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The Gift of Prophecy

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Summary

This section, dealing with the nature, role, and functions of prophecy/prophets, came to the following results: GOP 81.1

1. The prophetic ministry has a dual focus or two dimensions, God and fellow humans. Schnelle suggests: “First of all, they [the prophets] interpreted God’s past and future saving acts in Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 20:23; 21:4; Eph. 3:5), revealed the will of the risen Jesus for the church, and gave their testimony for Jesus (cf. Rev. 19:10).” Prophets communicate the divine message that they have received to the intended people and call them to repentance and a life with God. Their ministry includes also rebuke, admonition, encouragement, comfort, and presenting hope; but it is not limited to “pastoral” aspects. Typically, elements of predictive prophecy are part of the prophetic ministry so that by pointing to the future kingdom of God prophets would instill hope into their audience. GOP 81.2

2. Although there is a common denominator between prophets (see section 1 of this summary), there are still differences between them, e.g., in gender, in the scope of their ministry, and in the way audiences are addressed (e.g., literary genres). GOP 81.3

3. Distinctions between so-called congregational prophets and full-fledged prophets seem to be artificial and should not be made. There seems to be one basic type of prophecy throughout Old Testament and New Testament times. GOP 81.4

4. To apply the term “ecstasy” to prophets that receive divine revelations may not do justice to their experience. It triggers false connotations. Definitions of ecstasy vary and are not derived from Scripture. Prophets are conscious of their supernatural experience and are able to communicate their messages, even though it is sometimes difficult to describe heavenly reality with human words. GOP 81.5

5. There is basic permanence of the prophetic gift that will come to an end only with Christ’s second coming, when the indirect communication of the believer with God will be replaced by a face to face encounter. This will make obsolete the gift of prophecy. GOP 81.6