What is a Prophet?

Just what is a prophet, today? Specifically, let me answer two questions. Are there prophets today? If there are, what is his/her ministry to edify the body of believers?

Every week I read several “prophetic posts” or maybe better “pathetic posts” that show how the heat wave in Europe, the rain in the U.S. and storms elsewhere are “God’s Wrath” being unleashed. (This article was originally written in 2002. Except the possibility of Kim Clement I can write off all the “Katrina prophets” I have heard in the same manner. None of the others really predicted anything.) I am nearly 60 years old and I could list off a litany of failed prophecies like these. So if these are pathetic, not prophetic, what is a prophet?

Let me try to answer that. I love the easy ones. Paul gave that answer in Ephesians 4:11-14, there will be a need for people who serve the church as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers “Till we all come to the unity of the faith.” In case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t made it to unity of the faith yet so I guess we need them. He also said 1Thes 5:20 “Despise not prophesying.” In 2 Tim 4:2, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” In 2 Tim 4:5 “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” I don’t give much on the titles so I don’t care if you are called a prophet, preacher or evangelist, what I care about is, “do you proclaim the word of God?” After all, that is what we do. And that is the role of the prophet.

In other places we see that also we will have and need those who work miracles and healing, debunking the teaching of the mythical and mystical five fold ministry concept which has become a stench in many churches because of the temptation to make those in it royalty not a place of service. For the most part the prophet of today is no different than the prophet of old. All too many, even in the church, hang on the prophet the name of “fore-teller” which is really more wrong than right. The Adventists are very adept at confining the prophet to this role and have a litany of failed prophecies from E. G. White and others. It is a portion of what the prophet is, possibly a minor portion. Fortune-tellers are into telling the future. The prophet is and has been the one who proclaims the Word of God be it god’s proclamation or prediction. He or she speaks the word of God for God. I am careful here to say he or she because the old and new testaments both talk of women who were prophets. The prophet may engage in some fore-telling. But it is more often just speaking God’s word and even when it is foretelling it is simply speaking God’s word. The catchy prophets in the Old Testament were the ones who for-told the future and many of their prophetic works are misunderstood, misused and used for ungodly profit today and have been for over 1000 years, possibly since the day they were written. But these were ones who spoke God’s word without favor of men. I laugh when I hear Full Gospel preachers brag about preaching the Word of God without ‘fear or favor of men’. I heard this often when I was growing up. That is generally pure bunk. Actually it is pride and boasting in self, nothing more. It sounds great. I doubt that most of them who say this have a real understanding of what that means. None I know of never allowed themselves to be put to the test. Talk is cheap. Certainly Elijah proclaimed God’s word without favor for man, he maligned the queen, but he did not escape without some fear for his life. Among those who stood tall were Samuel, Habakkuk and Elisha, to mention a few. They spoke truth. They discerned the hearts of men. To David, the prophet said, “you are the man.” To Saul he said, “When you were little in your own eyes I made you king.” To Nebuchadnezzar he said, “You are weighed in the balances and found wanting.” To Herod he said, “It is not right for you to have your brother’s wife.” Remember that if we rightly divide and correctly discern the Bible, John the Baptist is in the portion of the book called the New Testament but he is not in the New Covenant. He is a prophet under the old covenant, the law, not under the New Covenant or grace. He died before Jesus ushered in the new covenant with his death and resurrection.

These are the prophets of the Old Testament. They were not always the most beloved men. They spoke the truth. Sometimes it even seems to those who wish to keep peace in all things that the prophets speak the truth without love and there are many who believe that today. At one time I would have said I do not consider myself a prophet. I would have said my calling is that of a teacher. But I have been used by God in the capacity of a prophet at times just as I have been used at times in the capacity of a teacher. I think most of the times I filled the role of prophet (or evangelist, pastor, teacher, or apostle) it was because nobody else would be obedient. I don’t like titles so don’t call me any of them.

