Prophecy
In Western religion, prophecy is the divine gift of speaking the truth, especially about the future. One who speaks prophecy is called a prophet.
Nature of prophecy
Prophecy often consisted of a warning that God's wrath would destroy the people if they disobeyed God or did not repent. Prophecies sometimes included promises of blessing for obeying God or repenting. Warning prophecies feature in Jewish scripture (Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.) and in the ChristianNew Testament (John the Baptist, Jesus, etc.). Prophecies sometimes foretell the coming of a divine figure, such as Jesus, or appear in apocalyptic literature, such as Daniel or Revelation.
Some prophecy represents the divine truth but not about the future, such as when prophets decry sin without predicting judgment.
New Testament
According to the New Testament, John the Baptist prophesied Jesus' arrival. Jesus is also depicted prophesying the arrival of the Son of Man and imminent judgement on unrepentant sinners. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke share the same incident, where the disciples were pointing out how magnificent the Second Temple in Jerusalem was, when Jesus then replied by prophesying its destruction.
The Book of Revelation in the New Testament is accepted by many Christians as a prophecy that includes divine promises of an anointedmessiah or Christ that would: lead the people in war, personally issue judgement at the end times, and Armageddon (see Eschatology, Bible prophecy and "End of the World").
Christians believe that Jesus fulfilled many of the promises spoken in Old Testament prophecy, including that he would be called 'son of God', and that he will return in the future and fulfill other prophecies such as those in the Book of Revelation. In the New Testament, many Christians see most of Jesus' life as God speaking through Jesus.
In the New Testament the prophet is often referred as one of the fivefold ministries or spiritual gifts that accompany the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The five ministries being; Apostles; Prophets; Evangelists; Teachers and Pastors. (Eph. 4:11) The focus of prophecy is not just future events though, this is only part of the prophetic gifting. Jesus often brought words of comfort, exhortation or general uplifting to those in need. Paul teaches in Corinthians that it is for the benefit of the whole body. But it is important for God to speak to believers as he does through prophets of the Hebrew Torah.
Various other groups have claimed the gift of prophecy in more recent centuries. There are many accounts from the early Scottish Reformation of prophecies that came to pass. Jack Deere's book Surprised by the Voice of God recounts many examples of such prophecies.
Prophecy in the
Since the early 1900's, the number of Christians prophesying has greatly increased with the growth of the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostals believe in the gifts of the Spirit operating in the church today. The Charismatic movement, which started in the 1960's, started as an acceptance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the use of spiritual gifts by groups within mainline churches, also believe in the gift of prophecy.
Spiritual gifts
According to Christianity the spiritual gifts (or charismata) are gifts that are supernaturally bestowed on Christians, each having his or her own proper gift (or gifts) to strengthen the church. They are described in the New Testament, primarily in First Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4.
Some believe their operation was limited to early Christianity. According to some Protestant denominations, certain of the spiritual gifts, for example speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues, were enjoyed only for a short time and were suited to the Church's infancy, not to later times. This view is known as cessationism. This opinion is held by John F. MacArthur, Jr., Robert L. Thomas and many other conservative main line Christian denominations.
In contrast, some Christian scholars such as Zola Levitt maintain that the number of gifts cannot be determined, because, as Levitt puts it, "A spiritual gift is anything that a person can do supernaturally well."
Other groups, including Pentecostal, Apostolic, and other Holiness denominations of Christianity, take an opposing view, believing that the spiritual gifts are still given by the Holy Spirit today, and Pentecostal meetings often involve ordinary parishioners displaying the use of these gifts (1 Cor 14). In addition, sections of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and many other Protestant denominations also continue to believe in and make use of spiritual gifts.
Emphasis on teaching about the nine gifts of the Spirit originated from Howard Carter, an early Pentecostal evangelist. This is based on the text from 1 Corinthians 12:27-30 giving the gifts and listing them as the "gifts of the Spirit". They were later taught and popularized by Lester Sumrall, who accompanied Carter on many missionary journeys in his youth. Modern Bible teachers and scholars have came to the conclusion that there are other gifts of the Spirit listed in Scripture, as seen in the chart below.
