Prophet vs Prophetic
Today, I want to share a little bit, and I mean a very little bit, on the topic of the prophetic. If you do not believe there are still prophets today, let me refer you to the following Bible verses.
2 Peter 2 warns us about the rise of false prophets and false teachers. It stands to reason that if there are false prophets and false teachers then there are also true prophets and true teachers.
1 John 4:1 speaks about testing the spirits to see if they are from God.
Many are calling themselves or others, prophets. I want to explain what I learned from the Late John Paul Jackson on this subject. We understand that all can prophesy. How do we know this?
Joel 2:28-32 NASB
“It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
“Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
Acts 2:16 NASB
but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
1 Corinthians 14:31 NASB
For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;
The gift of prophecy is part of the deal when we receive the Holy Spirit. We can all prophesy. The class The Art of Hearing God written by the late John Paul Jackson helps us learn how to tune into the voice of God and recognize that it is He that is speaking, so that we can all prophesy.
A true prophet, who walks in the office of prophet, will always be called by God, usually from an early age. Men and women do not make other men and women prophets. The office of the prophet is a position in the body of Christ ordained by God and only by God. I want to add a side note that so are the other five-fold ministry gifts or rather calls. Too many are going to seminary and making themselves pastors, teachers, evangelists, Apostles, and Prophets. No wonder the church is in a mess.
I want to share something from the Bible that speaks clearly to this claim. After the Lord rose from the dead, instructed the Apostles to stay in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high (see Luke 24:49), and returned to Heaven, the Apostles felt the need to replace Judas. They had a couple of guys they thought would fit the bill and decided to draw lots to choose and so a man named Matthias got picked. The only problem is that Peter was not authorized to choose an apostle. The Holy Spirit had not even come yet. They were told to go and wait for the promise, not go and choose a replacement for Judas. However, they had a belief system and traditions that they used to justify their actions. As for Matthias, whatever happened to him? No one knows. We never hear anything about him again. Jesus actually chose the one to replace Judas when He met Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, on the road to Damascus. After 3 years, Apostle Paul met with Peter, James, and the others and shared his story with them. You can read about this in Acts 1, and Galatians 1.
A prophet called to stand in the office as a prophet will have certain responsibilities. One is that they will be intercessors and make declarations and decrees. They will be watchers. I heard another prophet teach the other day that a Prophet always speaks to leaders and leaders, especially Kings in the Bible, were anointed by Prophets and had Prophets who spoke to them and guided them. I want to encourage Pastors and church leaders to recognize Prophets in their congregation in this way. If someone is prophesying or sharing the word of the Lord with you, listen to them and pray about what they have said. Please do not reject them or their words. Appreciate them. I am not saying that everyone who gives you a prophetic word is a Prophet since we can all prophesy, but use discernment. Listen to and pray over every word and if one person is bringing you accurate words from the Lord on a regular basis consider that they just might be an actual Prophet sent to you.
If someone says they are a Prophet or claims to walk in the office of a prophet (or any of the other five-fold offices) ask them when they were called. Have them share their story. Their answer should be about when God spoke to them through scripture, or a dream, or a vision, or a prophetic Word spoken by a proven Prophet walking in the office of a Prophet who was also called by God and then that word will have been confirmed by God. It will usually have happened when they were young. Although, if they lived the life of a heathen, then got born again later in life (like Paul when Jesus called him as an Apostle) they might not have heard the Call until they were older. However, if they think about their life there will have been signs of their call as a Prophet even when they were not walking with God.
If they tell you that they were ordained by church leaders after taking classes and showing themselves proficient in being able to accurately prophesy, then sorry, they are not a prophet ordained by God. They may be able to prophesy and even be really good at flowing in the gift of prophecy, but they are not called to the office of a Prophet. Trust me, there is a difference. Some have even made a distinction between those ordained by men and those ordained by God by the use of a capital letter. For example, apostle vs Apostle, prophet vs Prophet, etc. There is a lot of discussion on the internet surrounding this topic. This is my take on the matter as I understand it from the Lord.
A Prophet I follow was sharing recently that those in the five-fold leadership calls can only be judged by those who also flow in those callings. He was saying that only a prophet can judge a prophet, a teacher can judge a teacher, an evangelist can judge an evangelist, etc. The reasoning was that only someone who walks in the office can understand the office.
This lines up with what I was taught many years ago about how each office interprets and responds to a situation. Beyond that, for someone who is called to walk in the office of a prophet, their life is a prophetic message. God speaking to them and through them is a natural part of life. They will have many vivid dreams and visions, and hear and share the voice of the Lord on a regular basis. Life events will be a prophetic message both to them and to others.
Take the Prophet Hosea for example. God told him to marry a harlot because God had a message for Israel about being a harlot. Isaiah walked around naked for three years because God wanted to say, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt….” Isaiah 20:3-4 NASB.
I am sure that many will disagree with me, because they will choose to believe what they have been taught. I get that. But for those who want to walk in the truth, be like the Bereans who searched the scriptures daily to verify Paul’s teachings. Check what I have said against scripture and pray with an open heart.
As for me, I am called to be both a teacher and a prophet. My call happened when I was 15. God spoke to me through Jeremiah chapter 1 first and then when my Sunday school class was telling me I could not be both a prophet and a teacher, I heard a voice tell me, “Yes, you are!” There have been many other times I have heard God’s voice, had dreams and visions, and my life has been a prophetic message on many occasions. My calls have also been confirmed by more than one prophet as well as prophetic people and church leaders.
I am sharing my story, so you will know what a story of someone who is called by God to walk in a five-fold ministry office sounds like.
I want to close with this…everyone is a valuable part of the body of Christ. While not everyone is called to the leadership offices, everyone is necessary and valuable. I encourage you to find your place in the body and fill it. We need you!
For further study, read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 12. I also highly recommend that everyone in the body of Christ takes the class The Art of Hearing God. This course will not only help you recognize the voice of God speaking to you, but will also help you understand the Prophet and the prophetic much better. It will enable you to love and appreciate both the person and the calling as well as the gift, if you let it.
Until next time,
Shalom