This study will be a general
overview of what constitutes the nature of a
biblical prophet. As will be seen,
the Old Testament prophetic office was a
foreshadowing of the heavenly office
of Christ and His headship over the Church.
Christ’s present mediatorial reign
and implications will be briefly considered.
As in previous studies, we will
look at definitions, scriptures, commentary
evidence, and confessional support
for the purpose to glorify God in how we
live.
Definitions:
What is a
prophet in the Bible?
Answer: In a general sense, a
prophet is a person who speaks God’s truth
to others. The English word prophet
comes from the Greek word prophetes,
which can mean “one who speaks forth” or
“advocate.” Prophets are also called
“seers,” because of their spiritual insight
or their ability to “see” the
future. *
Prophet:
“A prophet is someone who is
the
mouthpiece of God. He stands between God and
man to communicate to man the Word
of God. When the prophet spoke as the
mouthpiece, he was inspired and without
error. The prophet, though, is not a puppet
or a mindless repeater of what he
hears. Instead, he retains his own will,
mind, and thoughts as he speaks for
God. God would put His words in their mouths
(Deut. 18:18, Jer. 1:9). A prophet
was God's servant (Zech. 1:6) and messenger
(2Chron. 36:15). The prophecies
fell into three categories: concerning the
destiny of Israel, the messianic
prophecies, and eschatological prophecies.
The term Law and Prophets refers to
the writings of the OT divided into two
categories. The Law is the Pentateuch
or Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. The Prophets are all
the rest of the OT books.” **
Scriptures
and select commentary entries:
“The LORD your God will raise
up for
you a prophet like me from among you, from
your brothers—it is to him you shall
listen.” (Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV)
Whom was Moses speaking of in
this
passage?
From the Pulpit
Commentary
on the passage from Deuteronomy we
read:
“Verses 15-22. - There should
be no
need for Israel to turn to heathen
soothsayers, or diviners, or such like,
because from amongst themselves, of their
own brethren, would God raise up
prophets like unto Moses, who, as occasion
required, would reveal to them what
God willed them to know. Verse 15. - A
Prophet. The Hebrew word so rendered (נָבִיא)
is a derivative from a verb (נָבָא),
which signifies to tell, to
announce; hence the primary concept of the
word is that of announcer, or
forth-speaker; and to this the word
“prophet” (Greek προφήτης from πρόφημι,
I
speak before or in place of) closely
corresponds; the prophet is one who speaks
in the place of God, who conveys God's word
to men, who is an interpreter of
God to men. (As illustrative of the meaning
of the word, cf. Exodus 7:1; Exodus
4:16.) Hence Abraham is called a prophet
(Genesis 20:7), and the term is
applied to the patriarchs generally (Psalm
105:15); God conveyed his mind to
them, and they spoke it forth to others (cf.
Amos 3:7). Like unto me. When the
people heard the voice of God speaking to
them at Sinai, and from the midst of
the fire uttering to them the Ten Words,
they were struck with terror, and
besought that they might not again hear that
awful voice, but that Moses might
act as mediator between God and them - might
hear what God should say, and
speak it unto them (Deuteronomy 5:22-27).
Moses thus became God's prophet to
the people; and of this, he reminds them
here, as well as of the circumstances
amid which he entered specially on this
office (cf. vers. 16, 17). The phrase, “like
unto me,” does not necessarily imply that
the prophet who was to come after
Moses was to be in every respect the same as
he; all that is indicated is that
he would act as Moses had acted as a
mediator between God and the people in the
way of conveying his will to them.” (1)
Deuteronomy speaks of a coming
prophet. The next passage from Luke shows
the fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy.
“Fear seized them all, and they
glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has
arisen among us!” and “God has
visited his people!” (Luke 7:16 ESV)
From Gill's
Exposition
of the Entire Bible on Luke 7:16:
“And there came a fear on all
...
