Progressive Revelation - Part 8: The Church's Divine Mission: Reflecting Christ to the World and the Heavenly Powers

Read Part 7 here.

Hebrews 1:1–4 (ESV): "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs",.

God’s Ultimate Revelation in His Son

The above portion in Hebrews Chapter 1 states that God started speaking to our fathers through prophets long ago, and then He revealed Himself through His Son. Who is this Son? The Lord Jesus Christ is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. Not only that, He made the purification for our sins, and now He is seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

In our previous posts, we have seen how God started to reveal about Himself progressively—even before speaking verbally for the first time—in the creation itself (General Revelation), after that, directly on the mount Sinai to Israelites, then through Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy), then through many prophets, and finally, completely (or rather perfectly) in Jesus Christ. The Gospels portray and reveal the Lord Jesus Christ as the revelation of God Himself. Understanding this progressive and continuous revelation is called biblical theology, and this understanding is essential for knowing the right way to understand God’s word.

The Church on Earth: A Scene of Contention

Let us see Mark's Gospel Chapter 9, where we read an incident after the transfiguration on the mount. Jesus went up with three disciples to be transfigured, leaving the rest of the disciples below. When Jesus came down, they saw a great crowd around the disciples and scribes arguing with them.

The argument stemmed from a problem the disciples could not solve. When the people came with a problem, they must have asked the disciples to solve it, saying, "You are the disciples of that great man. Solve this problem. He used to solve so many problems of this manner". But the disciples were unable to solve it.

This scene is the picture of the church today. As seen in Hebrews, Christ has made the purification for our sins and is now seated on the right hand of the Most High. We, the church, are on this earth, and the world has many problems. The world is expecting the church to show them solutions, because for the world, the church represents Christ. The world challenges us, saying, "You say you are the people of that great God; show the works and life of that great God in your life" in this world full of problems. This is what the world is expecting from the church.

The Church’s Divine Responsibility

God wants to show His manifold wisdom through the church, not just to the world, but also to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

• Ephesians 3:10 (ESV): "So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places".

What a great responsibility the church has: to reveal God to the world and God's wisdom to the evil forces.

We must remember two truths about Church's relationship with Christ:

1. Christ is the Head of the Body: Christ is the image of the invisible God. As we saw in Hebrews, God revealed Himself in Christ. Now, the church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the head of this church. The way the body reflects and represents the head, the church is supposed to reflect and represent Christ.
   And the body must be controlled by the head. If a body is not controlled by the head, doctors call that paralysis. If that paralysis continues for a long time, the body may be treated as brain dead and soon declared dead. This is why, out of anguish, God says to some churches in the book of Revelation that they have the name of being alive, but they are dead.
2. The Church is a Pure Virgin: The church is also seen as a pure virgin betrothed to only one husband, Christ.

• 2 Corinthians 11:2 (ESV): "For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ".

This church needs a divine jealousy—jealousy toward her husband—to be ready for the wedding that is going to take place and to be transformed into the likeness that her husband likes. She must take care that she is not distracted to any other man or things. When the church prepares herself with this divine jealousy, it can represent and reveal Christ.

The Three Essential Principles for Effectiveness

To represent Christ, the church must follow certain principles and practices. The Book of Acts contains both principles and practices. While not all practices are necessarily applicable today, the principles behind them are still relevant for us today (for example, the specific practice of selling property not followed today, but the principle of giving still relevant).

Briefly, we will see three most important principles from the book of Acts that the early church practiced to effectively represent Christ:

1. Devotion to Prayer (Dependence)

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the church started preparing itself to represent Christ on Earth with the first principle:

• Acts 1:14 (ESV): "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers".

They started with prayer. Prayer is dependence upon God for all our problems, for guidance, for decision-making, and for counsel. When the disciples came to Jesus with shame after failing to heal the boy in Mark 9, Jesus told them that "these kind of things cannot go without prayer and especially without fasting prayers". The church cannot represent Christ in the world without dependence upon God in prayer.

2. Continual Filling with the Spirit (Power)

The second principle is the filling of the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 2:4 (ESV): "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance".

The principle here is that the church, when it was supposed to take birth, was filled with the Spirit. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus explicitly commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they received the Spirit, because without the Spirit, they would not have power and would not be His witnesses.

• Acts 1:8 (ESV): "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth".

This filling is not a one-time incident; it must be continual.

• Ephesians 5:18 (ESV): "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit".

The Greek word's meaning indicate "be being continually filled with the Spirit". The moment the church disconnects from the Spirit and connects to the world, it loses all power. The Spirit should be the power house of the church. 

3. Devotion to God’s Word (Teaching)

The third important principle is the teaching of God's word.

• Acts 2:42 (ESV): "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers".

With prayer and the Spirit, when God’s word started working among the people, thousands started to be born again. They were not negligent about God’s word; they were serious. The church was effective both inside Jerusalem and outside, especially when persecution caused them to scatter abroad and preach God's word every day.

Results of a Dedicated Church

These three principles—prayer, Spirit, and the ministry of the word—were essential for solving problems and empowering ministers.

In Acts 6, when the church was about to split due to tension between Greek and native Hebrews, the apostles stated that they would devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word, and that the church should choose leaders who were full of the Spirit and of wisdom. This solved the problem.

The church at Antioch provides a powerful example:

• Acts 13:2–3 (ESV): "While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off".

They were dedicated to fasting prayer and worshiping the Lord. They were in constant touch with the Holy Spirit, and they had prophets and teachers actively teaching God's word among them. This allowed the Holy Spirit to speak and separate Paul and Barnabas. This is the power of a church dedicated to the prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the word of God—it can bring forth such powerful ministers who turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6).

This is how God wants to reveal His manifold wisdom through the church to the world and even to the rulers and authorities of the darkness in the heavenly places.

(To be continued ...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 7: Beyond the 360 Degrees: The Four Angles of the Gospels and the Divinity of the Son of Man

The 430-Year Pattern of Redemption

Read part 6 here.

We have seen that for 400 years, God was silent, with no prophetic word between the Old Testament and New Testament times.

This period of silence relates to a significant pattern in Israel’s history. How many years were the Israelites in slavery in Egypt? 430 years.

