Thursday, May 24, 2012

PROPHECY



Part One: What is a prophet’s job?

Someone asked me recently what I thought prophecy was and what it meant. The prophetic is multifaceted and people have written books on the subject so in the confines of a few hundred words, this blog will not be all inclusive. I will go over a couple salient points and summarize my thoughts.

Many believe that foretelling the future is all that a prophet does and is what prophecy is all about; future events. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is only a small portion of the prophetic.

It is this believer’s opinion that a prophet of the Lord is first, a teacher. When a prophet holds that office, it is their assignment to explain the Scriptures and what God means when He says such and such. However, and more importantly, he is to tell the people what to do concerning God’s Word.

A prophet is highly gifted in discernment with a vast knowledge and understanding of Scripture. Otherwise, how could they speak for God, which is another aspect/gifting held by the prophet; he expounds on the oracles (precepts) of God and speaks for and through Him. The operative word here, is "through" Him -- or through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will guide us to ALL truth [John 16:13]

Therefore, a prophet’s number one assignment should definitely be that he or she is what God’s Word calls, an Issachar.

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; -- 1 Chronicles 12:32a

This is what we need the most of today. . .prophetic Issachars. As the Chronicle’s Scripture tells us, Issachars are people who can tell Israel what to do, who have an understanding of the times. Through adoption, all believers are of the kingdom of Israel, also through Halachic law.

Prophets are here to incite people to duty, to convict of sins, and to call those to repentance. They are to instruct kings, to preach of the judgments of God, and to teach relationship with God. If people do not repent and turn from their wicked ways, then the judgments come in the form of things that will happen in the future.

However, they base all those prophecies and judgments on God’s Word. Everything filters through His Word. This is the only way to tell a true prophet. However, there is one prerequisite to knowing the only way to tell a true prophet.

No more room. We’ll see you this coming Monday for the second and final segment on prophecy. God bless you all and see you Monday.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"A prophet is highly gifted in discernment with an infallible knowledge of Scripture."

I want to meet that person. :)

Fresh off The Farm said...

You will seldom see true prophets and when you do you will know them by their spirit of truth. They are exactly 100 % accurate and you will never have to guess if the Word is for you because it will witness to you immediately if it is..any prophet that was written about in the Word of God was seldom welcomed, although they were the bearers of good news it was because the people either had to repent from their wicked ways or there was a judgement coming.. Thank you for starting this conversation/study James..it is a very serious matter that definitely pertains to these times and people should KNOW with whom they put their trust and confidence..always compare to the Word of God any word spoken in such a manner..amen

Anonymous said...

Thank you!!!!
When I read your paragraph, "About Me", I found your reasons for writing are very similar to why I want to write my story.
I believe the Lord wants me to write this and I believe it can help others, especially women.
Darlene

Terry Scerine said...

This is so true, Jim! Thank you for clarifying.