What is the New Testament gift of prophecy? What authority does it have? Is it the speaking forth of the very words of God on a par with Scripture? Or, is there Biblical evidence that it was much different than the Scripture-level prophecies in the Old Testament? Let’s examine the Biblical evidence together to see if we can find the answer.

Teaching Notes:

The NT Gift Of Prophecy – Pt. 1

Introductory Biblical Observations about Prophecy:

In the OT, when the Scriptures said that the Holy Spirit came upon an individual, the most frequent phenomena was prophecy.  We have at least 10 different examples of this taking place.

Likewise, in the NT, there is a great emphasis placed upon the gift of prophecy.  It is mentioned specifically in all of the lists of spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Cor.12:8-10; 28-31;  Ephesians 4:11).  We are told that we are to earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.  14:3 tells us that the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.  Further, in contrast to tongues which only builds up the speaker, prophecy builds up the church (14:4-5), which is why it is a “greater” gift (1Cor.12:31).  In 14:24-25 we read that the gift of prophecy may result in the conversion of lost sinners as the secrets of their hearts are disclosed.  In 14:39, Paul’s summary is “So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.”

Today, we are going to ask and seek to answer just 1 question about the NT gift of prophecy, namely, “What authority does it have?”

1.  What Authority Does The NT Gift of Prophecy Have?

A.  OT Prophecy: First, let’s examine the authority of OT Prophecy.

1)   Numbers 12:6-8 Aaron and Miriam are jealous of the attention and glory that Moses is receiving. After all, he is their brother. The Lord has spoken through them as well, so why is he so special?  God says there are 2 different ways God speaks.

• “Dark Sayings” Prophecy: God speaks in Visions – Dreams – Dark Sayings – Revelation is Less Clear.
• “Mouth To Mouth” Kind of prophecy: God speaks Mouth to Mouth – Openly – Moses Beholds the Form of the Lord – Revelation is Clear.

2)   Deut.18:15, 18-22. Jesus will be a prophet like Moses. God will put His words in Jesus’  mouth. Since Moses and Jesus are compared in their work as prophets, this would seem to indicate that God would also put His words in Moses’ mouth, which would seem to be what was indicated in Num.12:8.  Notice in vs.19 that He will speak God’s words in God’s name, and anyone who does not heed Jesus’ words will come under God’s judgment.  Notice in vs.20 that God requires the death penalty for any prophet who speaks presumptuously in God’s name. What we need to examine is whether all “prophets” in the OT were of this category.  Did they all profess to be speaking “God’s words” in “God’s name”?  I don’t think so. Remember, that in Num.12:6-8 there are 2 kinds of prophecy:  the Moses kind, and the Miriam kind. Only the Moses kind of prophecy involved God speaking “mouth to mouth.” This would indicate God giving His very words. The lesser kind of prophecy was God giving a dream, or vision, but not His actual words.

3)   Examples of “Dark Sayings” Kind of Prophecy:

1.   Miriam: she is called a prophetess in Ex.15:20, and she is the one God is correcting in Num.12:6-8.  None of her prophecies are found in Scripture.  We do not ready anywhere that she was speaking “God’s Words” in “God’s name.”

2. The 70 Elders and Eldad and Medad: Num.11:24-26. When the Spirit of God came upon them they prophesied, but never again.  Thus, they are not prophets in the category of a Moses, Isaiah or Jeremiah, who were “prophets” to whom the Lord regularly gave His very words.

3. Saul and His Messengers: 1Sam.19:20-24.  It is questionable whether Saul or his messengers were even saved.  Further, we are not told that they spoke “God’s words” in “God’s name”.

4)   Examples of “Mouth to Mouth” kinds of Prophecy:

1.   Moses: Num.12:6-8; Ex.4:12

2. Isaiah: “Thus says the Lord” – occurs 34 times.

3.   Jeremiah: Jer.1:9. “Thus says the Lord” – occurs 150 times!

4. Ezekiel: Ezek.2:7

5. David: Acts 2:30 (his writings in the Psalms)

6. All the Prophets whose messages were preserved in Scripture:

Summary: These prophetic messages were speaking “God’s words” in “God’s name.”  As such, if these prophets predicted something that did not come true, spoke in the name of another god, or spoke a prophecy to lead God’s people away from God, they were to be stoned.

