Regarding N.T. Prophets.
How far does one deem it necessary to go in order to try and Prove or Disprove that Prophets exist today,? And if so, for what purpose? In the end one helps defend while the other helps destroy the word of God!
I take it that those who claim that they can Disprove this claim of theirs are prophets themselves? But what kind of prophets? Only a prophet assigned as one by God can walk upon the word and mouth of God without himself getting burned up by it, because the prophet is the one who has been taken and personally shown and taught by God Himself (no less) to ALWAYS take his shoes off and bow when walking on Holy Ground! And that HOLY GROUND is the all the land between Genesis and Revelations!
There is no one in the body today that treats the word of God as the prophet does! THAT is his ministry! God requires and expects him to obey His voice, and he expects (with the same reverant attitude) others to obey and follow God?s voice as well! John 10:27
So? where did the ?lie? proclaiming that Prophets are no longer with us begin? It has no Scriptural backup! Nowhere does the Bible say that the ministry of a Prophet; that God gave in order to help perfect the church, is done. Nowhere!
Eph 4:
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, PROPHETS; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
1 Cor 12:
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily PROPHETS, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all PROPHETS? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
I believe that we can all agree that the ministry of ?Apostle? has been and is being fulfilled today by the ?12 Apostles? who established ?The Church? through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and by gave us the finished word and council of God to keep! Jude 3 (I myself was brought to Christ and ?saved? through God revealing His Son to me in the Gospel of Matthew!)
Let us examine the Prophets?
#1. The Old Testament Prophets!
A - They had the CONVICTION OF SIN, OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND OF THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD IN THEIR HEARTS! In the O T, in order to be a Prophet of God? you first had to be brought near to God in order to receive a direct word from Him that gave you direct evidence of perfectly knowing Gods will (thus Gods word) in that given area. God being Holy you can try and imagine the fear of them being brought near to Him. To touch Him (without being properly prepared) was to die!
B They had the CLARITY/PURITY OF HEART TO HEAR AND SEE GOD! It was by this Vision of His Holiness that gave the man that hot and holy fire? in his innards, to make him willfully want to go and tell the others. (This was sweet to his soul!)
C They had theCOURAGE OF THEIR CONVICTIONS TO SPEAK THE WORD THEY WERE GIVEN ON GODS BEHALF! They had to go before those who God sent them to and Preach that Prophesy all that God gave them to say, knowing that this will cause trouble for them because mens hearts are so resistant and hateful towards the Truth! (This was bitter to his spirit!)
#2. The New Testament Prophets!
A Ditto!
B Ditto!
C Ditto!
The Primary differences between those whom God made prophets in the O.T. verses those he makes prophets in the N.T. is...
1. the O.T. was still being written, and much of it written by those same prophets of old, while ALL of the N.T. has already been written By Jesus and His Apostles.
2. the O.T. prophets were given and spoke New words and New revelations concerning Gods will, while the N.T. prophets can only REPEAT the words that God gives them, words that are already established in the Scriptures! (This is how to Test any and all prophets. With the Scriptures!)
3. the O.T. prophet had the word alive as a HOLY FIRE in his heart, and the N.T. prophet has and speaks from the same fire and life in his heart (John 3:11), which some consider to be arrogance because of the way his message comes across: boldly, matter-of-factly, Love and take it or Hate and leave it. When all is said and done, he is just a relay man on earth for his Boss in heaven! No more, no less.
4. the O.T. prophet was required to practice for himself (not just go and preach) the revelation of God to others, ditto the N.T. prophet.
5. the O.T. prophet had a life-altering Vision of God in His Holiness, and as such brings his vision with him to share with others, ditto the N.T. prophet!
6. the O.T. prophets could never compromise what they had been given. They were friends only with those who were like-minded, those who also Loved and sought to obey the Truth above all else, ditto the N.T. prophet once his N.T. friends check out (Unbiasedly) his words with the word of God for verification!
There are MANY SCRIPTURAL PROOF?S that the N.T. prophet?s that God gave to the church are still with us today and will remain with us right up to the Lord?s second coming!
In order to have False prophets and false teachers you have to have true prophets and true teachers running around in the church today as well! And we do!
Also the gift of prophesy is mentioned several times by Paul as the Highest gift we should all covet after.
The gift of prophesy is no more than one, Having received the revelation within of Gods Holy word and speaking that word; WITHOUT HAVING TO REFER TO ANYTHING BEFOREHAND, NOT EVEN THE BIBLE, in the power of the Spirit because you KNOW it is True and Of God!
