Introduction
This series deals with prophets in both the Old and New Testaments. First, they are not what you would imagine. As an introduction, let me make a bold assertion which is that my wife and I have moved in the gift of prophecy. It is a bold assertion because you should be immediately suspicious of anyone who claims to move in the prophetic gift.
Some denominations take the position that all the gifts to the church mentioned in 1 Cor. 12 and Romans 12 ceased after the First Century. Well, at least they take the position that the gifts they don’t like ceased such as tongues and interpretation of tongues. The gifts which they do like such as administration or teaching or evangelism may have somehow survived. I believe that all of the gifts mentioned in the New Testament have survived. So let’s start there. In this posting, I am only commenting upon the gift of prophecy.
Personally, I initially moved fairly easily in the gifts of teaching and administration. This is fairly apparent to people with whom I have ministered in the past. I was adept at teaching. I was also good at running things administratively. I set up churches, by-laws, organized events and received high praise from these efforts.
However, at first, I was unfamiliar with prophecy. I grew up in a denomination afraid of Charismatics and Pentecostals. If you went into an Assemblies of God church you would probably catch something and it was not something good!
Over the course of time, I was exposed to Baptists, Episcopalians, Methodists and others who actually operated in the “gifts to the church” including the gift of prophecy. I had been taught that “prophecy” meant proclaiming and that meant preaching sermons from the pulpit; therefore I was greatly surprised when I came into contact with people who actually moved in spiritual gifts such as prophecy. Their gifts involved personal prophecy about things in a person’s life and about God’s direction in accordance with Scripture. They also moved in the gifts of discernment, word of knowledge and the like. One such individual was an ex-Baptist preacher who had a strong gift of personal prophecy and who helped people to deal with issues and needs in their life. He generally did not prophesy to people that he knew because he said his flesh might get in the way. I watched him prophesy to people I knew that he did not. The accuracy of his spiritual gift was astounding.
Later in time, I watched my wife move into the gifts of prophecy and discernment and her gifts were also very strong. Mostly her ministry was to women and most of that ministry was done outside of the confines of a church building. Women would gravitate to her and I learned to watch for the signs and take care of the kids or wait as she counseled them. In some instances, she divinely knew facts about the women which the women for various reasons had not revealed. The revelation of the personal details were needed so that her counseling and advice would be effective.
Gradually, God brought me along in the gift of prophecy. Over time I began to prophesy both in the church and outside of the church. The gift worked as well with believers and unbelievers. The prophecy might relate to personal prophecy but sometimes it related to future events in a person’s life or ministry. Even as I write this it sounds “quirky” to me. I was trained as a lawyer and have a high degree of skepticism. I guess I identify quite a bit with the Apostle Thomas who said” “I believe when I have seen….” Jesus, however, said “blessed are those who believe who have NOT seen….”
The point of this introduction, is to tell you that the insights which I am sharing have come from having operated by using the gift personally.
As I share these things, always weigh them against Scripture. Let me assure you, however, there are spiritual things out there which you do not recognize until you somehow run into them. Also there are dangers from “false prophets”. In fact it is the danger of false prophets which have caused many churches including charismatic and Pentecostal Churches to limit greatly the gift of prophecy.
Those Crazy and Outrageous Prophets
I remember from Saturday Night Live there were two guys who said “We are just a bunch of wild and crazy guys.”
We are Just Two Wild and Crazy Guys!
When we begin to learn about the prophets we are surprised to find that they seem almost crazy and outrageous. Isaiah who we love for his prophecies of Jesus such as Isaiah 53, ran around naked for three years. Micah also went naked to illustrate punishment.
The prophet Ezekiel laid on his side for 390 days to illustrate the punishment of Jerusalem. Jeremiah hid his his underwear under a rock and later wore a wooden yoke and straps to illustrate the bondage which was coming to Jerusalem.
Hosea was directed by God to marry a prostitute to illustrate the redemption of the people of God from harlotry and Hosea named his daughters little “No Mercy” and “Not My People.”
Let’s face up to the fact that their actions appear to be crazy and certainly outrageous.
