Lessons #421 and 422

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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +

+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +

+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +

+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +

+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +

+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +

+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +

+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +

+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +

+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +

+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +

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Spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11)

… ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

Let me remind you of the message of 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 that we are considering which is that there are several spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit gave for the benefit of the church. We have considered five of these and so we proceed with the sixth spiritual gift.

The sixth spiritual gift is that of prophecy that is described in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 12:10 to another prophecy. The phrase to another as we have indicated previously is a reminder that not every believer has this gift but only those the Holy Spirit determines to bestow the gift. Of course, the phrase does not imply that a person could not have another spiritual gift besides this one. In effect, we are saying that the phrase does not mean that a believer would only have one spiritual gift but that it indicates that not every believer would have the gift of prophecy.

What is this gift of prophecy? This may seem to be a trivial question until we understand that scholars either influenced by Greek understanding instead of the Scripture or by desire to defend a theological bent have defined it in different ways. For example, some say that it is not foretelling, but rather forth telling. Anthony Thiselton defines prophecy “as a gift of the Holy Spirit combines pastoral insight into the needs of persons, communities, and situations with the ability to address these with a God-given utterance or longer discourse (whether unprompted or prepared with judgment, decision, and rational reflection) leading to challenge or comfort, judgment, or consolation, but ultimately building up the addressees.” Anyway, two things help in understanding this gift: the Greek word used and the Scripture in general. The word “prophecy” is translated from a Greek word (prophēteia) that may mean “the capacity or ability to utter inspired message” or “gift of prophesying,” that is, to have the ability to declare divine will as the word is used by Apostle Paul in Romans 12:6:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

The clause If a man’s gift is prophesying is more literally if it is prophecy. The word may mean “prophecy,” that is, an utterance inspired by God as in Apostle Paul’s description regarding Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18:

Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight,

The word may mean “prophetic activity” as the word is used to describe an activity of the two-witness described in the eleventh chapter of Revelation, specifically in Revelation 11:6:

These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

The clause during the time they are prophesying of the NIV is more literally during the days of their prophecy. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 12:10, the word is used with the meaning “prophecy,” that is, the ability to deliver representative declarations of the mind, will, or knowledge of God. Thus, the gift of prophecy the apostle described is the capacity or ability to utter inspired message. This being the case we need to understand what it means to prophesy by considering information provided in the OT Scripture.

Originally, prophesying was predominantly to be in a religious ecstasy that a person attains with or without music. It is this meaning that explains the assertion of prophesying by two of the seventy elders Moses appointed. They were said to prophesy without any form of music in Numbers 11:26-27:

²⁶ However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."

It is difficult to understand what it means here to prophesy unless we recognize that prophesying originally meant to be in some form of ecstatic state. It happened to these two men without any form of music. It was produced by the Spirit directly. But on some other occasions, prophesying in terms of being in ecstatic state was affected by music as well. This was the case with Saul in company of group of prophets as recorded in 1 Samuel 10:5-6:

⁵ "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

Prophesying here refers to ecstatic behavior that consists of dancing and shouting. Similarly, we find six men described as being involved in prophesying using music in 1 Chronicle 25:3:

As for Jeduthun, from his sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the LORD.

To understand prophesying as originally a reference to being in an ecstatic state helps us to comprehend how the prophets of Baal could be said to prophesy in 1 Kings 18:29:

Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

Interestingly, some of the English versions that are quite often literal in their translations did not use the literal meaning “prophesy” in this passage. The phrase their frantic prophesying of the NIV is rendered they raved in the NASB and the ESV. But the NET rendered it as they were in an ecstatic frenzy which captures what it means that the prophets of Baal were prophesying. They were in an ecstatic state so that they ranted and raved for the period stated.

Prophesying understood as being in an ecstatic state can be produced by the Spirit of God, as we have already stated. An illustration of this is the case with the men Saul had sent to capture David, according to 1 Samuel 19:19-21:

¹⁹ Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; ²⁰ so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. ²¹ Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied.

Evil spirit can also produce this ecstatic state described as prophesying as evident with Saul according to 1 Samuel 18:10:

The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand

The assertion He was prophesying in his house is translated he raved within his house in the NASB and the ESV.

The point is that originally the predominant idea in prophesying was to be in an ecstatic state. But later, to prophesy had the dominant meaning of speaking under the influence of divine inspiration with or without reference to future events. By divine inspiration we mean that divine power overcomes a human being and compels him/her to see, hear, or utter things which otherwise would be hidden from the individual. This was the case with Prophet Elisha as recorded in 2 Kings 3:15-16:

¹⁵ But now bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha ¹⁶ and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.

