Modern-day Prophets and Prophecy
In the Bible, there are over 600 instances of the word group for prophets/prophecy/prophesying, split approx. 70:30 between the Old and New Testaments. In this article, we’re exploring whether there are modern-day prophets—in other words, a status or role to which God appoints certain people as a permanent office or personal characteristic—and the nature and function of prophecy today versus the biblical periods.
I will take it that the reader believes prophecy to be a current gift of the Holy Spirit in the church; the questions therefore concern how it should be understood to function in practice.
Please keep in mind that a brief article such as this will necessarily require some simplification and generalization.
An extremely important first point is that although we see prophets and prophecies throughout the Bible, they do not function in the same way in the New Testament as in the Old Testament. As with all “biblical interpretation”—what something in the Bible “means” or is “saying”—we absolutely must start from the context, context, context. This is too often overlooked when quoting a verse as “the Bible says . . .” without reference to its meaning in its context (unwittingly, perhaps, but anyone preaching should know better). We cannot validly use the term “biblical” when referencing anything in the Bible unless we reflect and respect the original context.
The Old Testament context for prophets and their prophecies was collective: the nation of Israel, which was synonymous with the people of God. We do see instances of individual, personal prophecy—for example, the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12—but generally, prophecy is directed to the nation and its rulers. Even in this instance, the recipient was King David. Prophecy in an Old Testament context was different in content, target audience, and goals, compared to the New Testament (that we will come on to).
A common misconception is that prophecy is all about predictions. But even in the Old Testament, prophecy had far more to do with “forth-telling” the things of God than “foretelling” the future. Prophecy (then and now) is not a Christian version of horoscopes or fortune-telling. We certainly do see prophecies pointing to future events—for example, concerning the Messiah who was to come and the outpouring of the Spirit—but these are typically eschatologically focused (i.e., “end-times” or “last days” related).
One role of the Old Testament prophets was to directly challenge the people. To call them back to covenantal faithfulness where they were missing the mark. At times, the prophets were warning of the bad place that the people would end up—where the road they were going down was inevitably leading—unless they changed course. In other words, God’s intention was actually to avert the state of affairs that was being prophesied about. This is what happened with Jonah and Nineveh. Although Jonah is best known for his three days in the belly of a whale, his journey was to deliver a message from God to the people of Nineveh: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” (Jonah 3:4). But the people so responded to his message—in fasting, repentance, and prayer—that God relented! “When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened” (Jonah 3:10). Rather than being overjoyed by that, Jonah’s reaction was—you may care to hear this in a Basil Fawlty voice—“Oh great! That’s just typical of you, God. You send me to deliver this prophetic word and then you go and forgive them, making me look like a right plonker. I just knew you would do that—that’s exactly why I didn’t want to go to Nineveh for you in the first place!”
When it comes to the New Testament, we see individuals identified as prophets, but nowhere do we see someone’s name tagged with that title as a “professional honorific.” In other words, no “Prophet Ananias” (Acts 9) or “Prophet Agabus” (Acts 21). Equally, there’s no one in the New Testament called “Apostle so-and-so,” or “Evangelist so-and-so.” The nearest we get is “Philip the evangelist” in Acts 21:8 (the capital “E” that the NLT uniquely chooses to bestow is not a feature of the original Greek). Even the man we know as “the Apostle Paul” is never called that in the New Testament. Bestowing one (or more) of these titles on someone in certain church traditions today is “cultural” rather than “biblical.” Whether it’s helpful is another matter.
Passages focused on gifts of the Spirit (to individuals) are found in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Corinthians 14 (not forgetting 1 Corinthians 13, which “regulates” the practice of those gifts). Ephesians 4, meanwhile, speaks of gifts of people (to the church): “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers . . .” Opinions differ on whether the structure of this list is intended to reflect a hierarchy of “rank” (I would say no) and whether such roles continue today (I would say yes, but more in the sense of functions to be fulfilled in the body of Christ). Importantly, the purpose of all of them is “to equip God’s people for works of service . . .”—not to enhance someone’s status. 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 does say that “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues,” but the list differs from Ephesians 4, suggesting that both are intended to be illustrative rather than definitive.
