In this section we will take a look at the vocabulary that describes prophets and point to a few individuals in whom the prophetic gift was found. A brief analysis of the relation of New Testament prophecy to Old Testament prophecy will then be in order. A short discussion of the gift of prophecy will follow and, afterward, also a review of the nature, role, and function of New Testament prophets. GOP 46.3
Although word studies must be approached with great care—because the context determines to a large extent the meaning of a term—they may still furnish significant data. This is what we find on the topic of prophecy. While the Old Testament uses four major terms to describe a prophet, nābî’ (prophet—309 times), 1In addition, the related terms “prophetess,” “prophecy,” and “to prophesy” of the same word family are used. rō’ēh. (seer—11 times), ḥōzēh (seer—16 times), and ‘îš ‘ēlōhîm (man of God—76 times), the New Testament limits itself to the word family prophēt- and may occasionally refer to prophecy indirectly. The LXX translates nābî’ consistently with prophētēs (prophet) and uses this term occasionally also for rō’ēh and ḥōzēh. GOP 46.4
The word family prophet - in the New Testament consists of the following terms: (1) prophetes (prophet—144 times), (2) prophetis (prophetess—twice), (3) propheteuo (to prophesy—28 times), (4) propheteia (prophecy—19 times), (5) prophetikos (prophetic—twice), and (6) pseudoprophetes (false prophet—11 times). 2Pseudoprophētēs is already found in the LXX to describe false prophets (Zech. 13:2; Jer. 6:13; 33:7, 8, 11, 16; 34:9; 35:1; 36:1, 8, LXX counting of chapters and verses), while the Hebrew employs nābî’ for both genuine and false prophets. The context must tell what kind of a prophet the respective person is. The sheer number of 206 instances of usage of the word family indicates the importance of the topic prophecy in the New Testament. 3E.g., the important word “grace” is found 155 times, and “salvation” and “to save/heal” (sōtēria and sōzō) 46 and 106 times. GOP 47.1
Before taking a look at this New Testament word family, the general use of prophecy in the Greco-Roman world should be noted. M. E. Boring declares that the terms prophet, prophecy, and prophetic did not function univocally. . . . “Prophet” was used not only to mean “one who speaks for a god and interprets his will” to human beings, but also for the cultic official keepers of the oracles (at Branchidae), for members of the highest order of the priesthood (in Egypt), for herbalists and quack doctors, for the interpreters of the oracles of the mantis (Plato, Ti. 72a), and hence derivatively for poets as such (cf. Titus 1:2, of Epimenides), and then metaphorically for proclaimers in general, including the announcer at the games. 4M. Eugene Boring, “Early Christian Prophecy,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 5:496. Cf. George E. Rice, “Spiritual Gifts,” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, ed. Raoul Dederen (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald®, 2000), 620. GOP 47.2
This broad concept of prophecy is much more limited in the New Testament. Although it is important to understand how a term was used in general society, it does not mean that all its aspects are also present in Scripture. GOP 47.3
Therefore, Boring provides a more limited definition of what a prophet is in the New Testament era: “The early Christian prophet was an immediately-inspired spokesperson for God, the risen Jesus, or the Spirit who received intelligible oracles that he or she felt impelled to deliver to the Christian community or, representing the community, to the general public.” 5Boring, 5:496, explains this statement: “Since the term ‘inspiration’ is used in a variety of senses, ‘immediately-inspired’ is used here to express the prophetic claim that what he or she says represents the present, immediate voice of the deity. This does not exclude the use of sources, traditions, or the prophet’s own reflections, all of which may be involved in the delivery of what the prophet perceives as directly revealed from the deity.” A prophet has received divine revelation and under inspiration communicates what he or she has received—whether through visions, auditions, dreams, etc. 6Cf. Rice, 621, 622. —to people, typically believers, but at least indirectly also the general public. He or she is a spokesperson for God. This understanding of a prophet has to be verified through the biblical data, but in our case, the New Testament data. 7See also Gerhard Friedrich, “Prophets and Prophecies in the New Testament,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968), 6:828-856. GOP 47.4
The term “prophet” is used unevenly throughout the New Testament, as the following table indicates. Some New Testament writings do not contain it at all (and therefore they are not mentioned in the subsequent chart), while others have a heavy concentration. GOP 48.1
| Prophets in NT Books | Number of References |
