Deception in the house of God.

“Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sending. You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:4-6)

Jeremiah’s whole life was spent coping with opposition. From the time of his call to ministry, when he was probably still in his late teens, he was warned by God of the problems ahead: “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord” (Jer 1:19).

Cost of Faithfulness

He was born into a family of priests in the rural area of Anathoth and his family were regarded as much lower down the scale of public esteem than the priests who lived in Jerusalem and were responsible for the Temple.

To have a prophet as outspoken as Jeremiah in a family of priests was a tragedy! No doubt when they came into Jerusalem to take their turn of serving in the Temple, his brothers and other family members would have been greatly embarrassed to hear what the Temple priests were saying of their relative. But Jeremiah did not soften his words to please his family or to spare their discomfort; he declared the word of the Lord fearlessly.

But there was a cost and many times he feared for his own life – even on one occasion at the hands of his own brothers, who were plotting against him saying, “Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” Jeremiah describes himself as “like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter” (Jer 11:19). He says in today’s reading, “Do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver”. Probably he had been invited to some family gathering but God had warned him not to go by revealing their plot to deceive him.

Jeremiah did not soften his words to please his family or to spare their discomfort; he declared the word of the Lord fearlessly.

Idolatry in the Temple

Jeremiah’s main target was not the ordinary people, nor the political leaders – it was the religious leaders, the priests and prophets who were the great deceivers of the nation. They were the educated elite who were able to read the Hebrew scrolls and to know the teaching of the Lord that was given to Moses. There was no excuse for them. The ordinary people did not know the requirements of the Lord, but the priests and prophets had full access to the word of God. They were the arch-deceivers because they misused this power and authority: “The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority” (Jer 5:31).

As we have said before in this series, the most serious act of deception by the Royal Temple priesthood was that they perpetuated the myth of the Temple’s inviolability, saying that God would never allow any enemy to destroy it and therefore Jerusalem was safe from attack, because God would always defend the city. Jeremiah knew this to be a terrible lie because God is a God of righteousness who demands faithfulness and loyalty from his people.

Yet the people of Jerusalem were worshipping other gods – especially Astarte, the goddess of the Babylonians, who they thought might help them by keeping the Babylonians away from the land of Judah. Once again, it was not only the people who were practising idolatry; there were even secret altars to foreign gods in the Temple itself. “Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, Peace’, they say, when there is no peace” (Jer 6:13-4).

It was not only the people who were practising idolatry; there were even secret altars to foreign gods in the Temple itself.

Deceiving in God’s Name

God hates deception, especially in spiritual matters. When people declare something in the name of God that deceives others – that is particularly abhorrent! But that is what the prophets were doing in Jeremiah’s lifetime: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you”, he said. “They fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says you will have peace’” (Jer 23:16-17).

These were wicked lies and deception that would have disastrous consequences because the people did not change their ways. They carried on in idolatry and God eventually removed his cover of protection from over Jerusalem, allowing the Babylonians to destroy the city.

In Western nations today, we are surrounded by deception in the media, in politics and in the world of commerce and advertising. But the most dangerous deception by far is coming from the Church. When the word of God is not faithfully taught and prophetically declared by the religious leaders of a nation, God holds those leaders responsible for the fate of that nation.

This is a sobering biblical truth that ought to be constantly in the minds of church leaders today – even if it means they have to pay the price that Jeremiah had to pay.

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here to read previous instalments.

The Church is in danger of not recognising God’s hand in Israel’s restoration

Britain’s position before God.

In this deeply significant phase of Britain’s history, it is of the utmost importance for us to be clear on our nation’s standing with God. In this article we consider some passages from the Prophet Jeremiah that are directly relevant to our situation.

Speaking First to Judah

Jeremiah spoke for around 40 years to Judah, often through tears, up to the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. As a young man, Jeremiah saw the best of days for Judah. He began to prophesy in the days of Josiah (Jer 1:2), whose account is in 2 Kings 22-23. Josiah led the people of Judah to return to the Law of Moses, cleansed the land of idolatry, restored the Temple and celebrated the Feasts of the Lord in Jerusalem. It was said of him:

Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul and with all his might, according to the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him. (2 Kings 23:25)

As a young man, Jeremiah would have experienced these good and blessed times in his nation. These would have stood in stark contrast to the days of decline that followed – but these were inevitable. Judah had already fallen so far, prior to King Josiah, that God’s anger was turned back only temporarily, during Josiah’s reign:

Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, with which his anger was aroused against Judah, because of the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. (2 Kings 23:26)

Britain: Hope or Concern?

There are applications from this period of Judah’s history that we can apply to modern Britain.

In Jeremiah’s day, blessings on the nation as a whole depended on how they were led. It was the King’s responsibility to lead the nation according to God’s laws. In our day and our nation, the monarch has a prominent role, but so do the Government and all the institutions that exercise authority on behalf of the Crown.

The Prophet Jeremiah experienced good and blessed times in his nation – which would have stood in stark contrast to the days of decline that followed.

Our current leaders are rapidly descending into the ways of King Manasseh, discarding belief in the God of Israel, opening the way for any and every form of idolatry, rejecting God as Creator, sacrificing our unborn babies and many other things that displease and bring sorrow and anger to Almighty God.

We have also had our good days – days when the truth of the Gospel rang out from our shores and when the Laws of God were engrained in our national heritage. Yet, no more than Judah could rest on the blessed days of Josiah can Britain rest on the blessed days of the past. Just as in the latter days of Judah, there is hope, should we raise up uncompromising leaders like Josiah, but there is also real concern over the extreme vulnerability of our current position.

Conditions for Blessing

When Jeremiah went to the potter’s house (Jeremiah 18) he was shown a principle which applied not only to Judah but to all nations:

If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.

And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. (Jer 18:7-10)

The British Empire in 1897 / See CreditsBritain was once in the former of these situations. Once we were a pagan nation not knowing the ways of God, but gradually, over many years, the laws of God were made central to our culture and national life: the Lord did not destroy us, but built us up.

Now, we are deeply into the latter part of this message. Disaster of some sort is inevitable - likely precipitated by the hardship following a mighty collapse of the economy. What follows remains to be seen. God’s judgments can be redemptive - but it depends on how the nation responds.

No more than Judah could rest on the blessed days of Josiah can Britain rest on the blessed days of the past.

Contrasting 2 Chronicles 7:14

Centuries before Jeremiah’s day, God’s covenant heart for Israel and Judah was shown to Solomon at the time of the dedication of the Temple. Solomon realised that a time would come when his nation would turn from God and he interceded with God in advance to make a way back. That way back, a specific promise for Israel and Judah, was summarised in 2 Chronicles 7:14:

If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

It is time for Christians in Britain to fine-tune their understanding of this and realise that, though we hear the heartbeat of God through this passage, it is nonetheless a promise given directly and only to Israel. We have to twist the meaning of the words “my people” and “their land” to make it read that if Christians pray, God will heal Britain. The Jeremiah 18 passage quoted above requires more than this: namely, repentance across the entire nation.

