This week we are going to continue with our look into the function of a prophet. One of the main reasons the Lord calls one to be a prophet is to restore the people to the ancient paths set forth in the Scriptures. They are to give warnings concerning politics and give positive visions in many different areas . They will rebuke or give positive instruction and move to restore in any given area. Listening to the Lord is essential and there are many different ways the Lord speaks, so let’s look at a few. We must test our listening and stay away from the occult. Another obstacle to clear hearing is the desire to feel “special” because being chosen does not make you special. A prophet must devour God’s word because it is the exercise track of their training and the structure of their thoughts and memory, the guard house, if you will, against bad doctrine. It is the basis for ideas, the checkpoint, the boundary.    God speaks through dreams and one must learn his own dream language. Symbols can have external meanings and have little to do with our personality, character or internal meaning. It has to do with their inner being. Colors can have double meanings. For instance, red can mean blood or anger, green can mean life or envy and so on. People can be symbols. To dream about the death of a person can be literal or it can mean the person is dying to themselves, and giving birth can be literal or the new birth to an aspect of their lives.  Visions can flash in pictures across the inner screen of their mind, very short in duration or a picture can “pop-up” before them. A vision can also be like watching a movie outside of themselves, or a trance. If the meaning is unclear, pray and ask questions and wait on the Lord. Recurring dreams or daydreams need to be examined (Job 33.14,29). God may show the prophet their sin to save them from the effects of it. It is a time to rejoice if that happens and it doesn’t mean it disqualifies them but means they are still relying on the Lord. Another way the Lord speaks is dark speech. This is  a pun, a puzzle, a parable or an allegory and is non-direct. Direct speech is hearing the voice of the Lord plainly and clearly like He spoke with Moses and others. He may also speak through messengers that he sends. The Scriptures themselves is a very common way He speaks. God speaks through circumstances and also what is called the “still, small voice” that one hears within himself. A mature prophet will be silent before the will of another. They are silent observers of what God does, a watchman or witness. If they have something revealed to them in secret that would create turmoil or frighten people but has no unction to say anything, it is a clear call to intercede. This goes for blessings as well. They must be careful on how they hear. Don’t solidify a revelation in too many concrete terms. They could add to what God is trying to communicate and confuse the whole thing. They must make sure the words that they say are from the Lord, so they should counsel with others who have functioned as a prophet (Prov 24.6). Ask the Lord to confirm what He says. But, once He does they should not let anything deter them.  In addition,  prophecy  can be expressed  in other ways such as  speech, a flow of words, sayings and  burdens. Next, we are going to look at the function of Old  and New Testament prophets and look at how prophets will function in the Last Days.

   This week we are going to continue with the topic of a prophet and briefly go into their function. We have already given an overall description of a prophet and also discussed their calling, preparation and training. But, how do they function and what exactly do they do once the Lord puts them “to work.” 

    A prophet will call people back to the Word of God, speaking God’s word to him so that the Lord can write His word uniquely on his heart. Behind his words of warning and words to obey is God’s mercy. But, all the while he may be directed to give a word to others, he is acutely aware of his own sin and deceit in his own heart. He thinks he will never be true to the Lord and will feel somewhat helpless, but that’s what God wants and this will temper his message to others because the training of a prophet is the most excruciating discipline to endure and his hurts and sins become his schoolmasters. The prophet will humble the mighty and raise the fallen. When others laugh he will be weeping in his spirit. When others weep and are in the grip of true repentance, his spirit rejoices because he sees God’s rewards of mercy coming. When believers are celebrating a great victory he has already been called to the next battle, the next pit of sorrow. In other words, a prophet will always feel “out of synch” with other believers and will have a sense that he just doesn’t “fit in”, but he really does and the prophet will and must understand this or it will really discourage him. Prophets warn of trouble coming and they prepare people for the fire. He will be laughed at, cursed, rejected, fall and arise. He may have to speak a hard word to people for which he will disliked and hated. His services are free and they do not charge because the Lord is their source, not man. It’s acceptable, however, to take an offering but he must never be for hire. Many so-called prophets today are nothing but hirelings and they charge a high price to the next bidder. This is clearly the mark of a Balaam. A prophet will stand mute before the will of another and must never force what he wants. He must find ways for the person to receive his words and let them join into the search rather than tell them too many answers.  He must not only know what to say, but how to say it. A prophet owes the people nothing but comes and goes as the Lord directs and he may co-exist with some strange people. He sees no visions or perceptions unless the Lord has revealed them. He will never “peep” on his own but will rest in the Spirit and the Word. He can’t always be gentle or courteous because he must also rebuke, so he must depend on the Spirit of God. If he must render a rebuke then do it, but let God discipline. He also must pray always, think God’s thoughts and study, study, study. Daniel received angelic visitations after he was studying the Book of Jeremiah because he wanted answers. Much of what God reveals may frighten him or cause him distress so he must pray for guidance or intercede for another. He must also keep quiet about things he knows until the Lord tells him otherwise. He must be careful how he hears and be aware that what people want will and can affect him.

