Prophets Running Wild in Society

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Prophets Running Wild in Society

October 16, 2008, 6:00 am » John Barry

It seems there are so-called prophets running wild all over society, what are we to do with all these people? Are they all crazy? Could some of them be sane? Let's discuss the role of a prophet in society.

Throughout the Bible prophets have two roles:

To be forth telling – to critique the current generation and call them back to God
To be foretelling – to tell about future events that will happen if God's people do not come back to God (and some things that will happen either way).

Even though we often focus on the second task of the prophet (to be foretelling), this is usually a secondary task. The first role is more important. If the people change their ways, the catastrophic events to come will not happen (i.e., they are prevented by the changed hearts of God's people and God’s mercy).

A classic example of this is Jonah . Jonah prophesies that Assyria will be destroyed, but the people repent (come back to God) and Assyria is not destroyed after all. What Jonah said did not come true, but the intent and heart of his message was true – God intended to destroy the Assyrians, but He chose not to destroy them after seeing their repentant hearts.

Jonah's story makes clear that there is a measure to truth. Sometimes that measure is not always what actually occurred. The measure is really whether or not what the person said came from God, the source of truth. God then becomes the measure.

Well, what about prophecy today? I would firmly say to be very cautious about calling someone a prophet, or listening to anyone who says they are a prophet. The prophets in the Bible did not come out and say, "I am a prophet of God; therefore you have to listen to me." They simply spoke on behalf of God. This is not to say that everyone who makes these statements is completely off-base, but it is to say that we must test their words through prayer and compare their message to the Bible. There are many deceivers and false prophets out there, so be careful.

Well, what do you think? Do you think I am on the mark here? What is your measuring rod?

Tags | Life with God

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Comments

Wed, 10/15/2008 - 00:56 — John D Barry

I have Joel to thank for this post, who asked me a very insightful question on my post "Radicals, Crazies and Prophets All Claim to See God." Joel, thanks for sending me in this direction.

Sat, 10/18/2008 - 05:28 — Doc

Yes, I think you're on the mark with this. The need for prophets is less these days, because we have the Bible. Pretty much everything we need to know is there, in terms of what does God want me to do with my life. That said, occasionally over the years, it seems that God does send someone with a definite message, sometimes to draw attention to a particular passage of scripture and its implications in our lives, sometimes an application of scripture or Biblical principles in our lives.

Mon, 10/20/2008 - 02:57 — John D Barry

Doc,

Thanks for your comment; I really appreciate your feedback and interaction.

I completely agree with you that the need for prophets has drastically decreased since the Bible was canonized. Nonetheless, as you pointed out, it seems that there still need to be "voices in the wilderness" to call us back to God every now and again.

--John

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