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| By Evangelist Ayella John Bosco |
PROPHETS and PROPHECY In recent years, the number of prophets have risen sharply especially in the western countries of Africa, like Nigeria with highest number according to my observation. One funny thing about these prophets is, they have different messages to deliver yet they are functional at the same time same place/country. They also dwell much on miracles and prosperity preaching which is not bad, but are prophets only limited to this message most of the time? I am really beaten down completely but when I look back in the Word of The Most High God, I feel relieved. " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8 : 32 Thank God, I am free from worshipping idols, prosperity, miracles and personalities. Digging this deeper, one should be able to know who a prophet is, what prophecy is, at what time does prophecy rule, and more as I explain below through the Word of God. NOTE: All Scriptures are quoted from King James Version unless otherwise indicated. WHO/WHAT IS A PROPHET? The Greek word of prophet is prophetes , which can mean “one who speaks forth” or “advocate.” and the Hebrew word for it is 'Nabi' the same to Arabic. Telling truth is always a bitter pill to swallow, before going deeper, let us begin by knowing who or what a prophet is. 1. According to a Got Questions ministries writer, Wayne Gruden, he said ' In a general sense, a prophet is a person who speaks God’s truth to others.' 2- Another writer, Benjamin West in his commentary ' Isaiah lips anointed by Fire, said, "In religion, a prophet is an individual who has claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine , and to speak for them, serving as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people." 3- In my Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary #a. A prophet (Noun) is a person sent by God to teach the people and give them messages from God. This is the real meaning of a true prophet of God. He is sent to teach, give God messages to a target group of people or an individual whom God wants to rebuke, correct or fulfill a certain promise or message. Regardless of the number of the prophets within, they MUST convey the same Key message of the Lord to the target person or group of people. #b. (C) One who claims to know what will happen in the future #c. To me a prophet is someone called by God to speak on behalf of people and tell them God's Will. This could be to tell of God's divine warning and intervention especially upon sinful acts and disobedience to God's authoritative law. NOTE; Prophecy is a statement that something will happen in the future especially one made by somebody with a religious or magical powers. In other word, the power of saying what will happen in the future ARE PROPHETS BORN OR CALLED? God has plans for everyone from the date of conception to death. In the scripture according to Jeremiah, God said, " Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jeremiah 1 : 5. Before conception but should be affirmed by open calling. The first person to be called a prophet on earth was Abraham, Genesis 20:7, " Now therefore restore the man [his] wife; for he [is] a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore [her] not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that [are] thine." Since God's plan is different from ours, according to Him, He chooses from before conception but followed by calling. For example, Abraham was called " Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred,......." Genesis 12 : 1-5 Thus, all the prophets were called by God regardless of their background status. God didn't not consider their marital status, education qualification, family background, political affiliation, health status or wealth capacity. None of the biblical prophets claimed the title ' prophet ' but their calls and what to deliver testified. They taught or warned people in accordance with God directives whether being a doom prophet or not unlike the current self-proclaimed prophets who claimed to speak and bring people closer to God. (Check this example, http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2015/05/22/india-400-men-cut-off-their-testicles-to-get-closer-to-god-following-advice-from-guru.html ) God in His wisdom chose men who would obey Him faithfully and gave them authority to speak on His behalf. Prophets were not chosen or elected by men, and they were not permitted to inherit the title or regard it as an official post to be filled by a man specially trained for it. (Unlike today's prophets who graduate from theological schools!) Notice also that God told them what to do . We may find example of the work of a true prophet in a number of references as follows. #1. TO REVEAL THE ATTRIBUTES AND NATURES OF GOD TO MAN Read; Leviticus 19:1-4 & Deut 5:4-10 "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God [am] holy." Leviticus 19 : 2 #2. TO EXPOSE THE LAWS OF GOD TO MAN. Read