Of course Christians must pray, but repentance must sweep across the entire nation, especially among its leaders, not just in the Church. We can intercede for others but they themselves must repent (turn from their own sin). Even Jeremiah could not repent on behalf of his nation – hence they went eventually into Babylonian captivity.

Our Responsibility to Israel is Key

There is yet another key passage in Jeremiah that affirms how deeply serious the days are for Britain. In Jeremiah’s day, Babylon was the empire that took Judah into captivity, so the words spoken by Jeremiah were first applied to this empire. Babylon was God’s chosen instrument for judgment but the Babylonians also had responsibilities towards the Jews whilst they were in exile:

This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbours who seize the inheritance I gave to my people Israel, I will uproot them from their land and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country.

And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’ – even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal – then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord. (Jer 12:14-17)

The words also speak of the exile of the Jews among the nations since AD 70 right up to today. A positive consequence of this diaspora is that the lands where the Jews were scattered have been given opportunity to know the God of Israel. In following his ways, foreign nations could be counted among the commonwealth of Israel.

But, if instead these foreign nations reject the God of Israel, especially once he has gathered his people back from exile to their land, the foreign nations will be plucked up and destroyed.

If foreign nations that have hosted Jewish exiles reject this opportunity to follow the God of Israel, they will be plucked up and destroyed.

This is the condition of many Western nations today, having influenced many Jews over the years with their philosophies and false gods. Consider, for example, the way many Jews during recent years have been turned to the New Age movement in both Europe and America.

Now, at the time of the re-gathering of Israel, there is an increased turning to those false gods as the God of Israel works to fulfil his final covenant promises to Israel. The above passage from Jeremiah applies! Britain, America, Russia, Germany and all other countries that have known him and his way, in turning now away from the God of Israel, are setting themselves up for eventual utter destruction.

In these ways, embedded in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, we can discern the deeply vulnerable situation before God, of Britain today. We must seek him whilst there is still time.

In the first of a series on the non-writing prophets, Chris Hill looks at Elijah.

Ahab was without doubt the most evil king to rule the northern kingdom of Israel. Nearly one third of I and 2 Kings is devoted to his reign and that of his two sons. A period of 34 years.

Prompted by the influence of his pagan wife, Jezebel, Ahab had led God's people into grotesque idolatry. The Canaanite gods of Baal and Asherah had been installed and were being worshipped as Israel's redeemer.

Yet, strangely, vestiges of the old faith were still around. Ahab had named two of his sons Ahaziah (which means ‘the Lord grasps hold of’) and Joram (‘the Lord is exalted’). The confusion in his own mind had had a knock-on effect in the nation. King and people alike were in a terrible state of indecision (not unlike our own leaders and people today), limping between several opinions as to who was the true God.

The Lord has always hated such syncretism — the ’blending’ of false religion and biblical revelation. He still hates it. Syncretism invites his wrath just the same now as it did then.

The Lord has always hated syncretism — the ’blending’ of false religion and biblical revelation. He still hates it.

To look at Israel in the ninth century BC, you could be forgiven for thinking that Jezebel’s annihilation of the Lord’s prophets and servants had been so thorough that there was no voice of protest left in the land. That would be a mistake. 1 Kings 18:4 indicates that one man alone, Obadiah, had sheltered a hundred of the Lord's prophets from these purges. The Lord himself later says that there were seven thousand people in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19:18).

These are extraordinary statistics. To see the state of the nation, you would never have dreamt these anonymous people existed. They must have been active at some level, in spite of the prevailing conditions, but their impact upon society was nil. No-one heard the word of the Lord because the Lord's people refused to speak it out.

It took a man of singular faith to change things. That man was Elijah from Tishbe on the eastern side of the Jordan river.

The Representative Prophet

EIijah was more than ‘an average prophet’. It is significant that when our Lord was being prepared for his passion (Luke 9:31), he was ministered to by Moses (representing the law) and Elijah (representing the prophets). It was not Isaiah or Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Joel, but Elijah. This would seem to be confirmed by the attitude of the angel towards John the Baptist, who came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). A view later reflected in our Lord's own words (Matt 11:14).

Thousands of the Lord’s people remained in pagan Israel – but no-one heard the word of the Lord because they refused to speak it out.

It is important, at this point, to note that there is no biblical warrant for saying that the ministry of prophecy in the New Testament is any different from that in the Old Testament. Consequently, the ministry of Elijah, who we may regard as the 'representative prophet’, should act as an indicator of the nature of prophecy today.

In common with his fellow prophets, Elijah was a communicator of the mind, will and heart of God. He was, we might say, a ’law enforcement officer’ and a ‘guardian of the covenant’. He spoke forth the word of the Lord to his people, and his heart beat with the heart-beat of the Lord for his people.

We see this demonstrated in three ways.

1) Elijah was jealous for the Lord (1 Kings 19:10)

The Hebrew word may be translated as ‘zealous’ or ‘jealous’. Both were true of the genuine prophet. To be filled with zeal for the Lord is to be wholeheartedly for Him. Elijah was jealous for the Lord. Jealousy is a virtue and not a sin. Otherwise, the Lord could not reveal himself as "a jealous God" (Ex 20:5).

To be ‘envious’ is to want what belongs to someone else, but to be ‘jealous’ is to want something back that is truly mine, but which has been taken away from me. Elijah felt what God felt. His heart beat with God’s heart-beat. He put God’s interests above his own, even though it would threaten his very life.

The true prophet of the Lord is not interested in his own reputation or the popularity of his message because he values God above all else. He is the messenger of the Lord and in consequence communicates the heart of God as well as his word. When God's prophet brings a blistering tirade to God's people, he does so with tears - tears for the people and tears for God. God's prophet longs to see repentance and reconciliation where there is rebellion and estrangement.

Elijah felt what God felt. His heart beat with God’s heart-beat and he put God’s interests above his own.

2) There was a reason for Elijah's confident prophesying (1 Kings 17:1)

It takes a remarkable kind of faith to enable a man to stride into the audience chamber of a pagan king and state unequivocally that it will not rain for the next few years. We can but wonder at the profound certainty (or folly) of such a move. It seems to leave Ahab speechless. The question is: how did Elijah know that God was actually saying this? How did he know he had a prophetic word to give?

ln these ‘enlightened’ times we might suppose that Elijah had an 'inner witness’, a nervous twitch, or maybe a sudden sense of warmth and an increase in heart-beat. Perhaps he had an uncontrollable urge to rush into the king‘s presence and say the first thing that came into his mouth.

None of these is correct. There is only one reason why Elijah spoke those fateful words. It may be found in Deuteronomy 11:16-17, which states:

Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them [an apt description of Israel under Ahab and Jezebel]. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you.
(emphasis added)

Elijah’s confident announcement was made on the basis that he was thoroughly familiar with his Bible (or rather those parts God's word which had been committed to writing in his day). He knew that the secret of prophecy is simply this: if the conditions fit the situation, God is saying now what God has always said in his word.

