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The Gift of Prophecy May 1
A Vital Gift to Edify the Church
“God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets”
(1 Corinthians 12:28).
Christ coming at the time and in the manner which He did was a
direct and complete fulfillment of prophecy. The evidence of this,
given to the world through the testimony of the apostles and that of
their contemporaries, is among the strongest proofs of the Christian
faith. We were not eyewitnesses of the miracles of Jesus, which attest
His divinity; but we have the statements of His disciples who were
eyewitnesses of them, and we see by faith through their eyes, and
hear through their ears; and our faith with theirs grasps the evidence
given.
The apostles accepted Jesus upon the testimony of prophets and
righteous men, stretching over a period of many centuries. The
Christian world have a full and complete chain of evidence running
through both the Old and the New Testament; in the one pointing to
a Saviour to come, and in the other fulfilling the conditions of that
prophecy. All this is sufficient to establish the faith of those who are
willing to believe. 1
The apostle cautioned the Thessalonians not to despise the gift of
prophecy, and in the words, “Quench not the Spirit. Despise not
prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1
Thessalonians 5:19–21), he enjoined a careful discrimination in distinguishing
the false from the true. 2
Until Christ shall appear in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory, men will become perverse in spirit and turn from the
truth to fables. The church will yet see troublous times. She will
prophesy in sackcloth. But although she must meet heresies and
persecutions, although she must battle with the infidel and the apostate,
yet by the help of God she is bruising the head of Satan. The
Lord will have a people as true as steel, and with faith as firm as the
granite rock. They are to be His witnesses in the world, His instrumentalities
to do a special, a glorious work in the day of His preparation.
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