PROPHECY

Many of us have been talking about the personal prophecies that Gordon Grieve delivered on Sunday. Most of the messages were amazingly accurate, and all were encouraging. But the words were not perfect, not tried seven times as in a fire, not infallible and inerrant, not "from God," as I was taught to believe in my tradition growing up. I was taught that God used prophets in the first generation only, but that since the Bible has been completed ("perfect"), prophecy was no longer needed. This is called cessationism.

I went through the New Testament this week, looking up all passages about prophecy and prophets. I honestly tried to read them through the eyes of what I had been taught, what I might call a "hard" definition of prophecy (that it is infallibly from the Holy Spirit, and if right could be added to the pages of the New Testament, and if wrong, calls for stoning the false prophet). Some of the passages didn't seem to fit. Then I looked at them again with a "soft" definition of prophecy in mind (that a prophet is fallible and gets impressions from the Holy Spirit, but might word them wrong or receive them with some mix of his or her own personality compromising the purity of a word from God), and it seemed to fit all of the passages.

Especially 1 Corinthians 14 seems to describe a gift of prophecy that can as broadly defined as congregational singing, or as anyone forthtelling words of "strengthening, encouragement and comfort" for saints. Paul wanted and seemed to expect everyone to prophesy, and seems to have a "soft" view of it, including the possibility that someone stops delivering his message and lets another speak.

One of the bottom lines for me, and I asked myself this several times during the assembly on Sunday, is this: did Gordon speak words that were in keeping with the Gospel? I think he understood the Gospel well, and he lifted Jesus high, and he had a humble spirit about him. Was he perfect? Perfectly humble? Perfectly accurate? Perfectly balanced? No, he wasn't. That's why his words aren't printed and placed in my Bible as Revelation chapter 23. At worst, they were words of well-meaning encouragement from a man who was stating the impressions of a loving stranger. The fact that he used the word "prophecy" made me uncomfortable to the degree that I have been taught a narrow definition of that word. But if I can allow what might be called a "non-supernatural" definition of prophecy, then I am okay.

I still reserve the words "prophecy" and "prophet" most of the time, because of my former teaching, and because I am slow to presume to have a word from the Lord. But I am very much in favor of walking in step with the Spirit and boldly following those promptings that come from Him. I don't have perfect reception, but I have seen enough to know that even "non-supernatural" words of knowledge are pretty "supernatural." And for me, that's enough.