Elijah knew the secret of prophecy: that if the conditions fit the situation, God is saying now what God has always said in his word.

True prophets have a deep understanding of Scripture. They understand that to test what they believe God is wanting them to say, they must be entirely convinced that this is in complete accord with his word. They understand that without a profound grasp of the scriptures they must not dare to speak out as it they have a word from him.

The prophet recognises with holy awe that if any part of his (or her) utterance is not in accordance with the Bible then to that extent he is prophesying falsely. Such a challenging matter should not deter but rather drive him to read the word.

3) Elijah prayed earnestly (James 5:17)

It is inconceivable that a true prophet could be anything less than a 'prayer warrior’. The question is how did Elijah pray?

James 5:17 says that in consequence of his praying it did not run for “three and a half years”. The reference in 1 Kings 18:1, however, appears to indicate only three years of drought. There is a six-month difference. What are we to make of this?

It looks as if there was already a six-month drought before Elijah prayed that it would not rain. In other words, Elijah prayed that the situation in the land would get worse.

This is odd. Most of the modern ’prophets’ prophesy nice things, and this is what we are used to. Any ‘prophet’ prophesying and praying that things in the nation (or church) might get worse would be considered in most Christian circles as unloving, insensitive, and not communicating God's word, let alone his heart!

The truth is that Elijah prayed the way he did because he loved the people and wanted to see them brought back to the Lord. It broke his heart to see the estrangement between God and Israel. He prayed that the drought would continue in order to bring the people back to their faithful God.

Most modern ’prophets’ prophesy nice things - any who prophesy that things might get worse would be considered in most Christian circles as unloving or insensitive.

What does the Lord think about us? What does he feel about us? What does he want of us and how does he want us to be? These are the matters which Elijah dealt in, the essence of the prophetic ministry.

The well-known prophecy of Joel 2:28-32, quoted in Acts 2:17-18, indicates that the last days will see a release of the prophetic ministry. As surely as John the Baptist spoke the word of the Lord at his first coming, so we shall see the release of the 'spirit and power of Elijah’ as his return approaches. Many believe we are well into those days. Jesus is coming soon. The mantle of Elijah will cost us what it cost him — complete faithfulness to God because we love him and complete faithfulness to his people because we love them. Courage to tell it like it is — in love, integrity and vibrant faith — come what may.

First published in Prophecy Today, 1997, Volume 13(4).

More prophetic words are brought at a day of prayer in Chichester, confirming the prophecy that was given through David Noakes last week.

In last week's editorial we looked at events that have taken place since the Referendum and the vote to leave the European Union. We published a word from my colleague David Noakes that assured us that God is fully in control and that although we must expect "darkness and upheaval in the European institution" we should not be anxious, because God is working out his purposes and will walk with us in the difficult times that lie ahead.

Chichester Day of Prayer and Prophecy

Last week my wife and I led a day of prayer in Chichester. There were quite a large number, most of whom were mature Christians having a good knowledge of the Bible and Christian teaching. At one point during the day we set aside a time of complete quiet to listen to the Lord for what he is saying to his people in Britain today.

Individuals took a note of what they heard and then shared it with others in groups of about ten, who together weighed what was brought. Following this a spokesperson for each group reported back to the whole gathering the most significant words that had been accepted in their group.

Learning from Past Examples

During the day, we had already done some teaching on how the biblical prophets had received revelation from God: how they listened and how they knew that what they were hearing really was from the Lord. We noted that Isaiah heard from God early in the morning, "He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught" (Isa 50:4). We noted how Jeremiah learnt to "stand in the Council of the Lord" (Jer 23:18).

We noted that Jesus promised that his disciples would recognise his voice in the same way as sheep recognise the voice of their shepherd. He said "I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me" (Jn 10:14). Jesus also promised that we would be able to hear the truth through the Holy Spirit. He said "When he the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come" (Jn 16:12-13).

Hearing God Speak

Only two of all those present had seen David's prophecy, which had only just been published. But the remarkable thing was how many of the words reported in the feedback time were in accordance with it. Of course, we should not be surprised at this because if we are all listening to the same Source on behalf of the nation, we should hear a similar message!

At a prayer day in Chichester last weekend, many prophetic words were given in accordance with that given by David Noakes, despite only two people present having read it.

Warnings of Trouble, Hope for Opportunity

Many of the words were warnings of troubled times that lie ahead. A typical word reported by one group was, "Times of great turmoil are coming because the enemy is angry with the vote to leave the European Union. The praying church will be important in the coming battle nevertheless the exit will be successfully completed", but we were also warned about deception, "Watch out that you are not deceived" (Luke 21:8).

We were warned that getting out of Europe will not be easy. It was not easy for the people of Israel to get out of slavery in Egypt. Although they were given permission to leave, the Egyptians chased after them and God had to do a miracle to save them. "When the King of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, 'What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!'" (Ex 14:5). The battle to get out of the EU will be long and hard. There is a great need for Christians to intercede and pray for our negotiators, businessmen and politicians, that righteousness will prevail.

There were a number of prophetic words about the 'fields being ripe for harvest', suggesting that God is giving us a great opportunity to share his truth with others and that many will respond to the Gospel – particularly young people, who are searching for truth in a confusing world of strife and conflict.

Warnings About Israel and the Middle East

There were strong warnings about the situation in the Middle East; "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of the ruins" (Isa 17:1). This is coming true today as Syria is being destroyed, but there is great danger that when the destruction of Syria is completed the nations will turn upon Israel "Come, they say, let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more" (Ps 83:4).

There were strong calls for Christians to stand with Israel in prayer as we approach the close of this age. There were further warnings of storm clouds gathering and a time of darkness coming when the faith of Christians will be severely tested. But this was accompanied by promises that we should not be afraid in difficult times because God knows the way he is taking us (Job 23:10) and he will use the difficult times to cleanse his people.

We were warned that getting out of Europe will not be easy - it was not easy for the people of Israel to get out of slavery in Egypt.

With Jesus' Help

God will also strengthen us during the testing times for Jesus has promised that he will never leave us alone. As he prayed for his first disciples, he is still interceding with the Father for his disciples today. In his prayer to the Father, Jesus said, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one" (Jn 17:15).

We know that this editorial is different from our usual brand, but the editors felt that it was important to report these words, which we believe to be from the Lord at this special time in the history of our nation. They are particularly important because they have come through ordinary Christians, who are members of prayer groups from many different churches – not ministry leaders or clergy. Clearly God is speaking to his people today!

These prayer groups are scattered around the South Downs area of England – and our team has been leading similar days in different parts of the country. Next month we are in Rochester, Kent, when we may publish a further report. We do hope that this is an encouragement to all praying Christians.

Join with us this week to test Smith Wigglesworth's 1947 prophecy of revival.

