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The Purpose of a Prophet
“. . . foretelling the future was not the
most important immediate purpose of the rise of a prophet.Preservation,
repentance, and perfecting far outweighed the necessity of
knowing about distant future events that possibly wouldn’t even occur until
long after the prophet’s listeners had died.”
Despite the potential danger of false prophets arising on the
scene, the Lord knew that the work of the coming true prophets would be sorely
needed.
More than anything, the inspired words of the prophets served to
disciple and teach God’s people how to follow Him.
The purpose of a prophet and their writings also had a timeless
quality. Their words not only had importance in the time in which they
lived, they also became critical guidelines for the survival of God’s people in
future ages.
Sometimes we mistakenly get the impression that the prophetic
parts of the Bible were written solely for the people in ancient times, when in
reality believers throughout history could read a prophet’s words and obtain
benefit from them.
Unfortunately with the
passage of time, those same words that were at first fresh and alive, all too
quickly were forgotten or overlooked by subsequent generations.
Perhaps the saddest parts of
the entire Bible consist of the record of how the once faithful people of God
began to fall away to the point of utter disbelief.
Again and again, story after
story documents the evil practices of the people who were supposed to be
righteous.
Some would say that the New
Testament followers of Jesus were relatively immune to this tendency, but one
look at chapters 3 and 4 of Revelation paints an entirely different
picture.
Of the seven churches that
Jesus commanded John to send his words, five of them already had the seeds of
disbelief growing within them.
Those five represented
churches that were established in the age of the Apostles, only a scant
generation away from the time of Jesus himself.
Yet Jesus reveals that they
were involved with everything from immorality to the evil practices of Satan
himself.
Only one of these churches,
the Philadelphian, is given praise without any mention of faults.
So what turns the tide of unbelief once it gets started?
The ministry of a prophet.
If God did not raise up a man
to be a prophet right at the crucial moment when his people began to wander
away from him into sin and evil, no one would be left to follow him
today.
The
book of Judges is a perfect example of this concept. Time after time we
are told….”And the children of Israel did
evil again in the sight of the Lord.”
Every major section within Judges
begins with this kind of statement, and invariably ends in the rise of a great
leader or “judge” sent by the Lord to turn the people back to him in
faith.
The purpose of these special
prophets was for the preservation of
the people of God. These words can be found in the book of Hosea to
illustrate this principle:
“I have also spoken by
the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the
ministry of the prophets.
“And by a prophet the
Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.” (Hosea
12:10,13)
The story of the nation of Israel is one of constant backsliding
and sinfulness, which the Lord continually had to judge.
At the same time, however,
God always provided through his mercy a way for them to come back.
He became like a father in
disciplining his children, loving them in every way, but not willing that they
should continue to do evil.
In Jeremiah he makes this
very plain:
“I have spoken unto
you, rising early and speaking, but ye have not hearkened.
“And the Lord hath
sent unto you all his servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them,
but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.
“They said, Turn again
now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doing, and dwell in
the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers forever and
ever;
“And go not after
other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with
the works of your hands, and I will do you no harm.” (Jeremiah
25:3b-6)
In order to preserve what good was left among the nation of
Israel, it was often necessary for the prophets to encourage the people to turn
away from all their sinful ways.
Thus, the preaching of repentance became
a second major purpose of a prophet’s work. Repentance merely means to have a
change of heart and attitude.
Biblically, the process
refers to turning away from doing what is wrong and beginning to do what is
right. Every prophet of God no matter in what age he lived always had this
characteristic message as an integral part of his words.
In fact, the prophet who
heralded the first coming of Christ preached his only recorded message on this
one subject alone.
John
the Baptist cried out to his countrymen, “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Later, even Jesus echoed
these very words when he first preached in the region of Galilee (compare Matthew 3:2 with Matthew 4:17).
The concept of repentance is critically important to
understand. No one can approach God and be forgiven for sins if they did
not first have the willingness to turn away from evil.
That’s why both John and
Jesus preached repentance before anything else. They realized that unless
their listeners obeyed them in this one basic point, nothing more they could
say would make any difference in their standing with God.
Do not be deceived. No
man can obtain the true blessings of the Lord without wanting to do what is
right.
In reality, however, the very
process of following the Lord naturally promotes repentance. The goodness of
God does not allow him to tolerate evil for long.
That’s why the most prominent
message found in the prophetic scriptures relates to repentance.
The preaching of repentance shows that the Lord truly cares
about the fate of every person that has ever lived or ever will live, more so
than we could possibly imagine.
However, the message of a
prophet was frequently accompanied by something much more serious than just an
encouragement to repent.
