The Definition of Prophecy

Prophecy Outline 2
The Definition of Prophecy

Definition

A prophet is one who speaks the words of another
- Ex 7:1 - I will make you as God to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet
  - Ex 4:15f - speak to him and put the words in his mouth … he shall be as a mouth for you
- God's prophets are the ones He speaks through - directly putting His words in their mouths (e.g. Jer 26:12; 2 Sam 23:2f)
Prophecy is direct revelation from God
- Can be spoken or written
- Prophecy therefore isn't just the foretelling of future events - prophecy is any direct revelation from God concerning the past, present, future or eternity
- The Bible is prophecy from beginning to end
- Teaching is not prophecy because it is indirect (we get it through the Bible)

Are There Prophets in the Church Today?

For at least the following reasons we know that prophecy was a spiritual gift only given in the early days of the church
Eph 2:20 - apostles and prophets were foundational
- A building has only one foundation
- 1 Cor 3:10f
2 Pe 2:1 - teachers have replaced prophets
1 Cor 13:8-13
- v.10 says that when the perfect (complete) revelation comes, the partial revelation will cease
- Now that we have the complete revelation of God in the Bible (which we are assured is enough to thoroughly equip us for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17)), we no longer need the partial gifts that only give partial revelation (prophecy, the word of knowledge, etc.)
- This passage lays out a timeline that informs us how long different things will last - love is the only thing in the timeline that extends into eternity - clearly we are presently in the third stage of the timeline where faith, hope and love remain - therefore, prophecy and the word of knowledge have ceased

The Work of the Apostles and Prophets