A reader asked if there were prophets in today’s church, if so what roles do they play in the church, and finally how can we tell if the person is a true prophet of God. Those are some pretty hefty questions and important ones; so let’s take a look at what we know.
Are there prophets today and what roles do/did they play in the church?
It is possible that God could grant anyone today the gift of prophecy; He is God and can do whatever He deems needed for mankind. With that being said, it is very unlikely that He does so though. Why? The gift of prophecy was the best way for God to tell us what to look for in the coming of Jesus Christ and the formation of the early church. By giving us the prophecies in the Old Testament, He laid out the guiding framework of what to look for in His son Jesus Christ. Without that knowledge, we would not have been able to recognize that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be; the living son of God.
Many argue that Jesus studied the Old Testament, and so He knew what the prophecies were and how to fulfill them; they have half an argument. The problem is that many of the prophecies we not within Jesus’ control as a mortal man. Just in the day of the crucifixion, He fulfilled 24 of the prophecies; many He had no control over such as the crown of thorns, being pierced in the side and so forth.
With all these prophecies, we got the clear picture of who Jesus really was and that we should listen and follow His teachings. This played a huge role in the founding of the Christian church. Now, however, the church has been founded and the teachings of Jesus have stood for nearly 2000 years. So there is very little need for the prophets of the Old Testament.
Will God give someone a vision of the future? Sure. Could this be a message for someone else? Yes, in my opinion if God did so, it would most definitely be a message to the world. Does that make that person a prophet, no not really since the vision was the gift, not the ability to see into the future as an ongoing gift.
- So are their prophets in today’s church? It is possible because all things are possible with Him, but very unlikely.
- What role do/did they play? They were signposts to allow mankind to know when the true Messiah had come. Since we have had this even with the life of Jesus Christ and the second coming has also been recorded in Revelations, there is little need for prophets in today’s church.
How can we tell if someone is a true prophet?
In Matthew 24:23-27, Jesus warns us that we will face many false Christs and false prophets.
23Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him.
24For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great (signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
So Jesus Himself warns us that there will be people that intentionally come to deceive us and take us away from His message. We must watch out for these people and denounce their false teachings. So how do we know them when we see them? By what they teach!
God is infallible; He makes no mistakes. For a person to be a real prophet, they must match what God has already sent us: the Holy Bible. If they are contradicting the Bible, then they are saying the God has sent a message to contradict Himself. That simply cannot be with the infallibility of the Lord. You must weigh in with what this person says about Jesus, the gospels, and everything else that the Bible teaches us. And finally you must ask if this person is glorifying the Lord. If all these are true, then that does not mean that the person is a true prophet. It means that we must consider the message and pray for wisdom from the Lord. Many times He will let us know the truth if we slow down and listen.
In His knowledge,
Hunter
