The scriptural use of the term “prophecy” is in no way confined to foretelling events, nor is that its primary significance. It includes any communication which God saw fit to make either to His own people or to any of the nations. God said to Abimelech concerning Abraham, “He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee” (Gen. 20:77Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. (Genesis 20:7)). Aaron was called the prophet of Moses (Ex. 7:11And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. (Exodus 7:1)). God’s power came at times upon individuals who were not recognized as prophets, and they prophesied, as, for instance, Saul in 1 Samuel 10:1011. Prophecy became in Israel the means, through mercy, of God’s communication to the people when the priesthood with Urim and Thummim had utterly broken down. It came in by Samuel. Elijah and Elisha prophesied in the midst of apostate Israel. Nathan and John the Baptist were also prophets.
New Testament Prophets
In the New Testament we read that Philip had four virgin daughters who “prophesied,” and Agabus foretold that Paul would be bound at Jerusalem and be delivered to the Gentiles (Acts 21:9-119And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. 10And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus. 11And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. (Acts 21:9‑11)). Prophesying is, however, in the New Testament also used in a different sense. The word means “to speak forth,” and a prophet may, therefore, be described as a spokesman of God. Prophecy of this kind is a gift in the church for the edifying of the saints, bringing God’s Word with power upon their consciences and hearts (1 Cor. 14:15).
The Lord Jesus was emphatically the prophet of God. When on earth He said that the works which He did and the words that He spoke were not from Himself but were what He had seen and heard of His Father. He was the perfect exponent of God’s mind to the Jews and the proclaimer of God’s grace to a guilty world.
Prophetic Scripture
Prophecy usually implied a ruined state of things among God’s people, calling for His intervention. Some of the prophecies are appeals, reminding the people of what God had done for them and declaring how willing and ready He was to bless them if they would be faithful to Him, though interwoven with this are constant predictions of that which will be for the blessing of Israel in the future, after they have for the time been set aside. Others strictly allude to events which were then or are still future.
In Romans 16:2626But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: (Romans 16:26) the writings of the New Testament are spoken of as “prophetic scriptures,” and the assembly is built on the foundation laid by the apostles and New Testament prophets (Eph. 2:2020And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Ephesians 2:20)), that is, the truth taught by them. To the Old Testament prophecies may be added those in the Gospels, the Epistles and the Revelation, which illuminate the judgments of God upon apostate Christendom and the nations generally, the final overthrow of Satan, and universal blessing, ending with the judgment of the dead and a glorious outlook into the eternal state.
The Scope of Prophecy
The scope of all prophecy takes us on to the day of the Lord, during which time we have the judgment of the nations and of the wicked in Israel, the establishment of the kingdom, and the reunion of Israel and Judah under the Lord their righteousness. The nations are regarded more or less according to their relations with the twelve tribes. This recovery and blessing by God of His earthly people, in their Messiah, may be said to be a golden thread running through all the prophets. It was ever before God and shines out everywhere. Beyond and above all, there is God’s universal government, in which everything in heaven and on earth will be made subject to the Son of Man, who reigns in power and glory.
The Church
It is of the greatest importance, both for the right understanding of these scriptures and for a true appreciation of what Christianity is, to see that the church has no place in the prophets. In the church there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and the prophets recognize both, while carefully maintaining the distinction between them. Prophecy treats of the earth and of the government of God and its issue, while the Christian belongs to heaven, and he will reign with Christ in the kingdom.
Adapted from the Concise Bible Dictionary