That were there present, and heard, and saw
what was done. Not a fear of dread,
and terror, and of punishment, as in devils
and wicked men; but a fear and
reverence of the divine majesty, whose power
and presence they were sensible
must be there at that time:
and they glorified God; they
praised
him, and gave thanks to him, ascribing this
amazing action to divine power, and
gave God the glory of it; and blessed him
for the Messiah, who was sent unto
them, as they concluded Jesus to be, from
this wonderful instance:
saying, that a great prophet is
risen up among us; even that great prophet
Moses wrote of, and said should be
raised up from among the children of Israel,
Deuteronomy 18:15 and that God
hath visited his people. The Arabic version
adds, “for good.” For God sometimes
visits for evil, in a wave of wrath and sore
displeasure; but this was a
visitation for good: they concluded that God
had looked upon them with a look
of love, and had a gracious regard to them,
and had sent them the Messiah, who,
they hoped, would deliver them from the
Roman yoke; as he had formerly looked
upon, and visited their fathers, and sent a
redeemer to them, to deliver them
from Egyptian bondage. The Ethiopic version
renders it, “and God hath mercy on
his people;” and the Persic version, ‘God
hath looked upon his people, and hath
taken care of them.’” (2)
The writer of
Hebrews further confirms the fulfillment
of
what is said in Luke:
“Long ago, at many times and in
many
ways, God spoke to our fathers by the
prophets, but in these last
days he has spoken to us by his Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also he created the
world.He is the radiance of the glory
of
God and the exact imprint of his nature, and
he upholds the universe by the
word of his power. After making purification
for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:1-3
ESV)
In times past God spoke through
His
prophets. Now He speaks through His Son.
Matthew
Henry's Concise
Commentary summarizes the Hebrews
passage nicely:
“1:1-3 God spake to his ancient
people at sundry times, through successive
generations, and in divers manners,
as he thought proper; sometimes by personal
directions, sometimes by dreams,
sometimes by visions, sometimes by Divine
influences on the minds of the
prophets. The gospel revelation is excellent
above the former, in that it is a
revelation, which God has made by his Son.
In beholding the power, wisdom, and
goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold
the power, wisdom, and goodness of
the Father, Joh 14:7; the fulness of the
Godhead dwells, not typically, or in a
figure, but really, in him. When, on the
fall of man, the world was breaking to
pieces under the wrath and curse of God, the
Son of God, undertaking the work
of redemption, sustained it by his almighty
power and goodness. From the glory
of the person and office of Christ, we
proceed to the glory of his grace. The
glory of His person and nature, gave to his
sufferings such merit as was a full
satisfaction to the honour of God, who
suffered an infinite injury and affront
by the sins of men. We never can be thankful
enough that God has in so many
ways, and with such increasing clearness,
spoken to us fallen sinners
concerning salvation. That he should by
himself cleanse us from our sins is a
wonder of love beyond our utmost powers of
admiration, gratitude, and praise.”
(3)
Hence, Jesus is the fulfillment
of
the future prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy
18:15. Moreover, the perfection of
Christ in His position as head of the Church
negates the need for Old Testament
type prophets functioning today. This
argument of Christ’s headship rests upon
the sufficiency of Christ. Christ’s
representatives today are pastors, teachers
and deacons. For elders, see Titus 1:5, 7;
Acts 20:17, 28 and for deacons see
Acts 20:35; 1Timothy 5:17.
Christ and
His exalted place as the head of the
Church:
“And hath put all things under
his
feet, and gave him to be the head over all
things to the church.” (Ephesians 1:22)
Offices of
Christ as head of the Church:
Presently Jesus occupies three
main
offices: Prophet, Priest, and King first
seen in the Old Covenant with Israel. In
the New Covenant, these three offices became
combined into one office held
exclusively by the Lord Jesus Christ.
These
Messianic offices anticipated in the Old
Covenant:
The Messianic Prophet is seen
in
“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a
Prophet from the midst of thee, of
thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye
shall hearken.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
The Messianic Priest is seen
in:
“The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent;
Thou art a priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
The Messianic King is seen in
“Yet
have I set my king upon my holy hill of
Zion.” (Psalm 2:6)
Scriptural
passages that support the Threefold
offices of
Christ:
From
Scripture, Christ as a Prophet:
“A prophet shall the Lord your
God
raise up unto you of your brethren, like
unto me; him shall ye hear in all
things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And
it shall come to pass, that every
soul, which will not hear that prophet,
shall be destroyed from among the
people.” (Acts 3:22-23)
From
Scripture, Christ as a Priest:
“Even he shall build the temple
of
the LORD and he shall bear the glory, and
shall sit and rule upon his throne;
and he shall be a priest upon his throne:
and the counsel of peace shall be
between them both.” (Zechariah 6:13)
From
Scripture, Christ as a King:
“Yet have I set my king upon my
holy
hill of Zion.” (Psalm 2:6)
“Fear not, daughter of Sion:
behold,
thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.”
(John 12:15)
“Which in his times he shall
shew,
who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
(1Timothy 6:15)
Christ holds the unified office
of
Prophet, Priest, and King, and shares it
with no one. The writer of Hebrews in
7:13-17
declares that Jesus is the one eternal high
priest after the order of
Melchizedek.
Now for some valuable overviews
of
the Old Testament biblical prophets.