Now imagine if you will:
Next Sunday, I walk into my local “non-denominational” church naked and proclaim that if the United States does not repent (by the way this is not a prophecy) from its wickedness and turn back to God we will be reduced to poverty and will find it difficult to find clothing sufficient for us to wear. Just think what the response of my church would be. Would the church say, “Ernie, thank you for bringing us this prophecy. Let’s begin to repent and perhaps God will turn this judgment away from us.” Now that was similar to what happened when God instructed Jonah (after a big fish detour) to do to the City of Nineveh. Interestingly, Nineveh repented and Jonah got upset because God was merciful. Would my church measure up to Nineveh’s standards? I suspect that it would not. Here is what I think would happen when I appeared naked with my prophetic message. The elders, deacons and pastors would be quick to usher me out, the police would be called and I would be confined to the hospital’s mental ward for observation at the best or be thrown into jail for indecent exposure. You would certainly not be excited when I began to prophesy about the Messiah.
To the relief of all who read this and to my church, God has not instructed me to do any of this. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, Ezekiel and other prophets simply did what God told them to do. Their actions by any standards were outrageous and may have appeared to be crazy.
Why Did God ask the Prophets to do Crazy and Outrageous Actions?
God saw disaster ahead for Israel. There was a train wreck coming. God tries to get our attention, but like Israel, we ignore him. We explain the warnings away. We refuse to hear them. Finally, God uses a “red flag” to slow us known, to wake us up and get our attention.
God sends prophets to warn us and to move us toward repentance. Is repentance is possible? I believe that it is and in fact that is exactly what happened when Jonah warned Nineveh of God’s judgment.
God said at Isaiah. 5:4:
“Judge between me and my vineyard (Israel and Judah).
What more could I have not done to it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
Why did it yield wild grapes.”
God is not whispering to us, like he whispered to Elijah. Instead he is yelling at us to stop being wicked and to repent and follow Him. Yet we are too preoccupied with the things of this world for us to notice.
It is hard even for us not to notice a naked prophet.
Forthtelling and Foretelling
The role of both the Old Testament and New Testament prophets is to speak the words of God. Does God still speak? I believe the answer is yes. Has God spoken to us definitively? Again, I believe the answer is yes. God has spoken to us definitively through Scripture and anything which goes against Scripture is not from the voice of God. If a prophet tells you to leave your spouse or to go out and murder someone, this is against Scripture and you are dealing with a false prophet. On the other hand, God is not through speaking today. He may impress upon your heart to help someone who has special needs or to give something to your church. God speaks wisdom to us daily and we need to be listening for it. God is not through speaking. The Holy Spirit continues to speak, but we often do not listen.
God may impress us to share something with our church, to confess a sin, or to take some other action. God impresses upon the prophet to speak the words of God about a situation to another person or to a group. This is “forthtelling.” All sermons, however, are not forthtelling. Some are evangelistic messages; some are teachings but occasionally God may have a specific word for a church which is more prophetic in nature.
Prophecy can also be foretelling. Isaiah, Michiah, David and many other prophets foretold about the coming of the Messiah. Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Isaiah, foretold about the destruction of Jerusalem. Daniel foretold about empires rising and falling including the Greeks and the Romans. Jesus foretold about the destruction of Jerusalem. Agabus, the New Testament prophet, foretold about a great famine which was coming to the Roman World (which did occur during the reign of the Emperor Claudius). See Acts 11: 27. Agabus, much like the Old Testament prophets, also prophesied that Paul would be bound over and turned over to the Romans. Agabus took Paul’s belt and bound his own hands and feet with it as he prophesied to Paul. (Acts 21:10-14).
Some of the Characteristics of the Crazy Prophets
Below are some of the characteristics which you might expect to see in a prophet:
Hears God
A prophet listens. He or she hears God. God has a message for people and that message is often delivered through prophets. Therefore the ability to hear correctly is very important. Samuel for instance, heard God as a child. (1 Samuel 3:9). Elijah heard the still small voice of God while he was on Mt. Sinai (1 Kings 19:11-13). Unfortunately for the prophets, even though they hear God, the people to whom the prophets are preaching do not often hear them. The people to whom the messages are sent are often hard of hearing and their hearts are as hard as their ears.
Independent
Prophets are independent and fearless. A person who likes to go along with the crowd or blend in will never make a good prophet. The prophet must frequently stand against the majority. Elijah had to stand up and confront 500 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. Macaiah, who prophesied Ahab’s defeat and death, had to stand up to all of the prophets who were prophesying success to Ahab and Jehoshaphat in their war against Syria. (1 Kings 22:8-28) The prophet goes against the grain and is often placed in a position where they must prophesy things which are not approved by the majority of leaders, people or even other prophets.
