Prophecy may not be what you think it is?

What is prophecy? What is the true purpose of prophecy? Where is true prophecy today? How can one recognize true prophecy?

REVELATION 19 : 10 NKJV

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

JOHN 1 : 1-5 NKJV

 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Firstly we can see that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Then we see Jesus is the living Word of God and that His word brings life to man.

JOHN 8 : 51 NKJV

51 Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

JOHN 14 : 6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.


Therefore prophecy is The Word of God, it brings life to those who obey it and through it we can be reconciled to God. Many people today may view prophecy as an encouragement from God or the foretelling of something that is going to happen, but it is much much more than that.

ROMANS 8 : 14 NKJV

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.


If therefore one has The Word of God leading him or her then that person is a true son of God. So the Spirit of prophecy is imperative to all true believers.
Does prophecy then always have to come through a recognized prophet? No, because prophecy is The Word of God. Prophets often confirm what people already know. (That is not all that they do)

JOHN 4 : 7-19 NKJV

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”

17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

The woman was amazed that Jesus knew her inner secrets, and because of this she believed that He was a prophet. Was He encouraging her or foretelling her future? No! He exposed her.

JEREMIAH 1 : 4-12 NKJV

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then said I:

“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

7 But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

We can see the role of the prophet listed above. To root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant. Firstly there is a lot of destroying before there is any building. If you only desire comfort or encouragement you have misunderstood the Spirit of Prophecy, The Word of God, Jesus Christ.

MATTHEW 9 : 13 NKJV

13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

The Word of God came to destroy the sin that holds man captive, for all of those who would admit that they are sinners. After bringing a person to repentance then the rebuilding of a person into a new creation can begin. So a person will be convicted by The Word of God, Jesus Christ, True Prophecy, and if they decide to obey then they can begin that journey of transformation, rebuilding. You see that first people know by The Spirit of Prophecy that they are sinners and when they meet with someone who is Prophesying they will be convicted again that they are in error. 

DANIEL 9 : 10 NKJV

10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.

God uses prophecy to instruct the people of this world. Prophecy is God's word spoken to us. (Also His written Word) The new testament is predominately letters of the early apostles, letters of instruction, prophecy. To prophesy is to speak The Word of God. If you read them you will see that they correct and build up. If you do not want to be corrected then you do not want to turn away from your sin and you simply are not a Christian. Many people today do not receive those who truly speak the Word of God, those who were sent by Jesus Christ Himself to bless them. It is no different today than it was when the Old Testament prophets spoke, they were persecuted and pushed away. The church in Jesus's time had Him crucified because He exposed them. It is time for some the church of today to realize that they have not and are not listening and obeying and that is why God is destroying. It is time to cry out to God for forgiveness and reconciliation to His Word, that He will have mercy and bring the correction which is salvation.