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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
There are some within the Christian faith, predominantly in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches, who view/practice the gift of prophecy as giving personal advice with a "thus says the Lord" presentati...
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Mary McDonald
See Acts 2:16-21 These verses speak of prophesy "in the last days..." "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:16-21 NKJV)" Are we not living in the "last days"? If so, according to the inerrant Word of God, there will be many who prophesy... hearing their prophesy however, is the time for Christ followers to use discernment of its truth in conjunction with the existing Word of God. Only through the study of Scripture, prayers for Godly wisdom, and verification by the indwelling Holy Spirit shall it be confirmed the prophesy is from God, or simply another false teaching trying to lead us astray. Jesus said, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (John 10:27 NKJV) So, unless I totally misunderstood the question and God's Word, yes, people will personally prophesy. Gosh Wins... Choose Wisely
Ezekiel Kimosop
If we are agreed that Hebrews 1:1-3 relates to the spiritual authority of God's word, we shall be cautious in handling personal prophecies. Some charismatic preachers refuse to acknowledge the complete revelation and authority of the Holy Scriptures as God's word and insist that God can still speak to us through dreams, visions, "rhema word", "prophetic unction" and many other strange ways. Under Evangelical theology to which I subscribe, we acknowledge the sovereignty and preeminence of God in choosing to directly speak to certain people in certain ways. However, we believe that such instances are rare. However, our bone of contention with a section of charismatics is their penchant for proclaiming that God always spoke this and that to their prophet. In many instances, these "prophets" mishandle Scripture and refuse biblical correction. The Bible warns us in 1 John 4:1-7 to test every spirits to see if they are of God. I personally do not believe that true Bible prophecy can operate outside the context of a church congregation or assembly. The idea of independent prophetic ministry is, in my view, unbiblical. The gift of prophecy as with other gifts of the Holy Spirit should edify the church (1Corinthians 12). A minister of Christ can be guided by the Spirit to speak a word of knowledge or to proclaim the spiritual direction for God's people within the context and confines of the teachings of the Bible. God speaks to His people through the word of God both generally and specifically and the Holy Spirit confirms God's message in our hearts. There are circumstances that God impresses His specific word or passage of Scripture in my heart and I have no idea why. However when I speak the same message in a meeting, I sense the power of God's Spirit in the meeting and many people are led into conviction and tears flow freely in the presence of God. I believe that in those circumstances God was leading me in a prophetic way to minister to those people specifically and to the rest of the congregation generally. If for example a believer was living in sin or disobedience, I believe God's word either spoken publicly or read in private has the power to convict that believer (Hebrews 4:12) However this does not happen all the time and in every meeting. A minister does not need to be a private prophet to be used of God in that way. Any servant of God is at the disposal of God's Spirit when they speak the word of God. The word of God however remains the incontestable instrument for affirming the truth of any word of prophecy. If a prophecy violates or is grossly inconsistent with the revealed truth of God's word, then that prophecy must be rejected by the church and the prophet should be rebuked.
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