The Prophetic Call

For the next blog series I wanted to attempt to lay out what it means to be a prophet. Simply put, I don't plan on getting into a debate whether prophets still exist today or not. What is more important to me is to understand what it is that makes a prophet. I think that as the Church, we have suffered terrible loss in not being able to identify the prophets and apostles. Anyone with a good sense of organization skills and administration is set up to be called an apostle. Anyone who can correctly guess or "prophesy" weather forecasts and other information about people is heralded as a prophet.

Character typically isn't what is examined.

I find this is true with evangelists as well. When you are handling the ultimate things of God, I would suppose that you should be refined enough to have discipline. I will admit that many times there is something that people can use to reject an apostle or prophet. Moses had something wrong with the way he spoke. Paul was considered liberal. Jesus was considered a drunkard and blasphemer.

There will always be something that people can nit pick. I understand that. Am I wrong to still believe that someone with such an utter calling as an apostle, prophet, or evangelist should have an aura about them? Am I hyping up a calling when I see that they are men of zeal - more than that of what we see modern day prophets and apostles? Am I wrong to still believe that these men would have to have enough discipline that the Lord wouldn't allow them to be overweight? Am I pushing too far when I believe that the apostle should display God as He is instead of cutesy expositions of a single verse in the Bible? Am I wrong when I believe that a prophet will speak about Israel at least once at a prophetic conference? Am I wrong when I believe an evangelist wrestles with the principalities and powers over an entire city, state, district, or nation before he wrestles with the souls of men? Am I wrong to believe that the evangelist's calling is to tearing down strongholds and pushing back darkness in spiritual places - and that is why he is able to win souls?

I think that by and large we have missed what these men represent and what they are in fullness. Because we have shrunk from the absoluteness of the callings, we have forfeited the glory of God. We have settled for less. Our whole Christianity is under par. How can it be that men are running around using apostolic and prophetic terminology while never once pointing to the apocalyptic eschatological consummation of the ages? Not one word do we hear of our ultimate role as the Church. We are continually told that we are to win the world to Jesus, but never once is it mentioned that we are to drive the Jew to jealousy (Deuteronomy 32:21; Romans 11:11).

Just as an introduction, I think it fair to pump up these callings. It is said that the apostles and prophets are the foundations of the Church. What do these men act like? What do they think like? What is it that is expressed through a prophet that causes it to be foundational to the whole Church? Even if we come at it from the idea that prophets are strictly Old Testament phenomena, a simple understanding of the prophet and the prophetic call will do us much good.

So in the next blog entry, (I will post it today) we'll start to discuss what these men are all about.