The New Testament Church is to be a prophetic community, not just in terms of giving prophetic word or revelation, but in a much broader and multi-dimensional way. Being prophetic is the very nature and mission of the entire Body of Christ especially during End-Times.
REVEALING the heart of God (Revelation 19:10)
The angel of God told apostle John that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The fresh revelation of Jesus’ heart is the essence of His testimony. This includes the revealing of: Who He is, What He does and How He feels. Passion for Jesus has to be the result of this prophetic revelation.
In this prophetic dimension, Church is to proclaim, reveal and call to remembrance the intimacies and affections of God. This includes: His jealous longing over His people, His magnificent compassion and His intense grief over our sin that separates us from Him.
The FULFILLMENT of Biblical prophecy
The Church is living out all the prophetic words in the Bible. It is in its very presence a continuing witness to prophecies fulfilled. We are the living prophecy! The Church is a prophetic witness in its mission. We are both a living testimony of prophecy fulfilled and a prophetic voice of what will come in the future.
Though we are almost 2000 years removed from the 1st century Church, the very fact that we are still gathering in His name is both a prophetic fulfillment and a prophetic statement to the world – that Jesus is alive and He is the coming King!
UPHOLDING the prophetic standard in the Scripture
One of the most vital prophetic realities is the Holy Scriptures. They are a trumpet of God’s heart, purpose and will. It is precious to the Body of Christ that God gave us the Scriptures. The Church is the prophetic community that is to preserve and proclaim accurately the Word of God.
Prophetic VOICE for the current move of God
(Revelation 2 – 3: “…he who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Church…”)
The Church must be the voice of God in trumpeting the move of the Spirit. More than that, we must be able to discern the current move and the “present truth”. Just as the children of Israel followed the cloud through the wilderness, the Church needs to move when the Holy Spirit says to move (Deuteronomy 1). It is not a static relationship that exists between the Church and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is constantly doing a new thing with the Church as a whole and separately, with each and individual congregation. The kind of move of the Holy Spirit is the changing emphasis placed on elements of truth, structure and strategy. We are to move around the boundaries of the unchangeable truth of God’s Word.
DEMONSTRATING the power of God
Elijah was a prophet of God who called down fire from heaven as a sign of God’s power. In the New Testament, the demonstration of the supernatural power of God in and through the Church is a dimension of the prophetic ministry.
Attesting miracles are valuable as a dimension of the prophetic community because they make people aware that God is actually present with them. The working of miracles jolts or sensibilities and make us joyfully – or frightfully – aware of the fact that He is in our midst by the presence of the Holy Spirit.
A hundred sermons on God being with us may not awaken our hearts as much as a personal encounter of the manifestation of His presence and power through the miraculous. Through the miraculous, the Church prophecies and proclaims that He is alive!
Prophetic DREAMS and VISIONS
God is raising up and endowing people to see and hear things that most people do not see or hear. One of the ways is through the release of prophetic dreams and visions. These people regularly see things by the Spirit. They see future events, the secrets of people’s hearts, as well as the calling of God and destiny on people’s lives. They are like Ezekiel who regularly saw things, and like Ezekiel’s visions, the things they see are sometimes baffling.
CRYING OUT against social injustice
The Church has the responsibility to be a “prophet to the nation” concerning injustice, repression and the unrighteousness that eventually cause a nation to provoke the judgment of God. Many times, prophets to the nation speak from a secular platform and not necessarily as those who represent the Church. Joseph and Daniel were 2 biblical examples of people who represented God in a position of secular power. The Church must be careful not to undermine its prophetic ministry to the nation.
CRYING OUT for personal holiness and repentance
God has raised up leaders in the Church throughout the generations who have functioned as prophets of God crying against the sins of His people. This is similar to the prophetic cry against social injustice but different in that the address is specifically to the people in the Church.
It is not so much Jonah prophesying against Nineveh but more like Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesying to Israel and Judah. The words of these people are anointed by the Spirit to awaken hearts to holiness and passion for Jesus. God uses these voices like John the Baptist to prick the consciences of believers unto full revival.