    He must not be put into the position of a “seer”, this not the primary function of a prophet. He must listen to God’s voice and not be affected by what others say. Warnings may not go down as prophesied because God warns so it WON’T happen. Confirmation may not mean agreement by others so just because some don’t agree shouldn’t stop him. He must do all he can do to verify what he has heard is from the Lord. The prophet, for the most part, is not for the general public but is sent to believers. (1 Cor 14.22, Matt 7.6). He must give what he has to say to the right people, at the right time. When disasters happen, that doesn’t mean that the victims were evil (Lk 13.1-5).  The relation of sin is more “corporate” than “personal” and doesn’t mean the people have sinned. A prophet must never rationalize too soon by pouring comfort into  situation that the Lord was using to move people to repentance. The Lord’s prophet learns to relax in the mess. He will see God’s faithfulness no matter what is going on.  True repentance brings life, but remorse is self centered and the prophet must not only know the difference but be able to recognize it and deal with it in others. A prophet may never see the fulfillment of what he sees. He will have the blueprint that God will use to bring it to pass however.                                                                                                                                    In the next article we will continue with the function of a prophet and deal with more of what he does, and how does a prophet listen and know when the Lord is speaking to him. How can one discern between his own voice and the voice of the Lord. This will be very helpful, not only to budding prophets, but to believers in general so don’t miss the next article.

This week we are going to continue with the subject of prophets and their calling, preparation and training. This is a very important aspect of the function of a prophet and it is a very hard thing to go through. A person does not decide to become a prophet, there are no clubs or schools one can join or attend, no monthly dues. God calls someone Himself and to Himself and the training can vary from person to person, from what situation God may use him in, what the social situations are that he is sending him into and so on. There are no courses or curriculums, but once called, the training can take years. They must be led into the “wilderness” where they will be purged and cleansed, until, after all their human strength is gone, they are made strong as metal and is ready to be used in their Makers service.  They must hold people to the Word of the Lord. They will have little honor in this life and at times, won’t be able to explain why they do what they do. Things in their life will go wrong so that the Lord can break them of their own self-confidence and ability. Humiliation and the crushing of pride will reveal their individual smallness and inability before God. A test is a success only if it fails sometimes so that they learn that they cannot succeed on their own ability alone. Whatever shows them the inner rottenness of their core takes away any confidence in the flesh. Their training undercuts all their hidden and false motivations. Name any area of natural success like  communication, intelligence, marriage, friendships, employment and so on. If the Lord hasn’t already smashed them, He will. When humiliation is complete, He moves on. In other words, life will be the teacher.

