What is prophecy?

I write a quarterly column for Preach Magazine, and for this next edition I have written an article on the nature of prophecy in Old and New Testaments. This is my draft—any comments welcome.

Prophecy forms a substantial part of the Bible—but there is much debate about the question of prophecy today, and how contemporary prophecy is related to what we find in Scripture. 

Scripture as prophecy

The Hebrew Bible (that is, the Bible for Jews that we call the Old Testament) is traditionally divided into three sections: the Torah (sometimes called ‘the law’); the Prophets (Neviim: which for Jews includes what we call the history books); and the Writings (Ketuvim: Psalms, Proverbs, and many of the later writings). Jews take the initial letters of these three terms to make the word Tanakh, which is how they refer to the Bible. 

Two things are very striking here. First, the Prophets form a substantial part of the Old Testament; they are central, and not at all marginal—so we find Jesus and others referring to Scripture as ‘The law and the prophets’ (Matt 22.40). Secondly, including what we call the history books (Joshua, Judge, Samuel and Kings) as the ‘former prophets’ gives us an important clue as to what prophecy is about. Whilst it might include particular experiences on the part of the prophet, the main function is to give God’s perspective on what is happening. By calling these books ‘histories’ we are in danger of making the mistake of thinking that they claim to be objective accounts of the events they describe. In fact they are highly selective, and set out what is important from God’s perspective rather than ours.

The means of prophecy…

We therefore need to reflect on two things: what was the means by which the prophets operated; and what are the ends, the goals, of prophetic ministry. 

There are two terms used in the Hebrew Bible for ‘prophet’. The earlier term is ro’eh meaning ‘seer’ or ‘one who sees.’

Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for today’s ‘prophet’ was formerly called a ‘seer.’ (1 Sam 9.9)

So the prophet was one who had insight, who could see things that others could not. Specifically, this was someone who could see God’s purposes in the events around them, when these purposes might not be clear to the ordinary person. 

But the second term mentioned here is the more common, navi (plural neviim). There is debate about the derivation of this term, but it likely includes the sense of someone who is called and appointed to this role by God, and someone who is a herald or a spokesman. 

Thus we commonly find ‘call narratives’ at the start of prophetic books, especially Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, where the prophet describes the encounter with God which (sometimes reluctantly) leads them into this ministry. Amos’ account is especially interesting, since he protests that he is ‘neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet’ but a herdsman and farmer—yet God called him to prophesy (Amos 7.14).

This sense of individual call appears to be in tension with a description of the office of the prophet. At different times in Israel’s history, there appear to have been bands of prophets who had a recognised role. 

Soon after he has been anointed at king, Saul meets a band of prophets, and ‘the Spirit of God rushed upon him’ and he begins to prophesy with them. The surprise of the people shows that the prophet was an office distinct from the of being king. Something similar happens again in 1 Sam 19.23.

These groups of prophets appear to have developed around the ministry of Samuel, and we find explicit mention of ‘the sons of the prophets’ associated with Elijah and Elisha (see 1 Kings 20.35, 2 Kings 4.38–44, and 2 Kings 6.1–7).  

These groups appear to have at times been ‘seized’ by the Spirit of God—and the major prophets all seem to have had what we might call visionary experiences. As prophecy developed into apocalyptic (in Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah) these visions appear to be more outlandish, and requiring careful interpretation to make sense of them. So we need to reflect on their purpose. 

…and the ends of prophecy

The prophets, whilst themselves looking up to God, invite the people of God (including those in positions of power) to look both backwards and forwards. 

The prophets often functioned God’s ‘covenant reinforcement mediators’ (in the words of Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart), calling Israel back to faithfulness. They confronted kings, priests, and the people over injustice, idolatry, and social oppression—on the basis of God’s past action and his call to his people to live distinctively, reflecting his character. We see this especially in Amos, Isaiah, and Micah. 

But the people have not only broken God’s law (Amos), they have also broken God’s heart (Hosea). So the prophets also call the people back to their first love—and proclaim that, when exile comes, this is God’s aim, to woo them back to faithfulness. This was the dominant function of OT prophecy.

Allied with that, they also looked forward—negatively, warning the people about what would happen if they continued in disobedience, but positively, anticipating the time when God would restore his people, and they would be transformed in love and obedience to him. They point forward to a new covenant (Jeremiah 31), a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), a restored Israel (Ezekiel 37), and an outpouring of God’s Spirit on all people (Joel 2). 

Yet God’s plan is much bigger than the covenant with his people; his ambition is to restore all of creation:

It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (Isa 49.6).

God does not merely want to undo the failure of his people; he wants to undo the very causes of that, and remake the world (Is 65.17).

The new dawn of prophecy

The New Testament both inherits and transforms the OT understanding of prophecy, particularly in light of Christ and Pentecost.

Jesus is presented as the ultimate prophet (see Deut 18:15 quoted in Acts 3:22), and his coming fulfils the OT prophetic trajectory. Like the prophets of old, in his teaching he called people back to the law from God—not to the letter as interpreted by the Pharisees and scribes, but to its heart intention, and this was the main cause of his conflict with other Jewish leaders. 

And he looked forward too—to his death and resurrection, to the destruction of the temple, and to the time when he would reign at God’s right hand, and eventually come again to unite heaven and earth. 

But where prophecy was limited to a defined group, and key individuals, now in Jesus Moses’ hope that all God’s people would prophesy (Num 11.29) is fulfilled. The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, says Peter, is ‘that about which the prophet Joel wrote’: 

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams (Acts 2.17)

The new promised age to come has broken into this age of sin and death, and all God’s people now enjoy that ministry which was once the privilege of the few—to see what God is doing, to bring his perspective on what is happening in the world, and to proclaim this to those who need to hear it.

So it is no surprise that Paul includes prophecy as a gift of the Spirit given to the people of God in Jesus (1 Cor 12–14). He ranks it highly—even above tongues—because it edifies the church. Its purpose is strengthening, encouraging, and comforting believers (1 Cor 14:3). This is a central part of what the Spirit does amongst his people. 

(We should note in passing that, despite so many of the prophetic figures in the Old Testament being male, this gift of prophecy is now for all—young and old, male and female. Thus in Acts we meet both Agabus the prophet in Acts 11:27–30 predicting famine and in Acts 21.10 Paul’s arrest, as well as the daughters of Philip who prophesied in Acts 21:8-9.)

It will cease when ‘what is perfect’ comes (1 Cor 13.8–10)—not the perfection of the formation of the canon of Scripture, as some claim, but the perfection when the kingdom of God is fully realised at the return of Jesus, when God will be present with his people (Rev 21.3–4). Until then, God and his purposes remain hidden from many, and we need the prophetic to make it known. 

Prophecy in action

If we are to ‘follow the way of love’ for one another and the world around us, we should ‘eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy’ (1 Cor 14.1). The same criteria apply now as apply previously: the prophetic word must be tested against reality (does it come true? Deut 18.22); and against the true worship of God (does it teach truth? Deut 13.1–5).

We recently had a wonderful experience of the gift of prophecy. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, despite there being no history of cancer in her family. The week that we received the news, I also had a message from someone whom I had met just once or twice. ‘I wanted to let you know that I have been praying for you.’ Why in particular? ‘Because three nights this week God has given me a dream in which he told me I should be praying for you both.’

It was a wonderful reminder to us that ‘There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries’ (Dan 2.28) and that we were not forgotten. He has supremely revealed his mysteries in the person of Jesus, and he has poured out his Spirit on all those who follow him, so that we might speak prophetically into the lives of those around us who need to know the love and purposes of God.