It is possible that a person will be under inspiration and not know it. This is illustrated with the high priest, Caiaphas, who uttered prophetic words about the type of death Jesus would undergo without being aware of what he said as stated in John 11:49-52:

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! ⁵⁰ You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." ⁵¹ He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, ⁵² and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.

The commentary the Holy Spirit provided us through Apostle John in verse 51 of this eleventh chapter of John’s gospel, indicates that Caiaphas did not know he was under inspiration, and he did not know the implication of what he uttered.

In any event, it should be clear that prophesying as an activity that involves utterance under divine inspiration could be understood in at least three ways. It can refer to proclaiming an inspired revelation. The instructions recorded in the Scripture come under this meaning. This is implied in the assertion that the contents of the Scripture were result of the Holy Spirit carrying the prophets along as they uttered what are recorded in the Scripture, as we read in 2 Peter 1:20-21:

²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The speech of the high priest Caiaphas about the death of Jesus that we previously cited in John 11:49-51 falls under this meaning. The activities of the two witnesses of Revelation fall into this meaning of proclaiming an inspired revelation for it is said of them in Revelation 11:3:

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

Another meaning of prophesying is to foretell something that lies in the future. The predictions in the OT Scriptures about future events, especially those concerning the Messiah, fall under this meaning. The prediction of the manner of the death of Ahab by Prophet Elijah falls under this meaning for we read in 1 Kings 21:19:

Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood — yes, yours!'"

It is true the word “prophesy” is not used here but the words spoken by Elijah are to be reckoned as prophecy since they were fulfilled as he predicted, according to 1 Kings 22:37-38:

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. ³⁸ They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed), and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the LORD had declared.

Still, another meaning of prophesying is to tell about something that is hidden from view. It is in this sense that the word is used by the soldiers who mocked and mistreated Jesus during His trial as they demanded Him to identify who struck Him while he was blindfolded as recorded in Luke 22:64:

They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?"

We have noted the various meanings associated with the word “prophesy” but there are several facts stated in the Scripture in connection with the word that we should become aware. First, certain activities involved in prophesying are under the control of either the person prophesying or someone else. That the control of the activity of prophesying in the sense of singing of God’s messages is under another person is stated in 1 Chronicles 25:2:

From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king's supervision.

Here the prophesying of sons of Asaph was under his supervision while his was under the supervision of King David. As we have previously stated, the one who prophesies also can control his activity, as stated in 1 Corinthians 14:29-33:

²⁹ Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. ³⁰ And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. ³¹ For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ³² The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. ³³ For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

Second, prophesying is an activity that may involve dreams, according to Jeremiah 23:32:

Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the LORD. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the LORD.

That false prophecy involves false dreams implies that true prophecy can also involve revelatory dreams as was the case of the dreams given to Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. It is not only dreams that can lead to false prophesying, but it can also come from wrong imaginations of someone, as stated in Ezekiel 13:17:

"Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them

Third, it is possible to prophesy and not be a believer in Christ, as implied in the teaching of Jesus on the Sermon on Mount in Matthew 7:22-23:

²² Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Fourth, the promise of prophesying is one of the activities of the last days. Apostle Peter during his sermon on the day of Pentecost made a reference to this by quoting Prophet Joel, as we read in Acts 2:16-18:

¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ "'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. ¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

Fifth, because of the benefit of prophesying, the local church is encouraged to desire the spiritual gift associated with it, according to 1 Corinthians 14:1–6, 39:

¹Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ² For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. ³ But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. ⁴ He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵ I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. ⁶ Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?

³⁹ Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

Sixth, prophesying is primarily for the benefit of believers, as stated in 1 Corinthians 14:22-25:

²² Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³ So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? ²⁴ But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, ²⁵ and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"

It is because prophesying benefits believers that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul encourages those with the gift to use it in accordance with their faith in a passage we cited previously, that is, Romans 12:6:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.

Seventh, the Scripture warns against treating prophecies with contempt as the Holy Spirit stated through Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21

²⁰ do not treat prophecies with contempt. ²¹ Test everything. Hold on to the good.

The expression “treat with contempt” is translated from a Greek verb (exoutheneō) that in this context has the sense of despising or rejecting prophecies either because they are beneath one’s consideration or because they are of no value or worthless. Instead of despising prophecy, what is required is proper testing of it as in the command Test everything.