Biblical lists of the gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-14 1 Corinthians 12:27-30 Romans 12:6-8 Ephesians 4:11
* Wisdom
* Knowledge
* Discerning of spirits (human, angelic, and satanic)
* Prophecy
* Speaking in tongues
* Interpretation of tongues
* Faith
* Working of miracles
* Healing
* Apostleship
* Prophecy
* Teaching
* Working of miracles
* Healing
* Helps
* Administration
* Speaking in tongues
* Prophecy
* Ministry
* Teaching
* Exhortation
* Giving
* Leading
* Showing mercy (compassion)
* Apostleship
* Prophecy
* Evangelism
* Pastoring
* Teaching
List of Spiritual Gifts
There are various opinions as to the number of spiritual gifts. There are also different ways of categorizing the gifts proposed.
Many items appearing as spiritual gifts are also required by the Bible of all Christians, such as faith, prayer, evangelism and so on. One explanation is that the spiritual gift of faith means faith despite the circumstances, or a particularly strong faith in God. The spiritual gift of prayer could mean a supernatural confidence in prayer, or a special ability to pray. All believers are encouraged to share Jesus with other people, but the gift of evangelism could mean a particular gift to reach others.
Charismatic Gifts (1 Corinthians 12)
Main article: Charism
Also known as the "manifestation gifts" or "miraculous gifts". Some limit the term "spiritual gifts" to just the charismatic gifts. Cessationism claims that these gifts ceased to operate (through individuals) early in Christian history. Its counterpart continuationism claims that they still operate today. They are believed by some to be transmitted through the laying on of hands.
* word of knowledge / message of knowledge, 1 Cor 12:8
* faith, 1 Cor 12:9
* gifts of healing, 1 Cor 12:9, 12:28
* miracles / miraculous powers, 1 Cor 12:10, 12:28
* prophecy / prophesying / prophets, 1 Cor 12:10, 1 Cor 12:28, Rom 12:6, Eph 4:11
* discernment of spirits / distinguishing of spirits, 1 Cor 12:10
* speaking in tongues / varieties of tongues / speaking in different kinds of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10
* interpretation of tongues, 1 Cor 12:10
Fivefold ministry
Fivefold Ministry refers to an ecclesiology or system of church organization utilized by a variety of minority religious movements (usually Christian). The term "fivefold ministry" is derived by those who adhere to it from references in the Christian New Testament to the roles of authority in the Christian community, especially in the Ephesians chapter four verse eleven, which mentions five things Christ sent groups out as at one point in the Gospels: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher.
Adherents of this ecclesiology especially emphasize the presence of the charismatic gifts, often called "signs and wonders," and the accompanying role of apostle and prophet.
The Charismatic movement
In American revivalism and free-church movements, the development of the pentecostal movement, the charismatic movement, the "full-gospel" movement, the discipleship movement, the home-church movement, the restoration movement, the Jewish-Christian movement all gave rise to a return of both roles in religious practice.
The use of the term "Apostle" is generally used an "overseeing" leader that has God-given vision for the Church at large and "prophet" is the equivalent of a biblical practice of the gift of prophecy. The use of the term "apostle" (note the lower-case "a"), is also used (and perhaps more frequently so, in charismatic churches), to refer to a person or persons, who under the authority of a mother church, is authorized to plant new churches, and to administer their oversight. This view recognizes the uniqueness and authority of the original 12 Apostles of the
While all Christians have been given the gift of prophecy, the prophet's focus is lead the Church in this area, and to serve under the authority of pastors and apostles.
In Charismatic circles, the "worldview" analogy is often used to illustraite the different offices of the fivefold ministry. -The Evangelist is primarily concerned with evangelizing -The Pastor is primarily concerned with his "flock" (congegration) -The Apostle is primarily concerned with the Church at large, and where God is directing it. -The Prophet is primarily concerned with "what God is saying," (the Rhema word of God) and seeing the whole body walking in prophecy. -The Teacher is primarily concerned with teaching the Bible (the Logos word of God) and helping the Church to better understand it.
