Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

Mission: What Was a Prophet?

meant or means absolutely,but only about how it has been used (and how it can properly be used now)." 18 Fortunately three passages from the time of Moses provide us with a clear,functional meaning of the word prophet (Hebrew, nabi). 1. Exodus 6:28-7:2. When God declares Moses the designated spokesman to Israel and Pharaoh,Moses objects,"Behold,I am unskilled in speech; how then will Pharaoh listen to me?" (6:30).God responds, "See,I make you as God to Pharaoh,and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.You shall speak all that I command you,and your brother Aaron shall speak to Pharaoh that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land" (7:1-2). The same thought is registered in Exodus 4:12,16: "I,even I,will be with your mouth,and teach you what you are to say....Moreover, [Aaron] shall speak for you to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be as a mouth for you,and you shall be as God to him." It is clear,then,that a nabi is "a person authorized to speak for another, for Aaron,speaking in Moses' place to Pharaoh,is Moses' nabi." 19 Thus,the prophet is a speaker for God-a mouthpiece,announcer or spokesman for the Almighty.I like the way my old Smith's Dictionary defines it: "One who announces or pours forth the declarations of God." 20 Our English word prophet, a transliteration of the Greek word prophetes, carries the same meaning.When the translators of the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) sought a word to translate the Hebrew nabi, they consistently used the Greek prophetes, a noun derived from the preposi tion pro, "for,on behalf of," and the verb phemi, "to speak." We have another ancient precedent,therefore,to substantiate that a prophet is one who speaks for another. 2. Numbers 12:1-8. A genuine prophet can be authentic only if he has received an actual message from God.This qualification was given dra matically by God Himself when he addressed Moses,Aaron and Miriam: "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you,I the LORD shall make Myself known to him in a vision.I shall speak with him in a dream " (verse 6). 3. Deuteronomy 13:1-5; 18:15-22. Moses gives an insightful five-point summary for Israel.Since his departure was at hand,he of necessity included in his closing message (that is,Deuteronomy) a summary of char acteristics that would identify the continuing authentic prophetic min istry among the people: The true prophet would: • Be an Israelite-that is,one in covenant relationship with the LORD (18:15,18). • Speak in the name of the LORD (18:16,19-20). 45