This morning in our RMM readings we read a very peculiar story:
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. 10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:7–14 ESV)
If this was the first passage in the New Testament that you read I imagine that you would find yourself very confused about several things simultaneously. However, if you had read Acts 2 on your way to Acts 21 you would be in a far better position to understand what is going on. In Acts 2 we find Peter explaining the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church at Pentecost by saying:
16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:16–18 ESV)
Prophecy is universalized in the New Covenant. Unlike in the Old Covenant when the Holy Spirit would come upon a person irregularly for a specific purpose and in order to give a specific message, in the New Covenant every true believer is in some sense a prophet.
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:16–18 ESV)
This is that, Peter says. The New Testament era opens with a sermon that explains that because of the general outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all believers, all believers are, to some extent, to be seen as prophets. They can speak to people with the help of the Holy Spirit. The prophetic office has in some sense been universalized. This is similar to what we see with the office of priest in the New Covenant. In the Old Covenant we had “priests”. We had people like Aaron and Eli who served as priestly mediators between God and the people. However, in the New Testament we are told:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)
That’s why Martin Luther talked about “the priesthood of all believers” during the Protestant Reformation. All believers are priests now. We all stand before God to plead on behalf of men. The priesthood has been universalized. The same text also suggests that just as all believers are priests, all believers are sons and daughters of the king. We are a “royal” priesthood. As we read about this glorious New Covenant that is ours in Christ it becomes clear that the Old Covenant leadership offices of prophet, priest and king have undergone two significant changes. They have been universalized because they have been particularized.
Let me explain. One of the most important things to understand as a Bible reader is that Christ is the fulfillment of the law. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. Christ is the prophet like Moses, he is the better high priest and he is the King we’ve all been waiting for. Christ is everything the Old Testament has been looking forward to. Where Moses fell, Christ stood firm. He said only what the Father gave him to say. Where Aaron had his own sins to atone for, Jesus was holy, blameless and pure. Where David failed, Christ triumphed over all. That is why we teach our children in catechism class that Christ has the offices of Prophet, Priest and King. Those leadership gifts, those covenant mediations, have been perfectly and finally fulfilled in Christ. The offices have been particularized. Now, if we are in Christ, to a lesser degree, we are granted to share in those offices. We are all prophets, in a lesser and derivative sense. We can speak to men with the help of the Holy Spirit. We are all priests, in a lesser and derivative sense. We can speak to God on behalf of men. We are all the royal sons and daughters of God, in a lesser and derivative sense. We will rule over all things under Christ in the new and restored creation. The offices are particularized and generalized as we move from the Old to the New Covenant.
Back to Acts 21. Let’s read it again:
7 When we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, and we greeted the brothers and stayed with them for one day. 8 On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied. 10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’” 12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:7–14 ESV)
Having done our homework we are prepared to make a few observations, by no means exhaustive, about the exercise of prophecy in the New Covenant.
1. Prophecy in the New Covenant is done by both men and women, as the Spirit enables
In this one little story we see men and women referred to as being gifted in prophetic speech. Philip had 4 unmarried daughters who prophesied. Agabus was a man who prophesied. These were people who were gifted at something that all Christians can do in a general way; that is what I mean by “as the Spirit enables”. This is how it is with most spiritual gifts. All Christians are evangelists. We all share the Gospel but some are quite gifted at it. They have the gift of evangelism and we call them evangelists. Same thing here. All Christians prophesy – they speak to men with the help of the Holy Spirit – some are very gifted at it and we call them prophets. They can be men like Agabus or women like the daughters of Philip.