After 400 years of prophetic silence (after the book of Malachi), God sent His angels to give the message of the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of the Lord Jesus. Following their births, it took another 30 years for them to grow up and be manifested before the people, as Jesus started preaching when He was 30 years old. This means that after the silence of Malachi, it took totally 430 years before John started preaching, and a few months later, the Lord Jesus started preaching.

This mirrors the history recorded in Exodus 12, which clearly mentions that the Israelites were in slavery for 430 years, after which God redeemed them. This is not a mere coincidence or just random timing. God is showing His people that He is working in a specific pattern, reminding them of the times that they should care about.

Wilderness: A Reminder of God's Faithfulness

After 430 years in Egypt, the Israelites were redeemed and led into the wilderness by Moses. Now, John the Baptist started preaching in the wilderness. In other words, God is calling the Israelites back into the wilderness, reminding them of their olden days of wilderness.

The wilderness should remind them of three things:

1. The past 430 years of slavery.
2. The faithfulness of God right now in the wilderness.
3. The promise of the Promised Land they are going to inherit in the near future.

Looking at these three things, they had to respond to God in thankfulness and faithfulness. Now again, John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness, or God is calling the people of Israel into the wilderness, reminding them of the past 430 years and also the future promise that He is going to bless the whole world through the promised seed of Abraham.

The Promise of True Canaan

Jesus is that seed. Time has been fulfilled, as seen in Galatians 4:4. Jesus is the one who is going to fulfill that promise; He is the one who is going to give the true Canaan or the true rest.

I want to pause here a moment. When we say Canaan, Canaan is not heaven for us as New Testament believers. 

If you see the life of the Israelites in the wilderness, initially they were not supposed to spend 40 years there. That was not God's original intention. Just after two years, God told them to send spies, and once they returned with information, they could get ready for the battle. Because they failed in that matter (due to unbelief and disobedience), they had to spend 40 years in the wilderness. Otherwise, just after two years, they were supposed to enter into Canaan. God was ready to fulfill His promise immediately had they faith and had they obeyed. It was lack of faith and disobedience that caused the delay.

In our life also, we can enjoy the abundance of the Lord Jesus that God has promised only if we have faith and obedience. All our life need not be the life of wilderness.

When John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus were preaching to them, the Israelites were supposed to know that God was working among them. Just like God worked after 430 years of slavery, He was now working and was going to bring true redemption and true salvation unto them. They had to understand that God had a clear pattern of working among them. He did not leave them in darkness; He did not leave them without any clues or hints. That is why a few people could understand that, though many of them missed it. That is why in Luke’s Gospel 12:56, Jesus said to them, "How can you not understand the times?". They had to understand how God was working in their times.

Dear brothers and sisters, we need to understand how God is working in our times, and we have to respond to that. If we have that heart of responding, God always leaves clues for us to understand.

The Four Gospels: A 360-Degree View of Christ

We will quickly see a few things how God revealed Himself through the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospels. 

The life of Jesus is written in four Gospels. Why would we need four Gospels? Why just one Gospel is not sufficient?. He is not just a man; He is a divine man. It is God Himself who came in the form of man. For Him, even 360 Gospels would not be sufficient. But God thought it is sufficient for us if four people write Gospels. These four people give us a picture of the Lord Jesus in four different angles. This is sufficient for our salvation.

Let us see what Matthew tries to portray.

1. Matthew: The New Genesis and the New Moses

Matthew is not the first Gospel written, but it is placed as the first Gospel in the New Testament. There is a reason for that.

Let us see Matthew 1:1 (ESV): "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham".

The phrase "the book of the genealogy" in Greek is bibliogenasio. This is important because the Bible available to them in those times was the Greek version Old Testament, or the Septuagint, where the phrase bibliogenasio appears more often in the book of Genesis. This is the exact phrase that was used in the book of Genesis ten times. Matthew picked up that word that was used in Genesis ten times and used it here.

Genesis is the book of the beginnings. Matthew, when he says this is the book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, is saying here: Jesus Christ is starting a new beginning, a new Genesis. This Jesus Christ is the new Adam. He is the new creator and in His is the new creation. With Him, the new creation is starting. That is what Matthew is trying to say, and that is why Matthew’s Gospel is kept as the first book in the New Testament just as Genesis is the first book in the Old Testament.

Furthermore, after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the book of Exodus, chapters 19 and 20, God gave them the Law from Mount Sinai. The Lord Jesus, in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 5, 6, and 7, explains and expounds on the Law and says what is the real intention of the Law. This again happens on a mountain; that is why we call it the Sermon on the Mount.

In this way, the book of Matthew itself can be divided into five parts, and that completely resembles the five books written by Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy). This number five is very significant for Jews; for example, the book of Psalms is divided into five books. When David goes to face Goliath, he picks up five stones. The reason is that these five always represent the five books that God has given to them in the form of Law through Moses.

What Matthew is trying to say is this Lord Jesus, whom he is portraying in His gospel, is none other than new Moses, or the one who is going to give you the new Law. He is the one they have been waiting for, the Prophet like Moses.

If we read the Gospels with this understanding and context, we can very well understand God’s word. All these Gospel writers are linking with the Old Testament. If you don't understand this overall picture, we can't understand the Gospels very well.

2. Mark: The Lord Passing By

Let us see one incident in the gospel of Mark. In fact, the book of Mark was the first Gospel written and, according to research and history, Mark got all this information from Peter. Mark’s Gospel is a very fast moving gospel; it is like watching a video at two times speed. When we read the book of Mark, many times we see the word "immediately, immediately, immediately" (Perhaps it's because Peter was like that).

Let us turn to Mark 6:48 (ESV): "And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them".

Here, the disciples were trying to cross the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus came walking on the water. Their journey was very tough. Jesus was supposed to come and meet them. But here we see that last phrase: "He meant to pass by them". Only Mark writes this thing. Mark was not there when this incident was happening, so one of the disciples, mostly Peter, should have seen it in a different way and then dictated it to Mark. Jesus did not come into the boat immediately; He was trying to "pass by" them. Why? Why couldn't He immediately come into the boat?.

Let us turn to Exodus 33. After the Israelites fell into idolatry and God was angry, He said to Moses that Moses had found favor, but He would destroy the people. After interceding for the people, Moses said, "If I found favor in your sight, please show me your ways".

• Exodus 33:22 (ESV): "And while my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by".

God promised Moses, "I will pass by. You cannot see my face, but you will see my back". Exodus 34:6 (KJV) says that the Lord passed before him.

