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[person] if he were a prophet” (Luke 7:39), so that as far as we know he made no progress spiritually.
Neither did those who said “no prophet arises out of Galilee” (John 7:52).

It may be noted that Jesus Christ who was the Prophet and the Teacher when on earth, after He had left this scene and ascended on high gave the assembly prophets and teachers and other gifts (Ephesians 4:11). We therefore find at Antioch prophets and teachers (Acts 13:1). Note particularly that they are spoken of in the plural. The question is do we have them today ? The answer is we have them if we have them. There must be evidence of such gifts, and not merely the assertion that we have them. We may have persons who teach, but have they really the gift of teaching and not merely natural ability backed up by a knowledge of biblical doctrine, however obtained ?

Note that there were prophetesses as well as prophets in the New Testament as well as in the Old. There were at least five in the New Testament. It is clearly intended that women should prophesy as well as men, as we see from Peter’s quotation in Acts 2:17/18. Paul also assumes that women may prophecy - see 1 Corinthians 11:5. There were clearly also prophets who prophesied in the power of a spirit other than the Holy Spirit in New Testament days (Acts 16:16). God also can use persons who are unbelievers to prophesy (John 11:51). Consider also Balaam in the Old Testament.

It may be noted that prophecy is more prominent in the Old Testament and teaching in the New.

Maybe this is because the Old Testament looked to the future, that is, to the coming of the Lord

whereas the Lord has now come (his first coming) and therefore we already have all things told out

and it is a question of learning them: “When he (Christ) comes he will tell us all things” (John 4:25).

See also John 16:12-15. This last passage indicates that not everything came out in Christ’s life here;

there was more to come. We get these further revelations in Paul’s ministry, but he completed the

word of God (Colossians 1:25). It may be mentioned that many of the prophecy references in the New

Testament are to Old Testament prophets or prophecy, though by no means all. Christ said “the law

and the prophets [were] until John” (Luke 16:16), indicating that there was a change after that.

February 2005

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