B.  NT Prophecy:

1)   Mouth to Mouth NT Prophecy: Do we have anyone in the NT who speaks or writes the very words of God in God’s name?  Yes we do!

1.      John the apostle: Rev.22:18-19.

2.      Paul the apostle: 1Cor.2:13; 2Pet.3:15-16.

3.      Matthew and Luke, the apostles: 1Tim.5:18; cf. Mt.10:10; Luke 10:7.

Summary: The ability to speak or write the very words of God was given to several people in the NT, usually apostles.  When Eph.2:20 and 3:5 speak of the apostles and prophets that are the foundation of the church and to whom doctrinal revelation was given, there is reason to believe it means “the apostles who are prophets”, rather than 2 different groups (the apostles, and to others who are prophets).  Notice 2Pet.3:2.

2)   Dark Sayings NT Prophecy: Do we have any evidence of this less clear, less authoritative, kind of prophecy in the NT, that does not presume to be the very words of God?

1.      The NT Gift of Prophecy is Associated with Dreams and Visions, like the “Dark Sayings” Prophecy of Numbers 12:4-6. Acts 2:16-17 is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28-32.  Notice that this kind of prophecy would have a very wide distribution in the church (all flesh), and be given for a very wide period of time (the last days), and that it would be of the “dark sayings” variety, for the revelation would be given in dreams and visions, not mouth to mouth.

2.      The NT Gift of Prophecy Must be Tested and Judged: 1Cor.14:29 and 1Thess.5:19-21.  In 1Thess.5:19 we are told to “examine everything carefully” where the context is speaking of prophecies. Notice, Paul does not tell us to examine everyone carefully. He is not telling the church to examine the person prophesying to see whether he is a true or false prophet, but examine the prophecies and hold to that which is good and discard the rest. If a prophecy had to be judged to see what parts to hold fast to, then obviously, it did not include the very words of God.

3.      The NT Gift of Prophecy Can Not be the Very Words of God because It Might Be Interrupted and subsequently Lost: 1Cor.14:30.  Paul teaches that if a person is prophesying, and someone else receives a revelation, then the first person who is prophesying is to stop, so that the next one can prophesy. But, if these people are communicating the very words of God, would Paul encourage someone to interrupt him so that his message was not fully delivered?! Obviously not.

4.      The NT Gift of Prophecy Must Be Subject to the Teaching of the Apostles: 1Cor.14:37-38.  Here Paul is writing to a community where several prophets were active, and he still asserts his authority over the entire community, even over the prophets.  Paul has given rules for the worship of the church and the use of spiritual gifts in the congregation. He is forbidding these “prophets” from bringing forth any prophecy which would change these rules which he has just written. If he should do so, the penalty is for that “prophet” to go unrecognized by the church.

5.      The NT Gift of Prophecy could be Exercised by Women, but Women Were Not Permitted to Teach or Exercise Authority over Men: 1Cor.11:5; Acts 2:17; Acts 21:9.  All of these passages teach that women were permitted to prophesy.  However, women were not permitted to teach or exercise authority over men (1Tim.2:11-12) .  Therefore, the NT gift of prophecy cannot be speaking the very words of God, for in that case, these women would be exercising authority over men.  Congregational prophecy then, carries less authority than the teaching of the Word of God, and is judged by the Word of God.

6.      The NT Gift of Prophecy Might Bring a Message That is Disobeyed: Acts 21:4-5.  Here are prophecies which Paul deliberately disobeyed.  If Paul viewed the NT gift of prophecy as infallible and the very words of God, he would never have deliberately disobeyed them.

