Understanding Biblical Prophecy

Do not despise prophesyings. 1 Thess. 5:20.

 ... Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe. Therefore if the whole church comes to gather in one place, and all speak in tongues, and there come on those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you. 1 Cor. 14:22-25.

Definition of Biblical Prophecy

Prophecy is both forth telling and fore telling. The definition of Biblical prophecy is the declaration or proclamation of the gospel of Christ in a way that exposes supernaturally the secrets intents in the hearts of men as at the present (forth telling) or future premonitions (fore telling). Let's get this using an illustration. For instance, if there is a preaching or exposition by a preacher on Eph. 5:22-33 talking about the love of God for the church and the church's submission to the authority of Christ. In the midst of the sermon, illustrations that supernaturally reveals vividly, expressly and without an iota of doubt the condition or state of the congregants spiritually or maritally is clearly revealed. This will be beyond any doubt or based mere emotional pranks or manipulation of exposed secrets/ privileged confidential information. It might even involve thoughts not yet carried out to the awe and dismay of the persons concerned. It might also be in another dimension that as the preacher is preaching, and sure Christ must be the essence, pivot and fulcrum of the message that an illustration came that at the present didn't reflect the condition or circumstances of anyone, but after a given while (that cannot be attached to any space of time), a fellow might be undergoing such situation/ scenario and the flashback just comes that the minister had illustrated this vividly before it happened and it would guide to take a decision that would be God honouring at that hour.

Misconceptions on Prophecy

There are so many misconceptions on Prophecy today. The message of prophecy is Christ. We only find ourselves in it as a offshoot of our relation with Christ. We are not the end of prophecy, Christ is. The purpose of prophecy as Paul puts it in the passage above is to expose the secret things of our hearts so we could be in a right relationship with Christ. Prophecy is not about passing my exams, receiving miracle alerts, politics, economy of any nation, the having of miracle babies, predicting life partners, or any other thing that can be found in that endless list. Foretelling is not gambling or prediction (forecasting). Man has grown to the point that they can forecast the weather and many of the times if not all of the time, the forecast proves right. Do we now tag these weather forecasters as prophets. If there is a Naijabet boy who is notable for always winning the prediction of all football matches, does that person automatically become a prophet. In Biblical prophecy, those who prophesied never lived to witness the fulfilment of their prophecy. The least in the Old Testament was that of Jeremiah predicting of the restoration of captivity 70 years after. Isaiah's least prophecy of Cyrus was about 200-400 years after his ministry. Daniel prophesied of the future of Israel which was many years after his death and some that are still not yet fulfilled, thousands of years gone back. Jesus interpreted His life based on prophecies declared about Him centuries even before His incarnation. The least prophecy in the New Testament was about 30-40 years before the event which was the destruction of Jerusalem. Most of the New Testament prophecies are still awaiting fulfilment thousands of years gone by. Can you confidently say we have this kind of prophetic ministry amongst modern day "prophets?"

Impressions and Prophecy

The Holy Spirit leads and guides us in day to day affairs by impressions. He impresses the truths of the gospel upon us and sets our paths on the way of truth. There is the inner voice within us, the voices of our spirits aligned with the Spirit of God, the inner man that directs the impulses of our will, intellect and emotions- that is, our whole lives. We have the capacity to receive guidance for ourselves and others. These cannot be taken as authoritative as Scripture especially when it has to relate with another or the body of Christ. Hence Paul says when one is prophesying, others should sit and judge it to know if it's acceptable or not. And perhaps it might be concluded as Paul's bias, John affirms, test every spirit is similar to test every prophecy or may I say "impressions" because many false Christs (spirits) have gone into the world. Jude and Peter also affirmed the presence of false teachers and prophets.

In conclusion, the Scripture encourages us never to despise prophesying but we need a proper understanding of what it means.

© Purpose Media Publications, 2020