Some churches claim to have prophets who speak authoritatively for God. But is that really a thing anymore? If not, how do we hear from God?
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Does God Still Speak Through Prophets?
Let’s start with a passage that seems to answer the question:
Ephesians 4:11 (NLT) Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
- Seems clear, right? Prophets are still a thing.
- So the churches that claim to have prophets and apostles are the most biblical churches? Not so fast. Let’s look into this…
Prophets in the OT
Prophets in the OT were not mere fortune-tellers but messengers chosen by God to guide, comfort, and ultimately call people back to God.
- Exodus 3:9-10 (NLT) “Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
- Ezekiel 2:3-5 (NLT) “Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them.
- Hosea 1:2 (NLT) When the LORD first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, “Go and marry a prostitute, so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the LORD and worshiping other gods.”
- Jonah 1:1-2 (NLT) The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.”
Prophets in the NT
In the NT the Holy Spirit was given to every believer, and this caused prophecy to take on a whole new meaning and purpose.
- Acts 2:17-18 (NLT) ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy.
- (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Whereas the Spirit especially designated and empowered the prophets and other leaders of Israel under the Old Covenant, God promises that all his people will be possessed by the Spirit in the last days.
- (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The expectation from 2:17-18 is that all believers under the New Covenant would 'prophesy' (prophēteusousin), and so share to some extent in the prophetic role (cf. 19:6). However, it is clear that some
