The Case for the Prophetic Ministry
BAS on: The End-Time Message • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
Text - Malachi 4.5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
Title - The Case for the Ministry of a Prophet
Background
Background
What are prophets
What are prophets
a prophet is one who speaks in behalf of God. He declares the word of God for a specific purpose in a specific time
a prophet oftentimes served as intermerdiary between God and man
The O.T. Prophets
The O.T. Prophets
some delivered God’s word
some called for repentance and a return to God
some served as intermediary and advisors
N. T. Prophets (early church)
N. T. Prophets (early church)
they existed in the early church
27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.
1 Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
32 Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.
8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.
10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
they belong to the so-called “ascension gifts”
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
they served as the foundation of the church
Q 1 - Did the prophets cease after the completion of the New Testament canon?
Q 1 - Did the prophets cease after the completion of the New Testament canon?
Common belief
because the New Testament canon has been completed (Matthew to Revelation), hence, there is no more need for further revelation
because the prophets and the apostles have finished their work in laying the foundation of the Christian faith.
because Jesus warned of “false prophets” instead.
Our Answer
The absence of prophets in the centuries preceding the time of the apostles does not mean ‘cessation’ of the prophetic ministry.
the absence of apostles and prophets during those times were caused by the ‘falling away’ of some
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,
2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
after the days of the apostles, Greek philosphies influenced many church leaders and their views on the biblical doctrine gradually changed and “went away” from true apostolic position.
one example of change
the leadership and administration of the church
bishops - from elders in the house church to leader of the church in one city, and so on…
bishops became the focus of church ministry
apostolic ministry is five-fold - Eph 4.11
The completion of the N.T. canon does not require the cessation of prophetic ministry.
the prophetic ministry is not confined to laying the foundation of church doctrines
Agabus did not lay doctrines - he warned of upcoming calamities
Silas was a preacher together with Paul and Barnabas
The warnings of Jesus against false prophets rather imply that there are true prophets from God in the church.
false prophets only exist when there is a genuine one among you.
false prophets only exist to counter the work of God
Q2 - Does the Bible speak of prophetic ministries in the end-time?
Q2 - Does the Bible speak of prophetic ministries in the end-time?
Joel’s prophecy
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
this was quoted by Peter at Pentecost
16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
Peter quoted the prophecy to refer to the promise of the outpouring of the Spirit of God
But the prophecy is far from finished or complete, because the actual focus of the prophecy is the end-time, which takes place before the great day of the LORD
God will raise up prophets in the last days as part of His end-time work
Malachi’s prophecy
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
the sending of an Elijah ministry als takes place at the end-time, right before the great day of the LORD
John’s vision
1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.
2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner.
6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
the two witnesses will minister to Israel at the same time that the temple is rebuilt
their ministry reflects that of Moses and Elijah
note - Jesus’ transfiguration, where Moses and Elijah were seen
when their work is done, the beast/antichrist kills them
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
the world rejoices at the death of the two prophets
Note - Elijah ministry will have 5 manifestations
the original Elijah
Elisha, who ministered to Elijah and later received a double portion of anointing
John the Baptist
William Branham
one of the two witnesses/prophets of Rev 11
The promised restoration work in the last days
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
the Pentecostal movement (1906) - was a restoration of the gifts to the church
The presence of “false prophets”
false prophets exist to counter the genuine work of God
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
to deceive
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
Q3 - How do we identify between a true prophet and a false prophet
Q3 - How do we identify between a true prophet and a false prophet
a true prophet’s prophecy is fulfilled
21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—
22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
a true prophet leads to true God
1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’
3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.
a true prophet lives godly
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
a true prophet acknowledges Christ’s divinity
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Prophets do exist in our days - both inside the message circle and among denominational churches
because the “rain” of the Holy Spirit has been poured out all over the world
We must learn to reconize and respect the gift and the operation of prophetic ministry
41 He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
Be ready - you may be one of those “sons and daughters” that God will use to prophesy in the last days
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.