What is the purpose of prophecy in the Church Age?

A great benefit to the church as well as a great burden.

My Experience with Prophecy

Prophecy is a mystery that many do not understand or experience. The Apostle Paul gives a great summary of the New Testament prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14:3, where he indicates the gift of prophecy edifies, comforts, and exhorts. This, however, isn’t all that prophecy does! Paul further indicates that prophecy reveals hidden secrets.[1] 

One of the best examples of this is found in 2 Samuel 12; 1–15, where Nathan the prophet confronts David in regard to his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. David hid this sin, thinking he could stay ahead of it. He attempted to clean his tracks when he learned of her pregnancy by having the husband of Bathsheba killed.[2] 

Afterwards, he married her to make it appear that the pregnancy occurred during their marriage and not by adultery.

Nathan, being a prophet of God, knew what David had done and went to confront David. Worse, he presented a case for David as king to judge which was symbolic of David’s sin. David condemned the individual Nathan provided not knowing he was condemning himself.

It was then that Nathan called David out.

There is much learning in this case, including that while God forgave David upon confession, Nathan told him that the sword would never leave his house. Peace was removed from David and his Kingdom as sin has consequences.

In the New Testament, we see prophecy at work in the life of Agabus in Acts 21:10–13, where he tells Paul he will be handed over to the Gentiles if he proceeds to go to Jerusalem. In this case, Paul himself was under the conviction of the Spirit that he had to go despite the warning. We see other acts of Agabus as a prophet in Acts 11: 27–30.

Imagine having someone in your local congregation with such a gift? How difficult would it be to hide sins in our lives when someone could see us for who we really are?

This gift is indeed a great benefit to the church as well as a great burden for the prophet. It can also be terrible for a church leader or member to be called out. I myself has faced such a dilemma.

My Calling Out By Prophecy

Being a member of a church has proven difficult for me. It seems that after a period, I wind up in conflict with the leadership, or they have conflict with me. I usually start to teach Bible classes, and while popular, somehow, what I say or even my presence causes distress. It is not a doctrinal issue, but I often get a sense of unease after a time.

One such occurrence happened when me, my wife and family, joined a small Evangelical church. Shortly after, I felt totally at home and was brought on the ministerial staff as the adult Bible teacher. I enjoyed this position and was occasionally asked to deliver the sermon before the assembly. I had a good relationship with the pastor and head deacon, and enjoyed regular meetings and morning coffee.

Within the first year of my working with the church, the pastor was accused of financial impropriety and, after an investigation, was told to leave. A vacuum in leadership resulted, and I was asked to fill in as head of the regular service. After a month, I was preaching and providing most of the adult bible classes. I was also being courted to consider becoming a full-time pastor. I had previously served as an assistant pastor in a different denomination and was ordained in the Baptist faith during my seminary days.

This was a difficult period as I worked full-time in another town. I was stretched, but was compelled to continue as I felt God was behind my calling. I thought about leaving my job to pursue the call. It was then that the church invited a respected evangelist to speak.

This evangelist was physically blind and thought of as a prophet. I was coincidentally teaching about the gift of prophecy and had reached the point of discussing the risks of false prophecy.

When the evangelist arrived, he stayed at the home of one of the senior church members, and I received a call to meet with him. I had no idea why the meeting was called and had to shift my schedule to attend. The evangelist was quiet during the meeting, but asked a few probing questions about my faith and purpose. He listened intently and probed me to continue my responses. He seemed okay with my reactions, given the body language I observed, and I departed with no further clarity behind the meeting.

During central worship the following Sunday, the evangelist was the featured speaker, and he called me up to the pulpit to stand at his side. I wondered what was occurring and had hoped to receive his approval for my ministry. Instead, the evangelist-prophet declared that I was not to become the congregation’s pastor but needed to focus on my marriage at home.

I was astonished, humiliated, and furious! All the sacrifices I made for that church and this is how I’m treated! I did not even receive the Christian courtesy of a private meeting before being publicly shamed in front of the congregation. The assembly started to praise the prophetic message as I licked my wounded ego and departed out the back door. I never returned.

I did not see how my marriage was implicated. My wife and I seemed to be doing well. We both engaged in the ministry of that local congregation, and I felt we were on the same page. I was angry with what I believed at the time, it was a false prophecy.

It’s hard sometimes to see the truth when invested emotionally and extremely busy. It took some years and a subsequent divorce to convince me the prophet had been correct. I wasn’t called for that ministry; it was my ego combined with a sudden opportunity. While I felt I had been set up, the truth was that the ministry opportunity itself was my setup. It stroked my ego to be needed but closed my eyes to other urgent matters.

Over the years, I have learned to respect prophetic gifts when employed with humility. It would have been more appropriate for the prophet to speak with me in private before announcing it to the entire assembly, but I do not question the conclusion. I should have listened then and taken more care of my personal life. Still, it may not have helped me even if I had taken the prophet’s advice.

Prophecy reveals hidden truths, and that is precisely what it is meant to do.

It’s not all about the future but about clarifying what is occurring now that may become a problem for the individual and the church. It alerts the church and its members to make corrections before issues get out of control, creating an opportunity for Satan. This is part of dynamic worship that is woefully missing in many churches. We can quickly become blindsided without careful guidance from the Holy Spirit.

© Bob Russell

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Sources & References:

[1] 1 Corinthians 14: 24–25

[2] 2 Samuel 11: 14–26