Now let us come back to Mark chapter 6. Just before coming here, Jesus fed 5,000 people with just five loaves and two fish. Five loaves and two fish is nothing for 5,000 people. The Creator God Himself is doing the work of creation out of "nothing" there before their eyes. These 12 disciples, who were watching that miracle—the creation itself taking place—could not understand that it was the Creator God Himself sitting before them.

Because they did not understand, God is now taking them through another incident. Jesus, who is walking on the water and trying to pass by, is now resembling that Lord Jehovah in the Old Testament - Exodus 33, who passed by Moses. Jesus is trying to teach these disciples: "If you have not understood from the incident of the loaves, at least try to understand that I am that God Himself, the Lord Jehovah, before you". Because they all knew the Old Testament very well, they could very well relate to the Old Testament incidents. This is what Mark is trying to portray: This Jesus who is now among us, He who was among us is none other than the God Himself who was in the Old Testament.

3. John: The Gate of Heaven

The Book of John, chapter 1, links with the Old Testament very often. 

Let us see John’s Gospel 1:51 (ESV): "And he said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man'".

Here Jesus is talking to Nathanael, saying, "You will see heaven opened, angels going up and down on the Son of Man".

If we turn to Genesis chapter 11, we know the incident of the Tower of Babel. We will read Genesis 11:4 (ESV): "Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth'".

They were planning to build two things: a city and a tower. This tower was not like a clock tower but a temple tower. They thought that gods (not God, but gods) would go up and down to earth from heaven using the stairs of this tower. The original name for the word tower used here means "the gate of heaven". God later called this place Babel(confusion) after confusing their languages.

Now let us come to Genesis 28:12 (ESV): "And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it".

When Jacob was fleeing and sleeping at a place called Luz, God gave him a dream in which there was a ladder. God was on the top of it. Those people in Genesis 11 tried to bring God down, but God did not come down by their efforts. But here, God is showing Jacob that He will be reachable to people through this ladder, and on this ladder, angels will be ascending and descending.

Jacob called that place gate of heaven, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17). In Genesis 11, heaven did not open, but here God is promising, "I'm going to open the heaven".

In John’s Gospel 1:51, Jesus is saying, "You will see heavens opened, and angels will be ascending and descending". What is the ladder? The ladder is the Son of Man. Jesus is saying, "I am that ladder that Jacob was promised in a prophetic vision when he was at Luz". What man failed to accomplish through all his efforts and all his wisdom in Genesis 11, God promised that He will accomplish to Jacob in Genesis 28. But here, Jesus is saying, "I am that fulfillment". 

See how clearly the Gospels are showing the fulfillment of the revelation of God in the Lord Jesus Christ in the light of the Old Testament. If we try to read God's word in this way, with paying attention, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to understand the real picture of God through His word. Otherwise, we will misunderstand, misquote, and mislead others also. May God help us to have a right understanding of God's word.

(to be continued...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 6: The Fulfillment of Time: How God Prepared the World During 400 Years of Silence

The Time Between Covenants: History is "His Story"

Read part 5 here.

In this post we will try to see a few things about the time period between the Old Testament and New Testament. That period is called the Intertestamental Period, a time of approximately 400 years where there was no prophetic word from God.

Sometimes we may think why should we worry about this historical period? Answer is history is simply "his story". In other words, history is nothing but the designed, plotted story by God Himself. Even though God was not directly speaking in those days, He was working behind the curtains. 

God’s Control Over Earthly Superpowers

Throughout ancient history, there were always superpowers in the world. We know that Egypt was a power; in the earlier days, they kept the Israelites under slavery, and God, with His might, gave freedom to them. After a few years, Assyria became a superpower and took the upper part of the Israelites (the 10 tribes) into exile. Then Babylon became a superpower and took the remaining two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, into exile.

After Babylon, the Medo-Persian power came into prominence. When they came to power, they gave freedom to the Jews to go back to their nation, allowing them to rebuild the temple and Jerusalem walls.

One observation we must make here is that in all these periods, God's people were not the superpowers. But God used these superpowers to fulfill His will in and on God's people. This is true in our days also, but we do not need to worry because those super powers are all in the control of God. God will use them to fulfill His will, His plans and purposes.

The Greek Influence: Prophecy Fulfilled and the Spread of Language

After Medo-Persia, the Greeks came into power. One famous person from the Greeks, Alexander (the Great), conquered almost all the known world in those days,.

Alexander also did another good thing: he spread the Greek language throughout the world. Greek became the main language for trade, diplomacy, and all official purposes, a process called Hellenization. Alexander was a disciple of Aristotle, who was a disciple of Plato, who in turn was a disciple of Socrates. With all this influence of philosophy, Alexander brought the world into unity in some aspects, and during those days, art, culture, and science developed very well and spread widely.

We can see the foreshadowing of these empires in the Book of Daniel.

• Daniel Chapter 2: Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a big statue, which Daniel interpreted as depicting subsequent kingdoms starting from Babylon. The kingdom of silver (the two shoulders) depicted the Medo-Persian kingdom, and the bronze part depicted the Greek kingdom.
• Daniel Chapter 8: Daniel was given another vision which depicts the kingdoms that were to come, specifically reading from verses 20-22: "As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia; and the goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, but not with his power".

Alexander was the great horn, and the prophecies were fulfilled around 200 years after Daniel spoke them. According to some sources, when Alexander came to capture Jerusalem, the high priest of Jerusalem went to meet him, showed him all these prophecies about himself, and Alexander was mesmerized. He gave freedom to Jerusalem and did not attack them.

What we see here is that even though God is silent and not directly speaking, God is still fulfilling His promises. The prophecies are being fulfilled. God is still working on behalf of His people; He is still protecting them. Sometimes we may see in our lives also we have many promises but things that are happening right now may look very dry. But be assured that God never sleeps nor slumbers. He is still working on our behalf.

The Aftermath of Alexander: Translation and Persecution

After Alexander died, exactly as predicted in Daniel 8:22, four army generals under him took four parts of his kingdom. Only two were very powerful: Ptolemy and Seleucus. Ptolemy reigned from Egypt (Alexandria), and Seleucus reigned from Antiochus in Syria.

For a few years, Jerusalem was under the control of Ptolemy, and they enjoyed peace. Because of this peace, one important incident took place: 72 scholars (six people from each of the 12 tribes) were called from Jerusalem to Egypt and given the task of translating the entire Old Testament into Greek. This translation is important because the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) was the main Old Testament available in the New Testament period. 

