The prophetic role of the Christian church
Posted July 6, 2018: Another view of the End Times timeline from Israel End Times calendar
Another update: April 23 came and went April 23 debunked in the past
Update: We are not on a collision source with "Planet-X". NASA says this planet, also called #Nibiru, does not exist. The world will not end on April 23. No Planet-X or Nibiru
Diana Washington Valdez
Another update: April 23 came and went April 23 debunked in the past
Update: We are not on a collision source with "Planet-X". NASA says this planet, also called #Nibiru, does not exist. The world will not end on April 23. No Planet-X or Nibiru
Diana Washington Valdez
Faith Today Christian
Ministries
The sometimes maligned and often misunderstood role of
the prophet in the Christian community
Are there any modern-day prophets in the White House board
of spiritual advisers? [1]
Who would want to be a prophet after reading about
their lives in the Old and New Testaments? Men like Jeremiah, who spent his
life obeying God’s messages to the Israelites to repent and return to the Lord.
Jeremiah was beaten and jailed, and his messages went mostly unheeded. And,
there was no end to the false prophets who kept predicting the rosy but fake
news that everything was going to be all right. [Books of Jeremiah and
Lamentations.]
Daniel, another prophet and a contemporary of
Jeremiah, had it a little better. He served in the administrations of pagan
kings after his people were taken captive. He had good jobs, but he was a
prisoner like the rest. Ezekiel, another contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel,
and who was among the Israelites held in Babylonian captivity, received
spectacular visions from the Lord; and he wasn’t too popular either. [Books of
Daniel and Ezekiel]
There was Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who tried to
flee from his calling. Hard as he tried, perhaps he couldn’t outrun his divinely-appointed
mission at all. [Romans 11:29 “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”]
Jonah ended up in the mouth of a whale, after his ship sank at sea. [Book of
Jonah]
The giant mammal that swallowed his body spat him out three
days later a beach; and then the Lord instructed him to warn the people of
Nineveh that destruction was upon them if they failed to repent. [2] Well, the
Ninevites listened, repented, and the Lord spared them. Jonah, who was given to
sulking, seemed eager to see them wiped off the face of the Earth, if only to prove
that he was a real prophet. [Book of Jonah] Back then, stoning was the penalty
for prophesying falsehoods.
There was also Nathan, the prophet who confronted King
David about his adultery and arrangement to have Bathsheba’s husband killed in
battle to cover her pregnancy by David. In this case, David accepted his guilt
and repented; and God forgave him. Because of his sincere repentance, the man
after God’s own heart was restored [Psalm 23: He restores my soul]. As far as
we can tell, Nathan continued to serve King David’s court. [1 Kings and 1
Samuel]
According to
the New Testament, it did not go well for John the Baptist, a relative of Jesus
who baptized Jesus Christ at the Jordan River. Like the prophets of the Old
Testament before him, John confronted the corrupt clergy and civil authorities
of his day. He did this for God’s people to continue to receive the protections
and blessings of God. He understood that a holy God cannot abide willfully
sinful and faithless lives. That is no different today.
We know how it ended for John. He was beheaded on the
orders of Herod, a client king of the Roman Empire [Matthew 14; Mark 6].
Did John get off track? Did he get carried away?
Jesus, after he was notified about John’s ignominious death, praised the
passionate prophet:
Matthew
11:11[a] “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not
risen one greater than John the Baptist;” (NKJV).
Did Old Testament prophets include flawed humans? Yes.
The best known one is Samson, who was endowed with Herculean strength. He
fumbled because of his weakness and lust for unspiritual women (Delilah), but
there is no doubt he had a divine calling and mission [Judges 13-16].
Although they are not mentioned in large numbers, the
Bible also included the names of several women prophets: Huldah, a relative of
Jeremiah’s [2 Chronicles 34]; Deborah, a judge and prophetess [Judges 4];
Miriam [Exodus 15]; Noadiah [Nehemiah 6]; Anna [Luke 36-New Testament]. Here a
link to an informative study by Dr. Claude Mariottini on women prophets of the Old Testament: Women prophets
Are prophets for today? Yes. Should they confront
corrupt spiritual and civil leaders? If they are led by God to do so, yes.
Although the Bible tells us everything we need to know
about salvation, someone with a prophetic calling or spiritual gift of prophecy
may receive a message from God about someone or something that is destined for
believers and or people in authority. If the message is not a popular one, then
the prophet (messenger) may not be well received. But a real prophet is not
concerned with popularity. His mission is to obey God and deliver the messages
as he or she perceives them to be, and preferably only under the unction of the
Holy Spirit.
A Biblical
exhortation
“Woe to those
who evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for
darkness…” Isaiah 5:20 (NIV).
