Is prophecy for today?

The primary purpose of Old Covenant predictive prophecy was not to authenticate the prophet. If the prediction came true that did show the man to have heard from God. The primary purpose of prophecy and predictive prophecy then was to lead the people who would hear it to KNOW that Jehovah the Lord IS THE LORD. It was to warn them that things would come because of their sins, and it was to comfort and encourage them in their lives to be faithful and obedient and bless them with the expectation of the future they would enjoy. I don’t think this has changed much, yet we do CERTAINLY know that Jesus is THE Prophet of prophets, the one who Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

 Today we make much of the prophecy of Joel, which was reiterated by Peter at pentecost (Shavuot):

Joel 2
27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

29 and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.

30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh.

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.

I included verse 27 so we could see the result God desired for what was perviously prophesied for the remnant of Israel:

“ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and my people shall never be put to shame.”

There it is, God sends prophets so that the people will KNOW Him, and what He is doing, and what He will do. 

Verses 28 to 32 speak to our time. Or do they? That is the controversy regarding prophecy today. CERTAINLY they speak to the day of pentecost on which Peter quoted Joel’s prophetic word. For there on that day the Holy Spirit WAS poured out. Jesus had instructed them to wait for Him and for His power from on high. He came! "Veni, vidi, vici!” 

But is prophecy for today, are prophets still given as gifts to the church? 

Ephesians 4:11-16

11 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:

13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14 that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;

15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ;

16 from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.

Numbers 11:24-29

24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of Jehovah: and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the Tent.

25 And Jehovah came down in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.

26 But there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the Spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but had not gone out unto the Tent; and they prophesied in the camp.

27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

29 And Moses said unto him, Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!

1 Samuel 10:10-12

10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

12 And one of the same place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Acts 2:16-21

16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams;

18 even on my male servants and female servants

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

20 the sun shall be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood,

    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Acts 2:16-21

16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    and your young men shall see visions,

    and your old men shall dream dreams;

18 even on my male servants and female servants

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

20 the sun shall be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood,

    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

WHY would God have stopped giving prophets, or gifts of prophecies via the sons and daughters of Israel and their servants? And WHY would we dare to forbid them? The purpose of prophecy is to warn, to encourage and has been to predict future events. I can see something in the teaching that no future predictions of events are needed. We have enough prophecy in the Bible to communicate to those unaware. But I can’t understand how a gift that is given to build and equip God’s church can be declared as eliminated on the basis of one scripture passage. (1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.) I think it may be that we do not have many prophets after the apostles died because the church rapidly apostatized  into the whore of Babylon. If that shakes you up, good. I think it is so! 

Revelation 19:9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  “

…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.

Do you have a word of testimony? I pray you do! It is an overcoming testimony and defeats satan, for the testimony of God’s people is that by the grace of God which is the blood and death and rising of Jesus they do escape the destiny of satan and receive in the Messiah everlasting life! Is that testimony prophecy? Is your testimony predictive of your future? I pray it is predictive even if you don’t call it prophetic. 

Numbers 11:29 And Moses said unto him (Joshua), Art thou jealous for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!