Chapter 9.1

Defining Biblical Prophets

Foretelling & Forthtelling

Table of Topics

A) The Importance of the Debate Regarding the Gift of Prophecy

B) Biblical Prophets Spoke Divine Revelation & Predicted the Future

B.1) Biblical support

B.2) Lexical support

B.3) Historical support

Extras & Endnotes

Primary Points

• The gift of prophecy is perhaps the most misunderstood and potentially dangerous aspect of divine revelation among God’s people today.
• Prophetism is the belief of hundreds of millions of Christians that biblical Prophets are still operating today, giving us new, extrabiblical revelation.
• Historicists adhere to the historical position of the Church that the gift of prophecy ceased shortly after the Apostles were extinct.
• Either prophetists are sinning by claiming revelations they do not have, or historicists are sinning by ignoring Prophets God has sent.
• The two primary attributes of a biblical Prophet are: 1) “Forthtelling” direct divine revelation to be believed or obeyed as the word of God, and 2) “Foretelling” events in order to authenticate the divine revelation.
• While many would gut the function of prediction from the gift of prophecy today, it needs to be asked: Why do they still call it prophecy? By definition, the essence of prophecy has historically been understood as synonymous with prediction.
• In the OT you were to be put to death if you claimed to be a Prophet from God but could not accurately predict the future.
• Fifty years ago we could have stopped right here and well over 90% of the Church would agree with what has been written. But times have changed and prophetism is alive and well in the Church today.

A) The Importance of the Debate Regarding the Gift of Prophecy

There is perhaps no aspect of divine revelation that is more misunderstood and potentially dangerous among God’s people today than the gift of prophecy. Prophetism is our word for the belief that biblical Prophets are still operating today, giving us new, extrabiblical revelation from God. Hundreds of millions of Christians believe this today, and its ramifications are obvious. Accordingly, the debate over the biblical definition of the gift of prophecy is not merely academic, but moral, because either prophetists are sinning against God by claiming revelations they do not have, or historicists are sinning against God by ignoring Prophets He has sent. If you don’t think this is an important topic, read about how God feels about people who falsely claim to have the gift of prophecy in section ?

By historicists we refer to those who adhere to the historical position of the Church that the gift of prophecy ceased shortly after the Apostles were extinct. Accordingly, the second century version of prophetism called Montanism was universally rejected by the Christian Church, and for at least 1700 years afterwards any other claims to the gift were likewise denounced as heresy. While most modern prophetists even admit this history, they claim the gift has been uniquely restored to them. As we look at the biblical attributes of the gift of prophecy and compare it with the modern version being practiced, it will be demonstrated that modern prophetists are in fact lying about possessing the gift and bringing upon themselves all of the eventual divine judgment for falsely claiming such a thing. Accordingly, modern prophetism is one of the most dangerous deceptions in the history of Christianity, and a topic which requires a thorough biblical understanding lest we find ourselves under that same judgment. To that end we offer the following.

B) Biblical Prophets Spoke Divine Revelation & Predicted the Future

B.1) Biblical support

The most comprehensive description of a biblical Prophet is given when God tells the Israelites:

I will raise up for them a Prophet like you [Moses] from among their brothers; I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. ¹⁹ If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him to account. ²⁰ But a Prophet who presumes to speak in My name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a Prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” ²² If what a Prophet proclaims [foretells ^[1]] in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That Prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deut 18:18-22)

This prophecy directly related to the Messiah Jesus Christ, Whom God calls here a Prophet, and of course He was the preeminent Prophet of God, and recognized as one (cf. Matt 21:11, 46; 23:31-39; Mark 6:15; 8:11, 28; Luke 4:24; 7:16, 39; 13:33; 24:19; John 4:19, 44; 6:14; 7:40, 52; 9:17).

While this prophecy obviously applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, it applied as well to all biblical Prophets. ^[2] Accordingly, here we find the two primary God-ordained attributes of a biblical Prophet: 1) “Forthtelling” direct divine revelation to be believed or obeyed as the word of God Himself, and 2) “Foretelling” events in order to authenticate the divine revelation.

First, biblical Prophets infallibly spoke the very words of God. Accordingly, we read above:

I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. ¹⁹ If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I Myself will call him to account. (vs. 18-19).