Smith Wigglesworth was a well-known evangelist. He had humble beginnings in life, took up the trade of a plumber and was then powerfully used in a world-wide ministry of evangelism with miraculous healings and miracles accompanying the ministry of the word. He lived from 8 June 1859 to 12 March 1947.¹

Shortly before he died in 1947, he delivered the following prophecy:

During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it, and will be characterised by the restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches. In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say, 'This is a great revival.' But the Lord says, 'No, neither is this the great revival but both are steps towards it.'

When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidence in the churches of something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit.

When the word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest move of the Holy Spirit that the nations, and indeed, the world have ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and Welsh revivals of former years.

The outpouring of God's Spirit will flow over from the United Kingdom to mainland Europe, and from there, will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.

Our purpose in highlighting these prophecies in Prophecy Today is to ask our readers to test them afresh, especially with the upcoming EU Referendum in mind. What is God doing in the world in these crucial days? What is he saying to our nation as a whole and to the Church in particular?

God uses the ministry of prophecy in our day but rather differently from Old Testament time. Since the special Day of Pentecost when God began to pour out his Spirit on all believers, the New Covenant brought about a new way when all believers would know God personally. Prophecy comes in whatever way God chooses and it then becomes a matter for our local communities to test together.

Over the weeks leading up to the Referendum of 23 June it is wise for our local Christian communities to seek the Lord for what he has said historically and what he is saying now.

Testing Smith's Prophecy

Last week we considered Mother Barbara's prophecy and sought to discover if it contained an accurate word for the UK. If so, the call to prayer, especially among our women-folk, would be critical in the saving of our nation.

Nevertheless, we have to admit that there were some questions relating to the prophecy that were hard to untangle, such as what it meant for a nation to be saved, especially when no conditions were given except the response to engage in faithful prayer.

Smith Wigglesworth's prophecy is of equal magnitude, but also provokes some questions:

• What of the timing and the validity? Next year the prophecy will be 70 years old. Would that fit with the "During the next few decades" of the first sentence?
• Was Smith Wigglesworth foreseeing the charismatic revival which some would say now needs the stability of a revival in the study of the Bible?
• Is a new thirst for Bible study occurring in our day, and is the dissatisfaction with traditional denominations in our day a manifestation of what was prophesied?
• Finally, will we really witness such an outpouring of God's Spirit as was prophesied? If so, does this have a bearing on our position in or out of the EU?

We encourage you to pray through these and other questions communally, using the 12 tests of prophecy featured in our last issue of Prophecy Today. See what God says and how the prophetic word for our nation is emerging over the coming weeks. Please share any useful insights below.

Next Week: Jean Darnall's visions

References

1 A brief introduction to his life and ministry can be found here.

Edmund Heddle's series on the prophetic ministry comes to a close as we study the greatest prophet of all: Jesus the Messiah.

"Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?" The question which John the Baptist addressed to Jesus from his prison cell is the one that had echoed down the ages of biblical history. "Are you the coming one?" (in Greek ho erkomenos) (Matt 11:3).

Messiah's Threefold Office

The 'coming one', called Messiah because he was anointed by God's Spirit for his ministry (Isa 61:1), had a threefold office to fulfil: prophetic, priestly and kingly. He was to be a prophet to save us from our ignorance, a priest to save us from our guilt and a king to save us from our self-will.

Eusebius, one of the early church fathers, spoke of him as "the only High Priest of all men, the only king of all creation and the Father's only supreme prophet of prophets". In Christ all the prophecies of Old Testament Scripture are fulfilled, as Peter told his hearers in one of his earliest sermons: "Indeed. all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days...the promises of God through the prophets are for you, and you share in the covenant which God made with your ancestors" (Acts 3:24-25, Good News Bible).

The promised Messiah was to be a prophet to save us from our ignorance, a priest to save us from our guilt and a king to save us from our self-will.

The Prophet God Will Raise Up

We now turn our attention to the role of prophet and seek to understand how Israel was made to expect the coming of a prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses announces: "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him".

Fuller details of the raising up of this prophet are given in verses 15-18. First, he will be raised up by God, he will not be appointed by the men of Israel or their leaders. He will be God's choice. Secondly, he will be like Moses and resemble his ideals and outlook. Thirdly, he will be "one of your own people". No foreigner will be appointed to that office. He will speak God's words and God's people are required to obey him in an unquestioning way. There will be serious consequences for those who refuse to obey. God himself will make him answer for any disobedience. This was the kind of prophet Israel was told to expect.

The Circumstances that Demanded a Prophetic Ministry

There are three reasons why it was important to receive the promise of a prophetic ministry at that time in Israel's history:

1. Moses their leader was shortly to be taken from them.

2. The promised land ahead was riddled with occultic and spiritualist practices (Deut 18:14)

3. They were afraid of God's voice and the fiery aura that surrounded him. "For this is what you your¬selves begged of God at Mount Horeb. There at the foot of the mountain you begged that you might not have to listen to the terrifying voice of God again, or see the awesome fire on the mountain, lest you die" (Deut 18:16, Living Bible).

The promise of a prophet who would speak only God's words was of vital importance to the Israelites as they proceeded into Canaan, where horrible practices such as the offering of live babies into Molech's dreadful fire were conducted. How such a practice must have grieved a loving God! The Israelites would find themselves among peoples who practised divination, sorcery, witchcraft, casting spells, practising spiritualism, listening to mediums and calling up the spirits of the dead (Deut 18:10-13). Such customs are still carried out today in so-called Christian countries, bringing down the wrath of God on people who practice things he regards as destestable (Deut 18:12 and 14).

The Lord showed his approval of their reaction to his holiness: "The Lord said to me: What they say is good. I will do as they have requested. I will raise up for them a prophet" (Deut 18:17, 18).

Israel needed the promise of a prophetic ministry. Moses was to be taken from them, they were afraid to hear God directly and the land of promise ahead was riddled with witchcraft.

A Succession of Prophets?

The text of Scripture refers to one single prophet (Deut 18:15 and 18). Moffatt in his translation refers to a succession of prophets in his rendering: "The eternal your God will raise up for you prophet after prophet like myself". It is clear on reflection that both are true.

Moses is requesting a prophet who will go into action as soon as they enter the Promised Land and who will continually stand up against the powers of darkness throughout the coming years of the nation's history. Clearly a succession of prophets would be necessary to accomplish this obligation. The New Testament places the stress on one exceptional prophet, concerning which the question of John the Baptist was asked, "Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?" (Matt 11:3).

Corporate or Individual?

In our understanding of the scriptures we need to realise that certain titles like 'the prophet', 'the servant of the Lord', 'the son of man' and others have both a corporate and an individual significance. To get the fullness of the meaning we need to accept both interpretations.

So to grasp the meaning of the Deuteronomy reference we need to see the ultimate appear-ance of some special person, one preceded by a long line of prophets who were able to speak God's word to their succeeding generations.

Jesus - the Final Fulfilment of Deuteronomy's Prophet

It is evident from the gospels that the believers had become convinced that Jesus was 'the prophet'. He is referred to as Jesus the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee (Matt 21:11). After the people saw the miracles that Jesus did they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14). "On hearing his words, some of the people said surely this man is the Prophet" (John 7:40).