(Afterwards, you can go and check in the Bible to see whether or not the prophet speaks the truth or a lie!) God knows how to preserve His word BOTH on the Outside AND on the Inside! So check the prophets insides with the outside!
Such a Holy Word needs no interpretation and speaks for itself! The prophet (both then and now) is merely God?s mouth-piece speaking out the Vision he received of the Holiness of God!
Without a vision the people perish! Proverbs 29:18
We see what this vision means here...
1 Sam 3:1 And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
THE WORD OF GOD was precious in those days because it was Scarce! There were few and no prophets, no one around to give an open vision of Gods word in the days of Samuels childhood, just as there will be few prophets left in the days when the antichrist appears and his Great Tribulation and persecution of the church begins.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
This refers to the Lords Withholding the prophets from speaking forth, and of closing (withdrawing) the vision of the Lords word (which gave Life) to the people!
And before anyone thinks that because this is the New Testament and we all have the Spirit, therefore we each have it all, let me remind you again...
Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? God gave to the church SOME to be this and that...
The answer is a resounding, NO, we do not have and know it all! We NEED our brothers and sisters and their gifts and ministries to help perfect us in the Lord!
Not everyone can be a teacher! Not everyone can prophesy! Not everyone can be a pastor!
The gifts are as Diversified and as Necessary as are every member of the body of Christ!
ONLY JESUS HAD ALL THE GIFTS AND ALL THE MINISTRIES!!! IN HIM WAS THE ABSOLUTE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT! HE LACKED NOTHING!
We, on the otherhand, NEED each other! We NEED EVERYONE and their gift or ministry in order for us to be Perfected in Christ...
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
SO STOP THROWING OUT THE PROPHETS!
THE APOSTLES ARE HERE WITH US DAILY IN THE CHURCH THEY HELPED BUILD THROUGH GIVING US THE NEW TESTAMENT WORD OF GOD!
THEY?RE ALL STILL HERE (Remember, I was Saved by hearing The Apostle Matthew still speaking today!) ALONG WITH THE EVANGELISTS, TEACHERS AND PASTORS!
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT THROW OUT THE PROPHETS!
IF YOU DO *YOU* WILL *NEVER* BE PERFECTED!
That is not a threat, but a revealed truth, an absolute gaurantee, based soley on the unchanging word of God! Something that we can ALL (Because it was written and is again spoken and affirmed!) Bank On!
With you in the Lords service,
Biff
How far does one deem it necessary to go in order to try and Prove or Disprove that Prophets exist today,? And if so, for what purpose? In the end one helps defend while the other helps destroy the word of God!
I take it that those who claim that they can Disprove this claim of theirs are prophets themselves? But what kind of prophets? Only a prophet assigned as one by God can walk upon the word and mouth of God without himself getting burned up by it, because the prophet is the one who has been taken and personally shown and taught by God Himself (no less) to ALWAYS take his shoes off and bow when walking on Holy Ground! And that HOLY GROUND is the all the land between Genesis and Revelations!
There is no one in the body today that treats the word of God as the prophet does! THAT is his ministry! God requires and expects him to obey His voice, and he expects (with the same reverant attitude) others to obey and follow God?s voice as well! John 10:27
So? where did the ?lie? proclaiming that Prophets are no longer with us begin? It has no Scriptural backup! Nowhere does the Bible say that the ministry of a Prophet; that God gave in order to help perfect the church, is done. Nowhere!
Eph 4:
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, PROPHETS; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
1 Cor 12:
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily PROPHETS, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all PROPHETS? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
I believe that we can all agree that the ministry of ?Apostle? has been and is being fulfilled today by the ?12 Apostles? who established ?The Church? through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and by gave us the finished word and council of God to keep! Jude 3 (I myself was brought to Christ and ?saved? through God revealing His Son to me in the Gospel of Matthew!)
Let us examine the Prophets?
#1. The Old Testament Prophets!
A - They had the CONVICTION OF SIN, OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND OF THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD IN THEIR HEARTS! In the O T, in order to be a Prophet of God? you first had to be brought near to God in order to receive a direct word from Him that gave you direct evidence of perfectly knowing Gods will (thus Gods word) in that given area. God being Holy you can try and imagine the fear of them being brought near to Him. To touch Him (without being properly prepared) was to die!
B They had the CLARITY/PURITY OF HEART TO HEAR AND SEE GOD! It was by this Vision of His Holiness that gave the man that hot and holy fire? in his innards, to make him willfully want to go and tell the others. (This was sweet to his soul!)
C They had theCOURAGE OF THEIR CONVICTIONS TO SPEAK THE WORD THEY WERE GIVEN ON GODS BEHALF! They had to go before those who God sent them to and Preach that Prophesy all that God gave them to say, knowing that this will cause trouble for them because mens hearts are so resistant and hateful towards the Truth! (This was bitter to his spirit!)