No, I don’t get into telling the future. Generally God hasn’t cut me in on that. And I am not sure he has with many of the others who are “predicting” because of their deplorable track record and the reproach they bring on the cause of Christ with their ideas. Most of the times I have operated in the capacity of proclaiming God’s word I have come under intense criticism. I can assure you that based on my experience, if you have not been used in this way you should get down on your knees and thank God for extending grace to you. I assure you, when you speak His word without any backing up, without straddling the proverbial fence, people will misunderstand, lash out at you, malign you and in some cases even want to do you physical harm. But then isn’t that what they did to the prophets of old? I have been there and like Elijah I have stupidly complained to God about the treatment. Yes, in the natural prophets are not necessarily the brightest bulb in the string. If they imply they are you may want to watch if there is something else they are not grasping. After I whined for a while reality set in and I asked myself, “Am I a more favorite child of His that I should expect a softer life than others who have proclaimed His word?” Should I have not remembered the song from my youth, “Must I be carried through the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others strive to win the fight and sail on bloody seas.” (’When the Battle’s Over’ by Isaicc Watts.) Oops, I missed it there. Thank God I have had but a very small taste of it. And let me be totally frank, there are times I have backed up and failed in the calling because of the fear or favor of man. I can easily connect with Elijah when he whined, “They have killed all the prophets and now they seek my life.” They have never sought my life that I am aware of but they have sought to ruin my good name. And I am reminded that God told him, “I have 7000 who are true to me, who have not kissed the altars of Baal.” I am humbled as I am firmly reminded I haven’t hit perfection. I have a way to go. And as I have come to better discern my brothers and sisters in the Lord I realize that God is telling me, “There are many alive today who have not kissed the alters of Baal. You are not alone.” Thank God there are many, I can use the support! There is a great book on Elijah, called “A man like us” if you want to see some depth on this.

There are times I have made posts here that I knew were God’s word for these groups at that time. If you want to know where they are, go back and look at the most vile and vicious retorts. In many cases these are the ones that I was most sure what I had was from God. In most cases I knew when I posted that the vicious retorts would come. And for a moment I in that sense I could for-see the future. I could see that persecution was coming. Sometimes I forget and when I see the responses I say, “Why are they attacking me?” But it is then that it comes into focus. The teacher and on occasion the prophet, the functions (not offices or titles, but places of service) I fall into the most are here to mature the body, just like the apostle, evangelist, and pastor. Actually the Pastor is there to wet nurse the ones that the evangelist has just caught. I’ve done them a few times too. And the apostle is there to pull them together and provide direction. As an aside, I am seeing more confusion than direction from many of the self- proclaimed apostles of this day. Most are more interested in and are better at accumulating titles than setting things straight. All too often these self promoted men are the root cause of the confusion. This will only change when the prophet with Godly boldness stands before some of them and says, “You are the man”, or “When you were little in your own eyes,” or “You are weighed in the balances and found wanting.” I assure you the prophet that stands (and has stood) before the erring apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher or pastor and proclaims God’s word will not be honored. I know from personal experience. I have been in the place of correcting one who claimed to be an apostle and was not. I have faced a few loose cannons who thought they were prophets. Some of them were here on the internet, several were face to face. I know first hand. This situation of royalty has been exacerbated in the church by some vile teaching in the last several years. The five fold ministry, a useful concept but not a God ordained item, has brought out a neo-royalty in the church that has caused nothing but harm. Many who are teaching that doctrine are shunning humility and heaping titles and honor on themselves. They form mutual admiration societies with other title seekers and vouch for the greatness of the other. If you are one of these title chasers let me remind you of the words of the prophet when he pronounced judgment on King Saul, “When you were little in your own eyes, I made you King over all of Israel.” If you are such, let these words from me be as the words of the prophet of old to Saul. I would have said it a little different. I would have said, “It’s time to straighten up and fly straight boy.” But I guess it is about the same.

There are many that will say the prophet ‘petered out’ when the apostles who walked with Jesus ‘petered out.’ (pun intended) But if that is the case, then explain Joel, “In the last days …. your sons and daughters will prophecy.” If you say the last days are on us then shouldn’t we be seeing the prophets? With the state of the church don’t we need prophets to proclaim the word of God, lots of them? Look at the sin the prophets of old brought to light. Is such sin not being committed today, even in the church? And look at the gender of the prophets, sons and daughters. Does not the error of women bashing in the church scream out for the prophetic correction? When will a prophet rise, stand and say to the church, “This teaching against women in leadership is un-Godly?” It is long past due. With the slicing and dicing of the word to prove pet theories when will a prophet arise in the church and say, “The perversion of my word will cease?” With those to whom ministry is a vocation and job, not a calling, when will the prophet arise and say, “There is no place for hirelings in those who proclaim my word?” With the winking at wrongdoing in churches when will the prophet arise and say, “The practice of perversion in my church must end.” It will happen when the church will hear the prophet because the prophets have arisen and made those statements. The church has all too often ignored the pure word of God and followed the flashy teachers and prophets, the ones with itching ears. It is the laity who have created the monsters who lead them to ruin. This is idolatry. It is creating other Gods and placing them before the true God.

