“Is the personal prophecy concept biblical?”……There are some within the Christian faith, predominantly in Charismatic/Pentecostal churches, who view/practice the gift of prophecy as giving personal advice with a “thus says the Lord” presentation. …Sadly, those who practice personal prophecy in this manner are often not any different than those who portray themselves as psychics. …In fact, there are prophetic hotlines as “Christian” alternatives to psychic hotlines. Some in the personal prophecy movement advertise with statements such as “come get your prophetic reading,” again, very similar to the terminology psychics employ. This understanding and practice of the gift of prophecy is completely unbiblical.……Biblically speaking, the gift of prophecy is the Spirit-empowered ability to declare revelation from God

Romans 12:6-8;

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice[a]; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.[] 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,[c]while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

1 Corinthians 12:28

28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,…second are prophets,…third are teachers,…then those who do miracles,…those who have the gift of healing,…those who can help others,…those who have the gift of leadership,…those who speak in unknown languages.

Prophecy sometimes, but not always, involves proclaiming revelation from God in regards to the future.

In both the Old and New Testaments, God used prophets and/or the gift of prophecy to reveal truth to people.

Prophecy is proclaiming the truth of God, it is special revelation, truth that cannot be discerned by any other means.

Much of the Old Testament was once prophecy. Through a prophet, God would reveal truth that the people needed to know, and sometimes, that truth would be recorded in written form.

This, ultimately, resulted in the Bible, the Word of God, the ultimate special revelation from God.……The completion of the Bible impacts the nature of the gift of prophecy.

The Bible contains all the revelation we need for life and godliness

2 Peter 1:3

3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.

The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

As a result, the gift of prophecy evolved from primarily being a declaration of new revelation from God, to primarily (or exclusively) being a declaration of what God has already revealed, as recorded in His Word.……This is not to say that God would never give one person a message to deliver to another person.

God can, will, and does use people in whatever ways He sees fit. But, the fact that the Word of God is perfect and complete means that we are to rely on it for guidance.

We are not to rely on prophets, prophetic hotlines, and prophetic readings.

God’s Word contains the truth we need to know.

God’s Word presents the wisdom we need to know to properly apply His truth. Beyond that, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, and teach us John 14:16

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate,[a] who will never leave you.

John 14:26

26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

Using the concept of personal prophecy to gain influence over people and making them dependent on “prophetic guidance,” is a blatant distortion of the biblical gift of prophecy.…Any time people trust the fallible words of men instead of the infallible Word of God, it is a travesty.