Obviously such a spiritual gift as prophecy carried a great deal of authority. In fact, nothing less than divine authority. Therefore, as we have demonstrated throughout Knowing Our God (KOG), such divine authority must be divinely authenticated. The method of supernatural authentication described here is the accurate prediction of the future. Accordingly, God assumed that one of His Prophets would predict the future to authenticate their divine revelation. This authentication was so important that if someone claimed the gift of prophecy and could not predict the future, people could confidently conclude that “what [the] Prophet proclaims . . . is a message the LORD has not spoken” (v. 22).

The seriousness of falsely claiming to be a Prophet of God, and unable to supernaturally predict the future, is illustrated in the fact that God commanded that someone “who presumes to speak in My name anything I have not [clearly, expressly] commanded him to say . . . must be put to death” (v. 20). The gift of prophecy was not something to be claimed lightly or to guess at, which is obviously something that modern prophetism ignores.

While God’s desire to have a presumptuous “prophet” executed evidently did not carry over to the New Covenant, the above two foundational attributes of a biblical Prophet did. Accordingly, the Christian Prophet Agabus is described by the early Church historian Luke when he writes:

After we had been there [Caesarea] a number of days, a Prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 21:10-11)

We see then that a NT Prophet is described as having the same supernatural attributes required of an OT Prophet. First, Agabus, like an OT Prophet, and unlike anyone can today apart from quoting Scripture, prefaced his extra-biblical statement with, “The Holy Spirit says . . .” (v. 11), which was followed by an extra-biblical direct quote of God that would be sinful to disbelieve. Secondly, and also like an OT Prophet, but unlike anyone today, Agabus supernaturally and undeniably predicted the future. Accordingly, Luke records a few verses later that the Apostle was indeed attacked by the Jews, and bound and turned over to Roman officials in Jerusalem (cf. vs. 27-33; 28:17). ^[3]

Likewise, Luke had also written previously of Agabus:

During this time some Prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) ²⁹ The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. (Acts 11:27-29)

The authentication of a Christian Prophet is again illustrated in Agabus’ ability to supernaturally predict the future. In addition, the authority of a Christian Prophet in the early Church is evidenced by the fact that “the disciples . . . decided” (v. 29) to act on Agabus’ prophecy before it even came to pass.

John, the NT Apostle and obvious Prophet, ^[4] is a definitive example of the attributes of the gift of prophecy. He received direct, divinely authoritative, specific instructions from God for seven churches in Asia Minor (cf. Rev 2-3). He also predicted a great deal of the future. Accordingly, from ancient times it has been said of those who really possess the gift of prophecy: “everything he says comes true” (1 Sam 9:6; cf. v. 9).

B.2) Lexical support

While many would gut the function of prediction from the gift of prophecy today, it needs to be asked: Why do they still call it prophecy? By definition, the essence of prophecy has historically been understood as synonymous with prediction. And this is why Scripture itself uses the word prophecy to describe this gift—because it too included prediction.

Accordingly, the OT and NT words referring to biblical Prophets reveal the functions of “forthtelling” extra-biblical divine revelation and foretelling the future. In the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) we read:

The main term used in the OT to refer to a Prophet is nābi. . . . The role of the [Hebrew] nābi [“Prophet’] is clarified in the relationship between Moses and Aaron. Because Moses refused to speak to Pharaoh, Yahweh appointed Aaron to be his nabi [“direct messenger”] (Ex. 6:28-7:2). Moses himself is called a nabi because God spoke [directly] through him (cf. Nu. 12:1f., 6-8).

The [OT] Prophets were persons who spoke the words that God put in their mouths (Dt. 18:18-22); they were messengers who reported God’s words, often saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel.” Other texts speak of the word of the Lord coming [directly] to a Prophet (I K. 16:7, 12; 2 K. 14:25; 24:2; 2 Ch. 29:25). The Prophetic books [Scripture] record the [direct and divine] oracles that God revealed to some of the Prophets. . . ^[5]

Likewise, concerning the use of prophētēs in the NT, we read in the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT):

In the NT prophētēs is found 144 times. . . The noun means a Prophet, one who proclaims and expounds divine revelation. In most cases it refers to OT Prophets, but it is also applied to John the Baptist, Jesus, and others who proclaim the Kingdom of God of Christ, and to the believer who possesses the gift of prophecy. . . . ^[6]

It is similar with the occurrences of the verb [“prophesy”, Gr. prophēteuō], which is found 28 times in the NT . . . The basic meaning is to proclaim divine revelation (e.g. Matt. 7:22). This can be understood in an ethical sense (e.g. 1 Cor. 14:3, 3 1; to comfort, exhort, teach); in a revelatory sense (e.g. Matt. 26:68) or as pointing to the future (e.g. Matt. 15:7; to foretell). ^[7]

Therefore, we see in both the OT and NT that the two foundational attributes of a biblical Prophet were reliably “forthtelling” extra-biblical divine revelation to be believed and obeyed, and accurately foretelling the future to authenticate such divine authority.