2. Prophecy in the New Covenant is not authoritative or binding
That is a pretty remarkable feature of this little story. Agabus spoke a word of prophecy to the Apostle Paul that Paul ignored. That kind of thing wouldn’t have happened in the Old Testament but Luke in Acts seems very eager to make that point. He had said earlier in this chapter:
3 When we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload its cargo. 4 And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey (Acts 21:3–5 ESV)
Are you hearing that? “Through the Spirit we were told not to go to Jerusalem. Later that day we went to Jerusalem”. That is not a sentence you would read in the Old Testament. Wayne Grudem is helpful here, he says:
“It is significant because Paul simply disobeyed their words, something he would not have done if he had thought that they were speaking the very words of God”.[1]
It looks like Paul heard these folks, talking to him as they perceived the Holy Spirit directing them, and he took what was good and discarded what was not. He tested it. He discerned it. He did not despise the prophecy, but neither did he receive it without exercising judgment. It sounds like Paul took his own advice:
20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:20–21 ESV)
I think my own concerns about the charismatic movement would be much reduced if the people in it did more of what Paul does here. He hears the prophet. Agabus has received a prompting or perhaps had a dream that compels him to share with Paul. Agabus may not have understood the dream properly. Agabus may not have even remembered the dream properly – in fact he seems to have some details wrong. Paul was not bound by the Jews and delivered to the Romans, he was rescued by the Romans from the hands of the Jews – and he was not bound at the time! It seems that Agabus shared, imperfectly, an impression that he had from the Holy Spirit. It was meant to be helpful to Paul. Perhaps it was meant to cause Agabus to pray for Paul with more urgency. Perhaps it was meant to buttress Paul against the coming trial. The point is Paul heard it, weighed it, took what was edifying and discarded the rest. He didn’t treat it as authoritative or binding. If more of my charismatic friends treated their dreams and impressions the same way – and those they are given by their leaders – I’d be less concerned about the movement.
Those are the observations about the exercise of prophecy in the New Covenant that arise naturally from the text, but I’ve been a pastor long enough to know that if you say something folks haven’t heard before, you need to anticipate the questions that will surely follow. We will get to the gift of prophecy shortly in our 1 Corinthians series when we get to chapter 11 and then again in a big way when we get to chapters 12 -14. If you go to First Baptist Orillia you know that I am not a cessationist and I am not a charismatic. I’d love to say that I am a Biblicist but that just ends up offending everybody. I think a lot of the divide within Evangelicalism on this issue stems from three sources.
First of all, we don’t always mean the same thing when we use the same words. John Piper means something different than your average charismatic preacher on the Miracle Network when he talks about sharing a word of prophecy. John Piper means something like this: “I feel like the Holy Spirit might be encouraging me to share with you about the forgiveness we have in Christ. I’m not sure why, I am not accusing you of anything, I just feel like maybe that would be helpful to you. Can I share with you about the forgiveness we have in Jesus?” The Miracle Network guy means something like this: “Thus saith the Lord. If you send me $100 right now, without delay you will get that promotion that you seeketh. You will be the head and not the tail – THANK YOU JESUS!” Therefore when some of my cessationist friends hear Piper or Carson talking about sharing a word of prophecy they hear something that nobody is saying. I’m sure that works both ways. We probably need to slow this debate down and we need to work hard to understand what our Christian brother or sister is really saying.
Second of all, I think a lot of this confusion stems from the failure of some folks in the charismatic camp to do a good thing a good way. On the flip side of this same issue, I think too many cessationists reject a good thing because they see it done a bad way. Yes the gift of prophecy gets abused in the church – but so does the gift of preaching! I’ve seen more abusive and deceitful preaching then I have abusive and deceitful prophecy – are we to outlaw the opening of God’s Word? Abuse of a thing does not negate the reality of a thing. Let’s look at good examples of people using the gift of prophecy. Let’s talk about how Piper uses it or Bob Kauflin or Wayne Grudem, not to mention how Spurgeon used it! Don’t tell me that prophecy can’t exist because Kenneth Copeland is off his rocker. For those who regularly practice the gift, please, for the sake of all that is good and holy, use it according to the Biblical guidelines. Read 1 Corinthians 12-14 – check that, MEMORIZE 1 Corinthians 12-14 before you ever open your mouth to anyone! If you do it that way, then I’m guessing 90% of this argument goes away immediately.
Lastly, I think that a lot of this confusion comes from a basic ignorance of Christian history. It is pretty common to hear cessationists talk as though no one in Protestantism exercised the gift of prophesy before John Wimber. That sort of talk reveals a shocking ignorance of our own story. As Baptists we should be reading the story of John Bunyan, a Baptist pastor from the 17th century. John Bunyan is the kind of charismatic I want to be and he is the kind of charismatic I want the people in my church to be.
