Why Prophecy is For Today (Controversies #4)


 I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now.

But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on his own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father--the message regarding the Son], and he will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].

He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you.

John 16:12-14, Amplified 2015



And there were many other things which Jesus did, which if they were recorded one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21:25, Amplified 2105


In this passage from John 16, Jesus point-blank tells the Twelve that he has things to say to them that he will not, because they can't handle it yet. And as we know from scripture, there's a second reason, too: the crucifixion is upon him. Even his inner circle cannot mature enough in the time remaining in order to hear and receive all that Jesus would like to tell them.

John closes his gospel by writing that if it were possible to record everything Jesus did (in only 3-3.5 years!), there would be so many books of his deeds that the world couldn't hold them.  

Our scriptures are a but a cross-section of God's word. 

Don't get me wrong--the scriptures are complete, the canon is closed, it consists of what God wishes us to have in written form, no modern prophecy is to be added to it, and we have everything we need for life and godliness, although 2 Peter 1:3 says this is due to His divine power and through knowledge of Him, not through the written scriptures alone or the written scriptures per se, as some would imply. 

Jesus himself says, in the John 16 passage, that the Holy Spirit would come and guide His followers into all the truth, speaking what He hears from the Father, disclosing aspects of the future, taking from what is Jesus' (and the Father's) and thereby glorifying and honoring Them. 

So the Holy Spirit's role (besides as Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, and Standby, according to John 15:26) is to teach us further (1 John 2:27) and reveal to us things Jesus couldn't say--things that come from the Father. He is also to glorify and honor the Son, taking from what is His (Jesus') to share with the followers He (the Spirit) indwells. In other words, He is to share the testimony of Jesus. And what is the testimony of Jesus? It is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). 

Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit is going to tell believers more things, new things, and future things--but every single morsel of it must and will conform to what we know of Jesus and the Father through our canon of scripture. If it flouts scripture, we know it isn't the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit speaks what He hears from the Father, and takes from what is Jesus' and discloses it to us.

What's more, Paul spends the balance of 1 Corinthians 14 exhorting the church to desire the gift of prophecy. Not merely accept that it's a thing, but want it. This gift edifies the church, Paul says, promoting spiritual growth, speaking words of encouragement and consolation. The sense of the Greek word translated "prophesy" also includes an element of foretelling the future. While I like to think of prophecy as primarily speaking the heart of God into a situation, the aspect of prophecy that is future-oriented lines up with Jesus' words: "He will disclose to you what is to come." 

Prophecy is for today. I don't understand how someone can study these passages and conclude it is not.  

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