The central revelation conveyed to the people of Israel is that it is Jesus of Nazareth who is the fulfilment of the prophet promised by Moses and recorded in Deuteronomy. Peter in his sermon in Solomon's Porch at the Jerusalem Temple refers to Jesus, the one whom God raised up, as the fulfilment of the Deuteronomic prophecy (Acts 3:22-26).

The Deuteronomy prophecy refers to the ultimate appearance of some special person, preceded by a long line of prophets who spoke God's word to their succeeding generations.

The prophet "powerful in word and deed before God and all the people" is revealed by the Lord himself to the two travellers on the road to Emmaus. It is surely no wonder that, as they listened to his exposition of "Moses and all the prophets", their hearts burned within them (Luke 24:19-32).

Reasons Why People Believed Jesus to be the Prophet

The woman of Samaria cited the evidence that had led her to believe that Jesus was the prophet when she described to her fellow Samaritans how "he told me everything I ever did!" (John 4:29). The widow of Nain received back her dead son when Jesus said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" When the man subsequently started to talk the people were filled with awe and praised God. The crowd cried out, "A great prophet has appeared among us" (Luke 7:14-16).

On the last and greatest day of the feast, when Jesus was expounding the scriptures to both religious leaders and ordinary people, there was some discussion as to whether or not he was the prophet promised in the Old Testament scriptures. Some at least reached the right conclusion: "Surely this man is the Prophet" (John 7:40). There was, however, no clash of opinion after Jesus had fed the five thousand. "After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world'" (John 6:14}.

Some Had Difficulties in Accepting Jesus as the Prophet

The Jewish leaders refused to accept Jesus because he had come from Galilee. They were saying, "Look into it and you will find a prophet does not come out of Galilee" (John 7:52). But that was not all the scriptures had said about the Messiah's birthplace: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler in Israel" (Mic 5:2). It was true that Jesus was brought up in Galilee. but it was in Judea that he was born.

After Jesus had opened the eyes of the blind man, the Pharisees were sent to investigate what had happened. The blind man had reached the only sensible conclusion that Jesus was a prophet and that he was operating with God's power. The religious leaders could not accept that conclusion because the man had been healed on the Sabbath (John 9:16, 17, 33).

There are still many people today who do not believe that Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses. Some have drawn inadequate conclusions by refusing, like the Pharisees, to accept parts of Scripture. Others do not acknowledge him because, like the religious leaders of the time of our Lord, they allow their own traditions to stand in the way of accepting the evidence which to ordinary people was so clear and convincing.

At the time, many people did not believe Jesus was the promised Prophet because they failed to accept parts of Scripture, or were blinded by their religious traditions.

God's Greatest Prophet

The answer to the question that has titled this series of Bible studies, What is a Prophet?, cannot be adequately answered simply by studying, as we have done, the prophets of the Bible. We need in the end to come face to face with Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth.

He, like Moses before him, "knew the Lord face to face" (Deut 34:10) but in his case uninterruptedly. Other prophets, like Samuel, were able to communicate God's word to the people (1 Sam 3:21). And what was true of Samuel was supremely true of Jesus in that God let none of his words fall to the ground (1 Sam 3:19).

Jesus is greater than Jonah (Luke 11:42), Solomon (Matt 12:42), Jacob (John 4:12), Abraham (John 8:53) and Moses himself, concerning whom the writer to the Hebrews said, "Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses" (Hebrews 3:3). To quote again the words of the early father Eusebius, Jesus is "the Father's only supreme prophet of prophets". Listen to him and learn to prophesy by his prophetic spirit.

If we are to understand what a prophet truly is, we must in the end come face to face with Jesus the Messiah.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 7 No 6, November/December 1991.

Catch up with the rest of this series by following this link.

Edmund Heddle unpacks Peter's valuable instructions on prophecy.

In his two New Testament letters Peter augments and complements the teaching on prophecy and prophesying found in the letters of Paul. The two writers between them establish a complete answer to the question 'What is a prophet?' Peter's letters contain five paragraphs in which he deals with prophets and prophesying, each full of valuable instruction, and we shall deal with each paragraph in turn.

Prophecies Concerning the Coming Messiah (l Peter 1:10-12)

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and the circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels desire to look into these things.

The Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of Messiah referred to him as the gift of God's grace. This they did under the direction of the Holy Spirit, who revealed through them the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glory that would follow. The prophets were clear about the coming of the Messiah – but who he should be, what he should do, and at what point in history he would appear - all of these things they longed to know but were kept in the dark.

It was revealed to them that the prophecies they uttered were not for the immediate benefit of either themselves or God's people. They had been given for the enlightenment and blessing of a later generation, namely the people of Peter's day.

So the message had remained hidden, though they searched intently and with the greatest care. Prophets on earth and angels in heaven longed to understand the fullness of the prophetic revelation. The Greek word translated 'look into' is the same as the word used in John 20:11 to describe Mary Magdalene's entrance into the grave of Jesus, where she stooped down to look, standing at the side of the tomb so as not to get into her own light. How carefully should we look into the prophetic word, especially where the immediate application appears to be neither easily understandable nor relevant.

Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah but were kept in the dark about the meanings of their own prophetic revelations.

The lesson from this paragraph is that no one prophet conveys the whole message. Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:29 suggests that "two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said."

Prophecy needs to be taken seriously and is best weighed in the company of the Lord's people. We need the Holy Spirit as much in understanding prophecy as in its
proclamation. The prophetic word about the Messiah remained hidden until Peter himself - the Spirit-filled preacher on the day of Pentecost - brought the explanation of their age-long bewilderment.

Using God's Grace-Gifts for His Glory (1 Peter 4:10-11)

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides so that in all things God maybe praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

God's grace is 'multicoloured' and is revealed in the gifts (charisma) of his Spirit. Peter mentions two gifts here:

1. The ability to speak God's words or, as it is usually termed, the ability to prophesy. "...the very words of God" is an attempt to translate the Greek word logion, which is usually translated by the word 'oracle' and means a divine response or utterance. This word is used in the scriptures of the Mosaic law, God's written utterances through Old Testament writers, the totality of Christian doctrine (Acts 7:38; Rom 3:2; Heb 5:12) and, incredibly, in the Spirit-inspired utterances of ordinary Spirit-filled-believers.

2. The ability to serve the body of Christ by gifts of divine power such as healing, miracles, deliverance from powers of darkness, and others (1 Cor 12:9-10). We are stewards of these gifts. Whatever gift God decides to give us for another individual or group we must pass on. God's gifts are unstinted and unlimited, except by our disobedience and unbelief. As stewards we shall one day be required give an account of our stewardship. God's provision is always lavish, and we are the ones who limit his gifts.

God's grace is multicoloured and his provision is always lavish – we are the ones who limit his gifts.