To get the full flavour of John Bunyan you have to read his autobiography “Grace Abounding To The Chief of Sinners”. He constantly uses phrases in the book like “suddenly this sentence bolted in upon me” (p. 37) or “these words did with great power suddenly break in upon me” to describe the ministry of guidance and illumination that the Holy Spirit exercised in his life. Thinking one time shortly before his conversion that because of his sin he could not be accepted he writes:
"These words broke in upon my mind, compel them to come in, that my house may be filled, and yet there is room (Luke 14:22,23). These words, but especially them, and yet there is room, were sweet words to me; for truly I thought that by them I saw that there was place enough in heaven for me."[2]
Another time he speaks of hearing a loud voice, like an alarm speaking to him and warning him about impending temptations from the devil:
"Now about a week or fortnight after this, I was much followed by this Scripture, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you (Luke 22:31), and so sometimes it would sound so loud within me, yea, and as it were call so strongly after me, that once above all the rest, I turned my head over my shoulder, thinking verily that some man had behind me called to me, being at a great distance, methought he called so loud..."[3]
Later Bunyan was able to discern that this was the Holy Spirit warning him in words of Scripture that the devil sought to tempt him away from his faith. Bunyan took that as a call to prayer and perseverance in the Word. That is the kind of charismatic I want to be! I believe that the Spirit of God teaches his people in the word and THROUGH THE WORD and that his voice drives them DEEPER IN TO THE WORD. I believe that the Spirit of Christ seeks to glorify the person of Christ by helping me walk in the way of Christ. I believe in guidance and I believe in illumination and I don’t want to lose either of those to the extreme charismatics on the one hand or the hard core cessationists on the other. I’m so thankful that we as Baptists have the ballast of John Bunyan to help us find our way.
Bunyan was not the only Puritan to exhibit a strong gift of prophecy. John Knox, the founder of Presbyterianism, is known to have had a strong gifting as well. His prophecy concerning the death of William Kirklady of Grange reads an awful lot like the prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21. As Knox lay dying he said to two men who recorded his words:
“You have formerly been witness of the courage and constancy of Grange in the cause of the Lord; but now, alas, into what a gulf has he precipitated himself. I entreat you not to refuse the request that I now make to you. Go, and tell him in my name that unless he is yet brought to repentance, he shall die miserably; for neither the craggy rock (the castle) in which he miserably trusts, nor the carnal prudence of that man Lethington whom he looks upon as a demi-god, nor the assistance of foreigners as he falsely flatters himself, shall deliver them, but he shall be disgracefully dragged from his next to punishment and hung on a gallows in the face of the sun, unless he speedily amend his life and flee to the mercy of God.”[4]
Historian Jasper Ridley records:
"On August 3, Grange and his brother James were hanged. Lethington had died suddenly soon after the surrender of the castle: he probably committed suicide. Thus two of Knox’s prophecies were apparently fulfilled. …”
Describing the details of those events, Ridley says:
"He was therefore let down over the wall by a rope, or a ladder. Knox had prophecied that Grange would be spewed out of the castle, not at the gate but over the wall. When Grange was hanged at the market cross of Edinburgh on a sunny afternoon, he was hanged facing the east; but before he died, his body swung round to face the west, so he was hanged, as Knox had foretold, in the face of the sun.”[5]
In addition, the first effort of the Puritans to develop a common statement of faith, known as the Westminster Confession, mentions something called “private spirits”. They said that private spirits are to be examined by the Scriptures. Not forbidden, mind you, but tested. As the Scriptures say.
The truth is that as Baptists, descended of the Puritans, we have a long history of respect for private spirits, or promptings from the Holy Spirit or spiritual guidance or whatever you like to call it. We believe that with the Holy Spirit inside us and the Word of God before us we can speak to men with the help of God. We are not Apostles mind you, we are subject to the authority of the Apostolic witness. We are under the Word, but with the Word of God on our lips and the Spirit of God in our hearts we have believed that our sons and our daughters shall prophesy and our young men see visions and our old men dream dreams.
May it be so again, in our day, according to the Scriptures.
SDG
Paul Carter
[1] Wayne Grudem, The Gift Of Prophecy In The New Testament And Today (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000), 75.
[2] John Bunyan, Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners (London: Penguin Books, 1987), 21.
[3] John Bunyan, Grace Abounding To The Chief Of Sinners (London: Penguin Books, 1987), 26.
[4] Wayne Grudem, The Gift Of Prophecy In The New Testament And Today (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000), 348.
[5] Wayne Grudem, The Gift Of Prophecy In The New Testament And Today (Wheaton: Crossway, 2000), 348.