What is Prophetic Ministry? Is it Biblical?

Scripturally, prophecy reveals God’s will, calls his people to repentance, and foretells future events. Biblical prophecy doesn’t only predict what’s to come. At the core, it hears God’s voice and repeats his messages to the people. Prophecy serves several purposes—declaring truth, warning of consequences, and offering eternal hope. Prophets act as God’s messengers, much like angels communicate the words of God with authority. When prophets speak correctly, it is as if God were speaking. The Hebrew word for prophecy is naba, meaning “to speak by divine inspiration” or “to declare a message from God.” The New Testament uses the Greek word propheteuo, which translates as “to speak forth” or “to proclaim God’s truth.” In the Old Testament, people like Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah acted as God’s messengers, always urging Israel to follow God’s commands. Their oracles included warnings in the immediate context and the long term. Isaiah talks about the coming Messiah, and Jeremiah warns about Jerusalem’s destruction because of their idolatry and rebellion against God. The prophets cry against idolatry and injustice, calling people to repent and return to right worship of God alone in heart, word, and deed.Prophecy also spoke of God’s redemptive plan. Along with the Messiah being a suffering servant (Isaiah 53) and the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), the Old Testament prophets begin writing about a return to Jerusalem in a new kingdom of peace and abundance. This new Jerusalem included all nations.Each of the four Gospels in the New Testament begins with a prophet, John the Baptist, who prepares the way for Jesus. John the Baptist is himself a fulfillment of Malachi in the Old Testament. The Gospel stories transition to Jesus, who also spoke prophetically through teaching and prediction. He declared the arrival and coming of God’s kingdom, predicted his death and resurrection, and warned of the end times.Prophecy—declaring the message of God—stands at the heart of the whole Bible, a divinely inspired collection of writings. The apostles wrote about prophets in Acts and themselves guided the early church by giving messages inspired by the Spirit. The book of Revelation contains further prophetic visions about Jesus’ return and the final fulfillment of God’s eternal kingdom.God’s thoughts and ways are so far removed from humanity that we can’t reach his heart and mind on our own, nor can we hear his voice to follow him and have a relationship with him. The Father must reveal himself willingly and intentionally to give people his messages and correction to life and salvation. Prophecy runs through the whole Bible, in one way or another, and undergirds the very authority of the written Word. It shows us his love and desire to have a real relationship with us. And it also demonstrates how he seeks to partner with humanity in his redemptive plan.Photo credit: ©GettyImages/artisteer