The Greek word translated as 'provides' is an interesting one; its literal translation is to provide a chorus in the theatre - to defray the cost of putting on a chorus at a public festival. Later on it came to describe the supplying and equipping of an army or a fleet. But in all cases its use conveys the idea of abundance.

Two things are required of us. First, that we are filled with God's Spirit and that we are willing to receive the gifts from the Lord and, secondly, that we obediently use them in the service of those for whom they have been provided. We are to let the spiritual gifts reach a fullness of development through us. Only then will their ultimate objective be achieved, namely that God may be praised. "To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever."

Paying Attention to the Prophetic Word (2 Peter 1:19-21)

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter says that the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah had been made more certain by the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, at which event he and the others present were eye-witnesses of his majesty. They were there when the voice came from heaven saying, "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (v17). "You will do well to pay attention to the prophetic word which is for you like a light shining in a dark place", is the admonition Peter addresses to his readers.

We cannot live the whole of our lives in the glory of our transcendent Lord. We are in a sin-darkened world which Peter describes with words that translate to mean dirty, squalid and murky. The time will come when a new day dawns, preceded by the morning star. In classical literature the morning star is Venus, which rises in great brilliance before the dawn. But for Peter it must be Jesus (Rev 22:16). The words 'in your hearts' are thought by some scholars to belong to the next verse.

The Greek word for morning star is phosphorus, which means 'light-bringer'. Until the dawning of the day of Christ the prophetic word is like a light shining in a dark place. We should do well to give attention to it as society deteriorates and things become ever more difficult for those who are wholly committed to Christ.

Peter goes on to show that prophetic Scripture can be relied on totally because it originated not in the human mind or will but in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. No true prophecy was ever produced by mere human effort. Never at any time was it man's initiative that brought into being the scriptures. Man had his part to play; dwelling in God's presence and listening to his voice, he was told to record what he heard but he had to be careful never to add his own thoughts. Peter likened the prophets to sailing boats carried along by the wind.

No true prophecy was ever produced by mere human effort. Man had his part to play, but he had to be careful to never add to what God was revealing.

Scripture could be depended upon as a light-bringer. The initiative in prophesying must always be with the Holy Spirit. As Paul says after listing the nine supernatural gifts, "All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines" (1 Cor 12:11).

The corollary to Peter's statement, ie that it was the Spirit who originated Scripture, is that it can be neither understood nor interpreted by mere human ability. The modern practice of prophesying needs to be brought into line with the fact that no true prophecy ever comes from human initiative, also that no prophecy can be understood apart from the enabling of God's Spirit. How blessed are those who, though living in a wicked and dangerous world, nevertheless have the word of the prophets made more sure.

Prophetic Promises Remembered (2 Peter 3:1-4, 8-13)

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come...they will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised?...everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation"...but do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise...he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief...since everything will be destroyed...what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God...in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Peter is concerned that the prophet's words concerning the destruction of both earth and heaven prior to the establishment of the new heaven and the new earth were being forgotten and were ceasing to have a challenging effect on the behaviour of God's people. He recalls the words of Jesus, who challenged the people of his day to watch "because you do not know on what day your Lord will come" (Matt 24:36-44).

Peter in his two letters makes three references to Noah and the Noachic flood (1 Pet 3:20; 2 Pet 2:5; 2 Pet 3:5). The promised flood was a long time in coming but finally it arrived and did exactly what God said it would do.

Isaiah had foretold the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth (Isa 65:17-19, 66:22) but the process was to involve the destruction of things as they are. Since their fathers had died things had gone on just the same and people blamed God for being dilatory. But Peter explained that the delay in fulfilling the promise was due to the patience of God and his great desire that none should perish. Peter told them it was not that God had forgotten but that he loved. The delay is no indication of divine forgetfulness but rather of compassion.

Peter warned believers that God's apparent delay in delivering his promised judgment on the world was due not to forgetfulness, but rather to divine compassion and love.

Patience is likewise required of God's people. The promise of the prophets is that the new heaven and the new earth will be preceded by universal destruction. This ought to exercise a profound effect on Christians' life and conduct.

To Sum Up...

Peter reviews the coming of the Messiah; unfolds the resources of the spiritual gifts; confirms the authority of the prophetic word; and reveals the importance of preparing for the day of the Lord.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 7 No 4, July/August 1991.

Prophets of the Old Testament often experienced confusion as they tried to understand circumstances in the light of God's word. What can we learn from them?

It should not surprise us that the prophets of the Old Testament were often perplexed. In the conduct of their ministry it was necessary for them to spend much time both with their God and also with the people to whom they had been sent. What they heard in God's presence was often very different from what they heard in the conversation of their everyday world.

In this study we shall meet some of these perplexed prophets and, as God's prophets today, learn how to prevent ourselves repeating their mistakes.

Moses

When the 12 leaders returned from their exploration of the Promised Land, it was seen that only two were in favour of going on to possess it. The Israelites grumbled and were about to stone Moses and Aaron. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting. The Lord said to Moses:

How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me...? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you [Moses] into a nation greater and stronger than they. (Num 14:11-12)

What an offer! But was it a privilege? Moses must for a while have been greatly perplexed. On the one hand God's tremendous promise - on the other the people's rejection. But he quickly came to an understanding of the situation, and began to reason with the Lord. That would not be right, he said. "Then the Egyptians will hear about it!...if you put these people to death all at one time the nations...will say 'The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised...so he slaughtered them in the desert'" (Num 14:1-2, 10-16).

What prophets hear in God's presence is often quite different from what they hear in the conversations of everyday life – which can cause confusion.

Moses was concerned about God's name and reputation. Are we today more concerned with getting into the upper echelons of prophetic ministry, or are we determined that all we do shall enhance God's reputation among us?

Elijah

After Elijah's announcement that there would be a serious drought in Israel, he went to stay in the house of a widow in Zarephath. God provided them with a jar of flour and a jug of oil every day. But their peace was about to be disturbed by the sudden death of the son of the house. The prophet's perplexity is evident from his words, "O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" (1 Ki 17:20).

One testing experience through which prophets and other believers may have to pass occurs when people or resources which we have come to rely upon are suddenly removed.

One testing experience which we may encounter occurs when people or resources we rely upon are suddenly removed.

Job

Here is a man who had to face tremendous perplexity. His book begins by recording a series of catastrophes directly involving him. His donkeys were seized, his sheep and their shepherds were struck by lightning, raiding parties carried off his camels, and to cap it all his children were killed in a hurricane. Even so he did not charge God with wrongdoing.

Then the Evil One was given permission to test Job on a personal level, and as a result his body was covered with painful sores. But still Job did not sin by what he said. Certainly, he cursed the day he was born and groaned under his calamity, but he still did not speak out against God, even when his wife suggested that suicide was the best way out (Job 1:13-22, 2:7-10).

His three friends held forth on Job's situation but were to prove "miserable comforters" (Job 16:2). Their current theological theories did nothing for the sufferer. Their concept of God had collapsed because it was too small. In the end Job was content not with a perfect explanation of the suffering of the righteous but with the greatness of his God.

