Questions and Answers Should a confirmed prophet tell the local congregation that he is a prophet after ministering a public prophecy in the church? There is no real necessity in disclosing one’s identity as a prophet. Even when ministering in the office one should remain as self-effacing as possible. Why? Because when the average believer hears the word “prophet” he sees an ascetic calling fire down from heaven. Due to the scarcity of knowledge concerning the ministry of the New Testament prophet this stereotype is hard to shake. Though he really was, Amos denied he was a prophet (Amos 7:14). If we consider John the Baptist, when asked his identity by the curious crowd he responded, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make …show more content…
Whether or not he was a true prophet of God is controversial, nevertheless, Balaam possessed the genuine gift of prophecy. In fact he gave one of the most outstanding Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah (Nm 24:7). Yet Balaam chose to commercialize his gift and ended up perishing as a soothsayer. In other words what was a legitimate gift of prophecy eventually came under the influence of seducing spirits. Saul was numbered with the prophets and anointed king over Israel by God. Because of his insane jealousy he was overtaken by an evil spirit. Having received deliverance once, Saul allowed stubborn envy against David to open the door for the spirit’s re-entry. At one point he prophesied under the influence of the evil spirit (I Sam 18). The lesson here is that the true prophet is not free from demon activity unless he is walking in the principles of holiness. Once a prophet places his hands to the plow and is given much from the Lord, to look back can be devastating. Those who will operate in the Spirit must also live in the Spirit. To answer your questions, no true prophet abiding in the cleft of the rock has any fear of being overtaken by seducing spirits. How do you tell a false prophet from a true
In a survey conducted in 2012, LifeWay.com inquired about the importance of evangelism among members of the Christian faith. The results of the survey showed that 80 percent of people who claimed to follow Jesus Christ and had openly devoted themselves to the teaching of Christianity, felt that they had a “personal responsibility to share their religious views and beliefs about Jesus Christ with non-christians” (Wilke, LifeWay.com). Surveys such as this reflect the Christian doctrine of evangelism and the weight it holds within the Christian faith. As can be seen back in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ commanded His followers “to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).” However, Jesus never told His followers how doing this.
The role of the prophet changes with the society in which he lives. In modern society, a prophet is a visionary, telling people what they can become; in Biblical times, a prophet was the voice of God, telling his people what they had to become to fulfill their covenant with God. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the prophet is a peaceful lad, Simon. He alone saw that the jungle, which represented freedom and the lack of civilization, was not to be feared but to be understood; he alone knew that the mythical Beast of the island, feared by all the boys, was, in fact, their own inherent savagery. Through these truths Simon represents a Christ figure paralleling Christ's misunderstood message and Christ's death.
However, in the first book of Samuel, Saul does not possess the quality of self awareness. This can be because Saul ...
Owen Meany demonstrated many characteristics of a prophet, and could be linked to a prophetic figure. On more than one occasion, he had visions of future events which affected other people around him physically and spiritually. Throughout his life he also maintained a special relationship and strong faith in God. Many of Owens morals and values that he voiced became strong teachings about life. Although everyone in the world did not know him, many believed he was special for his wisdom at such a young age. Through these accomplishments, Owen leads himself to the stage of being a prophet. Today, prophets could be all among us, yet society turns away from the idea. The idea of a teacher for the subject of life fascinates many, but the idea of God sending messengers to us repels those who lack faith. What would it take for you to recognize a prophet? Many prophets may go unrecognized in the world and yet the only way they can exist is if someone will believe in them.
Background: The history of Saul is thought to have ended at the battle at Mount Gilboa, but summarized as follows: after falling in battle the evil spirit that God set upon him became his Beast, in horror and shame he pulled himself from the wall Beth-shan and fled into the night. History would have you believe that his body had been burned. Convinced that he had fully fallen out out of God’s grace, he turned to prayer and a path of redemption. He had hoped that meditation, prayer along with other abnegation techniques could quell the Beast, however nothing could for long.