7.      The NT Gift of Prophecy is not Infallible: Acts 21:10-11.  Here is a prophecy with 2 small mistakes.  Compare its fulfillment in Acts 21:30-33. Both the details, the “binding” and the “delivering over” are incorrect.  Perhaps Agabus had a vision of Paul as a prisoner of the Romans in Jerusalem, surrounded by an angry mob of Jews.  Agabus’ own interpretation of this vision might have been that the Jews bound Paul and then delivered him over to the Romans, and then prophesied these facts erroneously.

8.      The NT Gift of Prophecy Might be Despised: 1Thess.5:20.  The Thessalonians had to be urged not to despise prophecies. However, we know that they did not despise God’s Word through the apostles (1Thess.2:13) but thankfully received it as the very word of God.  Thus, the NT gift of prophecy can not be the infallible speaking of the very words of God.

9.      The NT Gift of Prophecy Was to be Earnestly Desired by all Christians: 1Cor.14:1.  Paul in writing to the entire church of Corinth, commanded them to “pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.”  Do we really believe that Paul was commanding all believers to earnestly desire that they would bring forth the very words of God with Scripture-level authority?  There is no evidence in the NT that it was even possible for all believers to bring forth the infallible word of God, let alone that all of them should desire to do so!

10.  The NT Gift of Prophecy is Never Prefaced by “Thus says the Lord”: This phrase occurs 419 times in the Bible.  Every single time it occurs, it is found in the OT.  We don’t have a single example in the NT of anyone using this phrase to deliver prophecy. I believe the reason is because the ones prophesying knew that they were not delivering the very words of God, but rather they were communicating a revelation from God in their own words. Thus, these prophecies were fallible.  I have heard people begin their prophecy with “Thus says the Lord,” and whenever that happens I cringe. This phrase implies that whatever they say from that moment on is the infallible, verbally inspired words of God, which is simply not true. Rather, it would be much more helpful to begin a prophecy with something like, “I think the Lord has put on my mind…” or “It seems to me that the Lord…”  If the message is really from God, nothing will be hurt by speaking less dogmatically, and if it isn’t from God, at least no one will have gotten the false impression that the message was delivered in the very words of God.

Summary:

We have seen evidence that there were 2 types of prophecy in the OT and the NT.  In the OT there were prophecies which were mouth to mouth (verbally inspired).  These prophecies were infallible and inerrant. They were spoken in the name of the Lord and were often introduced by the phrase, “Thus says the Lord.”  If anything included in these kinds of prophecies did not come to pass, the “prophet” was to be stoned.  Examples of these OT kinds of prophets include Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, David, and all the rest of the Scripture writing prophets.  On the other hand, there were other prophecies which were less clear, uttered in “dark sayings”, which came through dreams and visions. These “prophets” did not profess to be speaking the very words of God in God’s name. Examples of people who uttered these kinds of prophecies would be Miriam, Saul, Saul’s Messengers, the 70 elders, and Eldad and Medad.  We have no indication in Scripture that the death penalty would be imposed upon these kinds of “prophets” if they were not 100% accurate, for they did not profess to be speaking “God’s words” in “God’s name.”

As we turn to the NT, we see the same phenomena.  There, as well, we have “prophets” which speak the very words of God in God’s name. Only, they are not called prophets.  Instead, they are called apostles. It was the apostles,  and a few others who were chosen by God to bring forth New Testament revelation.  Their “prophecies” or “revelations” are infallible and inerrant. To disobey their revelation is to disobey God.  On the other hand, there is another variety of prophecy which could be communicated through any of God’s people.  It is not infallible or inerrant. It is not the very words of God spoken in God’s name. Rather, it is subject to and judged by the Scriptures. Both men and women may bring forth this type of prophecy in the congregation.

Those who believe the NT gift of prophecy carries the same authority as the Bible rightly fear that the canon of Scripture would be threatened, should this gift continue to exist today. However, if, as we have seen, the NT gift of prophecy in no way carries the same authority as Scripture, but instead is subject to it, and judged by it, there is no reason to fear that we are opening the canon of Scripture so that more revelation may be included! The canon of Scripture is forever closed.  In our next study, we will examine other issues surrounding the NT gift of prophecy, including what the content of a prophetic message would include.

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