Jesus is the Son of God (Matthew 3:17;17:5) that came into the world to save mankind “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting” (John 3:16). Jesus suffered, died and resurrected to heaven and will come back again to judge the world (Matthew 24:30-31).
The Bible teaches that God will send prophets to His people till Jesus comes back in glory. God knows that prophets are needed to wake people up, warn them, and turn them to Jesus and His Word. The Lord sent a prophet (John the Baptist) to prepare the world for Jesus’ first coming (Mark 1:1-8). And He will also send more prophets to prepare the church for His second coming.
Paul teaches that the gift of prophecy will be manifested in God’s church through all the ages “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11, 13).
According to Joel the prophet (ch. 2:28-32), the Lord promised to send prophets especially at the end of time to guide His church. The devil will also send false prophets (Matthew 7:15; 24:11, 24). That’s why we must be prepared to test the prophets by the Scriptures (Isaiah 8:19, 20; 2 Timothy 2:15), heeding their counsel only if they are genuine and rejecting them if they are counterfeit.
In the early church “the manifestation of the Spirit” was given “to every man to profit” (1 Cor. 12:7). Various gifts were in evidence, such as “the word of wisdom,” “the word of knowledge,” “faith,” “healing,” “working of miracles,” “prophecy,” “discerning of spirits,” “divers kinds of tongues,” and “the interpretation of tongues” (vs. 8–10). The events of Pentecost were only a partial fulfillment to Joel’s prediction. His prophecy is to reach its full fulfillment in the manifestation of divine grace which will attend the closing work of the gospel.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
