Prophesy prof'i·sê  v. [Gr.propheteuo]  A divinely inspired utterance or writing which is attributed to God. To speak as an ambassador or representative of God. A foretelling of some event or thing which is to come. To explain or interpret religious writings or subjects. To speak as a messenger of the gospel. The act of discharging the prophetic office.

The word translated prophet in the old Testament is generally the Hebrew word [nabiy] which is taken from the root [naba], meaning to speak forth. The 'prophet' was one who proclaimed or spoke the message which was given him by God. Literally, the word means he is a mouthpiece or spokesman for God. Anyone who 'spoke again' the Words that God had spoken, was a 'prophet' of God

Jeremiah 1:7-9

• "But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
• Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
• Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth."

In the New Testament, the Greek word prophet means to, 'speak before.' It's taken from the two root words [pro], meaning before, and [phemi], meaning to speak or tell. Literally to tell of something before it happens. This is because messengers of God (as God's mouthpiece or representative), often spoke of what was a future event. Thus they are designated as pro'phetes or God's foretellers of the future. In fact, so much so that today many people think of prophets of God as only those who predict future events. But Prophets Historically spoke the Word from God concerning the present, and even the past. Foretelling the future was only one aspect of the prophetic office. Prophets historically were assigned the task of declaring God's laws, and to correct the abuses of them. They were sent forth to set right legal and moral abuses. Whether declaring what God had said was, what God declared is, or what God declared will be, all this is called prophesying. This principle of the general meaning of Prophesy can be clearly seen in Luke:

Luke 22:64

• "And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?"

Quite clearly they were not asking Jesus to tell the future, rather they were asking Him to (by Divine decree or fiat), tell them what had happened in the past. They asked him to tell them who it was that had hit him. This verse itself debunks any belief that the word prophesy simply means to foretell the future. In the true sense, prophesy means to 'declare divine truth from God.' It doesn't have to be future, but it often is simply by the nature of divine revelation. Thus the designation, 'to foretell.'

The question before us now is, are all Christians 'Prophets of God' or is this a term reserved as a special gift? One might be surprised to learn that the answer is, both. Depending upon the context, the word prophesy can apply to all Christians (we all have a message from God to proclaim), or it can apply to a prophetic office.

Children of God who spake in God's name, and 'by his authority' (Ex. 7:1, Acts 1:6; Rev. 1:3) whether old testament or New, are Prophets of God. And ultimately, all true Christians bringing the message from God (the gospel) are prophets. Scholars almost unanimously agree that God uses all the Church as prophets to proclaim His Word, purpose, and Salvation plan on earth. But the office of a prophet (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 2:20; 3:5) is a specific spiritual gift wherein the one whom God has blessed by His spirit is gifted at interpreting His Word of truth, above others. That person has the gift of, or has been given the office of a Prophet.

The word prophet in the New Testament is actually synonymous with having the testimony of the Word of God, or the testimony of Christ.

1st Corinthians 1:4-6

• "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
• That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
• Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:"

The fact is, he who brings prophecy is a prophet of God. These are those who declare God's message to men. God's Word is God's Prophecy. Not as man might define Prophecy today, but as God has always defined it.

2nd Peter 1:19-21

• "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
• Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
• For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

1st Corinthians 14:3-4

• "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
• He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church."

So what has changed in a prophet since the completion of the Holy Canon? Nothing has Changed. Prophets still declare the Word of God, it's just that God's Word (being a complete as opposed to incomplete Word), is in the Holy Canon now. There is no continuing Word by divine supernatural revelation today. We have the Old Testament and we have the New Testament, and there is no further Testament of God, except by His prophets who have the testimony of Christ. We are now the prophets who have the complete innerrant Word from God. Sola scriptura! The Bible alone and in it's entirety is now our sole rule of faith. Prophets today prophesy from the pages of God's Holy Word rather than God speaking to them by an Anthropopathy, or in a burning bush, or on a mountain, or by any divine supernatural revelation. The Revelation of the Word of Prophesy is Complete. Both Old and New Testament Prophets being messengers of God, declared what the Lord had spoken, and there is little difference today. The Only difference is that God's Word comes from His completed revelation to man, the Bible.

1. A prophet was someone who received the Word from God, and who in turn spake to the people what God had said.
2. As such, a prophet in the Old Testament is the same as a prophet in the New Testament. The only difference is that after God's Word of prophesy was complete, God declaring it closed, there is no addition possible. We have the complete Testament of God.
3. God will not Speak again (apart from this complete canon) until we hear Him at His second Coming.
4. The Words of the Prophets were not their own, but the very Word of God. Thus anyone declaring the Word of God 'faithfully' fits these requirements and is Biblically, a Prophet.
5. God is not thundering from the Mountain face to face with man today giving him prophesy, because the Word is Complete. Thus God does not add to it nor take away from it, and He places a curse on anyone who does.
6. Anyone declaring that God said something which God has not said (Note: whether of the past, present or future) is a false "Prophet" and is subject to the plagues written therein.

• "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
• And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

There are some who claim that this warning of adding to the book means adding to the book of Revelation only. This is the proverbial 'splitting of hairs' and spurious at best, since no book of the Bible exists in a vacuum. Each book does not stand alone. We cannot even understand the book of revelation without the other books of the Bible. Moreover, whosoever adds to the book of revelation, adds to the bible, and whosoever takes away from the book of revelation, takes away from the Bible, as it is one cohesive whole. There is no getting around the Word. All throughout scripture God says to write the Word in a book, and do not add to the Word, but now God says differently. At the end God says do not add to 'the book,' as the revelation is complete and there is no additional revelation.

Divine supernatural revelation of the Word direct from God has ceased with this completion of the Canon, else God's Word is not complete, and He still has something further to 'add' to it. That cannot be. And God says whosoever dares to abrogate this truth, upon them is the curse. They shall receive the plagues written in the book. And to find out those plagues, we must search the 'whole Bible' for in it is the defining of the plagues. He who prophesies today prophesies from God's Word. Not by feigning new supernatural visions, or pretending to have conversations with God, or declaring that new Words supernaturally are given them from above (an additional Word of God), but by declaring God's Word for the future, past, and present 'from' God's completed Word, the Bible. All Christians being Prophets of God, are all messengers of God, all are vessels with God's word from our mouths foretelling the future, explaining the past, and exhorting the Church for the present. For the power of God's Word does this, in the 'authority' He has given us that we be those with the testimony of Christ (Revelation 19:10). We have been given that Power in Christ Jesus. God has established Himself in us that we are Priests and Kings and Prophets, unto the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

• "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

• "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."

That is the new wondrous thing which God has done by His death and resurrection. He has made us all Witnesses, Prophets and Holy Men, a Sanctuary of God wherein He dwells and from which He now speaks. When we witness that Christ is coming again, we are prophesying. When we witness that men should repent because the wages of sin is death, we are prophesying. When we testify that Hell awaits those who forebear, we are prophesying. And when we declare that the final end of the child of God is the Kingdom and everlasting glory, we are prophesying. We speak the Word of God from our mouths, and we had better speak His Word faithfully.

Romans 16:25-26

• "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
• But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:"