PROPHET - The Five Fold Ministry Of Ephesians Part 3

A water colour painting with the word 'prophet' on it

In my experience prophecy has often been about encouraging words.

In my time I have been called a jug, an aeroplane, a lion and many others, all in the name of prophecy. But the definition of prophecy is far wider than this narrow view.

What Is A Prophet?

The word prophet is translated from two words in hebrew: ‘to call’ and ‘to see’.

The call was that from God which validated their role as a prophet.

The seeing was that which God had shown them – of the things that people were blind to now, and the things that had not yet been seen.

Walter Breuggermann in his book The Prophetic Imagination* describes the message of the prophet as one who criticises, and one who energises. We see this throughout the scriptures.

The prophets criticise.

They criticise their leaders, they criticise their nation, and they criticise the nations around them.

They call them out for their neglect of the orphan and the widow, for their apathy when surrounded by injustice, for their compliance in oppression.

The prophets energise.

They spoke of swords beaten into ploughshares, of hearts made new, of justice rolling down like a river. They spoke messages of hope to the people.

Why We Are All Prophets

As the Church, we are also called to be prophets. 

The Spirit within marks us out.

We also see, and are called to see.

We see Gods desire for humanity.

Speaking words of critique and hope have never been popular. The prophet Isaiah was cut in half, the prophet Jeremiah was thrown into a pit, John the baptist was beheaded, Jesus was crucified, Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.

Regardless, we must speak out against injustices in our world, we must speak out for the poor, the marginalised, the orphan and the widow.

We must speak words of critique to the oppressors, and we must paint pictures of hope for the voiceless.

May we be those that take seriously our calls to be prophets, may we be those that critique the powers that be, and may we be those that paint pictures of a new way of being human.

*Please note that this is an affiliate link - this means that I receive a small percentage from the price of the book from Wordery if you buy one.

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