B.3) Historical support

Early Church Fathers believed the same and did not allow someone to claim the gift of prophecy unless they had accurately predicted the future. So much so that “prediction” or “foreknowledge” was synonymous with the gift of prophecy.

Accordingly, Justin Martyr (c. 150), in his apologetic piece to the Jewish unbeliever Trypho wrote:

Some are becoming disciples in the name of Christ, and quitting the path of error; who are also receiving [spiritual] gifts, each as he is worthy, illumined through the name of this Christ. For one receives the spirit of understanding [knowledge], another of counsel [wisdom], another of strength, another of healing, another of foreknowledge, another of teaching, and another of the fear of God. ^[8]

Obviously, “foreknowledge” for Justin was synonymous with the gift of prophecy.

Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (c. 180), writes somewhat more specifically than Justin:

Wherefore, also, those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform [miracles], so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. . . . Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. . . . and bring to light for the general benefit the hidden things of men, and declare the mysteries of God. ^[9]

Hippolytus (c. 200), the foremost teacher in the Roman church of his day, wrote concerning biblical Prophets:

For as the blessed prophets were made, so to speak, eyes for us, they foresaw through faith the mysteries of the word, and became ministers of these things also to succeeding generations, not only reporting the past, but also announcing the present and the future, so that the prophet might not appear to be one only for the time being, but might also predict the future for all generations, and so be reckoned a (true) prophet. . . .

For with what reason should the prophet be called a prophet, unless he in spirit foresaw the future? For if the prophet spake of any chance event, he would not be a prophet then in speaking of things which were under the eye of all. But one who sets forth in detail things yet to be, was rightly judged a prophet. Wherefore prophets were with good reason called from the very first “seers.” . . . For then is one a prophet indeed, when, having announced beforetime things about to be, he can afterwards show that they have actually happened. ^[10]

While the primary context of Hippolytus’ thoughts are obviously OT prophets, he no doubt has NT prophets such as Agabus in mind as well, and it is impossible to believe that he would have accepted anyone’s claim to be a prophet if they could not accurately predict the future. And if one knows the stature and reputation of this man in his day, one will be very reluctant to disagree with him.

Likewise, Tertullian (c. 207) wrote:

Let Marcion [a false teacher] then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God, such as have both predicted things to come, and have made manifest the secrets of the heart. ^[11]

Elsewhere, we will discuss the heresy of Montanists, whose fundamental claim was that they possessed the gift of prophecy. ^[12] We will note there that one of the reasons the early Church almost universally rejected the Montanist’s claim to the gift of prophecy was because their “prophets” could not predict the future. Accordingly, David Farnell writes in the scholarly journal Bibliotheca Sacra:

Epiphanius [of Salamis c. 320-403] presented another important argument the early church used against Montanism: Prophecies of true prophets must be fulfilled exactly. Maximilla [female Montanist prophet] had predicted that “after me there will no longer be a prophet, but the end.” Priscilla [another female Montanist prophet] predicted that the New Jerusalem would descend from heaven into Pepuza in Phrygia. However, since the end did not come after Maximilla’s death nor did the New Jerusalem descend, Epiphanius concluded that these prophets were false. In the early church any error in a prophecy indicated that a false prophet was prophesying. ^[13]

Hillary of Poitiers (c. 350) wrote regarding the authority of those possessing the gift of prophecy in the early Church:

Hence it is by these miraculous workings that the manifestation of the Spirit takes place. For the gift of the Spirit is manifest . . . by prophesy, that through our understanding of doctrine we might be known to be taught of God. ^[14]

John Chrysostom (347-407), the most prominent teacher in the Eastern Church of his day, taught in his expository teaching on 1 Corinthians 12-14:

For because it was not possible to supply the evidence of the things uttered from within themselves at the moment . . . prophecy supplies the proof of its own truth not at the time when it is spoken, but at the time of the event [predicted] . . . [M]en [in Corinth] were easily deceived, because the things spoken could not for the present be brought to trial before the events had come to pass concerning which the prophecy was; for it was the end [fulfillment] that proved the false prophet and the true. ^[15]

None of these godly, spiritual, knowledgeable men would have totally dismissed the requirement for a “Prophet” to authenticate themselves by predicting the future. Why have we? Clearly, the early Church believed that the gift of prophecy gave a person the ability to speak new divine revelation that carried divine authority, and to predict the future.

