The Watchman (Ezekiel 3:16–21)

Tom Lennie reviews ‘The Green Pine: A Modern-Day Parable’ by Anne Susan Jones (2020)

Prophecy did not cease after the First Century Apostles. We must consider, therefore, how the prophetic ministry is to be understood in our day compared with the days of the biblical Prophets.

Prophecy is a gift to the Christian Church...

God has always communicated with His people through His prophets. The prophetic ministry is as essential today as in every age. Paul made it clear in his letter to the Ephesians that this ministry is given for the strengthening of the body of believers:

He himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting… (Eph 4:11-15)

Prophecy did not cease after the First Century Apostles. We must consider, therefore, how the prophetic ministry is to be understood in our day compared with the days of the biblical Prophets.

The Biblical Prophets were rooted in Torah

The Old Testament was traditionally divided into three main sections, the Torah, the Prophets and Writings. Torah is the foundation of all Scripture. The Hebrew word 'Torah' means teaching/instruction and refers specifically to the first five books of the Bible. These five books are the foundation of the Old Testament. They contain all the major themes of the Bible, including the account of Creation, the Fall, the call of Abraham to the life of faith, the Covenant with Abraham, the call of Israel, the Covenant with Israel and the teaching of Moses with conditions of the Covenant.

A careful study of the ministry of the Hebrew Prophets reveals that they do not add to Torah, but simply interpret the times in which they lived in terms of Torah. They look back to what the God of Israel covenanted with His people, and the conditions of the Covenant. The Hebrew Prophets also looked forward to the coming Messiah. The valleys and peaks of Israel’s history conformed to the terms of the Covenant, and Prophets arose when God’s people needed help to understand the times in which they lived, and prepare for the future.

   "Prophets of every age understand God’s ways through their understanding of Scripture"

The ministry of a prophet, in every age, is strengthened when the prophet has a mature understanding of the Bible, especially the promises and purposes of God revealed in His Covenant. Israel’s Prophets were able to interpret the signs of the times and discern the Word of God when they understood the Torah. It is the same today: we understand the situations of the world best when we are mature in our understanding of the entire Bible. The prophetic ministry is also subject to the call of God on a person’s life. Prophecy is directly from God and is given for the edification of God’s people through whom God Himself chooses:

No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Pet 1:20-21)

Responsibility and Privilege

The call of each of the biblical Prophets is set out in detail in the Books of the Old Testament and shows the awesome responsibility laid upon them. The prophetic ministry in our day is no less serious and the call is equally clear, as borne out by testimonies of those who have been called by God.

The prophetic ministry is as essential in our day as in former days. These words of Amos are still relevant – Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)

Modern Day Context

What has changed in our day is that the Covenant is to be understood in terms of the Sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah. Also the Gospel has gone to the whole world so that men and women from all nations are being called into the covenant community of faith.

In addition, the body of believers is now called to act together as a prophetic people within whom the prophetic ministry has a specific role. We no longer stand alone in ministry as in the days of the biblical Prophets. Moses prayed for the day when the Spirit of God would raise up a body ministry – Oh that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them. (Num 11:29)

Joel prophesied that this would indeed happen. Peter identified the beginning of the outpouring of the Spirit according to Joel’s prophecy. This was on Temple Mount on the special Day of Shavuot (Pentecost) when the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit began to be fulfilled: "...and it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on my menservants and maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy." (Joel 2:8-32, Acts 2:17-21)

A New Era in our World

We are in days of great significance and the God of Israel is working out his end-time purposes across the entire world. The prophetic ministry is given for building up believers to understand these purposes and prepare for the future. There is continuity in the role of the prophet and the call is no less serious than in former days. Maturity is gained through study of the entire Bible, and through prayerful consideration of the times in which we live.

We do not stand alone and are to submit ourselves to one another because everything must be determined through the witness of others with like ministry. The Bible- New and Old Testaments -states it this way: everything is determined by the witness of two or three witnesses (eg Deut 19:15, 2 Cor 13:1).

As in every ministry appointed by God, we do not volunteer for the ministry of the prophet within the congregations of believers, but when called, we begin a journey to maturity. We must root ourselves in the Scriptures and in prayer, being ready to speak or write when moved by the Holy Spirit. We are entering turbulent days on this earth and, as a body, it is time for the covenant people of God to help one another understand the times and prepare for the future. Is there anything more important?