When Seleucus and his descendants tried to take control of Jerusalem, Antiochus III captured the city. After him came Antiochus IV, who forced Greek culture upon Jerusalem and the Jewish people.

His persecutions were severe:

1. Sabbath was banned. Honoring or implementing the Sabbath became a criminal offense.
2. Circumcision was prohibited. Mothers who took responsibility to circumcise their children were executed openly.
3. Possessing Old Testament Scriptures was a criminal offense. He captured many Scriptures and destroyed them. We should be thankful that we still have God's word in our hands because God protected His word in those days.

Antiochus IV did not stop there. He entered the temple and started idolatry and prostitution in the temple premises itself. Above all, he offered an unclean animal—a pig—on the altar of the temple. All these things were prophesied already in the book of Daniel and were taking place now.

The Jewish Response and the Rise of Sects

In those days, a group called the Maccabees rose up. They fought against Antiochus IV, and their leader, Judas Maccabeus, captured Jerusalem again. They rededicated the temple, and that rededication is celebrated even today by Jewish people; it is called Hanukkah.

Unfortunately, something that started with a good intention was diluted because of their selfishness. There were infightings for power among these people called Maccabees. This period gave rise to the major Jewish sects present in the first century:

1. Pharisees: They chose to follow God's word literally, exactly as it is written. This was another good initiative. But, they are an example for how well they started and how they declined when they came to the first century time.
2. Sadducees: Originally belonging to the Maccabees, they continued in the high priestly job. They went into ties with the Roman government, and with the support of the Roman government, they continued to be high priests. That is why in John's gospel, we see that Annas was a high priest for that year. According to God's word, a high priest should be a high priest throughout their life, but they were paying something to the Roman government, and every year they had to renew their position.
3. Qumran Community: These people produced the Dead Sea Scrolls or Qumran scrolls.
4. Scribes and Teachers of the Law: They were trying to teach and spread God's word by copying the Old Testament from one generation to the other.

This is how the Jewish background was being set in those days (before the arrival of Jesus Christ).

The World Prepared: Pax Romana and Road Transport

After the Greeks, the Romans came into power. Greek continued to be the common language. Julius Augustus was the first Roman emperor.

The Roman government implemented two key things that helped prepare the world for the spreading of the Gospel:

1. Good road transport throughout the world.
2. Pax Romana (Peace of Rome): This peace given by Rome was enforced by military might.

These two policies—good road transport and the peace (whether by force or other means)—helped the New Testament people spread the Gospel very easily in those days.

The Fulfilment of Time

As we see in Galatians 4:4 (ESV): "when the fullness of time had come", the time was coming to its fulfillment. As the time was coming to the end, the world itself had become a stage prepared to receive the Messiah who was to come.

The people of God were waiting for that Messiah because all human offices failed to keep God's people faithful to God.

• They were looking for a Prophet predicted by Moses, as the human prophets had failed.
• They were looking for a King according to the descendancy of David, as the human kings had failed.
• They were also looking for a High Priest who would be there forever to intercede on their behalf before God, as the human high priests had failed.

Human offices failed in these three aspects, but God was going to send His Son to fulfill all these three things in the Messiah.

Luke's Gospel chapter 3 says that Adam was the son of God. In Genesis chapter 1, we see that before God sent Adam into the world, He prepared the whole creation for him. Similarly, when His own Son, the Lord Jesus, was coming into the world, God prepared the whole world, and now the whole world was ready to receive Him.

One thing I want to mention here is that if things that God had promised in our lives are getting delayed, please be reminded that God is still working on our behalf. In the fulfillment of time, He will fulfill those things.

Prophecy Resumes: The Word Came to John

After 400 years of silence of the prophetic word, God resumed speaking.

• Luke 3:2 (ESV): "During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness."

This phrase, "the word of God came," is very important. This phrase was last mentioned 400 years before in the book of Malachi, as every prophetic book starts like this: "The word of God came to so and so". John the Baptist belonged to the Old Covenant, because even Jesus said the least in the Kingdom of God is higher than John the Baptist. What this tells us is that God is now resuming His work. God’s revelation started in the Book of Genesis, and even though it had taken a halt in the Book of Malachi for 400 years, God has now started speaking to His people.

Even though human beings fail, God will continue to be faithful. He continued in faithfulness about revealing Himself. It is our responsibility to receive the revelation and respond to it appropriately. We cannot take it for granted. God is taking it so serious to reveal about Himself to us. If we take it lightly, we will be held accountable before Him because He has given all this revelation and resources to us. May God help us to understand.

Progressive Revelation - Part 10: The Cost of the Word: Sweat, Blood, and the Journey of the Bible into Our Hands

Psalms 119:89 (ESV): "Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens."

We have seen throughout the ages how God through his word continued to reveal himself unto us. That word that he kept speaking is firmly fixed in heavens as it is written in the words that we have read. This also means that in spite of all the attempts to destroy God's word, God faithfully brought this into our hands. Until few years back, even having a glimpse of God's word was so rare; to procure few pages of God's word was so costly a fire. It's not only costly in terms of the money but also in terms of lives together.

As we have attempted to understand the progressive revelation of God's word, as the second part, we will try to understand how God's word is brought into our hands, or the logistics that were used to bring this into our hands.

If we try to understand the logistics of God's word, two things are most important for us to understand: first, materials used and secondly, languages that were used. If we have a Bible in our hands, it is in the form of a book which is a material. And the words that are written in it are in a language that we can understand. That is why we try to understand these two things: materials and languages. In both these things, sweat and blood of saints of God was much involved. That is why dear ones, God's word in our hands is very, very precious. Let us not be so careless in handling it.

Section 1: The Materials Used to Preserve the Word

We can see the various materials used to write God's word mentioned throughout Scripture.

