PROPHECY HAS A CONTEXT
Prophecy is a sign of God's nearness and concern, that the Lord is still there with us to build up, tear down, or console (as per 1 Corinthians 14:3; Isaiah 40). Prophecy serves as God's way of getting through to people in a particular situation (2 Samuel 12:7; 1 Corinthians 14:24; Acts 8:30-35). It can, within that context, offer a view of what is to come -- especially if repentance is not forthcoming. This is true for societies as a whole -- the prophets and apostles of old pronounced judgement on all and called all to righteousness, even the pagans, for societal evil and injustice.
Prophecy is something done within a context, the context of God's covenants with human beings, shown through the Word as revealed in Scripture. If it is not within that context and in full accord with it, it is false and not from God, and furthermore it will quite likely prove evil in its effect. What prophecy can do for us today is to show how in daily living we have set aside the biblical truths and went our own way; it can place into the foreground what we have been avoiding and burn the true way into our hearts. It can convict us of our current path and provide us with new direction; if so, other gifts will follow which will empower the new direction.
There was much more prophecy from the Lord than what we have in Scripture. The Bible itself testifies to that. Many of the prophets spent a good deal of their time giving messages of encouragement and comfort to those who were following the Lord. Some wrote books, and likely also songs, some of which are mentioned but are otherwise unknown today. Jeremiah and Ezekiel give a few glimpses into a prophet's more usual life. What the Bible holds is a record of prophecies which bore what the later Jewish community recognized as having meaning beyond its day. Even on that front, they probably left out a lot, though nothing essential.
The Old Testament prophets spoke within the context of their tradition, using the rich oral and written poetry and stories which were the common heritage of the Israelites over the millenniums since Abraham, the stuff from which our Old Testament histories and writings were made. Some of the prophets were highly-skilled wordsmiths (Habakkuk, for example) and were even first class poets (Isaiah, for example). Prophets of the Church speak within the framework of the New Testament apostolic tradition of faith (as in Romans 12:6). Thus, in both Testaments, it is the core of that tradition which can be used to measure the prophecy's value; for us, Christ and Christ's work are the core against which all prophecy is measured (1 Corinthians 12:3; Matt 7:15-20; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1-2). The gift of discernment of spirits also comes into play when judging prophecy.
PROPHECY HAS A CONTEXTProphecy is a sign of God's nearness and concern, that the Lord is still there with us to build up, tear down, or console (as per 1 Corinthians 14:3; Isaiah 40). Prophecy serves as God's way of getting through to people in a particular situation (2 Samuel 12:7; 1 Corinthians 14:24; Acts 8:30-35). It can, within that context, offer a view of what is to come -- especially if repentance is not forthcoming. This is true for societies as a whole -- the prophets and apostles of old pronounced judgement on all and called all to righteousness, even the pagans, for societal evil and injustice.Prophecy is something done within a context, the context of God's covenants with human beings, shown through the Word as revealed in Scripture. If it is not within that context and in full accord with it, it is false and not from God, and furthermore it will quite likely prove evil in its effect. What prophecy can do for us today is to show how in daily living we have set aside the biblical truths and went our own way; it can place into the foreground what we have been avoiding and burn the true way into our hearts. It can convict us of our current path and provide us with new direction; if so, other gifts will follow which will empower the new direction.There was much more prophecy from the Lord than what we have in Scripture. The Bible itself testifies to that. Many of the prophets spent a good deal of their time giving messages of encouragement and comfort to those who were following the Lord. Some wrote books, and likely also songs, some of which are mentioned but are otherwise unknown today. Jeremiah and Ezekiel give a few glimpses into a prophet's more usual life. What the Bible holds is a record of prophecies which bore what the later Jewish community recognized as having meaning beyond its day. Even on that front, they probably left out a lot, though nothing essential.The Old Testament prophets spoke within the context of their tradition, using the rich oral and written poetry and stories which were the common heritage of the Israelites over the millenniums since Abraham, the stuff from which our Old Testament histories and writings were made. Some of the prophets were highly-skilled wordsmiths (Habakkuk, for example) and were even first class poets (Isaiah, for example). Prophets of the Church speak within the framework of the New Testament apostolic tradition of faith (as in Romans 12:6). Thus, in both Testaments, it is the core of that tradition which can be used to measure the prophecy's value; for us, Christ and Christ's work are the core against which all prophecy is measured (1 Corinthians 12:3; Matt 7:15-20; 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21; 1 John 4:1-2). The gift of discernment of spirits also comes into play when judging prophecy.
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