Prophecy today compared with Old Testament Prophecy
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| Plate from America a Prophecy, copy A, in the collection of the Morgan Library. Relief etching with hand coloring and white line etching. Leaf size approx. 32 x 24 cm (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Paul thought of prophecy at Corinth as something different than the prophecy we see, in Revelation or in many parts of the Old Testament. There, a divine authority of actual words is claimed by or on behalf of the prophets. But the prophecy we find in 1 Corinthians only gives a kind of divine authority of general content. The prophet could err, could misinterpret, and could be questioned or challenged at any point. The prophecy must be judged. The prophecy is of a minor kind of “divine” authority, but it certainly was not absolute.
In the NT, the counterpart of the OT prophets are the apostles, and not the NT prophets. Those who are viewed as divinely authoritative messengers in the NT are most often called not “prophets” but “apostles.” This is significant because if the NT apostles are frequently seen as the counterparts to the OT prophets, then NT prophets might often be something quite different. If this position is accepted, then changes must be made in the thinking of Pentecostals. The pentecostal would need to stop using a “Thus says the Lord” introduction to their prophesying, since, this kind of “authority of words” prophecy is limited to the OT prophets and NT apostles. A more humble, “I feel the Lord has shown me...”, would be more appropriate to the status of NT prophets.
Those who hold a strong view of the completion of Revelation (the Bible) would now be free to accept the ongoing, less authoritative nature of NT prophecy without feeling that the finality and supremacy of the NT scriptures are being threatened.
I am arguing for non-authoritative congregational NT prophecy (as opposed to OT/apostolic authoritative prophecy), because in 1 Cor. 14:29 Paul instructs them, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.”
One can conclude that 1 Cor. 14:29 indicates that the whole congregation would listen and evaluate what was said by the prophet, forming opinions about it, and some would perhaps discuss it publicly. Each prophecy might have both true and false elements in it...Now this process is understandable only if there is a difference in the kind of speech envisioned by the OT and that in 1 Corinthians.
The OT prophets claimed to be speaking God’s very words. But it is inconceivable that Paul or the Corinthians thought that God’s words needed to be evaluated to see whether or not they were true or useful. So the prophets at Corinth must not have been thought to speak with a divine authority of actual words, but rather with just a divine authority of general content, which made the prophecies subject to evaluation and questioning at every point.
When we read 1 Cor. 14:29, we see that vs. 30 supports the view of “revelation which is lightly esteemed”. Paul writes, “But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, and all may be encouraged” (14:30, 31). This command for the first prophet to be silent could result in his prophecy being lost forever and never heard by the church. Given the problems with carnality and confusion that were present at the Corinthian assemblies, we should not be surprised to find instructions regarding the importance of orderly submission to one another.
In the NT, the counterpart of the OT prophets are the apostles, and not the NT prophets. Those who are viewed as divinely authoritative messengers in the NT are most often called not “prophets” but “apostles.” This is significant because if the NT apostles are frequently seen as the counterparts to the OT prophets, then NT prophets might often be something quite different. If this position is accepted, then changes must be made in the thinking of Pentecostals. The pentecostal would need to stop using a “Thus says the Lord” introduction to their prophesying, since, this kind of “authority of words” prophecy is limited to the OT prophets and NT apostles. A more humble, “I feel the Lord has shown me...”, would be more appropriate to the status of NT prophets.
Those who hold a strong view of the completion of Revelation (the Bible) would now be free to accept the ongoing, less authoritative nature of NT prophecy without feeling that the finality and supremacy of the NT scriptures are being threatened.
I am arguing for non-authoritative congregational NT prophecy (as opposed to OT/apostolic authoritative prophecy), because in 1 Cor. 14:29 Paul instructs them, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge.”
One can conclude that 1 Cor. 14:29 indicates that the whole congregation would listen and evaluate what was said by the prophet, forming opinions about it, and some would perhaps discuss it publicly. Each prophecy might have both true and false elements in it...Now this process is understandable only if there is a difference in the kind of speech envisioned by the OT and that in 1 Corinthians.
The OT prophets claimed to be speaking God’s very words. But it is inconceivable that Paul or the Corinthians thought that God’s words needed to be evaluated to see whether or not they were true or useful. So the prophets at Corinth must not have been thought to speak with a divine authority of actual words, but rather with just a divine authority of general content, which made the prophecies subject to evaluation and questioning at every point.
When we read 1 Cor. 14:29, we see that vs. 30 supports the view of “revelation which is lightly esteemed”. Paul writes, “But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, and all may be encouraged” (14:30, 31). This command for the first prophet to be silent could result in his prophecy being lost forever and never heard by the church. Given the problems with carnality and confusion that were present at the Corinthian assemblies, we should not be surprised to find instructions regarding the importance of orderly submission to one another.