General
characteristics of a prophet byLouis
Berkhof:
“THE SCRIPTURAL IDEA OF A
PROPHET.
a. The terms used in Scripture.
The
Old Testament uses three words to designate
a prophet, namely, nabhi,
ro’eh, and chozeh.
The
radical meaning of the word nabhi
is
uncertain, but it is evident from such
passages as Ex. 7:1 and Deut. 18:18 that
the word designates one who comes with a
message from God to the people. The
words ro’eh
and chozeh stress the
fact that the prophet is one who receives
revelations from God, particularly in
the form of visions. These words are used
interchangeably. Other designations
are “man of God”, “messenger of the Lord”,
and “watchman”. These appellatives
indicate that the prophets are in the
special service of the Lord, and watch
for the spiritual interests of the people.
In the New Testament the word
prophetes is used, which is composed of pro
and phemi.
The preposition is not
temporal in this case. Consequently, the
word prophemi does not mean “to
speak beforehand”, but “to speak forth”.
The prophet is one who speaks forth from
God. From these names, taken together,
we gather that a prophet is one who sees
things, that is, who receives
revelations, who is in the service of God,
particularly as a messenger, and who
speaks in His name.
b. The two elements combined in
the
idea. The classical passages, Ex. 7:1 and
Deut. 18:18 indicate that there are
two elements in the prophetic function, the
one passive, and the other active,
the one receptive, and the other productive.
The prophet receives divine
revelations in dreams, visions, or verbal
communications; and passes these on
to the people, either orally, or visibly in
prophetical actions, Num. 12:6-8;
Isa. 6; Jer. 1:4-10; Ezek. 3:1-4,17. Of
these two elements, the passive is the
most important, because it controls the
active element. Without receiving, the
prophet cannot give, and he cannot give more
than he receives. But the active
is also an integral element. One who
receives a revelation is not yet
necessarily a prophet. Think of Abimelech,
Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar, who all
received revelations. What constitutes one a
prophet, is the divine calling,
the instruction, to communicate the divine
revelation to others.
c. The duty of the prophets. It
was
the duty of the prophets to reveal the will
of God to the people. This might be
done in the form of instruction, admonition
and exhortation, glorious promises,
or stern rebukes. They were the ministerial
monitors of the people, the
interpreters of the law, especially in its
moral and spiritual aspects. It was
their duty to protest against mere
formalism, to stress moral duty, to urge the
necessity of spiritual service, and to
promote the interests of truth and
righteousness. If the people departed from
the path of duty, they had to call
them back to the law and to the testimony,
and to announce the coming terror of
the Lord upon the wicked. But their work was
also intimately related to the
promise, the gracious promises of God for
the future. It was their privilege to
picture the glorious things, which God had
in store for His people. It is also
evident from Scripture that the true
prophets of Israel typified the great
coming prophet of the future, Deut. 18:15,
cf. Acts 3:22-24, and that He was
already functioning through them in the days
of the Old Testament, I Pet. 1:11.”
(4)
Another
overview of biblical prophets during Old
Testament times
from the Easton
Bible Dictionary:
Prophet
“(Heb. nabi, from a root meaning, “to
bubble forth, as from a fountain,”
hence “to utter,” Compare Psalms 45:1). This
Hebrew word is the first and the
most generally used for a prophet. In the
time of Samuel another word, ro'eh,
“seer,” began to be used (1Samuel
9:9). It occurs seven times in reference to
Samuel. Afterwards another word, hozeh,
“seer” (2Samuel 24:11), was
employed. In 1Chronicles, 29:29, all these
three words are used: “Samuel the
seer (ro'eh),
Nathan the prophet (nabi'),
Gad the seer” (hozeh).
In Josh 13:22Balaam is called
(Heb.) a kosem
“diviner,” a word used
only of a false prophet.
The “prophet” proclaimed the
message
given to him, as the “seer” beheld the
vision of God. (See Numbers 12:6 Numbers
12:8.) Thus a prophet was a spokesman for
God; he spake in God's name and by
his authority (Exodus 7:1). He is the mouth
by which God speaks to men
(Jeremiah 1:9; Isaiah 51:16), and hence what
the prophet says is not of man but
of God (2Peter 1:20 2Peter 1:21; Compare
Hebrews 3:7; Acts 4:25; 28:25).
Prophets were the immediate organs of God
for the communication of his mind and
will to men (Deuteronomy 18:18 Deuteronomy
18:19). The whole Word of God may in
this general sense be spoken of as
prophetic, inasmuch as it was written by men
who received the revelation they
communicated from God, no matter what its
nature might be. The foretelling of future
events was not a necessary but only
an incidental part of the prophetic office.
