Lesson 6 Spirit of Prophecy: Protected by the Prophets

The very existence of the nation of Judah was at stake. A vast army of Moabites and Ammonites gathered to annihilate King Jehoshaphat. Though he had fortified many of the cities in the southern kingdom, he was petrified by this giant militia. So he “set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (2 Chronicles 20:3). Men, women, and children gathered at the temple to earnestly fast and pray. After the king humbled himself and claimed God’s promises of protection, he cried out, “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You” (verse 12). “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel. … And he said … ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s’ ” (verses 14, 15). This little-known man, Jahaziel, blessed with the gift of prophecy, then explained how God would give victory. It brought courage and direction to the distressed people. The king and the nation praised the Lord for His answer. The next day, as the army began marching south to meet the enemy, Jehoshaphat stood confidently before his men and said: “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper” (verse 20). His trust in God was so explicit that he then made one of the most unusual battle maneuvers in all history. What did he do?

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In these last days, God’s people still face enemies who would destroy them. The Lord has not left His children helpless but has given them messages of hope through His prophets. When followers of Christ humbly turn to Him for comfort and help, He sends words of counsel. One of the ways He does this is through the gift of prophecy. Has the voice of prophecy ceased in our time? Did this spiritual gift end with the close of Scripture? Or has God blessed His end-time church with continued testimonies to provide strength and direction?

God blesses those who follow the guidance of His prophets.

Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20).

Jehoshaphat so believed in the prophetic word from the Lord through Jahaziel that he placed a choir at the front of his army to sing God’s praises for a victory that had not yet happened. Without them lifting a spear, the Lord confused their enemies—and the Ammonite and Moabite armies destroyed each other. When the devil tries to destroy us, we can find refuge and strength by trusting the words of the prophets.

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The prophetic gift was very active in Bible times.

Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7).

Sin ended face-to-face communication with God, but the Lord opened other ways to connect with humanity. He began sending

messages of warning and encouragement through prophets such as Isaiah, Joel, and Nahum. A prophet is a divinely

appointed spokesperson for God. A seer was another name for a prophet and emphasized that the Lord

opened the eyes of prophets to information He wanted shared with His people.

The New Testament ranks the gift of prophecy highly.

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to

our faith (Romans 12:6).

The spiritual gift of prophecy is near the top of every New Testament list of the

important gifts God gives for building up the body of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote,

“Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.  … Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy” (1 Corinthians 14:1, 39). Not only

did prophets help found the church, but they encouraged missionary work, united the

church, and warned of future difficulties.

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The prophetic gift did not stop with the end of the apostolic era.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:19, 20).

The Bible does not say that the gift of prophecy would end with the apostles and the New Testament times. There is an ongoing need for this gift “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). The church has not yet reached this aim and so there is still a need for the spiritual gift of prophecy.

The prophet Joel predicted a special outpouring of the prophetic gift before Christ’s return.

It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream

dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28, 29).

Just as God gave the gift of prophecy to John the Baptist in order to announce the first coming of Christ, so the Lord will send the prophetic gift again to proclaim the second coming of Jesus to help people to be ready to meet Him. Joel’s prophecy may have been partially fulfilled in the time of Peter. (See Acts 2:2–21.) As the latter rain ripens the crops just before harvest, this final outpouring of the Spirit will help to ripen the harvest of the earth before Jesus’ return. (See Matthew 13:24–30, 36–40.)

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The gift of prophecy will be a mark of God’s final church.

The dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make

war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments

of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ

(Revelation 12:17).

Just before the second coming of Jesus, Satan will unleash intense persecution against God’s church. The

Lord’s faithful followers are identified as those who keep God’s commandments and have “the testimony of Jesus

Christ.” An angel from heaven explained to John that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (19:10). These two distinctive

traits—holding high God’s commandments and the prophetic gift—are characteristics found in God’s end-time church.

Postbiblical prophets do not supersede nor add to the Scriptures.

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20).

It was the gift of prophecy that created the Bible. Any prophetic message after biblical times will not be in conflict with the Scriptures but will uphold God’s Word as the basis of one’s faith and practice. The words of God’s true messengers will always be in harmony with God’s law and testimony. So also, later prophets will never contradict earlier prophets, for God has “no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

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Prophetic gifts should be tested.

Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:20, 21).

The Bible warns us that before Jesus returns there will be false prophets; therefore, we should test the messages of those who claim to speak for God. Do their messages agree with the Scriptures (Isaiah 8:20)? Do their predictions come true (Deuteronomy 18:21, 22)? Do they recognize the divinity of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2, 3)? Does the prophet’s life reveal good fruit or bad fruit (Matthew 7:16–20)? Anyone who claims to have the prophetic gift is subject to these biblical tests.

The gift of prophecy will help lead God’s remnant people into the heavenly Canaan.

It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people

who are left (Isaiah 11:11).

God gave the prophetic gift through Moses to lead the Israelites (the Old Testament church) out of Egypt. “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved” (Hosea 12:13). We can expect the Lord will do the same in the last days when He leads His remnant people into the heavenly land.

Will you search for and accept messages to the church through the biblical gift of prophecy in these end times?

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Reformer HighlightUlrich Zwingli (1484–1531) served as a pastor and led the Reformation in Switzerland. Born in a simple cottage among the Alps, he early became familiar with God through the book of nature and the Bible stories shared by his grandmother. Zwingli was a brilliant student and was later ordained as a priest. His growing conviction that the church stood in contrast to the Bible led him to speak boldly against unbiblical

practices. The Reformation made great advances in Zurich, Bern, and Basel under his wise leadership.

“I beseech Christ for this one thing only, that He will enable me to endure all things courageously, and that He break me as a potter’s vessel or make me strong, as it pleases Him.”

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