Prophecy

What is prophecy?

The only passage I know of that defines prophecy is Rev.19:10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."  John was tempted to worship the angel as the source of the prophecy he was receiving, and the angel said, “No – prophecy is testimony that comes out of Jesus’ mouth.”  Prophecy is inspired speech. 

Prophecy is the miraculous speaking of the words of God verbatim in direct revelation.  The subject matter may be the past, present or future.  The issue is not the time, but the fact that the person is acting as a mouthpiece for God.  Prophecies are word-for-word announcements of what God is saying (even to the point where God is referred to in the first person – Acts 13:1,2).

Acts 13:1-2 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was {there}  prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Prophecy in a broader sense can involve knowing things that couldn’t naturally be known

Luke 22:64 They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?"
Luke 7:39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-- that she is a sinner."
John 4:18-19  The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."  19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.

This kind of thing is often call “word of knowledge” or “a word from the Lord” but a more biblical term for it would be prophecy.

There are only two categories of speech: inspired and uninspired.  The test for inspired speech is that it is infallible and attested by miracles (often the miracles of being able to announce the near future with 100% accuracy – that’s the test in Dt.18:21-23).  

Modern “prophets” want to argue for a third category: Speech that is inspired yet fallible.  If such a category exists, what would be the difference between that and uninspired speech?  What is the difference between fallible inspired speech and fallible uninspired speech?

Usually those who argue for fallible prophecy do so on the assumption that NT prophecy is not the same as OT prophecy.  They admit that true OT prophets were never wrong, but suggest that in NT times God has changed prophecy such that it now includes errors.

One problem with that view is that the NT gift of prophecy is what is referred to in Joel 2:28 I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  Scripture is clear this was fulfilled when the Spirit came in Acts 2:16,17.  So the NT prophecy is the same as the OT prophecy (If Joel had meant something other than what the word meant when he wrote it, he would have had to indicate that, or no one would know).  

Prophets have always been the revealers of God’s infallible Word.  In the NT times, the prophets (along with the Apostles) were the revealers of the New Testament.

Eph.2:19,20   you are…members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Eph.3:4-5  you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.

Eph. 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

“But what about Agabus?  Didn’t he make a mistake?”

Those who argue for errant prophecy point to Agabus in Acts 21.

Acts 21:10-11
After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" 

30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 
33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Away with him!" 

Those who argue for fallible prophecy say he didn’t get it quite right, because it was the Romans who bound Paul and took him by force against the will of the Jews.

But Scripture often speaks of a person doing an action if he is responsible for it being done.  For example, in Acts 3:15 it says the Jews killed Jesus.  In fact, even after this event, when Paul is recounting this event, here’s how he describes what happened:  I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. (Acts 28:17)  So if Agabus made a mistake, so did Paul.

The truth is, prophecy that is not accurate is false prophecy – OT or NT.

And if you look at the prophecy of the book of Revelation, you are hard pressed to call that uninspired.
Rev 22:7-21  "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."
10 Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.