Where are Our Prophets

[Thewatchman]

Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, at least, that Prophecy is a Gift of The Spirit.
the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in various tongues, interpretation of tongues. "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines."

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul tells us that he wants us to seek Prophecy above all other gifts.
"Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.... the one who prophesies edifies the church. ...
Tongues... are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers....

But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”

Has this been true of Our Worship? This was the epitome according to Paul. Which churches are currently teaching that the members interrupt the Pastor when they receive a revelation during the "service"? Why are "western" churches denouncing the very idea of prophecy, such that anyone who points to the bible instead of their own thoughts, is accused of "Trying to be some prophet!"

Which of the methodologies of our common denominations, are instructing that we pursue prophecy? Tons of them want women to shut up in church, plenty want to eat the Passover, or eat the communion, or pray the proper wording in the prayer of some famous Saint, and not a few just want to hug a tree and everyone on earth.

Revelations 19:10 confirms there must be yet a place for Prophecy.
"“... I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

It seems to me we have abandoned our bomber fleets, and are running about trying to defeat Satan's hosts with supply trucks.

We read in so many places in the bible that tells us to beware of false prophets, about prophets that see there own dreams, prophets that say the Lord said when God never said anything to them. They led Israel astray.

There were also many good prophets and you know them from David to Malachi in the Old Testament.

In the new testament we do not here as much about prophets.

I my opinion I thank that is because we had Jesus during the time of the gospels. Were there prophets? Yes. John the Baptist was one Philip had 4 virgin daughters that prophesied and there were others.

What we do have is the Holy Spirit to led and guide us. We do have the gifts of the Spirit. We do have the word of God.

Listen to the instruction of Paul:

1st Corinthians 6:14-21

14I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.15For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.16Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.17For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.18Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?



Philippians 3:17-21

17Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.



Belly from verse 19

Strong's Greek 2836:From koilos; a cavity, i.e. the abdomen; by implication, the matrix; figuratively, the heart.

They have an apatite for things other than God and His word and His way of living our lives.





1st Thessalonians 6:2-10

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;3Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;4Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.5For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.6And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:7So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.8For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.9For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Matthew 3 this is what the prophet John had to say to the religious leaders of his day. And it was true then and it is true today.

Matthew 3

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

 

[Thewatchman]

Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, at least, that Prophecy is a Gift of The Spirit.
the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in various tongues, interpretation of tongues. "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines."

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul tells us that he wants us to seek Prophecy above all other gifts.
"Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.... the one who prophesies edifies the church. ...
Tongues... are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers....

But if an unbeliever or uninstructed person comes in while everyone is prophesying, he will be convicted and called to account by all, and the secrets of his heart will be made known. So he will fall facedown and worship God, proclaiming, “God is truly among you!”

Has this been true of Our Worship? This was the epitome according to Paul. Which churches are currently teaching that the members interrupt the Pastor when they receive a revelation during the "service"? Why are "western" churches denouncing the very idea of prophecy, such that anyone who points to the bible instead of their own thoughts, is accused of "Trying to be some prophet!"

Which of the methodologies of our common denominations, are instructing that we pursue prophecy? Tons of them want women to shut up in church, plenty want to eat the Passover, or eat the communion, or pray the proper wording in the prayer of some famous Saint, and not a few just want to hug a tree and everyone on earth.

Revelations 19:10 confirms there must be yet a place for Prophecy.
"“... I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

It seems to me we have abandoned our bomber fleets, and are running about trying to defeat Satan's hosts with supply trucks.

Why don't we have more prophets and prophetess? We don't have teachers and leaders like Paul, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel . . . any more. More importantly the body does not have the apatite for the word. Where are the Berean's of today. How many of you here the word preached daily and then go home and check out what you heard and make sure it lines up with scripture.

What happens when you get someone in your church that starts to dig into the word and ask questions like: Is the rapture real, where does it say in the bible that the church will be gone at taken at the end of Revelation.

What is the desolation spoken of by the prophet Danial that the reader is to understand .

What is the meaning of the parable of the fig tree which Jesus said learn it.

Why are there only 2 of the 7 churches in Revelation that Jesus did not find fault with.

How come every church I have ever been to tells me the earth is only 6 thousand years old. I have been to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone park, the tar pits in LaBrea, . . . they are all older than 6,000 years. What about the new telescope that shows the universe is billions of years old. We do not teach or believe these things and yet the evidence is there.

Why did God ask Job “Where were you when ALL the children of God song for Joy. All would include Satan. Was he there? What about the behemoth where did he go what happened to all the dinosaurs we know from the remains they were here but again that was 10's of thousand's of years ago and the list goes on and on.

 

[presidente]

We read in so many places in the bible that tells us to beware of false prophets, about prophets that see there own dreams, prophets that say the Lord said when God never said anything to them. They led Israel astray.

There were also many good prophets and you know them from David to Malachi in the Old Testament.

In the new testament we do not here as much about prophets.

I my opinion I thank that is because we had Jesus during the time of the gospels. Were there prophets? Yes. John the Baptist was one Philip had 4 virgin daughters that prophesied and there were others.

