God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

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G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

I. What Is Prophecy?

Video Segment 1 Outline

A. Definition: prophecy is a way of knowing truth that comes by direct revelation from God.

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1. The Greek word proph t s (prophet):

a. Pro (which means “before” or “for”)

b.

Ph mi (which means “to speak”)

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c. The prophet is one who speaks for someone or speaks before someone (that is, someone who proclaims a message). Therefore, the traditional definition of a biblical prophet is “one who speaks for God to the people.”

There are three Hebrew words used of the prophet: n bî , r ’eh and h zeh . The first of these is always translated ‘prophet’; the second, which is, in form, an active participle of the verb “to see” is translated “seer”; the third, also an active principle of another verb ‘to see’, is unfortunately without distinctive English equivalent and is translated either ‘prophet’ (e.g. Isa. 30.10) or ‘seer’ (e.g. 1 Chron. 29.29). ~ “Prophecy.” New Bible Dictionary , 2nd ed. p. 976.

2. Prophecy is a message that comes directly from God.

a. Jer. 1.9

b. W. E. Vine says that a prophet is: “One who speaks forth openly. . . a proclaimer of the divine message. . . . one upon whom the Spirit of God rested . . . one, to whom and through whom, God speaks” ( Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words , p. 493).

3. All Scripture is prophetic, that is, a revelation of truth directly from God through inspired writers.