There are even men who were apparently right with God in their lives but in their deaths they have been nearly deified. Among these are William Branham (who has a cult following that has turned his messages into pseudo-scripture with chapter and verse markings), Martin Luther and Menno Simons. Unfortunately with today’s mass media and some PR there are many lesser men who have taken on the same adoration and some of them like it. They are not far from the king who made a golden image of himself for men to worship. As an aside, did you ever wonder why he made an image, why didn’t he just have them worship him? Let me suggest he wanted them to see him as bigger than life. He was probably insecure. Check out the bigger than life men in ministry today. One thing that happens to them is a fall when their character (or better lack of it) will not support the image.

Now let me set a couple of things in order. There are many going throughout the land saying they are a prophet or apostle. And there are some who are as they say. John addressed this in Rev 2. “You have tried those who claim to be apostles and are not.” Let me assure you that pointing out those who say they are apostles or prophets and are not will not get you brownie points with most of the church. After all, some of these with self-proclaimed titles are the most revered and in some cases falsely worshipped people in church circles on a local or national level. And unfortunately many of those who are worshipped are happy to be the object of that worship and do whatever they can to have the worship continue. So when you speak out it is no different than killing a sacred cow in India. You offend the worshiper and the worshiped. Been there, done that, glad I did because I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. I will tell you doing it was not without a cost. It cost me friends and it cost relationships with people I loved. I didn’t desire that to happen, it happened. In one case I could have honored them or God. I could have set the relationship with them above God. If I respect anyone above God that’s called idolatry in scripture. I had a choice in the matter, pass or fail. They failed the test and rejected God’s correction. I decided to go for a passing grade but I will be honest, I really tried to weasel out. I told God to let someone else do it. Within two months of this decision most of the Christian friends I had deserted me, only because I refused endorse something that was grossly wrong. The pastor issued privately what amounted to a shunning order and God restrained me from leaving the church. Ironically at that time I had an opportunity to miss God. I got concrete direction from Him to remain in that local body in spite of my own desire to leave. I wanted to get out of Dodge, fast. There were figuratively bullets flying in the streets. I was finally released after fourteen months. Looking back this was a time of grace for those who were there to reconcile. God always extends grace and sometimes it is through us. As tough as it was, I am glad He restrained me. I know now that I was obedient. Had I bolted I would have never known if I short circuited the reconciliation. I now know I did not. As Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.”

In writing this I have seen that two prophetic utterances made to me came to pass with what I did. Had I listened to a prophet who was in fact fore-telling I would have known the outcome more than a year before the event. The person who rejected my word was a prophet (yes one who did at one time and still does validly speak for God both in fore-telling and forth-telling) who told me about three months before this happened that to go on with God we sometimes had to lay down relationships and friendships. I had no intent to break those relationships at the time I spoke out nor did I expect it but I had to follow God. I actually expected the correction to be accepted. Had I known the outcome my flesh would have revolted even more. This happened in 1997. I am just now (2002) seeing the relevance of her statement. Yes, this prophet was a woman. She was blind at the time to some of the things of God but her prophecy was right on the mark. Many of her prophecies were accurate. But looking back those about the church or her family were suspect at best and there have been more recent ones in the same light. But then backslidden Eli right on the mark in the book of Samuel on many things. If she had been shooting a rifle the bullet would have been in the center of the bulls eye. The prophet who said it is the one who lashed out at me and helped destroy those relationships when I called another of her actions wrong. She thought she was talking about herself and her husband in the statement about laying down relationships. Her statements at the time indicate she thought the prophecy was to them but what she prophesied happened to my wife and I. I didn’t fully see this till just recently. For me to go on with God that relationship had to be placed at risk. I did not destroy the relationship. I just followed God’s leading. The risk became reality when they rejected the correction. Let me just add here that we were on the board that advised this ministry, appointed by the pastors and were given the right to speak out if things were wrong. The initial correction was done very privately.

The other prophecy by Tom Hammon (son of Prophet Bill Hammon) came about a year before. He said that there would be those hearing him that would not accompany this local body into the new church they were planning. When he finished the pastor took the microphone and spent more time “clarifying” this prophecy than the prophecy took. He said that there would be those who out of disobedience would not go into the new church. This was not what the prophecy said. The word from God through Tom Hammon who I consider like his father one who moves accurately in proclaiming God’s word simply said some would not go to the new church. The church has been built. Some did not go. All I can think of who did not left that body because God called them elsewhere. I know of none that left out of disobedience. But disobedience was the religiously correct statement to proclaim at the time. It took the onus off the errant leaders who were even then slipping deeper into the attitude of pride. It placed that onus elsewhere. I admit that I had a funny feeling about the explanation and at the time I told my wife that the prophecy was good but the explanation was off base because God could call someone elsewhere and they would not go. My concern was not concrete. It was about the possibility of misinterpretation. If anyone left they would be looked upon as disobedient. Tongues would wag. Gossip would be generated. The “explanation” of the prophecy almost guaranteed this. I had no idea that it would be me. God has at times given me insight, but not always fully. Generally when I look back I am glad he didn’t. In not having that insight I had more freedom to follow Him. Unlike Jesus at Gethsemane I did not have the time to agonize the decision. Thank God I did not.

