Prophecy

 

Prophecy is designed to speak forth God's heart so that it will produce three things:

 

·         To bring to pass what He has spokenthrough prophecy.

·         To give exhortation, edification, and comfort through prophecy.

·         To convince and convict through prophecy

·         To invite His people to obedience through prophecy

 

PROPHETIC: To Bring To Pass

We know that God created the world with His spoken Word". He spoke, "let there be light" and it was created. All through the Old Testament God spoke forth His will to bring it to pass. He spoke through His prophets and proclaimed the fall of kingdoms, the coming Messiah, the end of the world, etc."

 

Through prophecy there are times that God is declaring prophetically what will be and at other times He is declaring His prophetic direction so that a person, a church, a people, a nation, etc. can obey Him. In both cases, it is to bring forth His will and plan.

 

PROPHETIC: Exhortation, Edification, and Comfort

In the New Testament, much of the prophetic focus is to speak edification, exhortation, and comfort." Still, this is for the purpose of showing God's heart and will. As you look at the definitions of edification, exhortation, and comfort, you find God uses this to prepare and enable people to obey Him.

 

Prophetic Exhortation - act of inciting to some worthy deed; language designed to arouse to commendable effort; admonition (friendly reproof or warning); advice.

 

I like what Unger's Bible Dictionary says, "the Greek word paraklesis (exhortation) is literally a calling near, an invitation ... the act of presenting such motives before a person as may excite him to performance of duty."