The Prophets

I.         In the Greek, prophetes, means an inspired speaker

II.        Only allowed to speak what God told the prophet

            A.        Example of Balaam - Numbers 22:18-20, 38; 23:12

            B.        Prophets had control of when they spoke - I Corinthians 14:29-32

            C.        Words must be carefully considered - I Thessalonians 5:19-22

III.       Always possible for a false claim of being a prophet, so there were tests - I John 4:1

            A.        Since God doesn’t lie, what a prophet says is always true - Deuteronomy 18:20-22

            B.        It is always consistent with what God already said - Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Galatians 1:6-10

IV.      Prophets were teachers before recorded doctrine was available - I Corinthians 14:26, 31; Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 15:32

            A.        They also recorded God’s words. Some of the books of the Bible are written by prophets: Mark, Luke, Acts, and possibly James and Jude.

V.        Prophecy was temporary - I Corinthians 13:8-10; Daniel 9:24; Zechariah 13:1-2; Matthew 7:21-23