Prophesy, Prophets, and the Prophetic Gift

If there is one thing the world needs today, it is prophets speaking the heart and truth of God for these later days. God desires prophets who will know His heart. Prophets who will “moan and weep”’ over the condition of the people (Jer. 48:31; Micah 1:8).

Prophets don’t see the world the way other people do. Most of us see the world from a human perspective. Prophets or prophetic people see through the eyes of faith. God’s perspective based on His divine purposes. In this post I’d like to share with you what I’ve learned about modern day prophesy, prophets, and prophetic gifts. I never knew anything about prophetic gifting until the Holy Spirit began to lead me down this path in 2004.

The gift of prophecy is the special ability that God gives to some members of the Body of Christ to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people through a divinely anointed utterance for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Cor. 12:8-10). 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists the nine spiritual gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues to the church.

Comparable gifts are discussed in Isaiah 11:2-3 and Romans 12:3-8. The gifts of the Spirit are God empowering faithful Believers to do what He has called us to do. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

The prophetic ministry is but one aspect of the fivefold calling of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The Lord’s “gifts to men were varied. Some he made his messengers, some prophets, some preachers of the Gospel; to some he gave the power to guide and teach his people. His gifts were made that Christians might be properly equipped for their service, that the whole body might be built up until the time comes when, in the unity of the common faith and common knowledge of the Son of God, we arrive at real maturity—that measure of development which is meant by the “fullness of Christ”. (Eph. 4:11-13 JB Phillips New Testament)

I have a friend who would always say to me “you analyze everything”. And I did. It just so happened that my field of work in corporate America was to analyze the information security posture of an organization. Things that make you go hmm…

Prophetic practice, as evidenced in the Old Testament, consists in the courage, freedom, and daring to see the world differently.¹

Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination

Many days I ponder over the current political and religious climate in America. As I observe much of today’s chaos I asked the Lord why am I seeing this differently than others. I pray with a sincere heart for spiritual wisdom and insight so that the Holy Spirit will guide me into greater understanding of what I sense in my spirit. My desire is not to judge, but to understand from a spiritual perspective what’s taking place beyond what I can see with my natural eyes.

So a few days ago I decided to read Dr. Mark Chironna’s The Prophetic Perspective: Seeing and Seizing Our God-Intended Future. I purchased the book sometime ago and wanted to revisit the author’s biblical exegesis of the position and purpose of the church, the apostle, and the prophet. Dr. Chironna has been one of the many prophetic mentors that God is using to help me grow in my understanding of the prophetic gifting. I have followed his teachings for many years.

Side note: I’ve never personally met Dr. Chironna. During the week of my ordination as a minister in 2017, Dr. Chironna along with several others who have been instrumental in my spiritual growth throughout the years were key speakers. I was enamored by this experience because I had longed to be officially ordained as a minister of the gospel. I could never imagine that many of the seasoned ministry leaders that encouraged me through their teachings would be guess speakers at this three day event. I share this as a testament of God’s faithfulness to direct your paths along the journey.

I often find myself interpreting events differently than others. What I’ve have come to understand is that prophets tend to deconstruct the things they observe or witness in an effort to gain greater insights into a matter. Dr. Chironna says this: “Prophets operate at a level of penetrating insight, which deconstructs the appearance of a thing and reveals that which animates it.” ²

“The prophet is uniquely sighted to see beyond what the natural eye is capable of detecting and similarly gifted to interpret what his or her penetrating insight reveals. Whether the prophet is reading the newspaper or witnessing the dynamics within a particular church, he or she peers into the invisible world that animates the physical one. In addition to seeing, however, the prophet is equipped to discern and explain the implications for the benefit of the Body.”³

Deconstruct means to take apart or examine (something) in order to reveal the basis or composition often with the intention of exposing biases, flaws, or inconsistencies.⁴

in·sight 1: the power or act of seeing into a situation: penetration              

2: the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively ⁵

 in·tu·i·tion 1: quick and ready insight

2a : immediate apprehension or cognition b: knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c: the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference ⁶

God’s ultimate weapon is a man or a woman who has encountered the prophetic anointing. God does not anoint projects; He anoints people! People anointed with a prophetic ministry speak the word of the Lord in the name of the Lord. They carry weight in the Church by virtue of the ethical, moral, and spiritual urgency of their message.⁷

James Goll, The Seer, The Prophetic Power of Visions, Dreams and Open Heavens

Analytical thinking is not enough. It also involves relying upon our spiritual senses. Our spiritual senses must be trained to discern in pursuit of truth to distinguish good from evil (Heb.5:14). In addition, I find myself with a burden to proclaim God’s righteous standards for His people. To usher in the fruit of the Spirit, nurture the character of Christ, and promote purity and holiness in the church. I am compelled to call the Church to care for all the needy who have no power and no champion for their cause to establish God’s righteousness and justice in the earth. Amos in the Old Testament was just such a prophet. In the fifth chapter of the book that bears his name, he says, “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).

The prophet is preoccupied with recovery and restoration. If you read any of my blog posts you will find that many of them focus on justice and righteousness, and a call to reclaim authentic Christianity. I pray that you will be encouraged by these posts to pursue you God given gifts and purpose in His redemptive plans for mankind.

What I am witnessing today in America has future spiritual implications of which we cannot imagine, but have been spoken of in the Holy Scriptures. It is critical that we see beyond the obvious and discern what the Lord is saying in this new era of the church.

In His Service ,

Minister A. Francine Green

1. Brueggemann, W. (2018). The Prophetic Imagination, 40th Anniversary Edition, Fortress Press.
   
2. Chironna, M. (2013).The Prophetic Perspective: Seeing and Seizing Our God-Intended Future. Destiny Image Publishers , Inc.
3. ibid
4. Meriam-Webster Online, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary , s. v. deconstruct,” accessed December 17, 2020.
5. ibid., s. v. “insight”
6. ibid., s. v. “intuition”
7. Goll, J. (2012). The Seer. Destiny Image Books