The great task assigned to the
prophets whom God raised up among the people
was “to correct moral and
religious abuses, to proclaim the great
moral and religious truths which are
connected with the character of God, and
which lie at the foundation of his
government.”
Any one being a spokesman for
God to
man might thus be called a prophet. Thus
Enoch, Abraham, and the patriarchs, as
bearers of God's message (Genesis 20:7;
Exodus 7:1; Psalms 105:15), as also
Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15; 34:10; Hosea
12:13), are ranked among the prophets.
The seventy elders of Israel (Numbers
11:16-29), "when the spirit rested
upon them, prophesied;" Asaph and Jeduthun
“prophesied with a harp”
(1Chronicles 25:3). Miriam and Deborah were
prophetesses (Exodus 15:20; Judges
4:4). The title thus has a general
application to all who have messages from
God to men.
But while the prophetic gift
was
thus exercised from the beginning, the
prophetical order as such began with
Samuel. Colleges, “schools of the prophets,”
were instituted for the training
of prophets, who were constituted, a
distinct order (1Samuel 19:18-24; 2Kings
1Samuel 2:3 1Samuel 2:15; 4:38), which
continued to the close of the Old
Testament. Such “schools” were established
at Ramah, Bethel, Gilgal, Gibeah,
and Jericho. The “sons” or “disciples” of
the prophets were young men (2Kings
5:22; 2Kings 9:1 2Kings 9:4) who lived
together at these different “schools”
(4:38-41). These young men were taught not
only the rudiments of secular
knowledge, but they were brought up to
exercise the office of prophet, “to
preach pure morality and the heart-felt
worship of Jehovah, and to act along
and co-ordinately with the priesthood and
monarchy in guiding the state aright
and checking all attempts at illegality and
tyranny.”
In New Testament times the
prophetical office was continued. Our Lord
is frequently spoken of as a prophet
Luke 13:33; 24:19). He was and is the great
Prophet of the Church. There was
also in the Church a distinct order of
prophets (1Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians
2:20; 3:5), who made new revelations from
God. They differed from the “teacher,”
whose office it was to impart truths already
revealed.
Of the Old Testament prophets
there
are sixteen, whose prophecies form part of
the inspired canon. These are
divided into four groups:
The prophets of the northern
kingdom
(Israel), viz., Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jonah.
The prophets of Judah, viz.,
Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah.
The prophets of Captivity,
viz.,
Ezekiel and Daniel.
The prophets of the
Restoration,
viz., Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.” (5)
Comments:
A true prophet spoke the Word
of
God. After the closing of the canon of
Scripture ongoing divine revelation
ceased along with the prophetic office. See
this writer’s chapters on “Sola
Scriptura” and the “Primacy of Scripture” in
the book The Religion that started in a Hat.
We are still to be on guard
against false prophets “Beware of false
prophets, which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves” (Matthew 7:15). This warning
does not prove that there are real prophets.
With the indwelling power of
the
Holy Spirit, prophets from among men of old
during the infancy of redemptive
history are no longer needed. Christ Jesus
is our heavenly prophet and
mediator.
A necessary
aside, we will look at the unique
Mediatorship
of Christ:
Westminster
Confession of Faith Chapter 8:1-3 and
Scriptural
proofs addresses this:
Section 1.) It pleased God, in
His
eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the
Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to
be the Mediator between God and man;(1) the
Prophet,(2) Priest,(3) and King;(4)
the Head and Saviour of His Church;(5) the
Heir of all things;(6) and Judge of
the world;(7) unto whom He did from all
eternity give a people, to be His
seed,(8) and to be by Him in time redeemed,
called, justified, sanctified, and
glorified.(9)
(1) Isa 42:1; 1Pe 1:19,20; John
3:16; 1Ti 2:5 (2) Ac 3:22 (3) Heb. 5:5,6 (4)
Ps 2:6; Lk 1:33 (5) Eph. 5:23 (6)
Heb. 1:2 (7) Ac 17:31 (8) John 17:6; Ps
22:30; Isa 53:10 (9) 1Ti 2:6; Isa
55:4,5; 1Co 1:30
Section 2.) The Son of God, the
second person in the Trinity, being very and
eternal God, of one substance and
equal with the Father, did, when the fulness
of time was come, take upon Him
man's nature,(1) with all the essential
properties and common infirmities
thereof, yet without sin;(2) being conceived
by the power of the Holy Ghost, in
the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her
substance.(3) So that two whole, perfect,
and distinct natures, the Godhead and the
manhood, were inseparably joined
together in one person, without conversion,
composition, or confusion.(4) Which
person is very God, and very man, yet one
Christ, the only Mediator between God
and man.(5)
Section 3.) The Lord Jesus, in
His
human nature thus united to the divine, was
sanctified and anointed with the
Holy Spirit above measure;(1) having in Him
all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge;(2) in whom it pleased the Father
that all fulness should dwell:(3)
to the end, that being holy, harmless,
undefiled, and full of grace and
truth,(4) He might be thoroughly furnished
to execute the office of a Mediator
and Surety.(5) Which office He took not unto
Himself, but was thereunto called
by His Father;(6) who put all power and
judgment into His hand, and gave Him
commandment to execute the same.(7)
(1) Ps 45:7; John 3:34 (2) Col
2:3
(3) Col 1:19 (4) Heb. 7:26; John 1:14 (5) Ac
10:38; Heb. 12:24; Heb. 7:22 (6)
Heb. 5:4, 5 (7) John 5:22, 27; Mt 28:18; Ac
2:36
In
particular, note what section three
states:
The Confession of Faith, (chap.