| Matthew | 37 |
| Mark | 6 |
| Luke | 29 |
| John | 14 |
| Acts | 30 |
| Romans | 3 |
| 1 Corinthians | 6 |
| Ephesians | 3 |
| 1 Thessalonians | 1 |
| Titus | 1 |
| Hebrews | 2 |
| James | 1 |
| 1 Peter | 1 |
| 2 Peter | 2 |
| Revelation | 8 |
| Total | 144 |
The highest concentration in one biblical book is found in Matthew. 8If one takes the writings of Luke together the term is found 59 times. In the Johannine literature it occurs 22 times, and in the Pauline body of writings 16 times. We will take Matthew’s Gospel as a test case of how the term “prophet” is used. GOP 48.2
1. In the majority of the cases “prophet” refers to a specific Old Testament prophet or to Old Testament prophets in the plural (21 times). 9Matt. 1:22; 2:5, 15, 17, 23; 3:3; 4:14; 5:12; 8:17; 12:17, 39; 13:17, 35; 16:14; 21:4; 23:29, 30, 31; 24:15; 26:56; 27:9. Matthew points out that the predictions of Old Testament prophets have been fulfilled, and he shows the continuity between Old Testament and New Testament in this respect. GOP 49.1
2. “Prophet” also occurs in the phrase “the Law and the Prophets” describing the entire Old Testament (four times—Matt. 5:17; 7:12; 11:13; 22:40). GOP 49.2
3. John the Baptist is a true prophet (four times—Matt. 11:9 [twice]; 14:5; 21:26) in line with the Old Testament prophets and yet is the first New Testament prophet after the Intertestamental Period of about 400 years, during which genuine prophecy did not occur as far as we know. GOP 49.3
4. Jesus Himself is considered to be and indeed is a prophet (twice directly—Matt. 21:11, 46— and once indirectly in a general statement about prophets—Matt. 13:57). GOP 49.4
5. There are prophets in general (four times—Matt. 10:41 [three times]; 23:37). GOP 49.5
6. There are prophets that Jesus sends (once—Matt. 23:34). So prophets come with a wide range of meaning. GOP 49.6
The other New Testament writings reflect one or more of these uses found in Matthew, but they may contain special emphases. For instance, Luke mentions Jesus about five times as a prophet, which is more than what is found in Matthew. John is even more pronounced in this respect. All of his eight references to “prophet” in his Gospel deal with Jesus directly or indirectly. Jesus is a prophet. John the Baptist confesses not to be the prophet (John 1:21, 25), because Jesus is not just a prophet but also the prophet, predicted by Moses, the second Moses, the prophet that surpasses all other prophets (verses 21, 25; John 6:14; 7:40). GOP 49.7
A special focus on New Testament prophets appears in 1 Corinthians and Acts (e.g., Acts 11:27; 15:32; 21:10). We will return to both of these New Testament books later. GOP 49.8
Paul connects prophets to ecclesiology. Prophets have received a special spiritual gift (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:28, 29). There are New Testament prophets in the church (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:29). The foundation of the church is Jesus and, to some extent, also the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20). Apostles and prophets have received divine revelation (Eph. 3:5) about the nature of the church. Church leadership consists of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (Eph. 4:11). A Cretan prophet is mentioned in Titus 1:12. However, he is not a prophet in the biblical sense but considered so by his compatriots. GOP 49.9
New Testament prophets occur again in the Apocalypse. The prophets in Revelation 10:7 may be both Old Testament and New Testament prophets. 10See Grant E. Osborne, Revelation, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 401. The two witnesses of Revelation 11, understood as Old Testament and New Testament, 11See Kenneth A. Strand, “The Two Witnesses of Rev. 11:3-12,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 19 (1981): 134; and Ekkehardt Mueller, “The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 13, no. 2 (2002): 30-45. are also called the two prophets (Rev. 11:10). Prophets appear repeatedly with the saints (verse 18; Rev.16:6; 18:24) with whom they will be rewarded, but also with the apostles (Rev. 18:20). Some of them will be killed (Rev. 16:6; 18:24). John, the author of Revelation, is a prophet himself, who belongs to the group of prophets (Rev. 22:6, 9). The term “prophet” in Revelation describes only genuine prophets and the two witnesses. The prophets are called servants of God (Rev. 10:7; 11:18). It seems that this term describes only persons who have the specific gift of prophecy, as distinct from other believers. The term is not used loosely in the sense of what has been called today the prophetic ministry of a pastor or the church. GOP 49.10
