“Are there prophets in the church today?”……The gift of prophet seems to have been a temporary gift given by Jesus Christ for the laying of the foundation of the church. …Prophets were foundational to the church…Ephesians 2:20…20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.…The prophet proclaimed a message from the Lord to the early believers. Sometimes a prophet’s message was revelatory (new revelation and truth from God) and sometimes a prophet’s message was predictive …Acts 11:28 …28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.)…Acts 21:10…10 Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea.…The early Christians did not have the complete Bible. …Some early Christians did not have access to any of the books of the New Testament. …The New Testament prophets “filled the gap” by proclaiming God’s message to the people who would not have access to it otherwise. …Infact Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:8…8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[] and special knowledge will become useless. (NLT)…8 But as for prophecies,they will pass away;as for tongues,they will cease;(Amp)…8 All the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end,(Living Bible)

8 Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease, (Good News)…8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; (NIV)…8 Love will never become obsolete. Now as for the prophetic gifts, they will not last; unknown languages will become silent,,(The voice)…8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; (NRSV)…The last book of the New Testament (Revelation) was not completed until late in the first century. So, the Lord sent prophets to proclaimed God’s Word to His people.……Are there true prophets today? …If the purpose of a prophet was to reveal truth from God, we have the truth and the completed revelation from God in the Bible why would we need prophets ? …If prophets were the “foundation” of the early church, are we still building the “foundation” today? I don’t think so!…Can God give someone a message to deliver to someone else? – Absolutely! …Does God reveal truth to someone in a supernatural way and enable that person to deliver that message to others?– Definitely.!…But can we say that this is the biblical gift of prophecy? No.……Whatever the case, whenever a person claims to be speaking for God (the essence of prophecy) the key must always be this:…Whatever is said or prophesied should be compare with what the Bible says. …If God were to speak through a person today, it would be in 100% complete agreement with what God has already said in the Bible. …God does not contradict Himself. John warns us in 1 John 4:1…Discerning False Prophets

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. …For there are many false prophets in the world.…1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 declares…20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.…So, whether is it a “word from the Lord” or a supposed prophecy, our response should be the same. …Compare what is said to what the Word of God says. …If it contradicts the Bible, throw it out. …If it agrees with the Bible, pray for wisdom and discernment as to how to apply the message …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.…James 1:5…5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.