I don’t believe that “apostle” is meant to reflect a permanent office or position in the Christian world. The word means “one who is sent” somewhere for a ministry purpose. No one is an apostle in their home church context, they simply function as that when, for example, sent out to church-plant (see the sending of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13). The Greek apóstolos translates to missiō in Latin, from which we get “missionary.” Apostles are not, therefore, the “top dogs” in a Christian world hierarchy—megachurch spiritual superstars—they’re church planters. An apostle is someone who needs a bit of all of the gifts (a jack-of-all-trades) when sent out to fulfil a church planting or church building role. It’s a misguided question to ask ourselves whether someone is an apostle. It can be answered simply by looking at who sent them, to do what and where, and whether they’re still there doing it.
All that said, perhaps my view is unduly influenced by my disdain for egotistical, authoritarian leaders laying claim to personal ranking in the Kingdom: “Don’t you know that I’m an apostle?” That doesn’t sound much like the humble servant Jesus of the Gospels. (I’ve known people obsessed with being recognised as an apostle.)
How, then, do prophets and prophecy feature in the New Testament and post-New Testament era today? Let me offer three thoughts.
The first is that nowhere in the New Testament do we see prophecy to a nation—it’s always to individuals or communities. The nearest we get to that is John the Baptist, but although he’s the first prophet mentioned, he’s really the last of the Old Testament prophets (see Matthew 11:11). His message was to the people of Israel and the Romans’ puppet-king, Herod. We are therefore more than entitled to be sceptical toward individuals claiming to be prophesying to a nation or nations today. Prophecy is focused on individuals and communities and it’s directed toward different goals.
The second thought follows: there is no reason whatsoever to copy what is perceived to be the style and vocabulary of an Old Testament prophet. That doesn’t sound authoritative, it just sounds weird (especially when it’s delivered in pseudo-seventeenth-century King James language). If I hear another "Thus saith the Lord . . .” or "I say to you, My children . . .” I think I will scream. Just say instead, “I think God might be saying . . . but I could be wrong . . . weigh it, and see what you feel.”
The third also follows: in the New Testament era and beyond, we see the gift and role of prophecy located “in the church” (1 Corinthians 12:28) and its goals are different. Specifically, “those who prophesy build up the church” (1 Corinthians 14:4-5) and “the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” Read in context, “church” here means a local church, not the church nationally or internationally (in the biblical period there were no modern communications to make that possible); “people” refers to people present, in person. When it comes to evaluating prophetic words, therefore, the core test is not “accuracy” (whether something is “true” or “comes true”) but whether it builds people up, strengthens them, encourages them, and comforts them. In other words—in Jesus’ words, in fact—the test is whether a prophecy bears good fruit in the life of the individual or community that it’s addressed to (Matthew 7:15-17).
1 Thessalonians 5:21 says to “test them all” and only “hold on to what is good.” So—if something doesn’t feel good and isn’t doing good—then ignore it! If it’s really important, God is more than capable of finding someone else to deliver it more helpfully on a later occasion. Prophecy is not about delivering the fear of God or the wrath of God, but the love, grace, mercy, and kindness of God. The Holy Spirit is “the Comforter” (John 14:16). As a Vineyard expression rightly has it, in exercising prophetic gifts we’re "mining for gold, not digging for dirt.”
This reminds us that those who prophesy must be part of a church (not independent itinerants, or parachurch organisations). The gift must necessarily be exercised in a church community context—otherwise, “testing” can’t happen. Never listen to any so-called prophet who in any way seeks to evade accountability—including through “private” prophecies, or requesting something be kept secret. Everything in the Christian world should be in the light; any secrecy request should be a red flag. In John 18:20, Jesus says, “I have spoken openly to the world . . . I said nothing in secret.” In Luke 12:2-3, he says, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” (Appropriate pastoral confidentiality concerning someone’s personal circumstances is not in view here).