      How do we recognize a budding prophet? First of all, the Lord can call someone at any age. Jeremiah and John the Baptist were called before they were born while Abraham and Moses were called later in life. Many times, their lives will have tragic events that would break some people, but the Lord sustains them and teaches them. Sometimes these events can be very humiliating and other people around them will not understand why they happened. The budding prophet will have dreams and visions from the Lord and will share these with people. Some will think it’s their imaginations and brush them aside as a nuisance, but those with spiritual discernment will immediately recognize these as signs of a developing prophet. They must learn how to hear God in dreams and visions, mind-flashes, colors and open and dark speech, circumstances, the still small voice and all the other ways the Lord speaks. They will also be burden-bearers and have a keen sense of justice. Some will be teachers and have distinctive gifts that will enable them to do the work of a prophet. These should also be looked for. They must know the word of God in letter and in spirit. Their training will take years and they must renounce whatever has formed them, cutting the apron strings and any carnal hold on them. They also must learn not only what to say, but how to say it.

      Next week we will continue and talk about the function of a prophet, how do they operate and what they actually do.  After seeing these basic facets, then we will go into the Old and New Testament prophets and look at how they functioned and some of the differences.  Then we will briefly look into how prophets will function in the last days and Biblical prophecy.

Q. There are many today who claim to be prophets. Could you explain what a prophet is and how can you tell the real ones from the false?

A. This is a very important question, especially in the last days when the Scriptures warn us that there will be many false prophets. I’m going to give a detailed answer and describe who and what a biblical prophet is. This will take several weeks but I want you and other readers to have it for yourself so you can keep a copy handy to go over from time to time. This week we will start with the definition and purpose of a prophet. Next we will look at their function and what do they do and how they serve the believer and a congregation. After that we will discuss their calling, preparation, training and the distinguishing marks of one being called into this function. Then we will talk about the Old and New Testament prophets and their similarities and differences, the tests of a true prophet from the false. And lastly, how do the prophets fit today and how they relate to biblical prophecy and the coming of the Messiah. All of these areas will overlap somewhat

The word “prophet” in Hebrew is “navi” and it means a spokesman. The word does not describe who he is but what he does. He is to hear a word from the Lord and to speak exactly what the Lord tells him and to whoever God sends him to. The Word can come in the many different ways God speaks to man and this has been discussed in previous articles. There were Old Testament prophets and there are New Testament prophets. The main function of a prophet is to be an interpreter of the word. Deut 13.1-5 says that what he says and teaches should be in line with the Scriptures or what God has clearly said. Isa 8.20 says that the people should check out what people say according the Law and the Testimony, which is another way of saying the prophets. Yeshua came not to destroy the Law, or misinterpret it, but to fulfill it, which literally means to interpret it correctly. The Bereans in the Book of Acts checked out everything the Apostle Paul taught by the Scriptures and they were considered more noble than the rest. So, the function of a prophet is to interpret the Word of the Lord and then to speak and teach it to whoever God sends them to. Now, there is a difference between and watchman and a shepherd.  When one had a flock of sheep, some served as watchmen and others shepherds. The watchmen usually were perched high above the shepherd fields, alone, and they looked for danger. If they saw danger coming, they warned the shepherds. The shepherds then protected their sheep. The watchmen did not deal with the sheep directly because the sheep did not know their voice. The sheep follow their shepherd. In the spiritual realm it’s the same way. The prophets are often warned by the Lord or advised by Him concerning something and they were often times sent to the kings, leaders or shepherds for the word to be disseminated among the people because the sheep know the shepherds voice and trust him (Amos 3.6-8). Yeshua did this also but many times appealed to the people directly because He said many times that they were “sheep without shepherds.”  So a prophet is called by God, it is not  something you inherited like the function of a priest or a king. It is not something you can desire to be, it is entirely up to the Lord who His prophets are. A prophet in many ways is an “enabler” because he ,too, has fallen.  They are servants of the Lord, first of all, and they are to speak and interpret  the Word that they hear. So, his main purpose is more “forth-telling” than “foretelling” although the Lord may have him give a word concerning future events. They see the vision and listen and speak for God (Exo 7.1). They admonish, reprove, warn, direct and intercede to prevent or soften events. They teach through direct interpretation or parables. The prophet Samuel had a school for the Prophets. They are counselors and are ahead in the vision. They will be hidden ,for the most part, and they may stand a little apart from others. They are like an iceberg where they are seen in part but there is more to them than meets the eye, and they have depth. Next week we will pick up with the function of a prophet.