Job had to suffer tremendous perplexity – in the end he was contented not with a perfect explanation for his suffering, but with the greatness of his God.

It is still true that godly men and women have to face the perplexing question of why God allows them to suffer as he does. Meanwhile Job's book is a resounding protest against current teaching that a God-fearing life inevitably brings success and prosperity.

Hosea

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, "Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife...because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord" (Hos 1:2). Did God actually tell Hosea to take to himself as his wife a woman who was already an adulteress? It seems more likely that Gomer was chaste at the time of her marriage and that only later did she leave Hosea for someone else. This would fit the symbolic use God makes of the prophet's domestic situation, for he refers to the days of Israel's youth as a time when Israel was pure in her relation to Yahweh (Hos 2:15).

But however we understand the time of Gomer's immorality it must have perplexed poor Hosea and may have exposed him to the judgmental reactions of other prophets. His only consolation was the assurance that Yahweh himself also suffered intensely when Israel proved unfaithful to him.

It was Hosea's privilege to let his unchanging love for Gomer be a picture for all time of the 'love that will not let us go'. Let all prophets know that they have the understanding and compassion of God himself where his servants have to experience the continuing sadness of life in a broken home or unstable family environment.

Hosea's suffering was a picture of the suffering God himself went through with Israel – so Hosea always had the consolation that the Lord understood what he was going through.

Jonah

There is one thing of which we can be certain: Jonah did not like the people of Nineveh! After receiving his original commission to preach to them, he ran away. It took a strange encounter with a great fish to persuade him to obey the instructions he had received and "Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh" (Jonah 1:1-3, 3:3). Once there, his prophetic preaching was so effective that God's offer of mercy brought the whole nation to its knees in repentance. "When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened." (Jonah 3:10).

One would have thought that the prophet would have been thrilled with such a positive response to his message. "But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry" (Jonah 4:1). This was the reason he refused to go to Nineveh and ran away to Tarshish: he believed that if he preached they would repent and that God would then forgive them, and he did not want that to happen.

We may be certain that Jonah laid on heavily the message of judgment, but probably did not encourage the Ninevites in repentance. Today's prophets need to ask the Holy Spirit to help them put forward a presentation of their message in which judgment and mercy are balanced against one another. Jonah made the terrible mistake of begrudging them the mercy that they so much needed. This was the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees in the time of our Lord when they grumbled at Jesus for entertaining publicans and sinners to a meal. "If I have the gift of prophecy...but have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor 13:2).

Habakkuk

The branch of theology called 'theodicy' was at the heart of Habakkuk's perplexity. The term is made up of two Greek words theos (God) and dike (justice) and it refers to the vindication of God's character despite the existence in the world of physical and moral evil. It all began when Yahweh told Habakkuk: "For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people" (Hab 1:5-6).

At the heart of Habakkuk's confusion was the question of how a righteous, holy God could allow evil in the world.

God created perplexity in the prophet's mind when he went on to say that he would use the Babylonians to punish his own people Israel. 'How could God do such a thing?' was the anguished cry of the prophet. "Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?" (Hab 1:13). The problem of 'theodicy' does not exist among those who have gods whose morals are little better than those of sinful men and women. But those who believe in a holy and righteous God are shocked and upset by some of the actions and decisions of the only living and true God.

What can a prophet do - whether living in ancient Israel or in our modern world? Like Habakkuk, it is right to take the problem to God and to wait until he answers (Hab 2:3). Meanwhile the righteous shall live by faith (Hab 2:4). Ultimately all perplexities will be resolved.

Jeremiah

No-one transcends Jeremiah in the depth of feeling in which he expresses his perplexity:

O Lord, you deceived me and I was deceived, you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long...the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name', his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. (Jer 20:7, 9)

Here is a prophet who has every reason to resign his prophetic mission. After all, he had been beaten and put in the stocks (Jer 20:2). We see here plainly the personal cost of continuing to speak God's word, but Jeremiah could not restrain himself. The Lord's message was burning in his heart and he could not remain silent. How much the church of today needs prophets who will get into the counsel of God and then will speak out fearlessly what he wants them to say, whatever the cost!

Jeremiah spoke God's message fearlessly and suffered greatly for it. How much today's church needs prophets who are willing to do this, whatever the cost!

Ezekiel

The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord upon me. I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Aviv near the Kebar river. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days – overwhelmed. (Ezek 3:14-15)

It would appear that the seven-day period during which Ezekiel remained silent was an expression of his sense of bereavement and perplexity. The silence, the location of the event, and the period involved (cf Job 2:13) conveyed his deep empathy with his people in their affliction. Undoubtedly his silence gave emphasis to the words he was later to utter.

Today's prophets need to give time to the true situation of the Lord's people, instead of shooting off superficial words that carry no weight because they do not have the heart-cry of the totally perplexed behind them.

Whatever perplexities prophets have to face, let them learn that they may complain to God, but they must beware of complaining about him.

Whatever perplexities prophets have to face, let them learn that they may complain to God, but they must beware of complaining about him.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 7 No 3, May/June 1991.

Edmund Heddle's series on prophecy continues, turning this week to visual ways in which God speaks.

According to Peter's words on the day of Pentecost, dreams and visions are two methods that God desires to use in communicating his prophetic word to man. He claimed that the pouring out of the Spirit that morning had fulfilled Joel's prophecy and had made possible the promise that "your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams" (Joel 2:28).

God had used both dreams and visions from the earliest days of the Bible story, though the number receiving such communications was few. Now, many more would be able to receive what God wanted to convey to them by means of dreams and visions, and they in turn could pass on the prophetic word to others. A study of the New Testament reveals that some of the most important decisions reached by the early church were made in response to God's visual direction, yet very many Christians still do not take seriously the place of dreams and visions in seeking to hear God's voice today.

God spoke in various ways

The first words of the letter to the Hebrews tell us that "in the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets...in many ways" (Heb 1:1). In defending Moses from the jealous criticism of Miriam and Aaron, God said: "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses...with him I speak face-to-face, clearly and not in riddles..." (Num 12:6-8). God's normal way of speaking to his prophets was in dreams, visions and riddles (riddles, or 'dark speech', refer to God using language figuratively, as in a parable). Moses had a unique relationship with God, who spoke to him 'face to face' (Ex 33:11; Deut 34:10).

In the sad story of King Saul it is recorded, "When Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets" (1 Sam 28:6. Urim means 'lights' and its associated word thummim means 'perfections'. They were connected with the breastplate of the High Priest in some way so as to discover God's will, though no-one now knows how). It was in this desperate situation that Saul made the bad mistake of consulting a medium, and paid for it with his life. God spoke to Israel in differing ways. Many Christians limit the way they hear God to the scriptures or a chance word in a sermon, oblivious of the fact that God's word to us can be visual as well as verbal.

