Understanding the Gift of Prophecy

Understanding the Gift of Prophecy

Out of the 39 Old Testament books, 16 of them are prophetic. The mere fact of almost half of the Old Testament books being prophetic underlines the significance of prophecy in the Bible. Most Christians do not have a problem with the prophecies or prophets mentioned in God’s Word, but some may be a bit perplexed about the spiritual gift of prophecy today. Hence, this article unpacks what this gift is in our current context and covenant – the New Covenant. However, in order for us understand prophecy today, we must first understand what prophecy was in the Old Testament.

Prophecy and Prophets in the Old Testament

To begin with, a prophecy is a word of the Lord that fore-tells the future. This Word of the Lord is given to a prophet. As hinted above, there are countless biblical prophecies (~2000). Here are a few examples: Genesis 15:18 – the Lord promising Abraham that his offspring will inherit the land of Canaan; Jeremiah 25:11-12 – God declaring that Judah will only serve Babylon for 70 years (586-516 BC); and Isaiah 7:14 – one of the most famous prophecies regarding the Anointed One Jesus Christ, which states: “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”

Prophecies (fore-telling) had two main functions/effects: futuristic (purely stating the future) and present (causing imminent change). The first function of a prophecy, which causes a futuristic effect, is that the Word (message) of the Lord solely pertains to what WILL happen. Example: Micah 5:2. The passage foretells the future of which the Messiah (Jesus Christ) WILL come from Bethlehem. However, another function of a prophecy, despite it still foretells the future, is that the message changes the present. Example: Jonah 3. When Jonah proclaimed the word of the Lord in Nineveh, in which the Word foretold their destruction in 40 days (3:4), the message had a present effect as the people repented and God’s wrath was eventually removed (3:10). Some prophecies have both functions. Example: Genesis 28:10-22. God told Jacob in a dream that He will give him and his offspring the land that he was sleeping on (28:13), and that they shall be vast and spread to the ends of the earth (28:14). This was the prophecy, which related to the future. However, after the prophecy, Jacob’s faith was refreshed (28:16-22) and he believed in God – reflecting the present change caused by the prophecy.

A prophet had two main functions as well: fore-telling (covered above), and forth-telling. To “forth-tell” is to proclaim a message from God regarding the present. (notice how forth-telling IS NOT prophesying even though prophesying could also carry a present effect) Example: 2 Samuel 12. God appointed the prophet Nathan to deliver a word to David regarding his sin of adultery (12:1-15).

Quick summary:

-       A prophecy fore-tells the future, but it may also have an effect on the present.

-       A prophet has two major functions: fore-telling (prophesying a message that pertains to the future) and forth-telling (proclaiming a message that pertains to the present – usually related to God’s response or judgment to an act in Israel and Judah)

Do prophecy and prophets still exist today?

The Word of God gives us a clear answer: YES!

1 Corinthians 12-14 are the most condensed chapters in the New Testament about spiritual gifts. In chapter 13:8-12, it states that tongues, prophecy, and knowledge (referring to the gifts in general) will cease, but only when the perfect – referring to God – comes. We can further discern that the “perfect” refers to God in verse 12: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” When Christ returns we will truly see Him face to face. Some cessationists believe that the “perfect” refers to the completed canon, but that “argument” is flawed because we cannot see God face to face right now just because we have the Bible. Therefore, “the perfect” only refers to God as He refers to Himself as perfect (Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:16).

Also, referring the cessationist argument, the Bible did not become Scripture after the canon was finalized. Both Paul and Peter’s letters were regarded as Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 3:15-16).

Another passage which proves that prophecy and prophets still exit today is Ephesians 4:11-13, which writes: “And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God…” Do Christians today still need to be equipped for ministry? YES! Is the body of Christ – which is also the bride of Christ – still being built today? YES! Therefore, prophets still exist today. In fact, many Christians nowadays have nothing against the existence of evangelists and teachers in the church, yet they immediately become skeptical when "prophets" are being mentioned. Being skeptical may not necessarily be a problem, but when there is clearly an apposition between apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers in the passage (Ephesians 4:11-13), it is unbiblical and illogical to say that prophets do not exist nowadays while evangelists and teachers still do. Either all of them exist, or they don’t.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:20, Paul calls the church to NOT despise prophecies but carefully examine everything. This passage states that Paul believes in modern prophecies, despite telling us to be careful with it.

Prophecy and prophets in today’s Covenant

Similar to the Old Testament, the New Testament contains a plethora of prophecies as well. Most Christians have nothing against New Testament prophecies, but when it comes to the “Spiritual Gift of Prophecy”, that’s where it gets “controversial”. Since the Bible makes it crystal clear the prophecy will not cease until the Second Coming of Christ – which means that prophecy exists today – the most relevant questions regarding the gift of prophecy are: What is the gift of prophecy? Is the gift of prophecy equivalent to “prophecy” (fore-telling) in the Old Testament, or does it have a new function/definition in the New Testament?

ANSWER: The spiritual gift of Prophecy has the same function and definition as prophecy in the Old Testament, that is, the God-given ability and ministry to fore-tell a revelatory message from the Lord. There is NO WAY one can use the Bible to suggest that the gift of prophecy is not “prophecy” but something else. In fact, the reason why some Christians today believe that the gift of prophecy has a different definition and function is probably because they do not adequately understand what the spiritual gifts are in general. Hence, their misunderstanding causes them to confuse themselves alongside others. Thus, in order to understand why the gift of prophecy is the same as OT prophecy, we must first understand what the gift of prophecy is not.