In summary, the term “prophet” is used quite frequently in the New Testament. It is distributed unevenly and found most frequently in the Gospels and Acts. Although frequency points to the pervasiveness of the topic, the sheer number of occurrences should not lead the reader to disregard authors that use the term sparingly, yet with more theological weight. In the New Testament prophets are referring to Old Testament prophets, the Old Testament as a whole, John the Baptist, Jesus, and New Testament prophets. In his Gospel, John reserves the term “prophet” basically for Jesus, who is a prophet and the predicted prophet as an antitype of Moses. 12Other authors, especially Matthew, use also Moses-Jesus typology—however, without applying the term “prophet.” However, in Revelation, “prophets” are John and mainly New Testament prophets. Jesus is primarily the Lamb but also the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Son of man and Son of God, etc. He does not appear as prophet in the Apocalypse. This marked difference between Jesus’ position in John’s Gospel and Revelation may be the result of His incarnation depicted in the Gospel and His heavenly role and His exaltation described in Revelation. Paul employs “prophets” in texts in which he discusses ecclesiology—for instance, when he talks about spiritual gifts, leadership, and the foundation of the church. GOP 50.1
The female form of “prophet,” prophētis occurs twice in the New Testament. Once it is used positively and once negatively. The genuine female prophet in the New Testament is Anna of the Lukan birth narrative (Luke 2:36). After having encountered Baby Jesus, “she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38, ESV). The false prophetess is Jezebel (Rev. 2:20). While she deceives the children of God, she claims to be a prophetess. However, biblical prophetesses are not limited to theses two characters. There are others that are not described with this term but by the verb “to prophesy”— discussed below—and yet are prophetesses. GOP 50.2
The noun prophēteia (“prophecy”) is found 19 times in the New Testament. The highest concentration occurs in 1 Corinthians (five times) and the book of Revelation (seven times). Only once in the New Testament does “prophecy” describe Old Testament prophecy (Matt. 13:14), which differs significantly from the use of the term “prophet” in the New Testament, which—as we have seen—refers frequently to Old Testament prophets. GOP 50.3
In Romans 12:6 and in 1 Corinthians 12-14 the term “prophecy” describes the spiritual gift of prophecy, sometimes in contrast to the gift of tongues. 131 Cor. 12:10, 13:2, 8; 14:6, 22. Because of its divine origin, “prophecies” should not be despised (1 Thess. 5:20). It was through prophecies that Timothy’s ministry was established and confirmed (1 Tim. 1:18; 4:14). GOP 51.1
In Revelation 1:3; 22:7, 10, 18, 19 the phrases “the words of this prophecy” / “the words of the prophecy of this book” / “the words of the book of this prophecy” refer to the book of Revelation itself. Although Revelation consists largely of apocalyptic literature, it is declared to be prophecy. This is interesting because earlier scholarship did not see the origin of apocalyptic literature in prophecy but in wisdom literature14Cf. Paul D. Hanson, Old Testament Apocalyptic (Nashville: Abingdon, 1987), 26, 33; Klaus Koch, Ratlos vor der Apokalyptik: Eine Streitschrift über ein vernachlässigtes Gebiet der Bibelwissenschaft und die schädlichen Auswirkungen auf Theologie und Philosophie (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1970), 43, 44; Peter von der Osten-Sacken, Die Apokalyptik in ihrem Verhältnis zu Prophetie und Weisheit (München: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1969), 9-12, 28-31; Christopher Rowland, The Open Heaven: A Study of Apocalyptic in Judaism and Early Christianity (New York: Crossroad, 1982), 203-208. On the other hand, see Ferdinand Hahn, Theologie des Neuen Testaments, Band 1. Zweite Auflage (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 471, who clearly recognizes and shows the prophetic character of the Apocalypse. See especially Boring, “Early Christian Prophecy,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 5:500. or in myths. 15Cf. John J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity (New York: Crossroad, 1989), 21-28; Hanson, 26, 33, 34; Von der Osten-Sacken, 13, 28. GOP 51.2
In Revelation 19:10 “the testimony of Jesus” is declared to be “the Spirit of prophecy,” that is, the Holy Spirit that speaks through the gift of prophecy. 16This “testimony of Jesus” is what already John and “his brothers” in the first century A.D. “had.” The same phrase occurring in Revelation 12:17 in connection with the end-time remnant is used here by the angel that told John not to worship him because he was just a fellow servant of him and other early Christians that “had the testimony of Jesus,” namely “the Spirit of prophecy.” These people are called “prophets” in the parallel text in Revelation 22:9. They “keep [NASB, “heed”] the words of this book,” the book of Revelation. This definition of “testimony of Jesus” affects all other references to “testimony of Jesus” in the book of Revelation. 