Q.There are several places in the Bible where the word "forever" is used but the verse is clear that it wasn't forever. Why is that and can you clarify what "forever" means?

A. The word "forever" is the Hebrew "olam" and it seems to mean indefinitely with reference to the nature of the thing being described. If the nature is God, then olam is truly eternal. If the nature of man is being referenced then it means as long as he lives. If the nature of what is being talked about is relationships, then it is as long as the conditions upon which the relationship is based still hold true. When those conditions change, the relationship ends. So, forever has several meanings depending on what is being referenced. For example God's nature is "forever" because that is who He is. God may call someone to do something "forever" but of course when he dies, that is over. Also, like a marriage, the intent is to stay together "forever", meaning a lifetime, unless the conditions in the relationship change (Deut 24.1-4). Another example will be the ages found in the Scriptures like the "olam hazeh" which means "this world" or "this present age." Olam is used but it won't be like this forever. Another age is called the "olam haba" or the "world to come." Again, forever is used but it won't be the world to come forever because it will change after 1000 years. So, olam does not means "philosophic eternity" but it is relative to some base. Olam does not always, in every case, mean "continuously in force" throughout infinite time no matter what happens to the world nor does it mean "irreversible" or something that cannot end if He wants it to, if conditions change (1 Sam 2.30).

Q. In Revelation 13.3 it says that the Beast will suffer a mortal head wound. Does this mean that the Antichrist will be assassinated and come back to life?

A. No, this has symbolic meaning so let me explain. The Book of Revelation is full of symbolic language and the symbols used can be found throughout Scripture. In Revelation 13.1, John sees a beast arising out of the sea. The sea is symbolic of the unconverted “sea” of humanity (Isa 57.20). In Jewish writings of the 1^st century this creature was known as Leviathan and he is also symbolic of the false messiah. Look up Leviathan in the Jewish Encyclopedia or Google it and there will be much information on it. This creature has seven heads. In Revelation 17. 9 these 7 heads are 7 mountains, and mountains in Scripture were symbolic of world kingdoms (Dan 2.25, Matt 16.18, Gen 49.24, Matt 21,44, Isa 2.2)). These kingdoms are Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and then Revived Rome. In Revelation 17.10 it says “five have fallen” by the time Revelation was written and that would be the first five just mentioned, one is and that’s Rome and the other has yet to come, Revived Rome. It says that when it comes it must remain a short while, which is the 7 years of the Tribulation. Now, in Revelation it says “he” but the kingdom is always personified by the king. The king was the kingdom. Now, back to Revelation 13.3. It says that “one” of the seven heads (plural) was slain. That means that Rome “fell” but this wound was healed. That simply means that Rome will be “revived” temporarily for 7 years. In other words, certain nations have arisen and have held dominion over Israel and all of God’s people. The wounded head was Rome and being “healed” is referring to the fact that Rome will be “revived” in the last days and the geographical area that will make up this last kingdom will be the same area that was part of the old Roman Empire. It will be primarily 10 nations, just like the Roman Empire was made up of 10 divisions as it fell apart. The 10 toes of the image in Daniel 2 reflect not only the Roman Empire as it fell apart, but are also symbolic of the 10 divisions of Revived Rome. So, this “beast” is symbolic in Revelation 13. It had seven heads that ruled over Israel, and 10 horns that are the same as the 10 toes in Nebuchadnezzar’s image. The “head” that was slain is Rome, and it being “healed’ refers the fact that 10 nations or areas that were a part of the old Roman Empire will make be aligned together in what is referred to as “revived Rome” with the false messiah as the head. It is not the literal “head” of the false messiah that is slain but one of the 7 “heads” (mountains, kingdoms=Revelation17.9) that once ruled over Israel, and that would be Rome.