We can fast forward to Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), who in his commentary on 1 Corinthians, also implies that he understood prediction as a part of the gift of prophecy. He wrote regarding 1 Corinthians 12:10:

In another way a divine sign is based on something God alone can know, i.e., the future contingent, as it says in Is (41:23): “Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods.” As to this he says: to another is given prophecy, which is divine revelation declaring with unchangeable truth among events. ^[16]

Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find respected scholars in the modern Church who would agree with this traditional perspective. In the 19^th century the “Old Princeton” theologian Charles Hodge (1797–1878) wrote concerning the Apostle’s mention of the gift of “prophecy” in Romans 12:6:

From these and numerous similar passages, it appears that the prophets in the Christian church were men who spoke under the immediate influence of the Spirit of God, and delivered some divine communication relating to doctrinal truths, to present duty, to future events, etc., as the case might be.

The point of distinction between them and the Apostles, considered as religious teachers, appears to have been that the inspiration of the Apostles was abiding, they were the infallible and authoritative messengers of Christ; whereas the inspiration of the Prophets was occasional and transient. The latter differed from the teachers, inasmuch as these were not necessarily inspired, but taught to others what they themselves had learned from the Scriptures, or from inspired men. ^[17]

In the early 20^th century, the British Bible scholar Henry B. Swete, successor of B. F. Westcott to the prestigious Regius Professorship of Divinity at Cambridge University, in his very influential study, The Holy Spirit in the Ancient Church wrote (c. 1910):

In the Pauline churches the Prophet counted for more than the pastor or teacher; he was the mouthpiece of the Spirit; as the Holy Spirit in the old time had spoken to Israel by the mouth of David or Isaiah, so now He spoke by these men in Gentile cities and in the midst of congregations largely composed of Gentile converts. The coming of the Spirit had restored to the Church the gift of prophecy, and the Prophets, in whom it was manifested. ^[18]

In 1971, Merrill F. Unger, Distinguished Professor of OT at Gordon-Conwell, Dallas Theological, and Moody Bible wrote:

“Prophecy” . . . denotes not a preacher of the prophetic Scriptures but one with a special spiritual gift who received truth directly from the Holy Spirit and expounded this truth (now contained in the completed Scriptures) publicly and authoritatively in early Christian assemblies. . . . Both “prophecy” and “knowledge,” therefore, were of necessity “tie-overs” to supply the church’s practical needs until the New Testament Scriptures became available. ^[19]

More recently, two men considered to be contemporary experts on the gift of NT prophecy, have also agreed with the traditional view, and denied prophetism. David E. Aune, former Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins in the Department of Theology at Loyola University, has written, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Mediterranean World (1983), which remains the most exhaustive and respected study available on the topic. ^[20] Curiously though, scholars in prophetism do not seem to reference Dr. Aune much, and that may be because much of what he says argues against their interpretation of the gift. Accordingly, he wrote:

In sum, it appears that those designated “Prophet” in early Christianity were specialists in mediating divine revelation, not simply those who occasionally prophesied. The image of the OT Prophet and the term used to designate such Prophets (prophētēs) was the primary source of this conception. In the middle of the first century A.D. in Corinth, Prophets constituted a recognizable group within the Christian community that specialized in mediating a particular form of divine revelation within the setting of congregational worship. ^[21]

Likewise, Christopher Forbes, Professor of NT and Hellenistic History at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia has certainly done his research in Prophecy and Inspired Speech in Early Christianity And Its Hellenistic Environment. He too disagrees with much in prophetism as well and writes:

According to Luke and Paul, Christian prophecy was the reception and immediately subsequent public declaration of spontaneous, (usually) verbal revelation, conceived of as revealed truth and offered to the community on the authority of God/Christ/the Holy Spirit. It might include, but was not limited to, the prediction of the future . . . It was distinguished (in Paul’s thought at least) from teaching and preaching in both form and content, though overlap was obviously possible. ^[22]

This chapter contains the basic biblical view of the nature, purpose, and authority of the gift of prophecy. Fifty years ago we could have stopped right here and well over 90% of the Church would have agreed with what has been written. But times have changed and prophetism is alive and well in the Church today. Unfortunately, while you can share the truth in a few paragraphs, it requires a multitude of pages to refute error. And that takes up a large part of the rest of this book.