Followers of Jesus Christ are not to ignore corruption,
wherever it may exist, and especially in their nations and communities. A
mature and experienced prophet will be able to deliver a message that, to use a
modern term, is spot on. He or she is not pursuing Facebook “likes.” The
prophetic role is not one relegated to individuals alone. The church in
general, which is supposed to operate as salt and light, has a prophetic role
to believers and to the world.
It is interesting that the three major faiths in the
world Christianity, Judaism and Islam recognized the major Old Testament
prophets mentioned here: Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel. They also acknowledged
that Isaiah was a divinely called prophet, who was said to be a teacher of Jeremiah.
Modern Christianity is divided over whether to accept
that idea that the Holy Spirit still endows believers with the gift of
prophecy, or whether God calls some believers to function in a largely prophetic
role (office of prophet). I believe the scriptures support both ideas; in
addition, the church universal is expected to operate in this general role.
This failed to happen during the events in Germany
that led to the Holocaust, and to slavery in the United States and in other
countries under the control of the former British Empire. The systematic extermination
of Native Americans was also a national sin in the United States. The church
was either silent or actively complicity in these injustices. We will give an
account for all of them.
Much has been said about the evangelists, ministers other
spiritual advisers that U.S. President Donald Trump is said to consult at times.
Among those who were named to the White House informally as evangelical advisers are/were Joel Osteen, Paula White, James Dobson, Tony Suarez, Kenneth and
Gloria Copeland, Michele Bachmann and Ralph Reed. Several other members who
disagreed with the president’s policies resigned, and others remained. I
believe most of the members were chosen because White House political
operatives viewed them as influencers of large audiences (including the
televangelists and pastors of mega churches). We can bet that Jeremiah and John
the Baptist would have been unlikely candidates for consideration.
Resignations, well OK, but we are left wondering
whether any of these evangelicals (relatively few women and minorities were
included) was ever led to communicate to the president that he needed to change
some things to align himself with the scriptures. The president’s persistent pattern
of lying (it is a matter of public record), and his tendency to attack
perceived foes and entire population segments, to include immigrants, with hurtful
insults, for example, should have been confronted head on.
The president is free to ignore such “advisories,” but
it was and is the duty of those with access to him to advise him according to the
precepts of the Bible. If we are to enjoy the blessings and protection of God,
then we must also obey his commands, from the president on down. It was no
different in the days of King David and it is no different today. [Deuteronomy 30:15-20]
Ministers like Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr.,
who on social media keep acting as cheerleaders for the president, do him and
the rest of the nation a disservice. We can call them out on this. We are not
to judge what is in the hearts of men and women, only God can do this [1], but
we can judge their actions and words. We can debate these matters openly, and
take a stand, such as on immigration policies. We can also pray and intercede
for our political and government leaders, as the Bible commands us to do so;
and we must approach this role with great humility.
Christians with a prophetic calling have an awesome
responsibility. They must wield their tools very carefully. They are not given
carte blanche. God punished Miriam for criticizing Moses’ choice for a wife [Numbers
12:1-15]. [1 Chronicles 16:22 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no
harm” (NIV)].
Prophets, when issuing what amounts to only a sharp rebuke,
can inflict great pain and harm on others if their messages are not delivered
in love. They must resist the temptation to use a spiritual sword that cuts
through to others. There may be a time for this, but God in his sovereignty is the
one who decides when and where and how. [1 Corinthians 13:2 “If I have the gift
of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and
if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. (NIV), and 1 Corinthians 14:32 “The spirits of prophets are subject to
the control of prophets” (NIV)].
More prophesying to come
When prophets have a message that foretells a future
event, they can confirm or discount the prompting through cross-checking with
others who also have a prophetic calling. [Amos 3:7 “Surely the Sovereign Lord
does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets” (NIV)].
In summary, prophets have the responsibility to ensure their messages are
accurate, whether they are intended to edify the body of believers, or at
times, to issue broader warnings and exhortations.
It appears, from the Old Testament Book of Joel and
the New Testament Book of Acts, that as we near the season of the “end times,”
the Lord plans to pour out his Spirit in a broader way, which will result in
more, not fewer, prophetic or divinely inspired messages.
“‘In the last
days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will
dream dreams.” Acts 2:17 (NIV)
“And
afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters
will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
(29) Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in
those days.” Joel:28-29 (NIV)
Diana Washington Valdez is an ordained minister and a journalist, author and educator.
Notes
[1] The White House called on more than 20
evangelicals to informally advise President Donald Trump during and after his
2016 campaign.
[2] Perry Stone, who teaches on Bible prophecy, asserts that Jonah drowned (died), that his body was
preserved by a giant mammal, and that the Lord revived him to carry out his
mission. In this manner, Stone says, the account foreshadows the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
[3] Judging the heart is up to God. 1 Corinthians 4:5
[4] The Apostle Paul’s view on the gift of prophecy. 1
Corinthians 14:5