The book of 1 Samuel, a part of the Old Testament, sparks the dawn of the United Kingdom of Israel by telling of its first king, Saul. Samuel is one of the first talked about pre-literary prophets in the bible perhaps because he anointed the first king of the United Kingdom. He is a prophet by definition because he possessed the ability to converse with the almighty Yahweh. Samuel and Saul are key players to the rise of the kingdom but Saul runs into trouble and disobeys God, which leads him to his own inevitable demise.
In chapter two Johnson deals with the fulfillment of the Torah and how Luke uses prophecy as a literature shape. Chapter three however is what really sets the reader up for the “meat” of the book. In chapter three he talks about the characteristics of a prophet. The first key characteristic for a prophet he says is being led by the spirit of God. In order to support this claim he gives many examples of prophets such as Moses, Ezekiel, and Elijah who all had the Holy Spirit to empower them as they did Gods work. The second element to a prophet is speaking Gods word to humans. Not only do prophets do the work of God but they will also speak for him. I find Johnsons main example Moses to be the most helpful when looking at this step of the prophet. This is because countless times God spoke to Moses and then Moses would tell the Israelites. This key characteristic goes well with the third characteristic that the prophet embodies God’s word. Countless times we see Moses doing this throughout the Old Testament. An example of this is in Exodus 20:1 when God tells Moses the ten commandments that he passes on to his people by carving them into stone. The fourth characteristic of the prophet is working to make humanity into God’s vision for it. Moses again shows this characteristic by appointing elders to help watch over the Israelites in Exodus 18. The final distinguishing trait for
David was always a type of person inclined to be melancholy. He was always a religious person. He made sure that he did everything right, because he was afraid of death. He performed all the duties of religion without a true conversion.2
A most interesting film detailing the history and role of the prophet in the Jewish tradition. The first question we must explore is what a prophet is. A prophet by definition is a person who speaks by divine inspiration. Others will say that a prophet is one whose eye is open. A person who can see things that others cannot. In order to understand the prophets and their appearance in history we must first understand the politics of the times.
Before becoming a king, David is solely dependent on God. However, after realizing that kingship comes with many powers, David starts to rely on his will to overpower his judgment and knowledge of God and His will. Although it may seem like David’s sin begins at the moment he lays his eyes on the beautiful Bathsheba bathing on the rooftop, his sins actually begin many nights before when he makes decisions that turn his focus from the will of God to the will of self. Thus, David’s first sin of focusing on his own will, rather than God’s, leads to one sin after another which eventually causes a curse to fall upon David’s household.
David had opportunities to kill Saul, but, never desired to do so. David later handed down many transgressions during his reign. David had many flaws; he was an adulterer and murderer. He knew he was wrong and always repented and had the desire to please God. God knew none of his people were perfect, but he favors those who are obedient.
David did not do everything right just as Saul did not do everything wrong. David is a study in the human condition. As Peterson points out, King David is a “character consisting of humility and adoration, sacrifice and courage, repentance and obedience, loyalty in the community, and love of God.” The story of David shows people that when they use the things that God places in your life He is preparing people for their service to Him. He prayed to God, consulted God in prayer, and unified the northern and southern kingdoms in obedience to
One of the main purposes of any prophet's call narrative is to justify his right to speak in the name of God. Oftentimes a prophet's message isn't accepted of very popular with the people he is preaching to, and in the face of t...
Smith, James E. The Major Prophet. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1992. Print. The. Old Testament Survey Series -.
Let us start with this statement: I believe that new preachers and new people to the Christian Faith try hard to avoid the Old Testament. If they do, they only look at one section and struggle to connect all the pieces together. One of the issues that makes people uncomfortable is the prophets. First, there is a definite volume of them, and then they are divided into “major” and “minor.” I think at the core of our hearts, we are trying to understand the difference among the different biblical prophets.