Biblical Titles of Prophetic Individuals
PROPHET— (Hebrew: nabi ….. “one who has been called”). “The prophet was not to be regarded as a self-appointed professional whose purpose was to convince others of his own opinions, but rather he was one called by God to proclaim as a herald from the court of heaven the message to be transmitted from God to man” (Archer).
SEER — (Hebrew: hozeh or ro’eh). “As a seer (one who “sees”) he would avoid evolving ideas or opinions of his own mind and would confine himself to that which God had actually shown him” (Archer). This appears to have been the earliest term by which these men were called (see: I Sam. 9:9).
SERVANT OF JEHOVAH — (I Chron. 6:49; I Kings 18:36)
MESSENGER OF JEHOVAH — (Is. 42:19).
WATCHMAN — (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:7).
Responsibilities of the Prophetic Office
- “The responsibility of the OT prophets was not principally to predict the future in the modern sense of the word prophesy, but rather to tell forth the Will of God which He had communicated by revelation” (Gleason Archer).“The prophet had the responsibility of encouraging God’s people to trust only in Jehovah’s mercy and delivering power, rather than in their own merits or strength, or in the might of human allies” (Archer).
- “The prophet was responsible to remind his people that safety and blessedness were conditioned upon their faithful adherence to the covenant, and that this adherence involved not only doctrinal conviction but a sincere submission of their will to obey God with their whole heart and to lead a godly life. Apart from such submission, no amount of sacrifice or ritualistic worship could satisfy the Lord. In other words, a saving faith involves a sanctified walk” (Archer).
- “The prophet was to encourage Israel in respect to the future. This assurance of the future, of the ultimate triumph of the true faith, was well calculated to encourage the sincere believers within Israel to keep faith with God and keep on trusting Him in the face of all contrary appearances and hostile circumstances” (Archer).
- “Hebrew prophecy was to seal the authoritativeness of God’s message by the objective verification of fulfilled prophecy” (Archer).
- “The prophet announced or made known Gods proclamations & was responsible to announce or make known Gods (Decisions) Judgments” .
“There are two classes of preachers — the good preachers who have something to say, and the poor preachers who have to say something. But there is yet another and higher class. It consists of those who both have something to say and who have to say it. Such are the prophets.”
—- Knudson
Maxey Article (Reprinted in part from the Internet)
Posted Mar 21, 2008
Seated-The Prophetic/Teaching Ministry of Brad Hocutt 