Exodus 20:1-20 #3. TO CALL PEOPLE BACK TO OBEDIENCE TO GOD. " Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear." 2nd Chronicles 24 : 19 #4. TO EXHORT PEOPLE TO TRUE WORSHIP. Jeremiah was told by God to guide the people in his time. " Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all [ye of] Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD....."Jeremiah 7 : 1-10. #5. TO WARN PEOPLE OF GOD'S DIVINE JUDGMENT WHETHER INDIVIDUALLY OR GENERAL. For example, in Jeremiah 36:30-31. The Lord instructed Jeremiah to warn Jehoiakim "Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost......" Vs 30-31 #6. FORETELL FUTURE HAPPENINGS WHICH GOD HAS WILLED. Read Jeremiah 30:1-3. #7. FORETELL THE COMING OF THE SAVIOUR. Isaiah says, " For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace ".Isaiah 9 : 6. #8. CALLED TO WRITE DOWN GOD'S HOLY SCRIPTURES. As Moses did! " And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this [for] a memorial in a book, and rehearse [it] in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." Exo 17 : 14 #9. TO WRITE DOWN HOW GOD DEAL WITH MAN AS A HISTORY. " ........ And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of [every] seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, ......... " Deuteronomy 31 : 9-13 The list is by no mean the end, but one must understand the roles of a prophet clearly and cleanly. Remember, prophets were more powerful than the kings and other men in Israel. Because the prophets were so influential, it is not surprising that early in history, false prophets appeared, pretending to be God’s messengers in order to support their own ambitions for power, authority and personal advancement. Because of this, God gave clear instructions to the people to examine the credentials of all who claimed to be prophets. These Divine instructions are found in Deuteronomy 18:9-22 ( Read, reread and reread to get the truth about a prophet chosen by God.) A TRUE PROPHET MUST; 1- Speaks in the Name of YHWE 2- Speaks what God commanded 3- Be chosen/raised from among the brethren/Israelites. 4- Teach people how to worship and please God. 5- Not claim the title of prophet 6- Be ever nosed to people 7- Leads a simple life, not after any material gains 8- Have a message inspired and NOT contradict another's And many more .....! Apart from that, definitely such a prophet's actions is questionable. Just like what happen nowadays, people move from mountains to mountains, seas to seas, cities to cities and other questionable firmament, soon you would see the person performing wonders, foretelling, claiming the title of prophet. No wander, the bible is very clear, not everyone who does such wonders enter Heaven. " Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7 : 20- 21. God has given us gifts, the devil also has his gifts to lure his followers. It should not be a surprise when one does miracles, predicts the future or do any thing related such group of individuals, the Bible calls, diviners, enchanters, observers of time, charmers, necromancers, magicians, sorcerers, fortune tellers, witch, wizards or consulter with familiar spirits. Deut 18:10-11. They had been given power by the devil to deceive and mislead many. " For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24 : 24 The Bible continues, "And many false prophets shall rise And shall deceive many." Matt 24:11.
Hey, do you see this as reality? Are there many prophets nowadays? Why are they many in this age? Do they know what they are for? Certainly no! We are warned NOT to be deceived. "And Jesus answered to them, TAKE HEED that no man deceives you." Matt 24:4 When Saul was converted, it took time for him to be proofed servant called. In Berea, The Christian were very careful following Saul (Paul) messages through the study of Scriptures if they were right. " These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17 : 11
We should be more concern before we exalt someone as a true prophet of God. Let us have and develop the Spirit of discernment else we are doomed to hell as Satan is working hard to recruit many to share in his agony when time comes. In conclusion, I bet you would understand the brief exponents above. Regardless of who he is, we should be careful to follow everyone who claim to have power from God. Know that God does His work serially, doesn't contradict in case He uses many prophets to deliver His messages. Because of not knowing the Truth, we find ourselves in a mess exalting the so called prophet using God's Name as cover. (Another sin for misusing His Name in Vain Exodus 20:2-3 ) I have so many to share but click on the links below for more resources to help you. 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophet 2. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/sam-storms-what-does-scripture-teach-about-office-prophet-gift-prophecy 3. bible.org/who-is-a-prophet Thank you for giving your time to learning something new
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