THOSE to whom God has given the gift of prophecy are properly called prophets. This, however, is not the only word used in the Scriptures to describe their work and office. GoPH 90.1
Because it was in the form of visions that they obtained their instruction, the prophets were sometimes called “seers.” GoPH 90.2
“Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.” 1 Samuel 9:9. GoPH 90.3
We have already discussed the seeing powers of the gift of prophecy, and emphasized the fact that the instruction given through this gift was shown to the prophet, and therefore come from outside himself. He not only saw what God showed him, but in the light of what he had been shown he then saw the world, men, society, the human heart, with clearer and truer vision than others. GoPH 90.4
Those who possess the gift of prophecy are also spoken of in the Bible as “messengers.” GoPH 90.5
“And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers.” 2 Chronicles 36:15. GoPH 91.1
That “prophets” and “messengers” are the same is apparent from two passages: GoPH 91.2
“Came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet.” Haggi 1:1. GoPH 91.3
“Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people.” Haggai 1:13. GoPH 91.4
Of John the Baptist, also, it is written: GoPH 91.5
“But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Be-hold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is no greater prophet than John the Baptist.” Luke 7:26-28. GoPH 91.6
Of Ezekiel, who declares that “the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (Ezekiel 1:1), it is recorded, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me.” Ezekiel 3:17. GoPH 91.7
The duties of a watchman are clear. A heavy responsibility rests upon him. In times of public danger he is set apart to warn the city of approaching danger. Trusting him, the people go about their ordinary occupations unafraid and in security so long as he does not sound his trumpet. If he should sleep at his post, or neglect to warn of danger, men are caught unprepared, and lives are lost through his fault. And their blood is required at his hand. If, however, he faithfully sounds the alarm when danger comes, and men disregard his warning and are cut down in their iniquity, their blood is upon their own heads. GoPH 91.8
Such, as prophet, was Ezekiel’s position and work. The prophet, then, is one who sees further into the spiritual issues of things than other men, enlightened as he is by God, and who sees also the coming calamity that to others is invisible. Thus seeing, the prophet’s duty and course are clear. His business is to announce as in trumpet tones the doom hanging over men, and point out the way of escape. GoPH 92.1
In carrying out this prophetic duty, the prophet does not confine himself to predicting the future. That is a most limited view of the prophetic work, and only a part of it. GoPH 92.2
On the basis of what he has been shown God is about to do in the future, the prophet pro-claims and preaches religious truth. In other words, he proclaims new truth, or restates old truth, in the light and setting of what he sees God is soon to do, and which he is inspired to foresee and to interpret. His business is not all foreseeing nor all teaching. It is teaching grounded upon foresight. GoPH 92.3
How extensively a prophet may deal with all the truth of God in carrying out the duties of his prophetic office may be seen from the study of only one of the chapters of Ezekiel, the 18th. Here the prophet sets forth the exact and absolute righteousness of God; the unwillingness of God that any should perish; the desire of God for all to be saved and live; the necessity of personal repentance; and the freedom and independence of the individual soul in its relation to God. GoPH 93.1
The broadest and most general description of the work of a prophet that the Scriptures contain is that foretelling the prophetic office of our Lord Himself. GoPH 93.2
“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.” Deut.l8:l8. GoPH 93.3
A seer, a prophet, a messenger, a watchman. These words convey the true idea of the work of one who has the gift of prophecy. Some understand the word “prophet” in far too limited a sense. They restrict its meaning to the one function of predicting the future. This is a mistake. The gift of prophecy deals with far more than the future. The past and the present are as much a part of its province as the future, and its revealed instruction throws great light upon them. GoPH 93.4
The apostle John, in preparing the book of Revelation, was instructed to “write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” Revelation 1:19. GoPH 94.1
There it is,—past, present, and future are covered in the divine illumination which is given through the gift of prophecy. On this point, Dr. A. Plummer, in his book, “The Pastoral Epistles,” says this: GoPH 94.2
“If we may venture to coin words in order to bring out points of differences, there are three main ideas involved in the title ‘prophet.’ (1) A for-teller; one who speaks for or instead of another, especially one who speaks for or in the name of God; a divine messenger, ambassador, interpreter, or spokesman. (2) A forth-teller; one who has a special message to deliver forth to the world; a proclaimer, harbinger, or herald. (3) A fore-teller; one who tells beforehand what is coming; a predicter of future events. To be the bearer or interpreter of a divine message is the fundamental conception of the prophet in classical Greek; and to a large extent this conception prevails in both the Old and the New Testament. To be in immediate intercourse with Jehovah, and to be His spokesman to Israel, was what the Hebrews understood by the gift of prophecy. It was by no means necessary that the divine communication which the prophet had to make known to the people should relate to the future. It might be a denunciation of past sins, or an exhortation respecting present conduct, quite as naturally as a prediction of what was coming. And in the Acts and Pauline Epistles the idea of a prophet remains much the same. He is one to whom has been granted special insight into God’s counsels, and who communicates these mysteries to others. Both in the Jewish and primitive Christian dispensations, the prophets are the means of communication between God and His Church. Eight persons are mentioned by name in the Acts of the Apostles as exercising this gift of prophecy: Agabus, Barnabas, Symeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, Judas, Silas, and the apostle Paul. On certain occasions the divine communications made to them by the Spirit included a knowledge of the future; as when Agabus foretold the great famine (Acts 11:28) and the imprisonment of St. Paul (21:11), and when St. Paul told that the Holy Spirit testified to him in every city, that bonds and afflictions awaited him. (20: 23). But this is the exception rather than the rule. It is in their character of prophets that Judas and Silas exhort and confirm the brethren.” — “The Pastoral Epistles,” pp. 65, 66. GoPH 94.3
Prophets, then, are not, as some have seemed to think, miraculous conjurers, whose principal business is solving perplexing puzzles, finding lost articles, and making astounding revelations, all of which have been hidden from others. The object of their messages is always quite practical. As prophets of God they necessarily deal with eternal truth, especially that truth which belongs in a peculiar way to their own times. They are not mere opportunists. Their strength and power are in their grasp of fundamental principles. This is why the messages of the ancient prophets still live, and are of lasting use to the church in every age. And this is why the messages of the spirit of prophecy today are of such vital importance and large benefit to the life and work and progress of the church today. GoPH 96.1