We have so far focused on the word “prophesy” in our study because we want to answer the question “What is this gift of prophecy?” in a more comprehensive manner. We have already stated that the gift of prophecy is the capacity or ability to utter inspired message or simply the gift of prophesying. Our examination of “prophecy” as given in the Scripture indicates that the inspired message from God is of two kinds. The first is God’s will by which the church should function, codified for us, that is, the Scripture. The second is communication about the future or hidden facts. It seems to me that failure to distinguish these two kinds of inspired message from God contributes to the debate among scholars regarding the validity of the gift of prophecy in the church today. There should be no doubt that the will of God by which the church should function in terms of doctrine has been delivered through the apostles and the writers of the NT but that does not mean that the aspect of inspired message that deals with future events has ceased to exist. What this means is that for all practical purposes, the gift of prophecy today consists of inspired messages about future events, not of the type revealed in Scripture, and the revealing of hidden facts. We are saying that because our Scripture is completed, inspired utterance could not apply to explaining of the Scripture since that is covered under the gift of teaching. It is true that Apostle Paul implied in the fourteenth chapter that prophesying served to help strengthen and encourage believers but that should be understood as inspired messages that have not be written down that the church needed until the entire Scripture was completed. So, we contend that the gift of prophecy does not extend to the teaching of the word of God. Instead, the focus of gift of prophecy at the present is on predicting future events and revealing hidden facts that will benefit believers.

Our assertion that the gift of prophecy today consists of inspired messages about future events and revealing hidden facts is one that is supported by Scripture. This is because the examples we find in the NT regarding the gift of prophecy by a NT prophet involve prediction of future events. This is illustrated by Prophet Agabus. He predicted of the coming famine in the entire Roman world that was fulfilled as we read in Acts 11:27–28:

²⁷ During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)

Another illustration of the gift of prophecy by Agabus is his prediction of what would happen to Apostle Paul when he went to Jerusalem as we read in Acts 21:10–11:

¹⁰ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. ¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”

This prophecy was fulfilled as Agabus predicted. Paul was arrested and bound with chains as we read in Acts 21:33:

The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done.

Eventually, the commander handed Apostle Paul over to Governor Felix, a Gentile, as implied in Acts 23:23–24:

²³ Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. ²⁴ Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

An illustration of the gift of prophecy that is not clearly associated with a specific prophet is the message of the Holy Spirit that resulted in the first missionary work of Paul and Barnabas as we read in Acts 13:2:

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

For sure, there is no direct statement that implies that what the Holy Spirit said was communicated through a prophet or prophets but that is to be deduced. This is because, the instruction stated in this passage in Acts is preceded by mention of the existence of prophets and teachers in the church in Antioch as we read in Acts 13:1:

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.

It seemed that a reason for mentioning prophets in this verse is to convey that when the Holy Spirit communicated to the church about the mission of Paul and Barnabas that it was through the exercise of the gift of prophecy by one or more prophets. By the way, there are other references in the NT about those who have the gift of prophecy although we are not given any specific example of such individuals exercising the gift, but the early church recognized this. Judas and Silas are described as prophets as stated in Acts 15:32:

Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

Likewise, the virgin daughters of Philip, the evangelist, are so described in Acts 21:9:

He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

What these ladies prophesied was not disclosed so we should surmise that whatever they prophesied was for the benefit of the early church that was not relevant to the church at large. In effect, they must have exercised the gift of prophecy to benefit the local church community to which they belonged. This aside, we contend that the gift of prophecy referenced in the NT as it pertains to a local church is concerned with predicting of the future and revealing of hidden fact. This assertion is in keeping with the situation Apostle Paul described as he envisioned the gift of prophecy at work in a local church as we read in a passage we cited previously, specifically, 1 Corinthians 14:24–25:

²⁴ But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, ²⁵ and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

The unbeliever would be convinced of God’s presence within the church if what is hidden in his/her heart is made clear through the gift of prophecy. It is not merely the preaching of the word that may deal with the individual’s sin but that of describing something specific the person is involved with, prior to coming to the local church. Anyway, it is difficult to see why the church of Christ today would not need the gift of prophecy as it functions primarily with prediction of future events or revealing of hidden facts. Would it not be beneficial if there was one with gift of prophecy who predicted a coming plague so that believers in that area would prepare to avoid suffering shortage of supplies as others? The fact remains there is no scriptural basis for thinking that the gift of prophecy in the way we have explained no longer exists. To this end, I am going to provide several examples of recorded activities by believers in the past outside Scripture that you should judge if they are indeed the gift of prophecy.

