“Thus Says the Lord”
Dr. John K. Mathew
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers."(Eph.4:11) According to the Scriptures the first position of church leadership is the office of the apostle. There are those who say there are no more apostles in the world. For them all the apostles died out with the original twelve. In fact apostleship was not confined to the original twelve disciples. There are at least twenty five apostles mentioned in the New testament alone and there are apostles in the church today.
Likewise there are people who deny the existence of the office of the prophet in the New Testament age. But the scriptures clearly state that the second ministerial office is that of the prophet. It is written about the Antioch church that "In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers; Barnabas Simeon called Niger, Lucius, of Cyrene, Manaen and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting the Holy Spirit said set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them". Agabus made two tremendous prophesies, which came to pass exactly as he predicted. John the beloved is an outstanding prophet, to whom God revealed almost everything regarding the end time, which is about to be fulfilled. It has to be mentioned with equal importance that the gift of prophesy is widely misused and deteriorated to a level of fortune telling.
The reason is that people forget God's purpose of the office of the prophet. God never gives anything without a purpose. In Ephesians 4:12-16 after listing the five major ministry gifts to the body of Christ, the apostle Paul stated the nine fold purpose of these ministries to the church." to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ". When God calls an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher; It is for one purpose: The perfecting of the saints! None of them has to do with inward and selfish motives. Each has to do with the life of Jesus pouring out of those who posses them– giving of ourselves, blessing others, and helping others. The whole structure of Christianity is built upon the concept of blessing others. That is what Jesus and the salvation message are all about. In the words of Lester Sumrall, Perhaps there is nothing so exciting as prophesy. In these last days we must have the prophet's ministry at work among us.
All kinds of people will be reading the stars and predicting the future. The devil will be out to fool as many people as he can regarding the future, so God's people must take their place against him. Let the ministry of the prophet be heard in the land.
