality are welcome to stick around today. Other gifts are a little quirkly like miracles and healings but they might be allowed to stay around today if they stay in their place. Prophecy is done away with and is transmuted mysteriously into preaching. Personally I find this treatment of the gifts by some modern denominations to be ludicrous and not at all supported by Scripture. I believe in simplicity. All of the gifts are here today or all of the gifts are gone. I see no Scriptural base for selective treatment.
The spiritual gifts, by the way, are not gifts to the individual they are gifts to the Church. All of the gifts reside in Christ. They emanate from Christ and they are to be employed in the service of the church and mankind to bless, encourage and build up. They are the gifts of Christ which through the ministry of the Holy Spirit still operate as the ears, eyes, hands and feet of Christ today. Perhaps it will help to understand the prophetic word of Jesus and his place in prophecy. Below I only briefly touch upon it.
Jesus is the Great Law Giver and Jesus is the Great Prophet. On the Mount of Transfiguration we see him with both Moses (the law) and with Elijah (the great prophet). See Matthew 17:2-3. Yet even Moses prophesied that there would come a great prophet after him and despite what some competing faiths may believe, the Great Prophet was Jesus Christ. In Deuteronomy 18:17-19 Moses wrote: “The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”” In fact Jesus himself at John 17:8 said in his prayer for his disciples “For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.” Jesus stated in his prayer that he had conveyed to his disciples the words that God had placed into his heart and mouth.
Unfortunately there are good reasons for some to distrust the gifts. Sometimes, the people having the gifts use them to enrich themselves or line their own pockets. On other occasions, people with these gifts are found to have open and egregious sin in their lives. They are caught with vices which are an embarrassment to the church. On other occasions, the gifts may lead to personal pride, a lust for power over other people and other abuses. Where there is correct prophecy there is the real danger of false prophecy. The Scriptural cure for the danger of wrong prophecy is having prophecy judged by other prophets. Prophecy which contravenes Scripture is automatically thrown out because the written word of God in the Old and New Testaments always trump the gifts. In addition, all gifts, including prophecy is inspected by their fruits. Are the fruits good or are they rotten.
Due to risks and dangers of prophecy (as well as other gifts), prophecy has largely disappeared from the church. In fact you will rarely find it in church services of even churches which advertise themselves as “spirit-filled.” However, sometimes you are more likely to find it in small group settings if the group is open to the spiritual gifts.
Prophecy is not trusted especially by leaders who would like to have a monopoly on hearing from God especially as to what he wants done at the local church level. It can be viewed as dangerous. It is also viewed as susceptible to misuse. So to use some common expressions. It is the “baby thrown out with the bath”. It is the “dog in the manger”.
All of that being said, prophecy is still here. It is like the bastard child that shows upon an embarassed parent’s door step. The prophet speaks despite all of the risks and disadvantages. The true prophet appears boldly both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are the Jeremiahs and the Isaiahs. They are the ones who pen Isaiah 53 which is probably the best description of Jesus Christ either in the New Testament or the Old Testament. The prophets and prophetesses come from where they will. They can be well known such as Jeremiah from a priestly family or unknown like the shepherd from Tekoa. Prophets are embarrassing. Sometimes in the Old Testament, they were instructed to be naked, lay on their side for years or marry a person without morals. There is no telling what a prophet might do.
In the New Testament, they may have eaten locusts like John, prophesied famine like Agabus or bind their hands so show that someone may be going to prison. They may be light the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9). They don’t fit the rule. They color outside the box. They don’t fit the mold so they are not trusted.
Most prophets do not come to a particularly good end. Jesus said that the prophets had been killed from A-Z (Abel to Zechariah). For further study on this see: Matt. 23:21; Luke 11:48, 51; Luke 13:34.
Prophets have vision. And often their vision is not particularly appreciated. People in authority do not like them whether in politics or in the church. They are more likely to find their homes in caves than in palaces.
The prophets even sneak into the Book of Revelation at Revelation 11:1-14. These two prophets may be dealt with me in a subsequent blog but not here.
If the church does not welcome those with the gift of prophecy, then they are relegated to the street corner. As Simon and Garfunkel sang in their song “Sounds of Silence”: “The words of the prophets are written on the subway wall and tenement halls and whispered in the sound of silence.”
God’s Spirit makes a way. God made a path for the ancient Israelites through the Egyptian sea. He can make a way for the sounds of today’s prophets. God has something to say to this generation. God is still speaking. He is still alive and he still speaks to his church through his Holy Spirit. He still speaks to the hearts of men, women and children and calls upon them to come to him and to obey him. He also has words to say to His church if we have the ears to listen.
In Luke 19:40, Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I tell you, he replied, if they (the disciples) keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” God’s word will not be silenced. Nor will it replaced by three point sermons or evangelistic messages which in turn might be better delivered outside of the church rather than just another round of preaching to the choir.
Since the soil for the message of the prophet’s message is inhospitable inside the church it can and will be moved to outside the church.
The prophet may find his voice in writing, or in Twitter or in, God help us, Facebook.
The important thing, however, is not the prophet. It is the message. And the prophet is not through speaking yet. Nor will attempts to bridle the words of God be contained or imprisoned within the box — even a church-shaped box. The Holy Spirit is not contained and will speak where and how the Spirit wills.
I encourage you to be open to hear the sounds and words of God coming through his prophets today. And don’t be too surprised where you hear those words.