#1 The gift of prophecy is not Teaching

For some, this statement may sound stupid. However, there are actually tons of Christians, including worldwide renowned pastors, who believe that prophecy and teaching are associated. They may not blatantly claim that “prophecy is teaching”, but make an association between the two gifts. Yet, biblically speaking, we cannot find an association between the two gifts whatsoever.

The spiritual gift of teaching relates to the usage of God’s Word. Throughout both testaments, whenever it comes to “teaching” (in the appropriate context), it relates to the Word of God, whereas prophecy relates to revelation. Here are a few examples: In Matthew 28:20, the Great Commission, Christ instructed His believers to teach all that He has commanded us, which is written in the Word of God. In Deuteronomy 4:10-14, the Lord similarly commanded Moses to teach His people His statutes and rules – the Law, which was the Word of God to the Israelites back then. In 2 Chronicles 15:4, the passage associates a teaching priest to the Law. In 2 Timothy 3:16, it is written: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, (and reproof, correction, training in righteousness)…” The passage, however, does not associate God’s Word to prophecy. Thus, the spiritual gift most associated with Scripture is the gift of teaching. Other notable passages include: Colossians 3:16 (“Word of Christ” associated with “teaching”) and 1 Timothy 4:13 (“reading of Scripture” associated with “teaching”)

Consequently, there is no way that the gift of prophecy is equivalent to the gift of teaching. This becomes more evident in Romans 12 and Ephesians 4. Romans 12:4-8 distinguishes the gift of prophecy and teaching – proving that they’re not the same. Ephesians 4:11-13 lists out various roles in the body of Christ for the purpose of equipping Christians for ministry and building up the church. Among the roles are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Why would Paul make a distinction between prophets and teachers if they are the same thing? And if prophets = teachers, then do apostles = evangelists? Nowhere in the Bible do we see that, rather, since the body has many parts (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12) and He apportions to each individual different gifts (12:11), different gifts have different functions. Hence, Prophecy is not teaching. Teaching relates to the Word of God while prophecy is a revelatory message about the future.

#2: The gift of Prophecy is not Knowledge

Some Christians believe that the spiritual gift of knowledge is the God-given ability to adequately understand or interpret the Bible. While I do believe that one who has this gift will certainly have an adequate understanding of God’s Word, it would be hard to suggest that based on the biblical text. Here’s why:

First, the Bible makes it clear the spiritual gift most related to the usage of God’s Word is teaching (stated above). Second, the spiritual gift of knowledge is only seen in the Corinthians, and it makes its first appearance in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10. The gift of teaching, however, does NOT make the list of spiritual gifts in that passage. This piece of evidence is vital because all the gifts mentioned in that passage (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues) are supernatural abilities (and ministries). No one can naturally heal another nor speak in different languages nor perform miracles. Therefore, since the spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are related to supernatural abilities, then knowledge would also be a supernatural ability to suffice Paul’s apposition.

Third, if the above reasoning does not convince you, then please pay attention to the actual title of the spiritual gift of knowledge. The spiritual gift of knowledge is officially titled “a Word of Knowledge” (Greek: logos gnoseos) while the ESV adds a little interpretation and calls it: “the utterance of knowledge”. This is super important because the gift of knowledge is not just “knowing” something, but speaking a word of – or uttering – knowledge one has received from the Spirit. Hence, whenever a biblical character utters a “word” according to God, it would be forth-telling. We can see this as “the Word of the Lord” or “the Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah/Isaiah/Ezekiel/Micah etc. (prophets)” was either fore-telling (prophecy) or forth-telling. However, since 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 makes a distinction between prophecy and knowledge, prophecy would be fore-telling while knowledge, forth-telling.

Therefore, the spiritual gift of Knowledge – a(n) Word/utterance of Knowledge – is forth-telling, the supernatural ability and ministry given by God to know the things which God has specially revealed to one. Even though the Old Testament did not make a distinction between the gifts of prophecy and knowledge, a prophet had both – explaining why they could fore-tell and forth-tell.

The final piece of evidence which explains why the gift of prophecy is fore-telling a revelatory message from God, is Joel 2:28-29 (cf. Acts 2:17-18). Joel 2:28-29 writes: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.” As written above, to “prophesy” in Old Testament terms is to “fore-tell”. Hence, when this passage refers to the New Testament – and Peter quotes it on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18) – then surely the definition of “to prophesy” is the same as it was in the Old Testament as we do not see the Apostles changing it. In fact, there is no Biblical evidence to support that “prophesying” has a new definition today nor is there a discontinuation of the definition and function of prophecy.

Conclusion:

All in all, the spiritual gift of prophecy is to fore-tell. For some of you who have not experienced a word of Prophecy or Knowledge, this concept may seem foreign, strange, or even threatening to your (or your church's/parents') Christian faith and theology. In response to that, I would refer to John 20:29, in which Christ says: “…blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed”. To have faith – the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1) – is to believe in what is firmly written in the Word of God even if you have not experienced it.

I pray that this article will encourage you to have faith to eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit, especially to Prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:1), because there are still prophecies today as well as words of knowledge.

-Barnabas Kwok

PS: In response to people who like to question prophecies and prophets today simply because there are “false prophecies and signs”, I would say that there are probably just as much (if not more) false teaching and evangelism as well. But just because there are counterfeit prophets or evangelists or teachers, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t real prophets, preachers, or teachers. And just because the Bible states that there are false prophets, teachers, and signs, it also does not write off the fact that real ones exist too. Also, the entire concept of “false prophets” is not new in the New Testament. There had always been false prophets dwelling among real ones (e.g.: Ezekiel 13-14)