8.3.),
declares, “Which office he took not to
himself, but was thereunto called by his
Father, who put all power and judgment into
his hand, and gave him a
commandment to execute the same.” This
reference is speaking of Christ the
Mediator.
What is a
Mediator? Easton’s
Bible
Dictionary has a nice entry that is
helpful:
“It is one who intervenes
between
two persons who are at variance, with a view
to reconcile them. This word is
not found in the Old Testament; but the idea
it expresses is found in Job 9:33,
in the word “daysman” (q.v.), marg.,
“umpire.”
This word is used in the New
Testament to denote simply an internuncius,
an ambassador, one who acts as a
medium of communication between two
contracting parties. In this sense, Moses
is called a mediator in Galatians 3:19.
Christ is the one and only
mediator
between God and man (1Timothy 2:5; Hebrews
8:6; 9:15; 12:24). He makes
reconciliation between God and man by his
all-perfect atoning sacrifice. Such a
mediator must be at once divine and human,
divine, that his obedience and his
sufferings might possess infinite worth, and
that he might possess infinite
wisdom and knowledge and power to direct all
things in the kingdoms of
providence and grace which are committed to
his hands (Matthew 28:18; John 5:22
John 5:25 John 5:26 John 5:27); and human,
that in his work he might represent
man, and be capable of rendering obedience
to the law and satisfying the claims
of justice (Hebrews 2:17 Hebrews 2:18;
Hebrews 4:15 Hebrews 4:16), and that in
his glorified humanity he might be the head
of a glorified Church (Romans
8:29).
This office involves the three
functions of prophet, priest, and king, all
of which are discharged by Christ
both in his estate of humiliation and
exaltation. These functions are so
inherent in the one office that the quality
appertaining to each gives
character to every mediatorial act. They are
never separated in the exercise of
the office of mediator.” (6)
In closing:
“Then comes the end, when he [Jesus] shall
have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
Father; when he shall have put down
all rule and all authority and power. For he
must reign until he has put all
enemies under his feet. The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death.”
(1Corinthians 15:24-26)
Christ is now reigning and as
our
prophet, priest, and king and His work as
the heavenly mediator further
invalidates the need for an Old Testament
like prophets functioning in the New
Covenant era. Christ’s reign is continuing
as we still are awaiting the last
enemy death to be destroyed. The prophetic,
priestly, and kingly offices of the
Old Covenant all find perfect fulfillment in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Do we need
a prophet today? Yes, it is Jesus, and He is
our all-sufficient prophet.
Notes:
1.H.
D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, The
Pulpit Commentary, Deuteronomy,
Vol.3., (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Eerdmans
Publishing Company reprint 1978), p.
303-304.
2.John
Gill, Exposition
of the Old and New
Testaments, Luke, (Grace Works,
Multi-Media Labs), 2011, p. 200.
3.Matthew
Henry, Concise
Commentary, Hebrews,
(Nashville, Tennessee, Thomas Nelson), p.
1992.
5.M.G.
Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated
Bible
Dictionary, “Prophet,”
Third
Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897.
6.M.G.
Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated
Bible
Dictionary, “Mediator,”
Third
Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897.
“To God,
only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ
forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:27) and “heirs
according to the promise.” (Galatians
3:28, 29)
Mr.
Kettler has previously published articles in
the Chalcedon Report and Contra
Mundum. He and his wife Marea attend
the Westminster, CO, RPCNA Church. Mr.
Kettler is the author of the book defending
the Reformed Faith against attacks,
titled: The
Religion That Started in a
Hat. Available at: http://www.TheReligionThatStartedInAHat.com