THE PURPOSE & EFFECT OF REVELATION

PART EIGHT

Examples of Revelation from Acts

Some of the clearest examples of New Testament prophecy in the book of Acts show that prophetic ministry gives direction to the body of Christ, displays the Father’s heart, and helps us to do the Father’s business.

When Peter was praying and fasting in the city of Joppa, he fell into a trance and was shown a vision of a sheet with both unclean and clean animals. The vision perplexed Peter. While he was thinking about the vision, the Spirit spoke.

Acts 10:19-20 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”  

Prophetic revelation (three men are looking for you) helped Peter to accomplish the will of God (go with them). What would follow was one of the wildest moments in the book of Acts. Peter ends up in the house of Cornelius, a Gentile, and the Holy Spirit falls upon the household. This was the explosive moment the call to the Gentiles would become a reality for the early apostles. 

One of the prophets named in the New Testament, the two recorded prophecies by Agabus are instructive. The first predicted a coming famine: 

Acts 11:27-30 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. 

The prophetic revelation that Agabus shared had three distinctive elements. The first is that it revealed a coming famine, the second is that it to give direction to the body of Christ (to send relief), and the third was to display the Father’s heart (his care and concern for his bride). 

Another example from the ministry of Agabus was his prophetic word to Paul before going to Jerusalem:

Acts 21:10-14 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 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.’” When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 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.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” 

This happened more or less how Agabus laid it out, except for a few minor differences. The response of Paul was to strengthen his resolve to do the Father’s business. Notice that Paul’s response to the revelation was very different than the people’s response. The people don’t want Paul to go, but Paul is more determined than ever.  

Prophetic utterances in the book of Acts are typically directed at the church in a region for direction or at those in the church for the purpose of the advancement of the kingdom of God. Overwhelmingly, the examples of prophecy in the New Testament fall under the same category: prophecy directed towards the body of Christ to display the Father’s heart and do his business. 

Prophecy Brings Hope

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

A number of years ago I was spending some time with some friends and speaking at their church. During the service I noted the daughter of one of the leaders and the Father showed me that he had pierced her heart and she would be send to do work on the mission field. 

During the service, as I was speaking, I brought her and her parents up and spoke the words of encouragement over her. The family wept as the call of God was confirmed over her life. They already knew it, the call to the mission field had just been confirmed. Today that girl has served in various mission fields internationally. For some, a call to mission work can seem like an impossible dream, but a prophetic word can bring hope that the call may be fulfilled. 

I know a leader who received a text from a friend of his with a prophetic word wrapped in a quote from the movie The Field of Dreams. The prophetic word was this: If you build it, they will come. That prophetic word sent this leader on a mission to establish and support pastors throughout the nation in which he was serving. Today, he oversees and supports hundreds of pastors. The Lord has revisited that simple quote many times when he has entered into seasons of building and preparation.

I had a dream once in which I received a prophetic word from a well-known theologian. In the dream, he pointed at me and said: “There is a great vision for the church within you, but you have not been persecuted enough to define it. You must learn how to survive now because when opposition comes you must be ready.” That prophetic word has helped me to hold fast to the call of God on my life in difficult times.

Prophecy is one means by which God establishes hope in the heart of the believer. That hope can come in the form of an affirmation of the call of God on your life, the hope that your heart can be changed, or the hope that you can become something.

The Father alone knows the depths of our heart and he alone can reveal our heart. One facet of prophetic ministry is revealing who we are and who we are to become.

Psalms 139:16-18 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.

By speaking to who I am and what I can step into hope is established in my heart. Paul reminds Timothy reflect on the prophecies that had been given to him, that in the midst of warfare the call on Timothy’s life may amount to something:

I Timothy 1:18 This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.

Timothy is reminded of the prophetic destiny on his life, that his life has purpose. The prophetic words brought hope to the heart of Timothy, that he could fulfill the call of God on his life.

When Jesus called Nathanael, he speaks directly to the heart of who Nathanael was:

John 1:47-50 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

The words of Jesus to Nathanael have incredible impact upon his life. He drops everything to follow the Lord at the affirmation of his character and identity. This prophetic moment gave Nathanael hope in who he was created to become.

When Saul, the king of Israel, came into the company of the prophets, something happened to his heart:

I Samuel 10:5-6 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

First Samuel the prophet tells Saul what will happen when he comes into contact with prophetic ministry, and then it happens:

I Samuel 10:9-10 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

Saul’s heart was transformed in the company of the prophets. Shortly thereafter Samuel anoints him as king over the nation of Israel. The prophetic word establishes hope that the heart can change and be renewed.

Jeremiah provides hope to the nation of Israel, that God will be merciful if only they would turn to him:

Jeremiah 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.

When hope is anchored in our hearts there is no storm we cannot weather with God at our side. Prophecy helps to establish that hope deep in the heart.

Storms of life will come, but the hope engendered by prophetic ministry can impart faith that the Father is with us and will sustain us when life inevitably goes awry.

Prophecy prepares the heart for Jesus

The function of prophecy in context of Malachi 3:1 was to prepare the heart to receive Christ:

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

This is spoken about and directly fulfilled in John the Baptist:

Mark 1:2 As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.”

It is not a stretch to see that when God sends a messenger, the purpose of that messenger is to prepare the people to receive Christ. This is actually one of the throughlines throughout the entire Old Testament, prophets preparing the people for the coming of the Christ (more on that later). The messages of God prepare us to receive him. This is prophecy. In the same way that the Old Testament prophets pointed forward to the coming of the Christ, New Testament prophecy must point back to the revealed Son.

In the same stroke, prophecy ought to have in mind turning hearts to the Father:

Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

John the Baptist was the embodiment of this prophecy: 

Luke 1:17 And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.

It should be noted that John the Baptist was not the literal reincarnation of Elijah (even some in biblical times seemed to think as much). Tertullian, an early church father spoke to this:

What are to understand as the spirit and power of Elijah? Obviously it is not the re-embodied Elijah. The spirit of Elijah is the same as what rested upon Elisha after Elijah was caught up in the whirlwind:

II Kings 2:9-12 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so. ” Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.

What was the spirit of Elijah other than the spirit that was upon Elijah? Namely, the Spirit of prophecy?  John the Baptist was to walk in the Spirit of prophecy in a way that distinctly resembled the ministry of Elijah. The Spirit of prophecy seems to have in mind, according to Malachi 3 and 4, the purpose of turning the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children. Another way defining that would be reconciliation. The ultimate reconciliation, or turning of the hearts, is the turning of the hearts of the children to the Father in heaven. 

As prophecy prepares the heart for Christ and turns the heart to the Father, prophecy is about bringing healing:

Luke 4:23-27 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.’ ” Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

In the same breath Jesus connects the physician with the prophet. Elisha the prophet was responsible for the healing of Naaman the Syrian. The end result of true prophecy, when properly applied, will always be healing. In the case of Naaman it was physical healing of the disease of leprosy. In the case of many of us, it is the cleansing of our heart from inner diseases.