The Gift of Prophecy

Part I—Biblical Studies

Chapter 1 — The Prophetic Voice in the Old Testament: An Overview

Jiří Moskala

The phenomenon of prophecy in the Old Testament appears after the Fall (Gen. 3:1-6), when human beings lost face-to-face relationship with God, and it began with God’s pronouncement of the proto-gospel, or “First Gospel” (verse 15). ¹ This astounding proclamation of God’s determination to send the Seed and defeat the serpent (Satan) in order to secure humanity’s redemption is the foundation and key for the recognition of the prophetic voice in the Old Testament. This divine statement makes a difference for the whole history of humanity— their salvation and the defeat of evil—and is expressed in the context of the great controversy when God stated: “I will put enmity” ² between the forces of good and evil. This soteriological announcement is a divine order of future events focused on God’s activity and the fulfillment of His promise. GOP 13.1

God is the only source of the gift of prophecy, and it is not an invention by godly people. Prophets could not initiate this process, but were led by the Spirit of God in order to prophesy (1 Pet. 1:19-21). Revelation and inspiration comes to the prophets by the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit, and this is why their words were considered to be of divine origin (Num. 24:1, 2, 13; 2 Sam. 23:2; Neh. 9:30; Eze. 11:24; Mic. 3:8; Zech. 7:12). God communicates His message by using various means to reveal His truth, such as dreams, visions, or dialogues (Gen. 15:12, 13; Dan. 2:19; 7:1, 2; Hab. 1:2-2:2; Heb. 1:1, 2). Simply stated, true prophecy is the “human transmission of . . . divine messages.” ³ GOP 13.2

It is interesting to observe that Old Testament prophets play a dominant role in Old Testament history, ⁴ and their books “take up as much space in the Bible as the entire New Testament.” ⁵ Martti Nissinen explains: “The huge process of collecting, editing, and interpreting prophecy that took place as a part of the formation of the Hebrew Bible was virtually without precedent in the rest of the ancient Near East.” ⁶ This is why John Oswalt concludes that “the biblical books of prophecy are sui generis, one of a kind.” ⁷ Their role is well summarized by the inspired historian in the following way: “The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: ‘Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets’ ” (2 Kings 17:13). GOP 13.3

Kenton Sparks states that “apart from the Hebrew Bible, prophecies from the ancient Near East are few.” ⁸ Historical records reveal that they were transmitted by divination or consulting omens, and usually uttered in a trance. In Egypt, “prophets” were employed as priests, using different magical practices to provide the pharaohs with information. In the Greek world mantic puzzling utterances had to be interpreted by someone else. In Mesopotamia the prophets were more political figures in the service of the king, thus securing the royal institution. ⁹ GOP 14.1

On the other hand, prophets in Israel had different roles. They were servants of God (Amos 3:7) with their ministry built on the revealed Word of God (Amos speaks about sod, namely, “secrets,” “counsel,” or “confidential things” exposed by God) and announced with an authority that came from God. Thus, they were not possessed by God but inspired by Him (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) and proclaimed God’s Word to people, at times rebuking even kings and priests (1 Sam. 3:15-18; 13:10-14; 2 Sam. 12:1-14). They struggled with false prophets (e.g., see Jer. 28:10-17; Eze. 13:1-23), but their unique role was to call people to repentance and to renew a close relationship with their living Lord (Eze. 18:30-32; Joel 2:12, 13; Amos 5:4, 6, 14, 15). John Oswalt underlines the uniqueness of God’s prophets in delivering their message: “There is no record of a Hebrew prophet’s message requiring confirmation through divination.” ¹⁰ GOP 15.1

The phenomenon of prophecy cannot be separated from the prophetic role and function. It is indispensable to see both issues together, because the prophetic gift does not come in a vacuum and is always carried by people (with the exception of Balaam’s donkey—see Num. 22:21-33). Being and function cannot be dissected and separated; they belong together. GOP 15.2