Examples of prophecies outside the Scripture

To judge the validity of a prophecy, two factors must be considered: fulfillment of a given prophecy and content of the message of the prophet. The test of using fulfilled prophecy to determine the truth of a prophecy is stated in Deuteronomy 18:21–22:

²¹ You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” ²² If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

The fact that a prophecy is fulfilled does not necessarily mean that it is to be accepted as true until the second test is applied. This test involves the content of the message. If the message involves anything that impugns the character of God or that leads to idolatry, then such prophecy must be rejected as false. It is this test that is given in Deuteronomy 13:1–5:

¹If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, ² and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. ⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

The second test of message at the present time involves what the prophet holds or teaches about the person of Jesus Christ as we read in 1 John 4:1–2:

¹Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

With these two tests, let me provide you illustrations of gifts of prophecy that you may judge for yourself as if they are truly demonstrations of the gift of prophecy.

We begin with examples that to me typify the exercise of the gift of prophecy that occurred in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as given in the book “The Scots Worthies” by John Howie. My first example is with George Wishart (1513-46) a Scottish Protestant Reformer and one of the early Protestant martyrs burned at the stake as a heretic. On one occasion, he rebuked the people at Haddington for their neglect of Gospel. So, he warned them “That sore and fearful would be the plagues that should ensue; that fire and sword should waste them; that strangers should possess their houses, and chase them from their habitation.”¹ This prediction was fulfilled in 1548 when the English took possession of the town while the French and Scots besieged it. A second example of the exercise of the gift of prophecy in the period we stated was John Knox who was influenced by George Wishart. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. He was not only a great preacher of the word but also a prayer warrior that it was reported that the Queen Regent in his time had once stated that she was more afraid of his prayers than of an army of ten thousand men. He made several predictions that were fulfilled. When Queen Mary refused to come and hear sermon, he predicted that she would yet be obliged to hear the Word of God whether she would or not. This was fulfilled during her arraignment in England. On the 24^th of January 1570, while in the pulpit, John was handed papers that contained names of the sick that need prayer along with a note from a Mr. Thomas Maitland who gloated over the murder of Earl of Moray that was considered a good man by him and others. After his sermon he predicted “There is one in the company who maketh that horrible murder, at which all good men have occasion to be sorrowful, the subject of his mirth. I tell him, he shall die in a strange land, where he shall not have a friend near him to hold up his head.”² Although Thomas thought that John Knox was raving but he died in Italy, on his way to Rome, having no man to comfort him. I could cite more of John Knox’s predictions that were fulfilled but the two I have cited are sufficient to establish that he had the gift of prophecy. I am not sure how anyone would deny that John Knox did not have the gift of prophecy since his preaching of the gospel was sound and his life exemplary and his predictions were fulfilled. Anyway, I have mentioned only two these men in the period of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that exhibited the gift of prophecy. There were many others during this period such as John Davidson and John Semple, among others, that could be cited as those who exhibited the gift of prophecy but let me continue to a different century.

There was the case in the nineteenth century in the United States of a clear demonstration of the gift of prophecy by a preacher named, Arthur Howell, who lived in Philadelphia, reported by Bushnell.³ This preacher was described as a man of impeccable character who displayed integrity or honesty in all he did. As the story went, this preacher was on his way to Germantown one Sunday morning when he encountered a funeral procession. It was then revealed to him that the body in the coffin was that of a woman that he knew nothing about but who had died and who suffered greatly because of suspicion of a crime she did not commit. He was then compelled to attend the funeral service. At the end of it, he asked permission to speak, which was granted. Then he proceeded to say that the neighbors of the deceased had suspected her of a crime she did not commit and that had troubled the woman greatly, but that in a few weeks after her death her innocence will be revealed. He continued to assert that a few hours before her death she had spoken with another preacher who was present in the audience. Then he disclosed the conversation between the woman and the preacher. When he finished speaking, the other preacher got up and said: “I do not know who this man is, or how he has obtained the information on this subject; but certain it is, that he has repeated, word for word, a conversation which I supposed was known only to myself and the deceased.” ⁴ According to the prophecy of Howell, information came later that cleared the woman’s name.

