We Are Jonah

On Prophecy...

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

'Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken.'"

- Isaiah 4:3-5 *

OK, maybe you thought I was going to start some long-winded controversial rant on what prophecy is and what it's not, but I won't. Yet (hee!)

Instead, I will point out some elements that are *always* there in true prophecy, from Ezekiel's "woes" to Mary's Magnificat --

God's Words build up and tearing down. They pronounce "woe" and speak comfort. They exalt the valleys - the humble, people downtrodden and oppressed, people suffering under God's judgement - and bring low every mountain - that is, the proud and arrogant, the fools who say there is no God, and the hypocrites who profess God with their mouth but deny him by their actions.

God's Word brings forth equality, births righteousness ("making the crooked straight") and softens hearts to God ("making the rough plain"). It "prepares the way". And it does all this for the glory of God - so that "all flesh may see it together" and that all may praise God's glorious grace.

So, here are some telltale signs of true prophecy -

• It doesn't tickle the ears. It doesn't speak of "power" and "great authority". Often, it's what you really don't want to hear.
• It doesn't just condemn, and it doesn't just give warm fuzzies. It convicts, it brings low those that need it, and it encourages and lifts up those who need it.
• It brings forth fruit of righteousness. It inspires and compels people to turn away from sin and to renew their passion for God and his purposes in the world.
• It has it's eyes firmly planted on what's most important. It realises that all this - all that we do, all that we are - is for the glory of God. Everything is "so that ye may know that I am the Lord".

--

* - I chose KJV this time. I think that the "thee"s and "thou"s were particularly appropriate when talking about prophecy. Heh.

Labels: charismatic, prophecy, Scripture, social, theology

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