Extras & Endnotes

A Devotion to Dad

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for giving us your word through your holy Prophets and Apostles. We appreciate you providing such revelation to all, not just those with special gifts. We ask you to continually help us to better understand its meaning and to more consistently obey its instructions, rather than looking for some new revelation. Protect us and our Christian brothers and sisters from being deceived by the many false Prophets and Teachers operating today. Help us to fix our minds and hopes only on your written Word and to regard all else as merely the thoughts and words of men. Amen.

Gauging Your Grasp

1. Why do we claim the gift of prophecy is perhaps the most misunderstood and potentially dangerous aspect of divine revelation among God’s people today? Do you agree or disagree and why?
2. What do we mean by prophetism? What do we mean by Historicists?
3. What do we claim are the two primary biblical attributes of a Prophet?
4. What can we derive about biblical Prophets from Deuteronomy 18:18-22?

Publications & Particulars

1. C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch comment on Deut 18:18-22:

   The false Prophet was to be discovered by the fact, that the word proclaimed by him did not follow or come to pass, i.e., that his prophecy was not fulfilled. Of him they were not to be afraid. By this injunction the occurrence of what had been predicted is made the criterion of true prophecy, and not signs and wonders, which false Prophets could also perform (cf. Deut 13:2ff.). (Commentary on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files CD-ROM [Findex.com, 2000]). ↑

2. Again, Keil and Delitzsch comment on Deuteronomy 18:18-22:

   When Moses thus attaches to the prohibition against hearkening to soothsayers and practicing soothsaying, the promise that Jehovah would raise up a Prophet, etc., and contrasts what the Lord would do for His people with what He did not allow, it is perfectly evident from this simple connection alone, apart from the further context of the passage, in which Moses treats of the temporal and spiritual rulers of Israel (ch. 17 and 18), that the promise neither relates to one particular Prophet, nor directly and exclusively to the Messiah, but treats of the sending of Prophets generally.

   And this is also confirmed by what follows with reference to true and false Prophets, which presupposes the rise of a plurality of Prophets, and shows most incontrovertibly that it is not one Prophet only, nor the Messiah exclusively, who is promised here. It by no means follows from the use of the singular, “a Prophet,” that Moses is speaking of one particular Prophet only; but the idea expressed is this, that at any time when the people stood in need of a mediator with God like Moses, God would invariably send a Prophet. ↑

3. For further defense of the attributes of Agabus see section 9.7.D. ↑

4. For further argument that the Apostle John was given the gift of prophecy see section 9.7.H. ↑

5. G. V. Smith, “Prophets” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), Geoffrey W. Bromiley, , ed., 4 vols., (Eerdmans, 1988), III:987-88, 1003-4. ↑

6. Colin Brown, “Prophet” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT), Colin Brown ed., 4 vols., (Zondervan, 1986), III:81-87 ↑

7. Ibid. ↑

8. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 39.2; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

9. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book II, ch. 23, Book V. ch. 6.1; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

10. Hippolytus, Antichrist, 2, 31; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

11. Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book V, Chapter VIII; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

12. For further discussion of the Montanist heresy see sections 10.15.A and 9.13.D. ↑

13. David F. Farnell, “Is the Gift of Prophecy for Today?” BSac 149, 150 (July-September 1992 through April-June 1993), 294-3. ↑

14. Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity, viii:30; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

15. Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians, 29; online at http://www.ccel.org. ↑

16. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians, para. 728; online at http://www.aquinas.avemaria.edu/Aquinas-Corinthians.pdf ↑

17. Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Electronic Edition STEP Files (Findex.com, 2003), Rom 12:6. ↑

18. H. B. Swete, The Holy Spirit in the New Testament (MacMillan, 1909), 108 ↑

19. Merrill, F. Unger, NT Teaching on Tongues ( Kregel, 1971), 83, 94. ↑

20. On the back cover of David Aune’s, Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Mediterranean World ( Eerdmans, 1983), NT scholar I. H. Marshall writes:

    Professor Aune has written the most comprehensive and detailed study of early Christian prophecy yet to appear. He puts his encyclopaedic knowledge of ancient Judaism and the Greco-Roman world to excellent account in placing Christian prophecy within its context. . . . This book is a major contribution to New Testament scholarship and will become the standard textbook on its subject. ↑

21. Aune, 198. ↑

22. Christopher Forbes, Prophecy and Inspired Speech in Early Christianity And Its Hellenistic Environment (J. C. B. Mohr, 1995), 236. ↑