Hard Headed and Stubborn
A prophet must deliver the word of God to a people who are unrepentant, hardheaded and stubborn. In order to persevere in this task God must have a prophet who is just as tough, stubborn and hard headed as the people he is ministering to. Ezekiel is a good example. God gave Ezekiel a forehead like flint according to Ezekiel 3:7-9 which states the following:
7 But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. 8 Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9 Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.”
Isaiah also found his listeners to be hard headed and God’s description of them at Is. 48:4 was the following: “Because I know you are obstinate and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass.” God made his prophets hard headed and stubborn because they need to prophesy to people who are hard headed and stubborn.
Isaiah even prophesied that the Messiah would need to be hard headed when he wrote at Isaiah 50:7… “therefore I have set my face like flint….”
A Visionary
Prophets are visionaries. They see visions. In the Old Testament Daniel had numerous visions regarding the end times. Ezekiel saw God and strange four-faced beasts around him. (Ezekiel 1:5-11) Ezekiel also saw a divine wheel. ( Ezekiel 1:20-21). Isaiah saw God lifted up and his train filling the Temple. (Isaiah 6:1-3).
In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter saw visions of a sheet being let down from heaven containing clean and unclean animals signifying the conversion of the Gentiles. (Acts 10:9-16) Paul also had a number of visions (2 Cor. 12:1-7). The Apostle John prophesied the end times comprising the Book of Revelation due to a vision. (Rev. 1:1-2; 9-10).
Scripture says that without a vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). In many cases we need direction from God. It is not uncommon for God to give his prophets visions of spiritual matters as well as things to come.
Is a Person of Prayer
The prophet is a person of prayer. Daniel prayed in the upper room even when doing so caused him to be cast into a den of lions. (Dan. 6:16-23). Elijah prayed in the cave on Mt. Sinai after he had fled from the threats of Jezebel (Dan. 19:9). Jonah prayed while he was in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 4:7).
To be a prophet, you need to hear from God. Hearing from God is a part of prayer just as speaking to God is prayer.
Lives a Holy Life
A Burning Coal Touches the Lips of Isaiah
The prophet lives a holy life and is not disqualified by living immorally. Nowhere is this more graphically shown that in the ministry of Isaiah. Isaiah knew that he was not holy and was in the presence of a Holy God. Isaiah relied upon God to deal with his lack of holiness and God did. See Isaiah 6:1-7 which says the following:
6” In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Long Suffering, Patient and Shows Endurance
Prophets are in it for the long haul. If they were compared to runners, they would be the marathoners as opposed to those who do the 100 yard dash. Some are even called to be prophets even before they were born such as Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5).
Due to the fact that most prophets meet resistance, they must endure rejection and persecution. Jeremiah was rejected by his own family. He was also thrown into a prison and then into a deep and empty well where he sunk into the muck and mire. (Jer. 38:1-6). Lying on one’s side for 390 days takes endurance and shows patience, determination and grit in order to follow what God had commanded.
Not Motivated by Material Things
Prophets are not motivated by money and material things. They prefer the praises of God over the praises of men. Prophets are not prophets because of the adulation they receive, the money from their ministries or the books that they write. They are not out to make big bucks from seminars. They have a mission from God and they are out to carry out that mission.
The Blues Brothers-”We are On a Mission from God”
When General Naaman of Syria was healed by Elisha, he offered Elisha great wealth. Elisha however took nothing. After Naaman left, Elisha’s servant Gehazi ran after Naaman and told him that Elisha had changed his mind because two “poor” prophets had just arrived and obtained from Naaman two expensive changes of clothing and a talent of silver. When Elisha found out what happened he cursed Gehazi and his descendants with the leprosy that Naaman had been delivered from. (2 Kings 5). Today’s “so called” prophets would have taken all of Naaman’s gifts. They become famous and rich due to gifts and ministries which Christ has given for the benefit of the church as opposed for the benefit of the prophet. These false prophets and false apostles recognize and anoint each other and are quick to remind you that they are God’s prophets and apostles. Scripture requires us to test them by looking at their fruits and their moral lives. They have disdain for the later rewards of God preferring to seek the rewards of this world. Avoid them!