1. Stone Tablets: In the days of Moses, stone tablets were used to write God's word, as books like those we have today were not available. This is evidenced in Exodus 34:1 (ESV): "The Lord said to Moses, 'Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.'" Even archaeology confirms that in those days, many legal and historical things were engraved on stone tablets.
2. Clay Tablets: The second type of material used were clay tablets, as mentioned in Ezekiel 4:1 (ESV): "And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you and engrave a city even Jerusalem.", When the clay tablet was still wet, they would write on it with something like a pencil, and when it dried, the words were engraved.
3. Leather Scrolls: The third type were leather scrolls, made out of animal skins which required the animals to be killed, making this a costly endeavor.
4. Papyrus and Codex: Almost toward the end of the Old Testament time, papyrus material came into existence, similar to our paper today. Initially, these were scrolls, with each scroll containing one book of the Bible, sometimes measuring 30 to 40 feet long for a single New Testament book. By the end of the 1st century AD, this papyrus material was developed into a book form called the papyrus codex.

These materials were all prone to decay very soon. To pass the writings from one generation to the other, copies were meticulously made by hand by people called scribes. Scribes would work in halls called scriptoriums, where one chief scribe would dictate, and the rest would write down the text.

This was hard work, requiring extreme care not to miss even one letter or stroke. These copies are called manuscripts, which is why our Bibles often have footnotes referencing old manuscripts. Over time, the originals were lost, and only the manuscripts and their subsequent copies continued to be passed down through generations.

Section 2: The Languages of the Word

The Bible was originally written in three main languages:

1. Hebrew: Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew.
2. Aramaic: A few portions of the Old Testament were written in Aramaic, a dialect of the Jews toward the end of Old Testament times, which should not be confused with modern Arabic.
3. Greek: The complete New Testament was written in Greek language.

Within Greek, two types existed: Official Greek (used in royal courts and legal documents) and Koine Greek (the language used by common people). God's word, the New Testament, was completely written in Koine Greek so that it was accessible to common people.

Section 3: Key Figures in Translation and Preservation

By the end of the 1st century AD, the Old Testament was available in Hebrew, Aramaic, and the Greek Septuagint. The Septuagint was the translation of the entire Old Testament into Greek, completed in Alexandria, Egypt, by 70 scholars (six from each of the 12 tribes) in the 3rd century BC.

We must remember three pivotal people who ensured God's word came into the hands of the common man:

1. Jerome (4th Century AD)

In the 4th century AD, Jerome desired to bring the full Bible into the common man's hands, as Latin had become the common language across the world. Jerome dedicated 25 years of his life, traveling to Jerusalem to learn the original Bible languages (Hebrew and Greek) and translated both the Old and New Testaments into common people's Latin language., This version was called the Latin Vulgate. For the next thousand years, the Bible remained primarily in Latin, which became the official language of the church, even in places like England where people spoke English. If anyone wanted to understand the Bible, they were required to learn Latin.

2. John Wycliffe (14th Century AD)

In the 14th century AD, John Wycliffe, a scholar from Oxford University, had a great desire to bring God's word back to the common people in England in their own language., He dedicated his life to translating the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English, creating the first English version of the Bible. However, since the printing machine was not yet invented, each copy was still made by hand, making the material costly and rare. Wycliffe sent his followers to streets, corners, fields, and churches to stand and read God's word aloud, which people flocked around to hear. Despite the hunger for the word—with people working hard at night just to buy a few pages—the official church banned the English Bible, leading to persecution and martyrdom.

3. William Tyndale (16th Century AD)

In the 15th century, the great miracle of the invention of the printing machine by Johann Gutenberg took place in Germany, with the Latin Vulgate Bible being the first book printed. This stopped the need for costly handwritten copies.

Following this, William Tyndale had a great desire not only to make the Bible accessible but to bring its depth to the common people. He was not satisfied with the Latin translation and sought to translate God's word directly from the original Hebrew and Greek so that people could understand its true meaning.,

Facing opposition from the church, Tyndale famously told one elder, "if God spares me few more years, I will make a farmer's son know God's word better than you do." Tyndale fled to Germany, learned Greek, and translated the whole New Testament into English, which he printed. Despite the official ban in England, he smuggled the English New Testaments into the country and began working on the Old Testament by learning Hebrew and Aramaic.

Tragically, he was betrayed, imprisoned, condemned of treason, and sentenced to be burnt alive at the stake. Before his execution, it is recorded that he prayed, "Lord, open the eyes of the king of England.",

God's word in our hands came at the cost of lives of God's people. Let us not play with it and interpret it as we want.

Conclusion: The Triumph of the Word

Tyndale's work was completed by Miles Coverdale, who produced the complete English Bible in 1535. Later, King James I commissioned the printing of the complete English Bible to be kept in churches, leading to the King James Version (KJV) in 1611. Though the KJV was translated using Hebrew and Greek manuscripts available from the 10th century AD, later discoveries of earlier manuscripts led to the creation of new English versions.

We must remember that God's word came at the cost, the sweat, and the blood of God's people. We must honor His word.

---

Short Summary (5–7 bullet points)

• The transmission of the Bible involved immense cost, both in terms of money and the lives of saints, emphasizing that the word is precious and should not be handled carelessly.
• The materials used evolved from stone tablets (Exodus 34:1) and clay tablets (Ezekiel 4:1) to leather scrolls and, finally, papyrus material, which by the 1st century AD was formed into the book-like codex.,
• The original languages were mostly Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and Koine Greek (common people's language for the New Testament)., The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, was completed in the 3rd century BC.
• Jerome dedicated 25 years to translating the entire Bible from original languages into Latin Vulgate (common Latin) in the 4th century AD, making it accessible for a time.,
• John Wycliffe produced the first English Bible in the 14th century, translating from Latin, and his followers risked their lives reading it aloud to the people, despite the official church ban.,
• The invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg in the 15th century began the mass production of the Bible, with the Latin Vulgate being the first book printed.
• William Tyndale fled to Germany to translate the New Testament directly from the original Greek and Hebrew into English, believing that "a farmer's son" should know God's word better than the religious leaders; he was ultimately martyred, praying that the King of England's eyes would be opened.,

Progressive Revelation - Part 5: A Kingdom of Priests: Claiming Our New Covenant Privilege as Kings and Priests

Introduction: God’s Original Intention

Read part 4 here.

When God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, leading them to Mount Sinai (Exodus 19), He immediately revealed His extraordinary purpose for them. After approximately one and a half months since leaving Egypt, and before giving them the Law, God spoke to the people of Israel through Moses, declaring His vision:

• Exodus 19:6 (ESV): "and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ...".

We need to focus on the phrase "kingdom of priests". This phrase should be understood as "kings and priests," which is supported by the original words used. God’s initial intention was that all of them would be kings and priests. He did not originally choose Judah to be the king’s tribe nor the Levites to be the tribe of priests.

