Introduction: When you think about Old Testament prophets you may hear in your mind, “Thus says the Lord.” The belief is that these prophets uniquely spoke for God. If not, Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says that the false prophet should die for misrepresenting God’s word. Even if the false prophet escaped the death penalty, Israel was told not to fear what he subsequently said. The New Testament discussion of the gift of prophecy feels quite different. Prophecy is not the top gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s discussion of statements by prophets assumes that not every statement by a person possessing the gift of prophecy is infallible. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and learn more about this interesting and important topic!
I. From Moses to Jesus
A. Read Deuteronomy 18:15-17. Who is writing “a prophet like me?” (This is Moses speaking to the Israelites after they left Egypt.)
1. Why does Moses call himself a prophet? (He reminds the people that they were afraid to hear directly from God. They thought they might die.)
2. Were the people right? (God states the people are right and confirms Moses’ task of mediating between God and the people.)
B. Read Deuteronomy 18:18-19. Who is this coming prophet who is like Moses? (Read Acts 3:22-26. Peter applies this prophecy to Jesus.)
1. Does it seem outrageous to call Jesus merely a “prophet” and to claim that Moses is like Jesus? (The answer is “yes” in many ways, not the least of which is that Jesus is God. But the answer is “no” in many other ways. Think of how Moses was the direct link between God and the people as they were on their journey to the Promised Land. Jesus is the direct link leading us to the eternal promised land.)
C. Read Deuteronomy 18:20-22. The continuing discussion about Moses and Jesus being prophets sets what daunting standard for prophets of that nature? (You die if you report that God said something He did not say. You need to be correct every time or you must be ignored.)
II. The Gift of Prophecy.
A. Read 1 Corinthians 12:27-31. Is this a list of spiritual gifts in order of their importance? (It certainly appears to be.)
1. How can it be that prophets come in second place? Why does it appear that there are many prophets? (Apparently modern prophets do not exercise the kind of unique, authoritative prophetic office associated with Moses.)
B. Read 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. Does the gift of prophecy mentioned here seem to be on the same level as the work of Moses or Jesus?
C. Read Ephesians 4:11. Where do prophets rank here? (Second. We learned in 1 Corinthians 12:31 that this is an actual ranking because Paul writes to “desire the higher gifts.”)
III. Agabus
A. Read Acts 21:10-13. Agabus warns Paul not to go to Jerusalem and Paul goes anyway. Is Paul disobeying God?
1. Who does Agabus say will bind Paul? (He says that the Jews will bind him.)
2. What will the Jews do after they bind Paul? (They will “deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.”)
B. Read Acts 21:30-33. Has Agabus’ prophecy come true? (Paul is bound, but Agabus is wrong on the details. Paul was rescued by the Romans. The Jews were not trying to deliver Paul, they were trying to kill Paul.)
1. Do these errors in Agabus’ prophecy matter?
C. Read Acts 20:22-23. When Paul says that he is “constrained” by the Holy Spirit, does he mean that the Holy Spirit is telling him to go to Jerusalem? (I think that is what this means.)
1. Notice that Paul says that the Holy Spirit did not tell him what to expect in Jerusalem. What does Paul expect will await him? (The Holy Spirit says imprisonment awaits Paul “in every city.” This is the imprisonment that Agabus warned about.)
D. Read Acts 21:4. These disciples, through the Holy Spirit, are telling Paul “not to go on to Jerusalem.” How do you explain this message which contradicts Paul’s statement that the Holy Spirit is telling him to go to Jerusalem?
E. Look again at Acts 21:13. Paul says that he is willing to die “for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Is this God’s will?
1. How do you explain Paul’s situation? Does he have a choice to avoid going to a city? (Paul would always have a choice, but I believe the Holy Spirit is both telling Paul to go and later telling Paul what awaits him.)
2. Do you find the various statements made to Paul, that are supposed to have their source in the Holy Spirit, confusing?
F. Read again Deuteronomy 18:19. What does this suggest will happen to those who do not listen to the Moses level of prophets? (God will personally “require it of him.” It sounds like disobedience is to be punished. In Paul’s case, knowing what to do seems uncertain based on the conflicting statements.)
G. Re-read 1 Corinthians 12:28. Since Paul calls himself an apostle, is this telling us that he outranks prophets? (Yes. Paul is not disregarding the voice of God because Paul is willing to do God’s will. Once again, we see modern prophets whose authority is not at the level of Moses or Jesus.)
IV. The Prophet Or The Message
A. Let’s review by reading Deuteronomy 18:20. Is this directed to the person or the message? (The person who speaks without God’s authority dies.)
B. Read 1 Corinthians 14:29-32. Notice that in one church service we have multiple prophets. After they speak, what does it mean “let the others weigh what is said?” Does that mean think carefully about the message?
C. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21. This says that we should be open to what prophets say, but that we should “test everything.” Does that mean to do more than “think carefully” about their words?
1. Notice the instruction to “hold fast what is good.” Does that suggest that the same prophet, after testing, can say good and bad things?
D. A deeper dive into 1 Corinthians 14:29 tells us that the word translated “weigh” is not talking about contemplation, but rather about doubting, judging, and separating. The King James Version translates the word as “judge.” Vincent’s Word Studies links it to 1 Corinthians 12:10 which says that a spiritual gift is to “distinguish between spirits.”
1. Notice that the message, and not the person, was being “weighed.”
2. Would you agree that the Old Testament prophetic test distinguished between persons, and the New Testament test distinguishes between messages?
E. Read 1 John 4:1. Does a concern about false prophets still exist in the New Testament? (Yes!)
F. Let’s see if we can summarize the teaching of the New Testament about modern prophets. Can a genuine prophet sometimes get a prophecy wrong? (That flows from 1 Corinthians 14:29. Paul does not say determine first whether this person is a true prophet, and then accept whatever this prophet says. Instead, Paul says to evaluate the message and not the status of the speaker. At the same time, we are warned that individuals exist who claim to be prophets but who never spoke for God.)
G. Consider whether you have an institutional bias based on the way prophecy is handled in your church.
1. For example, Catholics teach that the Pope can teach infallibly under the narrowly defined circumstances traditionally described as speaking ex cathedra.
2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that Joseph Smith was a prophet through whom God spoke and that the current First Presidency can speak for God.
3. The Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches that Ellen White was a prophet through whom God spoke. These three examples look much like the Old Testament system, although neither the Latter-day Saints nor the Adventists claim their prophet is infallible. And Adventists expressly make the Bible the ultimate standard.
4. If you are a member of the Assemblies of God or another charismatic church, you likely regularly see members claiming to have a prophecy from God. This seems to reflect Paul’s direction in 1 Corinthians 14:29-31 that only two or three prophets can speak “one by one.” My sense is that members of charismatic churches know these prophets are not infallible.
5. Do you agree that the biblically proper way to evaluate modern prophets is by judging the message and not the person?
V. Do Numbers Matter?
A. Read Acts 21:8-9. Why would Philip have four daughters who prophesied? Would not one be enough to convey God’s message?
B. Read Joel 2:28-29. When the Bible says that in the last days the Holy Spirit will be poured out on “all flesh,” what should we be expecting in our local congregations? (This seems irreconcilable with the Old Testament model of a few prophets who speak directly and accurately for God, with death as the penalty for falsely speaking in His name. All flesh seems to convey that all sorts of people are conveying God’s will. That makes the caution to test the message very important.)
C. Friend, I hope that this lesson shapes your view of modern prophets so that you will not resist prophecy, but will test the messages without attacking the prophet.
VI. Next week: Revelation and Inspiration.
Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.
