Prophets

Dear Victorious,

Just what is a prophet? Are there any Biblical prophets today?

Harold S. - Jackson, MI

Dear Harold,

A prophet, in the Biblical sense, is someone who speaks God's truth to God's people. In the Bible, we see many examples of them. They are more monumental there because people didn't have the Scriptures and God hadn't sent His Holy Spirit yet. So God spoke to people in dreams, appeared in clouds, spoke through prophets, etc. After Jesus arrived, of course everything changed.

There are certainly prophets, in the Biblical sense today. The problem is - and has always been - that people don't like to listen to them. Prophets tend to speak to their own people. After all, that's who they know!

But Jesus said a prophet is never accepted among his own people. In other words, the prophet can be speaking prophetic words. But the people who hear those words will write the prophet off as mouthy, opinionated, judgmental, etc. Put differently, people will discount what the prophet says - so that they don't have to respond to it.

True prophecy is a revelation of truth from God. And revelations always require a response. Think about what God might want to say to people in today's culture. Think about what an appropriate response might be. You can then imagine why people don't want to listen to the prophet!

So I have some questions for you, Harold. If you encounter a prophet, how will you know it? Will you listen to him (or her)?