Do We Have Prophets in the New Testament?
1) Direct answer
Yes. The New Testament has prophets, and God still sets prophets in the Church today. They do not add new Scripture, but they call God’s people back to the written Word, reveal what is hidden, warn, and edify the Body.
2) Scriptural explanation
- God placed prophets in the Church: “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets…” (1 Corinthians 12:28). “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets… for the perfecting of the saints… till we all come… unto a perfect man” (Ephesians 4:11-13). We have not yet arrived at that global perfection, so the ministry remains.
- New Testament examples: Prophets and teachers in Antioch (Acts 13:1). Agabus who foretold famine and Paul’s bonds (Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11). Judas and Silas, “being prophets also themselves” (Acts 15:32). Philip’s four daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9).
- Order and testing: “Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge” (1 Corinthians 14:29). “Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-21). The standard is the Word: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). If a thing is spoken in the Name of the Lord and does not come to pass, don’t fear it (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).
- End-time promise: “Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things” (Matthew 17:11; see Malachi 4:5-6). That points to a prophetic ministry before the great and dreadful day of the Lord—a restoring call back to the original Word, not the writing of a new Bible. Revelation 10:7 shows that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be finished—again, not adding Scripture, but bringing to light what God already gave.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- If Jesus “gave” prophets for the Church “till we all come” to full maturity, then prophets continue until that purpose is fulfilled.
- The same Holy Spirit who inspired prophecy in Acts has not changed. Therefore the gifts and offices He set remain, with the same Bible standard of judgment.
- True prophecy never contradicts Scripture, never leads to sin or pride, and always exalts Jesus Christ and holiness. False prophecy fails the Word test, the fruit test, and the fulfillment test.
4) Reinforcing statement
Now notice, the Bible does not tell us to reject prophecy; it tells us not to despise it, but to judge it by the Word. A true New Testament prophet will point the Bride back to the written Word, reveal the secrets of the heart, and prepare a people for the coming of the Lord.
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
But it wasn't so from the beginning
61-0411 §97
Do you believe we have prophets? There is a gift of prophecy, and then there is a prophet. How many knows there's a difference in that? That's where you precious Latter Rain people got mixed up, see. A prophet is born a prophet. Always has "thus saith the Lord," never wrong. The gift of prophecy would be on one, and then another. That would have to be judged by three judges, then told to the church, and then see if it comes to pass. Jeremiah was a prophet. God said, "Before you was even formed in your mother's womb...
Daniel 9: Daniel's Seventy Weeks
61-0806 §59
Now... And we know that God always was and always has been and ... against organized religion. Yes, sir! He said, "Nicolaitane is what I hate." Nico means "conquer the laity." Laity, the laity is the church, the body. Nico means "to conquer, overcome." In other words, make a holy man, somebody above the other one. We're all children, we got one King---that's God. We got one holy one---that's God. Amen! He's in the midst of us in the form of the Holy Ghostthat's the holy one. Now, we come down till we are positive s...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §105
Lord God, we give You thanks. We give You praise. Thou art the same great Jehovah that suffered Moses. Moses, that servant, what would he tell his people? And God, You suffered him to give a writing of divorcement. Paul, the great apostle who was the writer of the New Testament as Moses was of the Old... Moses wrote the Laws, and a dispensation of Laws. Many of the prophets, their words was injected into it, but Moses wrote the Laws. And You suffered him a writing---to write them a writing of divorcement because of...
Influences
64-0215 §65
...t did it do to this man who was born a prophet? Remember, he wrote the entire Bible. There's sixty-six books of Isaiah, and sixty-six books of the Bible. It starts out like in Genesis. The middle of the book comes, the New Testament, John the Baptist. And ends up over in the millennium. Great prophet. One of the greatest prophets we ever had was Isaiah, and he was born to be. But when he stood in the presence of God, what did it cause the prophet to do? The prophet said, "Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips."...
An Ensign
53-0606 §2
[Break in tape.] ... many of you seen the Look Magazine, Life, and them carrying articles of how down in Yemen, and so forth. And they'd been bringing up thousands of Jews---going into the New Jerusalem, there, across Trans-Jordan. The Arabs have the Old Jerusalem, so in the New Jerusalem, they have brought in, literally, tens of thousands, millions, of Jews. See how the fig tree's putting forth its buds? Now, the Stockholm church sent a million Bibles down there---New Testaments---to give to those Jews. They never...