I counsel you if you think a prophet is false and he or she comes to your church to minister consult God before you say anything. Get His counsel. Remember you may become the proverbial skunk at the family reunion if you say anything. I say this not to deter you but to make you diligent in seeking God before you act or open your mouth. If it is right you have the choice of being obedient or popular. From experience I can tell you, popularity feels good but obedience to God is better every time. Remember Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” That is important. Don’t ask for counsel of man, not till you are sure you hear from God. Don’t let the man’s charisma sway you, let his integrity and his life with God be the guide. Don’t let his public image sway you. Seek his character; what he is when people aren’t looking. If the man is not right, the prophetic gift is not right. I could give you horror stories including one man who sent out in his mailing list an offer of a personal word from the Lord if you sent him a check for $1000. He is nationally known but I do not know if he is ministering at this time because of legal problems in his private business dealings. (As of 2006 he still is ministering and is just as adored.) Few know this but his life with his family is in shambles too. Publicly he talks a good talk about how he loves his family but in private all is not well. These all point to more cracks in character.

Several years before this another well-known prophet was ministering in our church. While he was ministering one night I got something I was sure was from the Lord. I wrote it down, handed it to our pastor and asked him to share it with the man before he left. It was a concern that he was neglecting his wife and family. He needed to scale back his ministry for a time and renew that relationship. Our pastor indicated he would share it. For some reason he didn’t. About ten months later the man’s wife had an affair with another man and our pastors were called to counsel the couple to reconciliation. The marriage was restored but I failed them. I should have done it personally. Great Man Syndrome and my fear of man caused me to be intimidated. I was disobedient to the heavenly vision.

If anyone ever NEEDS to know if a specific prophet is the one I cite here, write me. I have been close to more than a few of the big names, up close and personal. There are men and women like Chuck Clayton, Diane Palmer, Ivan Tait, Bill, Jane and Tom Hammon who I do not revere but respect because of the integrity and spirit of God and of Love they have in their lives. I have seen each of these up close and personal when they were not aware someone was looking. I remind you that character is what you are when you think no one is looking. I will freely tell you the ones that I know who have character if there is proper reason. If you have concerns, let me know why it is important for you to know and give me a name. I have a scripture-based criterion on which I will release this information but I will not share that criterion because there are some who will try to manufacture a story about the situation that fits. It is sad to say that the Church is full of those who will compromise their integrity for almost any reason. I am sure there are some who would want me to tell them a certain prophet is not what he appears to use that to make some form of grist out of it.

Let me share a couple other times God has used me in the prophetic sense. One evening we were in a training session on the prophetic, a class that was only to be open to those who were mature in the faith and in a continuing program, and for good reason. There are enough people claiming to be prophets that are not without creating more of them by punching the prophet box in their ticket by them attending a class. We had a traveling ministerial group in town, the church secretary’s daughter was in it and they were given the permission to attend. This was a violation of set rules for the class and I was concerned about that creating other problems since some of them came from backgrounds that did not recognize the prophetic as of God. I considered this a risky place to introduce them to the work of the prophet. When we were to break into groups and do an exercise at the end of the class I tried hard to avoid being placed with this group and failed. I was assigned to that group. Frankly, my attitude wasn’t right to minister to any of them and I knew it. I didn’t want to short-change someone because my head wasn’t on straight. And I assure you, it wasn’t at that time and I knew it. Let’s face it, I wanted to avoid this ministry ‘opportunity’. But let’s go back to when they came in. I was already in the elevated sound area and saw them enter. I tried hard to ignore them. Their being there was a concern to me. One of the young women caught my attention and I couldn’t get my mind off her the whole time of the class. I rarely see pictures, prophetic messages to me are usually words but that night every time I looked at her I remembered and saw the logo on the bottom of the “Little Golden Books” I read as a child. It was a little girl standing, looking at a book that was sitting open. In the logo the book towered above her. As I came down from the sound area for the exercise I prayed that God would help me get my head on right and quick. I feel we never have the right to short change our fellow believers just because we don’t have it together. When we took hands in a circle I knew why I saw the pictures, why she was there and why I was the one who was there. I was humbled by God’s presence and goodness to her, how much He obviously cared about her to create this situation and how much He loved me to allow me to bring His love to her. In spite of my hard heartedness God was faithful. The others in the group were there but she was the reason they were there that night and for a time there was only her and I in that circle. By then God showed me the sincerity and need of her heart. After we prayed I asked her if she had ever looked at the bible as being so big that she could never grasp it and related the picture. She started to cry and nodded. I started to pray again for her to have understanding. She took up the prayer when I stopped and started to pray; praying one scripture to another. She had no idea that she was doing it. God was beginning to make the scriptures she had studied and struggled with become alive to her. As they were walking away one of the other girls asked her about praying the scripture. She was unaware till she was asked.