#2. The New Testament Prophets!
A Ditto!
B Ditto!
C Ditto!
The Primary differences between those whom God made prophets in the O.T. verses those he makes prophets in the N.T. is...
1. the O.T. was still being written, and much of it written by those same prophets of old, while ALL of the N.T. has already been written By Jesus and His Apostles.
2. the O.T. prophets were given and spoke New words and New revelations concerning Gods will, while the N.T. prophets can only REPEAT the words that God gives them, words that are already established in the Scriptures! (This is how to Test any and all prophets. With the Scriptures!)
3. the O.T. prophet had the word alive as a HOLY FIRE in his heart, and the N.T. prophet has and speaks from the same fire and life in his heart (John 3:11), which some consider to be arrogance because of the way his message comes across: boldly, matter-of-factly, Love and take it or Hate and leave it. When all is said and done, he is just a relay man on earth for his Boss in heaven! No more, no less.
4. the O.T. prophet was required to practice for himself (not just go and preach) the revelation of God to others, ditto the N.T. prophet.
5. the O.T. prophet had a life-altering Vision of God in His Holiness, and as such brings his vision with him to share with others, ditto the N.T. prophet!
6. the O.T. prophets could never compromise what they had been given. They were friends only with those who were like-minded, those who also Loved and sought to obey the Truth above all else, ditto the N.T. prophet once his N.T. friends check out (Unbiasedly) his words with the word of God for verification!
There are MANY SCRIPTURAL PROOF?S that the N.T. prophet?s that God gave to the church are still with us today and will remain with us right up to the Lord?s second coming!
In order to have False prophets and false teachers you have to have true prophets and true teachers running around in the church today as well! And we do!
Also the gift of prophesy is mentioned several times by Paul as the Highest gift we should all covet after.
The gift of prophesy is no more than one, Having received the revelation within of Gods Holy word and speaking that word; WITHOUT HAVING TO REFER TO ANYTHING BEFOREHAND, NOT EVEN THE BIBLE, in the power of the Spirit because you KNOW it is True and Of God!
(Afterwards, you can go and check in the Bible to see whether or not the prophet speaks the truth or a lie!) God knows how to preserve His word BOTH on the Outside AND on the Inside! So check the prophets insides with the outside!
Such a Holy Word needs no interpretation and speaks for itself! The prophet (both then and now) is merely God?s mouth-piece speaking out the Vision he received of the Holiness of God!
Without a vision the people perish! Proverbs 29:18
We see what this vision means here...
1 Sam 3:1 And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
THE WORD OF GOD was precious in those days because it was Scarce! There were few and no prophets, no one around to give an open vision of Gods word in the days of Samuels childhood, just as there will be few prophets left in the days when the antichrist appears and his Great Tribulation and persecution of the church begins.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.
This refers to the Lords Withholding the prophets from speaking forth, and of closing (withdrawing) the vision of the Lords word (which gave Life) to the people!
And before anyone thinks that because this is the New Testament and we all have the Spirit, therefore we each have it all, let me remind you again...
Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? God gave to the church SOME to be this and that...
The answer is a resounding, NO, we do not have and know it all! We NEED our brothers and sisters and their gifts and ministries to help perfect us in the Lord!
Not everyone can be a teacher! Not everyone can prophesy! Not everyone can be a pastor!
The gifts are as Diversified and as Necessary as are every member of the body of Christ!
ONLY JESUS HAD ALL THE GIFTS AND ALL THE MINISTRIES!!! IN HIM WAS THE ABSOLUTE FULNESS OF THE SPIRIT! HE LACKED NOTHING!
We, on the otherhand, NEED each other! We NEED EVERYONE and their gift or ministry in order for us to be Perfected in Christ...
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
SO STOP THROWING OUT THE PROPHETS!
THE APOSTLES ARE HERE WITH US DAILY IN THE CHURCH THEY HELPED BUILD THROUGH GIVING US THE NEW TESTAMENT WORD OF GOD!
THEY?RE ALL STILL HERE (Remember, I was Saved by hearing The Apostle Matthew still speaking today!) ALONG WITH THE EVANGELISTS, TEACHERS AND PASTORS!
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT THROW OUT THE PROPHETS!
IF YOU DO *YOU* WILL *NEVER* BE PERFECTED!
That is not a threat, but a revealed truth, an absolute gaurantee, based soley on the unchanging word of God! Something that we can ALL (Because it was written and is again spoken and affirmed!) Bank On!
With you in the Lords service,
Biff