This original intention is fulfilled in the New Testament church. The phrase "kingdom of priests" is mirrored in the New Testament as "a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). The Greek words used in 1 Peter 2:9 are exactly the same as those used in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) for Exodus 19:6. What the Apostle Peter, by the Holy Spirit, is saying is that while God chose the complete nation of Israelites to be His kings and priests, they failed. Now, we, as believers in the New Testament, are kings and priests.

The First Failure and the Second Chance

God's intention was for the whole nation of Israel to be mediators—middle people between God and the rest of the nations. Unfortunately, they failed in this calling.

Soon after God chose the whole nation to be priests and gave them the Law (calling Moses to the mount to receive the written commandments), the whole nation fell into idolatry. This was a great problem because this nation, which was supposed to be a priest to the Lord, was now worshipping something other than the Lord God, becoming priests to something else.

However, God is a God of second chance. In His mercy, God offered them another opportunity, though this second chance was not without cost.

In response to the idolatry, Moses stood at the gate of the camp and gave this call:

• Exodus 32:26 (ESV): "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, 'Who is on the Lord's side? Come to me.' And all the sons of Levi gathered around him".

The whole nation failed, but only one tribe, the sons of Levi, gathered to Moses.

The Cost of Priesthood

The commandment given to the Levites was severe:

• Exodus 32:27 (ESV): "And he said to them, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel, "Put your sword on your side, each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor" '".

The Levites did according to the word of Moses, resulting in about 3,000 men falling that day (Exodus 32:28). They had to kill whoever they found in idolatry, be it son, brother, neighbor, or a very close friend.

• Exodus 32:29 (ESV): "And Moses said, 'Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you this day'".

By paying that cost—eliminating anyone, even close relatives, involved in idolatry—they ordained themselves to serve God as priests.

The Principle of Discipleship and Worthiness

This costly ordination established a crucial principle, not just for the Levites, but for discipleship under Christ: unreserved love for God.

• Matthew 10:37 (ESV): "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me".

The phrase "worthy of me" means to become eligible to get God in our lives. This teaching is a principle for discipleship, not about getting saved or forgiven. To become a priest unto God, we should not love anybody in our lives more than we love the Lord Jesus. If anybody (father, mother, son, daughter, friend, neighbor) is more important than the Lord in our lives, we are disqualified to be His priests.

This requirement emphasizes holding loosely to earthly ties. The saying of the Jewish woman, Corrie Ten Boom, who suffered under Hitler and later performed a great ministry, summarizes this principle: "It is better to hold loosely to the things of this earth so that you can easily leave them when God requires you of them". This is the qualification to be a priest unto God, just as God required Abraham to offer his only son Isaac in his heart, even though God knew Abraham loved him.

The Failed Priestly and Kingly Offices

The priests chosen from the Levite tribe had two main responsibilities:

1. Representing the People before God: They had to offer sacrifices unto the Lord, as the people could not bring their own sacrifices directly to the altar; only priests could.
2. Representing God before the People: They had to teach the law to the people. They were required to distinguish between the holy and the common, and the unclean and the clean, and teach all the statutes God had spoken through Moses (Leviticus 10:10-11).

However, by the end of the Old Testament, these priests also failed in both responsibilities.

Similarly, the office of kingship, initially intended for the entire nation, failed. God wanted the whole nation to be royal, with no distinction between the royal and the common. The other nations often saw their kings claiming themselves to be gods. So, probably what God wanted to say is this - "There will not be any king among you. You all will be kings".

The kingship failed for two reasons: 1) The people could not trust God completely to be their king. 2) Samuel made a mistake by choosing his own ungodly sons to be judges which he did without consulting God. 

When the people came to Samuel asking for a king, God confirmed their rejection of Him:

• 1 Samuel 8:7 (ESV): "And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them'".

Though God granted their desire, the first king, Saul, failed. David, the man after God’s own heart, was then appointed. David had immense love and zeal for God, evident in his dancing before the Lord when bringing the ark (Psalm reference implied). God made a covenant with David that a descendant would reign forever. Yet, Solomon failed, and most descendants failed, leading to the complete disappearance of ruling kings by the end of the Old Testament.

The Fulfillment in Christ and Our Privilege

In both the kingly and priestly offices, the Israelites utterly failed.

But the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came in the fullness of time, fulfilling both roles successfully and forever. He came as the descendant of David (from Mary's side, as recorded in Luke 3), fulfilling the kingly promise. He is also our High Priest, as seen in the Book of Hebrews.

God was faithful, even though the people failed. To prepare the way for this King and Priest, God raised John the Baptist, a Levite from the priestly family.

Now, as born-again believers, God gives this privilege to us (1 Peter 2:9). We are called to be priests and kings. In the Old Testament, kings claimed to be "sons of gods," but through faith, we are now called the sons of God. Because we are sons, we are heirs of our Father King (Romans 8:17).

We prove ourselves to be sons of God when we are led by the Spirit of God:

• Romans 8:14 (ESV): "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God".

We are also called to be priests unto God to offer prayers and supplications—to represent God before others and to represent people before God.

(To be continued...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 4: Three Peaks of Prophecy: Failure, Repentance, and God's Faithfulness

Introduction: Understanding God’s Revelation

Read part 3 here.

When natural disasters occur, high-ranking officials like prime ministers or chief ministers often conduct an aerial survey to gain a high-level view of the situation. The district, mandal, and village officers collect detailed ground reports. However, the comprehensive understanding of those intrinsic details only comes when they are related back to the initial high-level view.

In the same way, we need to understand from a very high level how God progressively revealed about Himself to His people over a period of time. When we possess this high-level view, we can rightly relate the specific details of God's word. This prevents us from misunderstanding or misusing Scripture.

We must always remember the inspired nature of the prophetic word: 2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV): "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit".

As the history books record, God’s people quickly failed to meet the expectations of the covenant established in the first five books. They were never faithful in a steady manner. So, whenever they were faithless and failed, God used to send His prophets to warn them, to warn them, and to ask them to repent or to come back to God.

The Essential Role and Start of Prophecy

The prophets played a key role in the history of God's people. Their primary function was not just predicting the future, but rather representing God to bring people back to Him.