Scripture tells us that God has always spoken in visual as well as verbal ways.

God's word: verbal AND visual

It is significant to observe that the 'writing' (as distinct from 'oral') prophets of the Bible divide into one group of whom it is said that they 'saw' visions (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Obadiah, Nahum and Habakkuk), and a second group of whom it is said that 'the word' of the Lord came (Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi).¹ The heading of Micah's prophecy contains a reference to both vision and word. God reveals himself in pictures as well as in words.

A picture (so it is said) is worth a thousand words; but if lacking a word that is specific, a visual representation may remain vague. God uses both the verbal and the visual (eg in the Old Testament the Tabernacle and its ceremonies, and in the New Testament the parables and stories of Jesus). Alongside our stress on the word, we need in today's church to recover the important place of visual prophecy.

Alongside our stress on the written word of God, we need in today's church to recover the important place of visual prophecy.

Dreams and visions

If dreams and visions were removed from the Bible, a considerable amount of both Old and New Testaments would undoubtedly vanish. The significant difference between a dream and a vision is that the former occurs during sleep, the latter in full consciousness. The quickly changing images which God brings to our minds during sleep receive minimum conscious resistance, whereas with a vision some effort on our part is necessary to keep the pictures before us. Both dreams and visions pass quickly from the mind and it is desirable to follow the good example of Daniel and to write down what we have seen before it vanishes (Dan 7:1; Job 20:8).

It is pointed out that Peter was in a trance while he received the vision that resulted in the conversion of Cornelius and the opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles. A trance in the Biblical understanding of that word is a mental state into which God brings the person he is addressing so that the senses are partially or wholly suspended. It is not to be confused with an hypnotic or self-induced condition.

The difference between a dream and a vision is that the former occurs during sleep, whilst the latter occurs in full consciousness.

Did Jesus experience either dreams or visions? There is no record that he did, but his words in Luke 10:18, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven", may be describing a vision he was seeing. As perfect man he may well have dreamt. We know that he knew perfectly what Moses knew but partially, for he really knew God face-to-face.

Analysis of Bible dreams and visions

In the Old Testament, eleven dreams are recorded, four for those within the covenant people (Jacob, Joseph, Solomon and Daniel) and seven outside (Abimelech, Laban, Pharaoh, his butler and his baker, a Midianite, and Nebuchadnezzar). In the Old Testament there are six visions, five within the covenant people (Abram, Jacob, Samuel, Nathan and Daniel) and one outside (Balaam).

In the New Testament, four dreams are recounted, two from within the covenant people (Joseph and Paul) and two outside (the wise men and Pilate's wife). There are seven visions recorded in the New Testament: six within the covenant people (Zechariah, Peter, John, Ananias, Paul and Stephen) and one who later was brought into the covenant people (Cornelius). There may well have been others, all depending on whether the phrase 'the Lord appeared' means that they had a vision. If so, then the names of Isaac, Gideon, Manoah's wife and Elisha will also need to be added.

Content of Bible dreams and visions

Dreams and visions recorded in Scripture may be grouped as follows:

1. God speaking, or an angel: The objective is to deliver a message, and apart from seeing the angel there is no other visual content.
2. A picture: The revelation is pictorial and conveys no words; a stairway, a flock of speckled goats, a sheaf of corn, some fat and lean cattle, and a loaf of barley bread. Those outside God's people needed an interpretation of the meaning of what they saw.
3. A revelation: The dreams of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, together with the visions of John on Patmos recorded in the Revelation, give an outline of God's purpose for the nations and his church.
4. Divine instructions: Telling people what God wants them to do, such as going back to one's native land, escaping to Egypt, calling at Judas' house or coming over to Macedonia.
5. Divine encouragement: Spoken to Abram when he was still childless; to Solomon letting him choose what he wanted; to Joseph when he discovered Mary's condition; and to Paul when he was tempted to be afraid.
6. Divine warning: Spoken to David through Nathan, to Eli's house through Samuel and to Pilate through his wife.

In studying the content of dreams and visions, it is also important to see that they were given at vital turning points in the history of God's people. For example, in the early history: Abraham's wife being kept undefiled by Abimelech, and Jacob fleeing from his brother and subsequently returning to the land. In the infancy of Jesus: Joseph being told not to divorce Mary, and later to flee to Egypt and to return to settle in Galilee.

In the early history of the Church: Peter being told to go to the house of Cornelius, Ananias being directed to the house of Judas to meet Saul and later Paul, to cross to take the gospel westwards to Europe. All these important decisions were consequent upon dreams or visions.

It is important to realise that dreams and visions crop up in Scripture at vital turning points in the history of God's people.

Dreams and visions in church history

When the last apostle died, there was no sudden end to the function of dreams and visions in the church as it continued to grow and develop. Church historians quote incidents showing that God continued in picture language to speak by dreams and visions to Polycarp, Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine and Jerome.

Nearer our own times, John Newton, who was concerned about his condition before God, had a dream which made the way of salvation clear to him. Charles Finney in his autobiography recalls a number of visions he received. In the early days of the Pentecostal movement, William F P Burton, an engineer, went out to Africa to spread the gospel. He had regularly, in his room when he was praying about Africa, seen a vision of a sad native, with a yearning look and a white growth over one eye. At a later date he saw this very man sitting in one of their meetings listening to the message in Africa.

There is insufficient space here to tell of a tent full of angels (in the early days of the British Pentecostal movement), or of a church on fire and yet not being burnt down (in the Indonesian stories of Mel Tari); of the visions that have transformed the life and ministry of David du Plessis, and of Demos Shakarian who founded the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International; or of the thrice-repeated vision of fires burning all over Great Britain from Lands End to the top of Scotland, given to Jean Darnall and which found their fulfilment in the 1971 Festival of Light.

Finally, consider the Asian minister who was present at the Carmel Gathering in 1986 and had been given a vision of men asleep on the benches in their church whilst the women were standing with their arms uplifted, crying to God (click here for full details of the vision). He knew it showed the true situation in the church in Britain, but to whom should he deliver the content of his vision? The Lord answered his question by giving him a vision of the face of a woman, well-known to us but unknown to him. All he had to do was to wait at the foot of the stairs until the woman appeared whose face he had seen in the vision.

God's forgotten language

Someone coined dreams and visions as 'God's forgotten language', but we cannot afford to forget or neglect them. It would be foolish to become addicted to them, but every one who is seeking to discharge a prophetic ministry needs to present God's 'now' word visually as well as verbally. As Bruce Yocum puts it (Prophecy, p97): "Through visions God opens up to us his action and his plan in a new and powerful way; they have impact." They are also 'faith-building', and that is the purpose for which prophets are in business.

Offer your sub-conscious to God

Without the enabling of the Holy Spirit, no-one can function as a prophet and it is only as we yield our sub-conscious mind to be directed by the Spirit that we shall be able to give visual prophecy its proper place.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 3, No 4, July/August 1987.

References

1 The prophets Jonah and Daniel do not have the usual biographical introduction.