Another time a man came in from out of town, he would not even give his name but asked if we would pray and see if God had some word for him. We put together a group of elders and went into the back room after service to pray with him. Initially I was hearing nothing from God as one by one the others were giving him great words of encouragement. Good words, but almost cookie cutter from one to the next. And about half way through this I knew this was not the only word for him. Sure he was to be encouraged but he was to be warned. When everyone finished I looked over and told him that he was making some business decisions that were important and would have long range impact. And if he made the one that would not force him to violate what he knew was right, it would be right. Everyone looked at me like the “odd man out.” It was not “in line” with the other prophecies. I turned to leave the room. When the word from God is given, it is given, done, finis. No explanation necessary. Exit prophet. Look at what happened to Saul when he tried to stop Samuel. The man called to me to wait as I was opening the door. I turned. He first asked me if I knew him. I responded, “No.” He even asked my name and where I was from and thought a while. Then he related his situation. He was trying to decide on some business opportunities. My words made him aware that one of the opportunities would likely require that he compromise his integrity. I don’t know if he ran with that word but I was obedient. I passed. That is all I can do. I hope he did. I have not seen him since.

A third time two men came into an evening service and wanted a word from the Lord. Several others did that night. We put together a group. As a sound team member someone asked me to get a tape recorder and go along. I had an uneasy feeling and really almost declined. I am pretty sure these feelings are from Satan because when they come I later look back and see that I would have erred to follow them. The group gave words to several others. These two men were the last ones. There were words of encouragement for the first man and the group went on to the second. Again there were words of encouragement. When they finished the two men exchanged glances and the one man asked if there was anything more. The group looked at each other. I turned to the elder who was leading the group. Although I was an elder who also led such groups at times I deferred to him because he was the leader that night. He was an evangelist. I was a teacher. In the church an evangelist trumps a teacher. I asked if I had the freedom to give a word to the one man and he nodded. Seriously, I find it prudent to submit to the one in authority to avoid giving Satan a foothold in these situations. It is even more important to do this if you perceive there is a problem. You really don’t need hurt feelings or a disagreement at that time. You need unity. I turned to the second man and from the Lord I told him he did not come for a word from the Lord. He had come to try the prophets. He was there to prove they were false because they would not see his improper motive for being there. He had brought the friend as a witness that this was all false. The man I gave the word to left in a huff. The other affirmed my words were right and asked for prayer. The word for him was encouragement.

Yes, I believe there are prophets today, but what I have seen tells me that one of the most important scriptures for those in leadership is the one Samuel pronounced on Saul. “When you were little in your own eyes, I made you king over Israel.” When we are little in our own eyes, “Promotion comes from the Lord.” When we get bigger in ourselves we may be able to fool the crowds, at least for a while. There are false prophets in the land today. Some of them are competing to give the “baddest prophecies” and some are doing “Christian fortune telling.” Neither are pleasing to God. This is why we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves and discern what is good and right. Ephesians 4:15 is the key of this passage. “Speaking the truth in love.” And that involves every part, not just the mythical five-fold ministry. We are to be the image of Christ. He was all five and more. And if we look at John, Peter and Paul they too were all five and more. He gave these gifts to the church, not royal titles to man.

Eph 4:11-16

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

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Other articles by Ralph Brandt

Churches That Get Government Money

Financial Help in These Trying Times

Anonymous and Irresponsible: the Radical Left

The Comparison of the Assassinations of Kennedy and Lincoln

Relationship of Church and State

An End to Complacency

I’m Going on
Compromise in the Church
Come Away My Beloved
Communion
Contradictions – Science and Religion

Christian Perspective On Hatred Feb 20, 2007