As we have seen previously, prophets had peculiar qualifications and conditions: they should first listen from God, secondly be sent by God, and they should also live a separated life. Furthermore, this same ministry of prophecy should be encouraged in the New Testament church, which has the responsibility to be a prophet to the world and to sustain the ministry of prophecy in the church.

The very first mention of the word "prophet" in the Bible defines this foundational role:

• Genesis 20:7 (ESV): "Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

Abraham, being a prophet, was primarily asked to pray. He was not asked to predict the future, give a sermon, or write a prophetic book. This teaches us that, (irrespective of whether you are a brother or sister,) the starting point of the duty and responsibility of prophecy is to start praying for God's people and for others in your own capacity.

The Structure and Audience of Prophetic Books

There are 17 books of prophecy in the Old Testament. This division is often done in three ways:

1. Based on Content (Length): Five Major Prophets (from Isaiah to Daniel) and twelve Minor Prophets (from Hosea to Malachi).
2. Based on Chronology/Circumstance:
   • Some prophets spoke before God’s people went into exile (e.g., Hosea).
   • Some prophets spoke during the exile time (e.g., Daniel, some portions of Ezekiel, and the last portion of Jeremiah).
   • Some books were written or spoken after people returned from exile (e.g., Zechariah and Malachi). It is crucial to keep the time and circumstances of writing in mind when reading these books to rightly understand God’s word.
3. Based on Audience:
   • Some prophets spoke only to the nation of Israel (e.g., Amos, Hosea).
   • Some prophets spoke only to the nation of Judah (e.g., Jeremiah).
   • Some prophets spoke only to other nations (e.g., Obadiah prophesied about Edomites, and Jonah went to preach to Nineveh/Assyria).
   • Some prophets spoke both to God's people and others (e.g., Isaiah addressed God's people as well as Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt).

The Common Message and the Cost of Prophecy

The higher sense content of all prophetic books is common: God's people were failing in keeping the covenant of God. The prophets were sent by God to ask them to return back to God. (The call for gentiles also was to repent or face the wrath of God).

The right word for this is repentance, which means to turn back or come back. The prophets proclaimed blessings if they obeyed and curses if they disobeyed.

Prophets used diverse methods to deliver their message; some spoke, some wrote, and some did both. Sometimes God asked them to go to a specific place (like Jeremiah going to the potter’s house and prophesying from there). Sometimes they were asked to act something and speak:

• Ezekiel was asked to shave all his hair, divide it into three parts, spread it, and then speak to the people.
• God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute.
• God told Jeremiah not to marry in the land.

God was trying to give a message through the lives of the prophets. Sometimes, prophets were required to live out what they were supposed to prophesy themselves first. This demonstrates that the preparation of the messenger is important before the preparation of the message or delivering the message.

The job of prophecy was not so comfortable. For example, Isaiah, called the "prince of prophets," was sawn upside down with a wooden saw. Prophets lived faithfully and did their job responsibly irrespective of the difficulty of the message they delivered.

The Three Peaks of Prophecy

We will look briefly at three prophets who gave messages at highly intense times:

1. Hosea: The Lack of Knowledge (Before Exile)

Hosea spoke just before the Northern Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) was sent into Assyrian exile. The Israelites, after reaching their highest point under King Solomon, had their kingdom divided after Solomon. In Hosea’s time, Israel was large, had relative peace, and was experiencing prosperity, comfort, and luxury, and rich getting richer and richer.

However, they were spiritually declining, marked by idolatry, injustice, bribery, and oppression, thus breaking the covenant God made with them. They had physical comfort but were spiritually very poor and in bondage.

God prepared the messenger, Hosea (name means "Deliverer"), by telling him to marry a prostitute, symbolizing God's painful relationship as a faithful Husband to His unfaithful wife, Israel. God wanted Hosea to understand His heart before speaking His message.

The main message of Hosea was "return" or repent, which appears 15 times in the book's 14 chapters. The core reason for their failure was a lack of knowledge of God:

• Hosea 4:1 (ESV): "Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land."
• Hosea 4:6 (ESV): "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me."
• Hosea 6:6 (ESV): "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

The people wrongly thought God was more concerned about sacrifices and offerings, but God wanted them to have the true knowledge of Him. Their priorities were upside down, and because they did not return, God sent them to Assyrian exile.

2. Jeremiah: The Uncooperative Clay (Decline and Exile)

Jeremiah spoke just before the Southern Kingdom of Judah went into Babylonian exile. The meaning of his name, "God will build up and he will throw down," characterized his ministry. God wanted to build them up, but because they were not listening, He had to throw them down.

God sent Jeremiah to a potter’s house to see what the potter was doing. The potter tried to make the first pot (God’s desire to bless), but the clay (Judah) did not cooperate. God revealed that their lack of cooperation led Him to make the second pot, which was a pot of curses. God maintained His sovereignty, reminding them that they were like clay in His hands.

Despite seeing Israel go into exile, Judah was even more treacherous. God explicitly stated:

• Jeremiah 3:11 (ESV): "And the Lord said to me, 'Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.'"

Jeremiah, though the youngest of the prophets, was faithful despite being beaten, threatened with death, and thrown into a pit.

3. Malachi: The Restoration of Families (After Exile)

Malachi was the last of the prophets who spoke just before the 400 silent years. Though the people had returned from exile, and the temple and walls were rebuilt, they were still faithless.

Malachi delivered two main messages:

1. To the Priests: God chose priests for two duties: representing the people before God (offering sacrifices) and representing God before the people (teaching the laws). Malachi indicted them for failing in both, offering wrong offerings and teaching laws in a partial way.
2. To God's People (Family Life): The people were marrying foreigners (which they should not do) and were unfaithful to their own spouses. Their religion was wrong, and their families were broken. God is as much concerned about our families as He is concerned about our religious life.

The book ends with a ray of hope—a promise of restoration:

• Malachi 4:5 (ESV): "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes."
• Malachi 4:6 (ESV): "And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction."

Even when the whole nation was faithless, God focused on building families, because the nation or church cannot be built unless families are built in a right way according to God's word.

Conclusion: God’s Enduring Faithfulness

Throughout the books of the prophets, one persistent nature of God is constantly revealed: even though His people were faithless, He remained faithful to bring them back and build them back. This is assured by His nature:

• 2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV): "if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."

(To be continued...)

Progressive Revelation - Part 3: From Sinai to the Spirit: The Progression and Privilege of Prophecy in Scripture

Introduction: God’s Continuous Revelation and the Need for Correction

Read part 2 here.