The controversial nature of
their words was typically brought forth by a very real threat of judgment if
the people refused to listen. The Lord cannot simply turn his back on evil
and allow it to continue.
If the very people who were
supposed to be following him continually wallowed in the evil of this world,
eventually it would cause the Lord to punish them as a father would his
son.
This same father/son
relationship was found continually in the Old Testament between God and the
nation of Israel.
Some of the judgments that
Israel experienced for their wickedness got very severe — even to the point of
being banished from their own land.
Though the Jewish race as a
whole was never completely forsaken, people that continued to live in
disobedience and refused to listen could easily find themselves eternally cut
off from God.
It is here that the words of a man who calls himself a prophet
must be without reproach. Prophecies of judgment or prophecies of blessing
will affect the lives of everyone who hears them, even if the message is not
believed.
For those willing to take a
prophet’s words seriously, a repentant heart will guarantee forgiveness from
God. But just as surely, the ones who dare scoff at the preaching of a
true prophet will suffer the eternal wrath of the Lord.
It is vitally important to understand that right and wrong or
good and evil are not predicated on popular opinion or current trends.
Sometimes the influence of
out spoken or well known people can lead you to believe that something is right
when it is actually wrong in God’s eyes.
The
Bible says, “There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
In other words, we may
convince ourselves that certain things are normal or okay, but the Bible may
indicate that these very things are wrong.
In many areas of life, we
can’t fully understand right and wrong unless we have first searched God’s Word
for everything it has to say on a subject.
This is especially true of
controversial topics such as abortion, promiscuity, or homosexuality.
The arguments presented by
some people today as to why these acts are all right might actually be believed
until you look at what the Bible has to say about them.
The Bible says that these are
terrible acts that will lead to judgment and death, not forgiveness and life.
True repentance, therefore,
may actually involve changing our opinion 180 degrees on issues that before we
may have thought were normal and okay, but now we understand are sinful through
God’s Word and his Spirit working within us.
As might be expected, it was very difficult for the prophets who
preached such things to win friends among people whose hearts were far from the
Lord’s.
The focus of the prophet’s
words ultimately condemned the very lifestyle of their listeners.
The people had two choices
when they heard a prophet speak: believe and repent to obtain God’s forgiveness,
or decide to continue with their evil ways and try to ignore the
consequences.
Of course, to those who
refused to listen, a prophet often became a source of great irritation and
interference. No area of political or social life was spared a prophet’s
judgment.
Jeremiah’s life was virtually ruined because of the hatred
spawned from his words, and he didn’t take it patiently, either. At one
point he even cried out to God…
“O Lord, thou hast
deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed;
I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
“For since I spoke, I
cried out, I cried violence and spoil, because the word of the Lord was made a
reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.” (Jeremiah
20:7-8)
Is this really the image of a prophet’s life that somehow we
have been led to imagine? A true prophet will not leave his audience
ambivalent.
When a prophet preaches
repentance, those people who desire to follow the Lord and do what is right
will rejoice, while those who prefer wickedness will turn their anger against
the preacher. It is no different today.
Anyone that dares to stand up
for what is right according to the Bible, especially in controversial areas,
will immediately suffer the onslaught of those who want to continue to do what
is wrong.
A Christian speaking out
against gay marriage or the killing of unborn babies will be met not with
careful listeners but with an angry opposition willing to go to any extent to
silence the speaker.
Some people of God that have
spoken out concerning the evils of society today have been fired from jobs or
publically castigated in attempts to ruin their lives and sway opinion away
from the truth.
Opposing gay rights, for
instance, can result in being accused of using “hate speech” or of being not
“inclusive” or of being against “diversity”.
These diversions are just ways
people use to remove God from their thoughts and permit them to continue in sin
uninterrupted.
In fact, some of you already have gotten mad at me for saying
these words. You want to reach through the internet and at the very least
grab me by the shirt and give me a piece of you mind.
However, the world is heading
in a direction that will lead to its complete destruction, and it is extremely
important to realize that unless you turn away from the evils of the world, you
will be caught in its judgment at the end.
Jeremiah’s life became so troubled as a result of preaching
repentance and predicting Israel’s destruction that he eventually became angry
with God.
At one point he actually
resigned the office of a prophet. Read it yourself:
“Then I said, I will
not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name.” (Jeremiah
20:9a)
When Jesus said that his followers would have persecution in
this world, he knew very well of the trials and tribulations they would have to
endure.
At the same time that Christ
was preaching in Galilee, John the Baptist lost his head in Jerusalem because
he dared to tell King Herod he could not have his brother’s wife.
The moral principles of God’s
law were never compromised by a prophet, even when it meant the ire of the rich
and the powerful.
