The Gift of Prophecy
The French physician Michel de Notredame (1503-1566), known as Nostradamus, supposedly predicted the great fire of London of 1666 with the words: “The blood of the just will be demanded of London, burnt by the fire in the year 66.” The Irish seer Cheiro warned journalist W. T. Stead in 1894 and again in 1911 that he would drown in April 1912. Stead died when the Titanic sank in April 1912. In 1956 Jean Dixon published a vision in which she said she saw that a Democrat would be elected President of the United States in 1960, only to be assassinated in office. John Kennedy, a Democrat elected in 1960, was assassinated in 1963 while in office.
How can we account for these exact predictions by people who had little in common with the biblical prophets? Isa. 8:19, Acts 16:16, 2 Cor. 11:14.
Ever since Satan used the snake in the Garden of Eden to deceive Eve, he has used a variety of human mediums to deceive men and women, including the giving of predictions that have come true. Which means, then, that the fulfillment of a prediction is not a guarantee that it is a true prophecy from God.
Nevertheless, prophets and prophecies play an important part in the plan of salvation. This point is made clear in the Bible.
Prophecy, or the prophetic office, is listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8–10 as one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It appears first on the list in Romans 12:6 and second, after apostleship, in both 1 Corinthians 12:28–30 and Ephesians 4:11. What makes the prophetic gift so important that it is the only gift that is mentioned in all four lists of spiritual gifts or ministries?
The purpose of the prophetic gift is to provide a means of communication between the Creator and His creatures. Prophetic messages in Scripture have unveiled the future (Dan. 2), counseled and reproved kings (Isa. 7:3, 4), warned of coming judgments (Jer. 1:14–16), called for revival (Joel 2:12, 13), and encouraged and comforted God’s people (Isa. 40:1, 2).
Prophets were men and women who spoke the word of God to their generations. The emphasis in the prophetic gift was not on predicting the future (although this was one of the marks of a true prophet), but on setting forth what God wanted His people to hear.
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