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

A Profile of the Ancient Hebrew Prophet

• "The word of the LORD came" to a certain prophet (1 Samuel 15:10; 2 Samuel 24:11; 1 Kings 19:9; Jonah 1:1; Haggai 1:1; 2:1, 20; Zechariah 7:1, 8; 8:1). • "The Spirit of the LORD clothed" [lit. Hebrew) people such as Gideon, Amasai and Zechariah (Judges 6:34; 1 Chronicles 12:18; 2 Chronicles 24:20). This we know: When a person experienced the revelatory state, it was distinct from his or her natural state of consciousness. Certainly some compulsion of the Spirit occurred, an out-of-the-ordinary state of being overcome. Such an ecstatic condition was healthful and beneficial, not in the least destructive. We also know the prophets were especially called of God and given their messages by direct divine communication. If we accept the idea of supernatural intervention, we may take all the biblical pas sages at face value without manufacturing some farfetched idea of ecstatic frenzy or mad behavior.

The Prophetic Call

Two examples of prophetic calling are particularly important:

• The first man considered to hold the Old Testament prophetic office • The last man to hold the Old Testament prophetic office

Approximately one thousand years separate Samuel and John the Bap tist, yet they show similarity and continuity in ministry. Since the Bible focuses special attention on their introductions, and since they occupy significant positions, a brief review and comparison of their backgrounds seems appropriate. Neither man is considered a canonical prophet (no prophetic books were written by them) but their stories and many of their words appear in Scripture.

The Call ofSamuel

Although prophets had already existed in Israel, Samuel is generally considered the first of the prophets who not only had a gift to prophesy but also held the office or ministry of prophet in an institutional sense. Before Samuel a few prophets on rare occasions were recorded, but there was no organized, recognized prophetic office. With Samuel it was not a case of isolated commissions; he assumed a regular office of prophet with

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