The Lord wanted his prophets
to speak His word without fear of any worldly ramifications. As Jeremiah
could certainly attest, that ideal was not easy to achieve.
He was still only human with
many faults and emotions, and even with the direct manifestation of the glory
of God, it was still possible for him to get frustrated and angry.
Consider the Apostle Peter,
too. He lived with Jesus for over three years, yet because of fear he
denied the Lord three times on the day of the Lord’s crucifixion.
The Lord, however, does not leave his people without hope. Christ
knew that Peter would come around, even before his denial; and in the very same
verse that Jeremiah gave the Lord his resignation he went on to say this:
“But his word was in
mine heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with
forbearing, and I could not refrain.” (Jeremiah
20:9b)
No matter how he tried, no matter how he wanted to quit in the
face of adversity, Jeremiah could not stop prophesying of the truth of
God.
The Lord’s words were burning
in his heart and they would not allow him to give in to the fears and
persecutions surrounding him.
When the Lord of the universe
impressed something upon a prophet’s heart that he knew with absolute certainty
was the direct revelation of God, nothing could prevent that message from
coming forth.
God’s words invoked a sense
of urgency that kept churning away until it was finally allowed to come
out. Amos described it perfectly when he said:
“The lion hath roared;
who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken; who can but prophesy?” (Amos
3:8)
The preaching of repentance was the most dangerous thing a man
or woman of God could ever do, because the evil people they spoke to would
ultimately hate them for their message.
Those that were caught up in
the evil of this world loved their sinful lives with a passion, and they
resented any attempt to wrest them away from it.
A prophet had to look beyond
the emotions of the moment and consider the situation from God’s vantage
point.
Amos realized that no matter
what the world had in store for him, he would have no choice but to prophesy.
His situation was as certain as the fear invoked when a wild beast crosses your
path; he simply couldn’t help himself.
A prophet’s mission not only involves the preservation and
repentance of those who hear him, but also consists of something presented more
clearly in the New Testament.
In Paul’s letter to the
Ephesians, he discusses some unique gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to the
entire church.
These are not necessarily
things that people would immediately think of when they consider the giving of
gifts, but they are nonetheless extremely valuable for the spiritual growth of
all believers.
In fact, so unusual are these
particular gifts they can actually walk and talk!
In reality, the Holy Spirit gives the body of believers the
gifts of chosen men and women in whom he has implanted divinely empowered
talents.
Each of these special
servants of God has unique abilities for ministering in some needed area in the
local congregation.
In chapter four of the book
of Ephesians, Paul describes these “gifts” as follows:
“And he gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers;” (Ephesians 4:11)
Notice that each of these leaders has their own particular
functions and areas of expertise. Some who are teachers could never be
evangelists, some who have the ability to pastor would not necessarily possess
the divine insight to do the work of a prophet.
The Lord has placed these
talented people among the churches in order to meet the requirements of a
particular situation or fulfill some purpose at a critical point in
history.
Prophets are unique in this
respect, because every group of believers may not need them. They seem to
appear just in time to respond to a definite set of circumstances that only
they alone are able to handle.
In addition, the gift of a
prophet would most likely involve the one function that Paul had in mind for
all of these individuals. He tells us that they were primarily given…
“For the perfecting of the saints for the work of the
ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ,
“Till we all come in
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;” (Ephesians
4:12-13)
A third purpose of a prophet of God is therefore to aid in the
spiritual growth or perfection of
the body of believers. It is this aspect of a prophet’s message that is
perhaps the least controversial of all his functions.
To listen to the words of a
man speaking as if from the very mouth of God is to literally be at the feet of
the King of the Universe obtaining wisdom by direct communication.
If you take counsel from his
teachings and change your life accordingly, the result will be a prosperous
life and a right relationship with God.
For this reason, no Christian can afford to ignore the words of
these men. The words of the prophets who have been included in the Bible
stand as an eternal testimony to the care of the Lord for those who
believe.
Surely, no other portion of
scripture can give such a strong confirmation and proof for our faith as that
of the prophets.
Notice, however, that in this entire section on the purpose of a
prophet, so far no mention has been made of that one aspect that almost
everyone thinks of when considering the ministry of a prophet, namely
predicting the future.
As amazing as this may sound,
foretelling the future was not the most important immediate purpose
of the rise of a prophet.
Preservation,
repentance, and perfecting far
outweighed the necessity of knowing about distant future events that possibly
wouldn’t even occur until long after the prophet’s listeners had died.
Establishing the believers on
a solid foundation that would not soon crumble was God’s main goal in calling
these men.
So why did the Lord also include in their words elaborate
predictions of days to come?
The answer to that question
will become apparent as we study the fourth purpose of a prophet, predicting the future.