This week we will conclude this short series on spiritual warfare with what to do after a victory. Wars have been lost because a victory was not handled correctly, and this can happen in spiritual warfare as well. The “poison fruit” of victory can stunt our progress. Japan won a battle at Pearl Harbor but it also had much to do with why they were defeated in WW II. Israel had some very early victories against Rome in the Jewish revolt of 70 AD but those same victories contributed to their ultimate defeat. When victory is in sight, don’t stop and “smell the roses” or enjoy the spoils before it’s time. You must keep on till the battle is over. Pharaoh Necho stopped too soon at Megiddo because his men started pillaging and this gave the enemy time to escape and it took an extra year to finally defeat them. The Union army at Gettysburg had the perfect opportunity to rout the confederate army after Pickett’s charge, but didn’t and the war dragged on. In defeating the enemy, render him useless or incapable of fighting back. David won a victory and captured many chariot horses (1Chr 18). So, he kept what he needed and hamstrung the horses so that they could not be used against him again. How do we do this? Don’t get involved with the same people again that have caused us much damage, don’t answer their calls and go into business with them and avoid the situations that led to the “battle” with them to begin with. In the spoils, don’t take more than can be handled. Keep only the useful things. When fighting a battle and God gives unexpected victories and rewards, don’t refuse them, but accept them gratefully. Israel got control of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in the 6-day war of 1967, but gave the Temple Mount back to the enemy and that decision has caused and will cause much damage.

When God intervenes, you don’t have to worry about carrying out vengeance. When Assyria attacked Israel in Isa 36 and 37, God intervenes and defeats Sennacarib. Humiliated at the sudden demise of 185,000 men, Sennacarib goes back home and is eventually murdered. Israel didn’t have to do a thing. It’s the same way spiritually. When God delivers us from someone, we don’t have to carry out personal vengeance against them, if it needs to be done the Lord will do it. Remember Sennacarib! Another important thing to remember is “don’t keep fighting the battle.” When it’s over, it’s over. Rehashing the battle leads to bitterness, anger and resentment, but, don’t ever think the battle is over in a victory either, expect it to get “hotter.” Why? Because you just improved your weapons and the enemy will counter. Also, God will allow the enemy to hit you because of pride. In 2 Cor 12.1-10 it says that Paul was given many great revelations but the Lord allowed him to be buffeted by his enemies to keep him from exalting himself. Some think the “thorn in the flesh” was some physical ailment but it wasn’t. Paul had a job to do for the Lord and he needed to be physically able to do it. But, a “thorn in the flesh” is a Hebrew idiom meaning an adversary, to falsely accuse, abuse or slander you. In Judges 2.3 it says because Israel had made covenants with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they (the inhabitants) were now going to be “thorns in your sides, (or flesh).” In Num 33.55 it says that if Israel doesn’t drive out these inhabitants they will be “pricks in your eyes and thorns in your flesh.” In Ezekiel 2.6 the Lord tells Ezekiel not to fear the people or their words though they be as “thorns and thistles” to you . So, Paul’s thorn in the flesh was the accusations of the people against him who slandered and falsely accused him of things, stirring up crowds against him. This was to prevent pride in Paul, as he says himself (2 Cor 12.7). If we get “hit” and lose, we need to assess the reasons why and adjust, building our walls and defenses stronger than before. After a victory, rebuild your walls and develop your weapons (Isa 61.4, 58.12). We must also stay balanced through study of the Scriptures, receiving wisdom, being refined and prayer. As you can see, there are many aspects of spiritual warfare. We looked at definitions and basic warfare truths. We then looked at the Captain and who He is. Then, we discussed wise preparations and what psychological warfare was. Next we looked at what to do when on the attack and what to do when attacked. And lastly, we have just looked at what to do after a victory. What we have gone over the past few weeks is just an introduction to spiritual warfare. To develop all this out would take over a year but hopefully you have received enough to help you in this all important area of biblical spiritual warfare.