Check the Fruit
Obviously, prophets such as Elijah and John the Baptist were not wearing fancy clothes and they were not living in fine houses. You were more likely to find John the Baptist and Elijah living in caves. Jesus who was the Great Prophet said: “Birds have their nests and foxes have their holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. ( Matt. 8:19-20).
Is your prophet wearing sandals or designer shoes? Is the prophet’s house a mansion or a cave? Do they ride in their private jets while claiming to be walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
The Home Life of a Prophet
Prophets are expected to live a holy life. Unfortunately, the home lives and families of many prophets in the Old and New Testaments would not allow them to even qualify as an elder or deacon in the church today.
Honestly, it is not easy being married to a prophet. They were often on the road travelling a circuit of cities where they ministered such as Elijah did and Samuel did. What would a prophet’s wife tell her friends: “Well, you know my husband Isaiah is still running around naked and it has been three years now.”
When it comes time for name thing children, the prophet sometimes insists on giving the children names that God has spoken. This is what happened to the two children of Isaiah and the three children of Hosea. Hosea named one of his daughters little “Unloved.”
Hosea also was commanded by God to marry a prostitute. This probably would not have set well with the Pastor of Hosea’s church if had attended a church.
Hosea’s home life and family must have looked like a shambles to the casual onlooker of his time. The prophet Samuel had two sons, Jonah and Abijah, who took bribes and perverted justice. (1 Sam. 8:1-3). He probably would have been kicked out of “the ministry” today.
When Ezekiel lost his wife, he was not even allowed by God to mourn. (Ezek. 24:15-18).
Other prophets were single such as Elijah, Daniel, John the Baptist and Jesus. The life of a prophet is hard not only on himself but also on his family if he has one.
A Prophet’s Reward
Prophets who expect rewards in this life will be sorely disappointed. Rewards are generally reserved for the next life. We have previously pointed out that prophets are not in it for earthly rewards such as wealth, houses and lands. Instead of the food of kings, the food of the prophets is more likely brought to them by ravens and they are more likely to dine on a diet of locusts and honey. Their clothing is rough and simple instead of the soft clothing of those who live in palaces.
Prophets can be expected to be rejected by their families, native towns and nations. Jeremiah experienced this type of rejection as did Jesus. Moses was rebelled against by his sister Miriam, his life was threatened repeatedly including at Meribah. At another time two hundred and fifty leaders, including Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebelled against him. (Numbers 16). Prophets experience loneliness often having to forego the approval of others. In addition, life in a cave is often a lonely life. Due to the rejection and loneliness, some prophets may experience depression like Elijah and burnout from their intense activities.
The reward of the prophet on earth is often persecution and death. Jesus said that the Jewish people had killed their prophets from Abel (“A”) to Zechariah (“Z”). See Luke 11:49-51; Matt. 23:34-35). Prophets were killed by the sword during the time of Elisha. Isaiah was believed to have been sawn in two.
Being a prophet is not for the faint or weak of heart.
Conclusion
I sent out previously a post called “Crazy Prophets-A Short Course.” In it I summarize some of the “Crazy Prophets.” This supplement will assist you as think about the prophets in a historical context and give you a quick overview of some of their activities.
I see many people today claiming to move as prophets. Some of them are; however many of them are not. Many, like false prophets, prophesy from their imaginations and their flesh. They are quick to want the role and title of being a prophet but much slower when it comes to experiencing the suffering and rejection of the prophet. If their personal lives are not holy, they are not a true prophet. If they appear to be in the ministry for the benefits of wealth and fame, they are not a true prophet. Watch to see if they meet the characteristics of a true prophet. Recognition of a prophetic calling from other false prophets does not make you a true prophet.
Checkout those who Claim to be Prophets. Kick the Tires.
Scripture says that “Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10). Kick the tires and thump the watermelon and see if you are dealing with a true prophet. Testing a prophet is not a sin; it is a duty. “By their fruits, you shall know them.” (Matt.7:20). If you can discern the spirit of Jesus including his holiness and suffering, you may be in the presence of a prophet of God. Look with spiritual eyes, the old lady prophesying may be more of a prophet than the flashy “prophet” with a big ministry and even bigger coverage in the media.