THIS IS PART OF AN ONGOING SERIES ON THE GIFT OF PROPHECY. Click here for the rest of the series.

The next few posts will be about the scope of prophecy and the limitations of prophecy. These are helpful concepts to understand as we explore the nature of the gift of prophecy.

The Scope of Prophecy

For many, the gift of prophecy implies a certain foretelling of future events. The assumption then is that that the function of prophecy carries a predilection for the future, and, if the aforementioned is true, then the measurement of efficacy is accuracy. This is not so far removed from the scope of prophecy as to be false, but it is a truncation of the gift.

Certainly, you can find many examples in scripture of prophecy foretelling future events. For example:

Jesus spoke of coming chaos to the nation of Israel:

Mark 13:6-9 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.”

When Samuel was sent to anoint David:

I Samuel 16:1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

Sometimes even unwittingly, as is the case with the high priest Caiaphas:

John 11:49-52 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.” Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.

Isaiah prophesies about the coming Messiah:

Isaiah 11:1-3 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord . His delight is in the fear of the Lord , And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears…

Again, if the gift of prophecy is all about foretelling future events, then the metric for its success is the accuracy of each prediction. However, there are many examples in scripture of the gift of prophecy that is absent anything involving future prediction. Here are a smattering of examples:

While Peter is on the roof of a house in the city of Joppa:

Acts 10:19-21 While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.” Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”

The revelation to Peter about these men coincides with their arrival. They are not going to come, they have come. Peter, while reflecting on the vision he has just had is made aware of the presence of the three men coming to entreat of him.

Micaiah, a prophet, witnesses a heavenly conversation:

I Kings 22:19-23 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord : I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord , and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

Micaiah is made aware of a heavenly interaction in the council of the Lord. He is not so much made aware of what will happen, he is made aware of what is happening.

Paul speaks of a prophetic impartation to Timothy:

I Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.

He reminds Timothy of the impartation of a gift that came through the prophetic utterance of the elders. Note that the elders are seen as functioning in prophetic ministry but not considered prophets.

Zechariah and the vision of the high priest Joshua:

Zechariah 3:1-5 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord , and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

Zechariah sees the interaction happening between Satan and the Lord over the high priest of the day. He is witnessing a current reality, not a coming reality.

While many more of the same could be mentioned (i.e. Abimelech and his dream of Sarah, Daniel’s dream revealing Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Ezekiel and the vision of the abominations happening in the temple, Paul and the demon-possessed fortune teller), the same holds true for each one. None of them have to do with future events, but rather the present.

If the scope of prophecy covers not just future revelation, but present revelation, what else might we find as we explore the nature of this gift? Is it possible that prophecy could point to the past as well?

A pertinent example can be found with Jesus and the woman at the well:

John 4:16-19 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

Jesus is aptly called “prophet” here. This pertains to the accuracy of what he has just said to the woman. He has in no way addressed any future related events. He speaks to the present (the man you have now is not your husband) and to the past (you have had five husbands). The scope of the prophetic utterance here is past and present. The spot on accuracy of the past and present is enough for this woman to recognize the prophetic at operation right in front of her.

When a woman shows up and washes the feet of Jesus with fragrant oil, the Pharisee who had invited him was indignant. If Jesus was a prophet, he should be aware of her past sin:

Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

Simon’s reasoning for rejecting Jesus as a prophet was on the grounds that he assumed Jesus was unaware of her past sins. How could he possibly allow an unclean woman to touch him? The expectation of a prophet was not just a prediction of future events, but an awareness of much more. Jesus shows that not only is he aware of the many sins in her past (and Simon’s thoughts), but he is also the picture of a merciful God:

Luke 7:44-47 'Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”'

When David sent Urriah the Hittite to die in battle in order to take Bathsheba as his wife, he attempted to cover his actions. However, the Lord revealed to Nathan what David had done:

II Samuel 12:9-12 “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord , to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” Thus says the Lord : “Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.”

The past sin David had attempted to cover up, Nathan the prophet brought to light along with the coming judgment against the injustice David had perpetrated upon Urriah.

To be continued…