A word about prophecy
It never meant predicting
My daughter had several people come to her during coffee hour at a church she was visiting recently, and put a hand on her shoulder, and tell her they had a word of prophecy for her. Each of these was about an earthly direction she was supposed to take, or else an event that was soon to befall her. Some denominations do that; everyone qualifies for the mantle of prophet. I see as well social media posts from people in the shamanic tradition using the P word. The idea is common there too.
Historical note here.
‘Prophet’, in the Old Testament sense, isn’t what popular culture thinks it is. Most notably, it does not mean teller of the future.
The word itself comes from a piece of Greek, that simply refers someone who speaks before the people, and sometimes explains. ‘Nabi’ (fem. ‘nebia’) is the usual semitic term for Israelite prophets, and it really only denotes someone set aside for some purpose by God.
A nabi’s purpose was not to timetable coming events, except occasionally to warn, in a general way, of what would happen if their message was not heard. The message itself was about the present. It was an admonition to return to covenantal relationship with God, and have done with contemporary laxity in faithfulness to him. That’s what ‘prophecy’ actually is in the historical record. Only very late in the prophetic age were there any end-times messages. This is called ‘apocalyptic’ prophecy, and it’s in the minority. Furthermore, even this is cast in symbolism, not specifics, with scrolls, trumpets, seals, and, for reasons of context, Mediterranean sea monsters. The message is still an exhortation to return to covenant and remain steadfast. It is not explicit prediction of coming events.
Prophecy is also rarer than we think of it. The recorded population of God-speakers numbers actually only one or two dozen people (depending on how you measure it), over six centuries’-worth of scripture.
And prophecy is dramatic. Prophets went into trances. The moment of revelation looked like spirit possession. It did not look like earnest greetings at a coffee hour.
Prophets, finally, never went looking for prophecy. In fact, every one of them resisted the message when it came, and did their best to avoid having to deliver what they heard. Reasonably so, for speaking prophecy to people who don’t want to hear it is a dangerous proposition. The really big prophets, like Moses and Elijah, had to go into hiding once their job was done.
It’s not for me to say who is, and isn’t, a real prophet. But I do think it’s worth observing the origin of this word we use a lot. The definition has changed.
Kind of off on a tangent here... This reminds me of another practice that is rare in the biblical scriptures but was commonplace in my Pentecostal childhood church experience: speaking in tongues. I never understood how these modern people were moved by the Holy Spirit so easily, every service, while it was a huge, awe-striking event in the Bible. I was not convinced even as a tender-hearted, indoctrinated child.
Very cool stuff 👍🏼