What we do have is the Holy Spirit to led and guide us. We do have the gifts of the Spirit. We do have the word of God.

Listen to the instruction of Paul:

Why not look at other passages that _do_ mention prophets. At the end of Matthew 23, Jesus said, "Behold, I send unto you prophets, wise men, and scribes." Then in Acts 2, Peter quotes from Joel 2 about God pouring out his Spirit and sons and daughters prophesying. The apostle dub Joseph 'Barnabas.' Later, in Acts 11, there are prophets in Jerusalem who to to Agabus. One of them signified by the Spirit a coming famine, which later occurred.

After the council in Jerusalem, the apostles send two men who are prophets, Judas and Silas, to Antioch. Paul travels and experiences that the Spirit witnesses in every city that bonds and affliction await him. The prophet Agabus gives him a message preceded by 'Thus saith the Holy Ghost' that Paul would be bound.

The one passage that deals at any length of what to do in church in terms of the ministry of the word assumes the presence of prophets in the church. I Corinthians 14 says to let the prophets speak two or three and let the other judge. Chapter 12 verse 28 had mentioned prophets among those God had set forth in the church. The chapter also mentions prophecy among the gifts of the Spirit. Paul mentioned prophecy among spiritual gifts in Romans 12, encouraging it's use according to the proportion of faith.

In Ephesians 4, Paul mentions prophets among the gifts Christ gave to men at the ascension. In chapter 2, he had also mentioned prophets among those who had received knowledge of the mystery of the Gentiles.

I Thessalonians 5 says to 'Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Hold fast to that which is good.'

In the book of Revelation, we see the two witnesses prophesying.

Acts and the epistles indicate that prophecy and prophets had a role in various churches scattered throughout the empire. Scripture even gives 'commandments of the Lord' giving them a role in church meetings, multiple speakers, along with other brethren who teach, etc. There is no specific scripture that teaches that 'the pastor' is supposed to preach one long sermon. But which idea is sacrosanct throughout the Protestant movements and offshoots, the Biblical commands for the church or the pastor-sermon-pulpit tradition? There are even those who think it is sinful to allow for the commandment of the Lord to be obeyed because they think it interferes with the pastor preaching tradition.

Jesus also warned against false prophets. The picture we see in the New Testament is of genuine prophetic ministry, but we are also to be discerning to recognize false prophets.

 

[Thewatchman]

We read in so many places in the bible that tells us to beware of false prophets, about prophets that see there own dreams, prophets that say the Lord said when God never said anything to them. They led Israel astray.

There were also many good prophets and you know them from David to Malachi in the Old Testament.

In the new testament we do not here as much about prophets.

I my opinion I thank that is because we had Jesus during the time of the gospels. Were there prophets? Yes. John the Baptist was one Philip had 4 virgin daughters that prophesied and there were others.

What we do have is the Holy Spirit to led and guide us. We do have the gifts of the Spirit. We do have the word of God.

Listen to the instruction of Paul:

1st Corinthians 6:14-21

14I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.15For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.16Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.17For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.18Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?



Philippians 3:17-21

17Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.18(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:19Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)20For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.



Belly from verse 19

Strong's Greek 2836:From koilos; a cavity, i.e. the abdomen; by implication, the matrix; figuratively, the heart.

They have an apatite for things other than God and His word and His way of living our lives.





1st Thessalonians 6:2-10

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;3Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;4Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.5For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.6And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:7So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.8For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.9For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Matthew 3 this is what the prophet John had to say to the religious leaders of his day. And it was true then and it is true today.

Matthew 3

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.10And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

I my opinion I thank that is because we had Jesus during the time of the gospels. Were there prophets? Yes. John the Baptist was one Philip had 4 virgin daughters that prophesied and there were others. I coppied this right out of my post. I am not saying we do not have prophets.

 

[awelight]

I dunno. One of the other posters in this thread seems to be seeing that everyone gets prophecy immediately upon coming to Jesus. That may be true.

For what it's worth, I will weigh in on this for a moment.

There is some controversy as to the precise meaning of Luke 13:11. In it's context, it is the same as Matthew 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? The subject is about things or needs. Luke records this the same teaching but puts the Holy Spirit, in place of "good things". John Gill had this to say about Luke 11:13:

If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children,.... See Gill on Mat_7:11.

How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? instead of the Holy Spirit here, the Vulgate Latin version reads, "good Spirit", and so two copies of Beza's; and the Ethiopic version, "the good gift of the Holy Spirit"; and doubtless intends the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit, in distinction from, and as preferable to the good things given by earthly parents, to their children.

In either case, the subject in both, is about our needs and not necessarily our wants. One writer magnified the goodness of the thing and the other the giver of those things.

On the subject of Prophecy - the Greek word προφητεία ( pronounced prophēteia ), in it's many forms and uses, primarily means: "to speak forth the Word of God". This can be done as a direct Word from God, for warnings and future events or by inspiration to the writer or through guidance of the preacher/teacher.

However, since we now possess the completed Cannon of Scripture, what purpose would "direct" or "inspiration" have for us today? Except, perhaps, to cause unnecessary divisions among the believers. Especially those, still acting like Corinthian children.