Other examples of what seemed to be prophetic gift in actions have been reported in the late 1990s or early 2000s. There was the case of what seemed to be a manifestation of prophetic gift that was reported by Dr. Jeff Louie, a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, the senior pastor of Sunset Church in San Francisco, California. According to him, one Sunday morning a fiancée of a member of his church was introduced to him. It was usually his practices to meet frequently with engaged couples but in this particular case he felt compelled to call the young woman and ask if that was an arranged marriage. He was right and the woman had asked him who told him, to which of course, the pastor indicated no one and he was not surprised that God could give such knowledge to him. The same pastor narrated a story told to him by his church member. This church member had a coworker who was chronically ill, but one day the church member approached her and said, “In three days you will be well.” He was surprised at what came out of his mouth as the coworker was. The man prayed for the coworker for three days, and on the third day, the coworker became well as the man had predicted. Eventually, the man told his full story to the woman that was made whole about all that happened; this led to the conversion of the woman. The pastor writes “What prompted this man to say such a thing? I am convinced that it was the Spirit of God.” ⁵ I do not know how else to explain this particular event other than to admit that prophetic gift is still in effect.

The examples of prophetic utterances we have given do not mean that there are no examples of prophetic utterances that are doubtful and may in fact be false. In the twelfth century, it is reported that the spirit of prophecy broke out almost simultaneously in the convents on the Rhine and in Southern Italy. The most notable persons who claimed the gift of prophecy, during this period, were Hildegard, abbess of the Benedictine convent, of Bingen, and Joachim, the abbot of Flore,⁶ but we will only comment on Hildegard who claimed to have received visions from her childhood. When she was forty-two years old, she claimed of having received her visions not in dreams nor in sleep nor in a frenzied state but while she was awake and in pure conscious state using the eyes and ears of her inner being according to the will of God. She was recognized by some as being able to disclose heavenly secrets through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. She was recognized as a godly woman who performed many miracles, sometimes by prayer and at other times by simple word of command. She was grieved over the low moral condition of the clergy and focused people’s attention to the Scriptures and the Catholic faith as the supreme fronts of authority. Furthermore, she warned her audience not to look to the priests for salvation but to Christ. However, her prediction that the Cathari would be used to stir up Christendom to self-purification did not quite come true as she predicted.

Another individual that claimed to be a prophet in the closing decade of the fifteenth century was Girolamo Savonarola,⁷ who was born on September 21, 1452, in Ferrara and died in May 23, 1498, in Florence. By all accounts, he was considered one of the most noteworthy preachers of righteousness since the time of Apostle Paul. He was a student of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, who emphasized the study of the Bible in the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. In addition to preaching, he wrote tracts on humility, prayer, and the love of Jesus. We are told that at the time of his greatest popularity, tens of thousands of people flocked to hear him preach. It is not only that he was a great preacher, but he also claimed to be a prophet appointed to convey special communications from God. He claimed to have received a message in March 1495 on a visit to paradise concerning promise of a period of prosperity in Florence preceded by a period of sorrows. What makes this message suspect, in my understanding, is his description of Jesus being in the arms of the “Virgin Mary” during this visit to paradise. Of course, Savonarola gave four reasons he believed he was a true prophet which are: his own subjective certainty, the fulfillment of his predictions, their result in helping on the cause of moral reform in Florence, and their acceptance by good people in the city. He argued that his prophecies could not have come from astrology for he rejected it, nor from a morbid imagination for this was inconsistent with his extensive knowledge of the Scriptures, nor from Satan for Satan hated his sermons and does not know future events. In spite of these justifications, the truth is that some of his predictions came true such as the predictions of political revolution in Florence and the coming of Charles VIII from across the Alps, but others did not come true, especially his prediction in May 3, 1495, of speedy conversion of the Turks and Moors. It should not be surprising that this did not come true because he claimed that he received this revelation from the Virgin Mary on his visit to paradise. In all, it appears that his claim of being a prophet runs into difficulty when subjected to the full tests of the Scripture about true prophet.

Another example of false claim of the gift of prophecy was found among a group of three men, known as Zwickau Prophets, under the leadership of Nicholas Storch, that came into notice in Christmas of 1521. They were considered a sect of local fanatic Lutherans. They taught that God spoke directly to people and revealed His will through visions and dreams rather than through the church or the Scriptures. Storch asserted that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him in a vision, saying to him, "Thou shalt sit on my throne." Therefore, it was not surprising that he saw himself at the head of a new church, designated by God to complete the reformation left unfinished by Martin Luther. They predicted that within five to seven years the Turks would invade Germany and destroy priests and all the godless. This, of course, was not fulfilled.

We have cited examples of those whose prophecies were not fulfilled to caution that as there were false prophets in Israel and in the early church that there are false prophets today but that should not be used to argue against the existence of prophetic gift in the church today since no direct statement regarding its cessation is given in the Scripture. We will deal with the prediction of its cessation when we get to the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. Let me end by a personal testimony that to me is an indication of divine inspiration…. [listen to the lesson to get it].

06/03//22