As God continues to reveal Himself progressively over time, His expectations for His people increase. We have already examined the general revelation available before the Law (in the days of Job) and the foundational teaching provided through Moses (The Law or Torah : Genesis to Deuteronomy).

However, as the history of the Israelites unfolded, they repeatedly failed to meet God’s expectations, and that is when God started sending prophets.

The function of a prophet in Scripture is not merely to predict the future. While prophets did predict the future partly, their primary role and duty was to speak on behalf of God. For example, great prophets like Elijah never predicted the future as other prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah did; they only spoke and did what God told them to do. Moses himself was a prophet, as God promised to raise up another prophet "like you(Moses) from among their brothers" (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18).

The first man who was called prophet by God was Abraham.

• Genesis 20:7 (ESV): "Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live".

So, the fundamental duty and starting point of a prophet, revealed in the first mention of the word in Scripture, is prayer for others. Every believer can become a prophet in this sense. 

The Origin of Prophecy and God's Promise

The initial need for prophets arose from the Israelites’ fear of hearing God directly at Mount Sinai. God came down in great fire and thunder, and the people were terrified, trembling, and feared death if they even touched the mountain. They told Moses they did not want to hear God's voice directly, asking him to speak to them instead.

However, because Moses would not live forever, there had to be a continuation of this work of prophecy and a continuous mediator between God and man. Thus, God promised:

• Deuteronomy 18:15 (ESV): "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen".
• Deuteronomy 18:18 (ESV): "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him".

The prophets (Nabi, meaning "one who is called") were those called by God and sent as His representatives to deliver His message, especially when people went away from Him.

Hence, the condition is that the prophet must speak only what God commanded.

• Deuteronomy 18:20 (ESV): "For the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die".

The Universal Nature of Prophecy

God was ready to use people from all walks of life—kings, servants, slaves, and free men—to prophesy. God’s choice was not restricted by gender, as women were also prophetesses. We see examples of prophetesses like Hilda (1 Kings 22) and Isaiah’s wife. 

Moses himself expressed a desire for this calling to be universal:

• Numbers 11:29 (ESV): "But Moses said to him, 'Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit on them!'".

God is willing to use those who were ready, willing to work with His Spirit, obey His word, and hear His word. The history of the prophets includes people right from the highest position to the lowest, such as Amos, who made his living by picking up figs in the forest.

Three Essential Qualifications for a Prophet

God has conditions and qualifications for those He uses. If these qualities were absent, God would prefer even to remain silent, as He did for 400 years after Malachi.

1. Careful Listening and Paying Attention

The primary eligibility for a prophet was the willingness to stand in the counsel of the Lord, see, hear, and pay careful attention to His word.

• Jeremiah 23:22 (ESV): "But if they had stood in my counsel, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds".

Without careful listening, God stopped speaking. The old prophet Eli, though a judge, was not ready to listen, so God raised the young boy Samuel. Samuel's willingness to hear established him as a prophet:

• 1 Samuel 3:20-21 (ESV): "And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord".

2. Readiness to Respond to the Call

A prophet must be ready to respond to God's need when He calls. Even after the prophet Isaiah received a great vision of heaven and had his lips cleansed, God still issued a general call:

• Isaiah 6:8 (ESV): "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am. Send me'".

The prophet’s response must be solely for the call of God, not for any personal gain, money, or profit, contrasting with the warning given concerning the prophet Balaam (referenced in 2 Peter and Jude).

3. Living a Separated Life

The prophet must live a life distinctly different from the rebellious people he serves. God commanded Isaiah not to walk in the way of the rebellious people:

• Isaiah 8:11 (ESV): "For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people".

Unless a prophet lives a separated and distinguished life, they cannot be God’s representative, serve God, or hear His voice.

The Greater Privilege of the New Covenant Believer

The line of prophecy culminated in Jesus Christ, who was the fulfillment of the promise of the prophet like Moses (referenced in Acts 3:22,23 and Acts 7:37). John the Baptist marked the transition, as the phrase used for the Old Testament prophets ("the word of the Lord came to...") was also used for him (Luke 3:2).

Jesus declared that John the Baptist was the greatest among those born of women, but then revealed a great New Covenant truth:

• Luke 7:28 (ESV): "I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he".

The New Testament believers, who constitute the kingdom of God, are granted greater privileges than John the Baptist or any Old Testament prophet through two key differences:

1. The Indwelling Spirit

In the Old Testament, the Spirit rested upon people to enable them to prophesy (as with the 70 elders in Numbers 11). In the New Testament, the Spirit dwells inside us.

• John 14:17 (ESV): "Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you".

2. The Inscribed Word

While Old Testament prophets heard God’s word externally, we have the word within us. This fulfills the New Covenant promise (Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26,27), where God writes His laws not on tablets of stone, but on the heart.

• Romans 10:8 (ESV): "But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim)".
• Colossians 3:16 (ESV): "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God".

Prophecy in the Church Today

With the indwelling Spirit and the inscribed Word, all believers have the privilege to be prophets of God. We are explicitly encouraged to seek this gift:

• 1 Corinthians 14:1 (ESV): "Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy".

This spiritual gift should be genuinely desired, and when we approach God with true desire, He will give it.

The function of prophecy in the church is three-fold (1 Corinthians 14:3):

1. Upbuilding/Welfare: To grow and be built up (like a organism or body and like a building).
2. Encouragement: Bringing encouragement amidst discouragements.
3. Consolation: Providing comfort in disappointment.

While all believers should desire this gift individually, the universal church is also gifted with specific individuals for the benefit of the whole body. Crucially, true prophecy must not come from human imagination:

• 2 Peter 1:20-21 (ESV): "Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit".

The role of prophecy requires dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit to ensure the message is inspired by God, not human will.

Conclusion: Starting with Prayer

We are called to be Christ's representatives and execute this prophetic role in our own circles, regardless of status or gender. If we find ourselves lacking in the ability to share God's word or if we feel we don't have the gift of prophecy, we should start where Abraham, the first person called a prophet by God, started. Abraham’s role as a prophet was defined by his readiness to pray for others (Genesis 20:7).

We must examine our lives and ask if we are ready to listen to God’s word, willing to live a separated life, and ready to respond to His call. If we are at least willing to spend time in prayer for others, we are already doing the job of a prophet.

(To be continued...)