Anyone who is familiar with the word of God knows that there were many prophets. People like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and scores of others are found in the Bible. Prophets were used by God to communicate His message to mankind (Heb. 1:1-2). Prophets are not exclusive to the Old Testament either – they were found in the first century as well.

Paul told the brethren at Ephesus that the Lord gave apostles and prophets, along with others, to help edify the church (Eph. 4:11-12). Obviously then, prophets existed during the time of the early church. The church we have today (the church that belongs to Jesus) is the same as the one described in the first century. Are there living prophets today then? To answer this, we are going to do a short study of spiritual gifts.

I Corinthians 12:7-11 describes the variety of spiritual gifts that were given to the saints through the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:18). One of the gifts mentioned was prophecy. Recipients of this gift were called prophets (I Cor. 12:28-31). This is a direct fulfillment of the promise given in Acts 2:17, which stated that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh in the last days. The last days began when the gospel message was delivered (Heb. 1:2; John 16:13; Acts 2:1-4).

We must now divert and talk a little about the apostles. We already read how spiritual gifts could be given through the laying of the apostle’s hands. Are there living apostles today? Answering this question it will answer the question about prophets.

After Judas hanged himself, a replacement apostle was needed. This replacement process is described in Acts 1:15-26. One of the qualifications was to have witnessed the resurrection of Christ (verse 22). No one (other than Paul) has seen Jesus since His ascension, thus there have been no other apostles since Paul (Acts 9, 22, 26).

Without an apostle, there can be no laying on of hands to impart spiritual gifts. Since one of the spiritual gifts was prophecy, there can be no prophets since the time of the apostles. This means that people like Joseph Smith, Muhammad, Ellen G. White and scores of others who claimed to be prophets were not!

Saints were warned in the New Testament to beware of false prophets (I John 4:1; II Cor. 11:13; II Pet. 2:1). How could they determine who was a true prophet and who was fake? Through the inspired word of God (I Pet. 4:11)! Therefore, we cannot simply accept the words of every person who claims to be a prophet! False prophets are guilty of putting their words on par with the Lord’s. These false teachings should be rejected as we have the complete revelation from God today (Jude 3; II Tim. 3:16-17; Gal. 1:6-9).

To read Acts 2:17 and conclude that God continues to pour out His Spirit today is to abuse the scriptures. God has spoken unto us in these last days by His Son (Heb. 1:2). Should we to conclude that His message is not yet complete? This is exactly what modern “prophets” want us to believe. When you hear anyone say, “I have a message from God for you that was revealed just to me,” be WARY!

The role of prophets, like apostles, existed for a period. That time is over. God’s word has been fully delivered, so messengers are no longer needed to deliver additional revelation. We know this because 1) the apostles were guided into all truth (John 16:13), and 2) there is no mystery anymore thanks to the apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:1-5). Christians should reject any group that supports, endorses or promotes apostles and prophets after the first century. May we not be deceived into being man-followers.

                                                                                               Chuck

Why people are so quick to accept those who claim to be a prophet? This requires both a lack of knowledge on the part of the listener and smooth talking on the part of the deceiver. Liars are only as successful as those will to listen to them.

We are warned not to be deceived (I Cor. 6:9; 15:33; Gal. 6:7 etc.). We cannot stop false prophets from periodically promoting themselves, but we can prevent ourselves from following them. Teaching that is rooted in the persuasive words of human wisdom should be treated as just that – words of men rather than the word of God (I Cor. 2:4-5). Remember, the gospel (not words of men) is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16).

It might seem heartless to say that all those who are deceived by false prophets want to be. However, this is not entirely untrue. Consider what happened to the brethren at Corinth. The apostle Paul labored with the brethren there for years. Yet as soon as he left, other teachers arrived and turned the brethren against Paul (II Cor. 11). How did they do it? It was with a boastful attitude that the brethren put up with (II Cor. 11:16-21).

I do not know how many times, over the years, I have heard people accept something just because of the way someone said it. Speakers can come across with such confidence and credentials (graduate degrees, years of service, etc.) that they intimidate and recruit followers. People who succumb to this have only themselves to blame. They can claim that they do not want to be deceived, but they are not mustering the courage to question their religious leaders. They have become the blind followers Jesus spoke of (Matt. 15:14).

When Paul told Timothy about Eve’s deception in the garden (I Tim. 2:14), there was not much else to say. He did not have to say “how” Eve was deceived. She simply was quick to believe what she was told. It was what she wanted to hear. We must recognize this lesson that those who want to be deceived will be. Do we recognize this happening our own lives?

                                                                                               Chuck