17Revelation 1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10 (twice); 20:4 (ESV). In Revelation 1:2, 9 and 20:4 (ESV) the “testimony of Jesus” appears with the “word of God.” Kenneth Strand, “The Two Witnesses of Rev 11:3-12,” Andrews University Seminary Studies 19 (1981): 134, would call the phrase “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” as “the OT prophetic message and the NT apostolic witness.” When the remnant are declared to have the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17), they are affirmed of having through the Holy Spirit the Book of Revelation18See Revelation 22:9, which is parallel to 19:10. and corporately the prophetic gift, “the Spirit of prophecy,” i. e., the ministry and message of true prophets in canonical form (New Testament) or non canonical form. 19See the parallel between Revelation 19:10 and 22:9. In the parallel text Revelation 22:9 the word “prophets” replaces the phrase “testimony of Jesus.” The remnant lift up God’s word and genuine manifestations of the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:7-11; Eph. 4:11), including the book of Revelation, which comes from Jesus and in which Jesus testifies about Himself. See also Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, “The ‘Testimony of Jesus’ in the Writings of Ellen G. White,” in Toward a Theology of the Remnant, Biblical Research Institute Studies in Adventist Ecclesiology—I, ed. Ángel Manuel Rodríguez (Silver Spring, Md.: Biblical Research Institute, 2009), 227-243. The latter includes—according to Adventist understanding—the ministry of Ellen G. White. F. Hahn states that the testimony of Jesus is the content of the prophecy, while the Holy Spirit is its power. He suggests that the last part of Revelation 19:10 is the key to understanding Revelation. It reveals how the author has understood his prophetic ministry. 20Cf. Hahn, 1:472. Empowered by the Holy Spirit he would proclaim the victory of the risen Christ. GOP 51.3
The two witnesses of Revelation 11:6 are not only prophets, but are also associated with the term “prophecy.” This must be so, if they indeed represent the Old and New Testaments. 21See the references provided in footnotes 11 and 17. In addition, two texts in 2 Peter, namely 1:20 and 21, associate “prophecy” with Scripture and claim that prophets were inspired by God. GOP 52.1
Thus prophēteia describes primarily the spiritual gift of prophecy but even more frequently designates the canonical book Revelation, the New Testament, and even all of Scripture. GOP 52.2
Another important term of the word family is prophēteuō (to prophesy). This verb occurs 28 times in the New Testament. It points to the prophetic ministry of the entire Old Testament (Matt. 11:13), the ministry of Old Testament prophets, including Enoch (Matt. 15:7; Mark 7:6; 1 Peter 1:10; Jude 14), and Joel’s prediction about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with subsequent prophesying by believers (Acts 2:17, 18). GOP 52.3
In the New Testament occasional prophesying occurred without necessarily implying that the involved person was a prophet. Cases were Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:67), and the high priest Caiaphas (John 11:51). People claimed to prophesy in Jesus’ name (Matt. 7:22), but they may have been false prophets (Matt. 7:15). The passion narrative indicates that Jesus was ridiculed and mocked and challenged to prophesy (Matt. 26:68; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:64). The ministry of Philip’s daughters (Acts 21:9), John’s representative ministry, describing the task of believers of the end-time (Rev 10:11), and the ministry of the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3) are also mentioned. Acts 19:6 with its rebaptism ceremony and the reception of the Holy Spirit with accompanying speaking in tongues and prophesying reminds us of Pentecost. GOP 52.4
The heaviest concentration of the term “to prophesy” appears in 1 Corinthians, where it describes the spiritual gift and function of prophesying (1 Cor. 11:4, 5; 13:9; 14:1, 3-5, 24, 31, 39). GOP 52.5
So prophēteuō in the New Testament acknowledges the Old Testament phenomenon but focuses almost exclusively on what is happening in the New Testament. The gift of prophecy was active in New Testament times; as Schnelle states: “Prophetic speech is a normal ingredient of early Christian church life.” 22Udo Schnelle, Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009), 337. GOP 52.6
The adjective prophetikos (prophetic) appears only twice in the New Testament and yet is very important in that it describes the prophetic writings (Rom. 16:26) and the prophetic word (2 Peter 1:19). Like the other terms, it is closely linked to and qualifies the Bible. GOP 53.1
While the word family prophēt- may refer to both true prophets or to a false prophetic claim—the context must decide—nevertheless the New Testament uses also the term pseudoprophētēs (false prophet) to make it very clear that an imitation of the divine gift exists that needs to be avoided. False prophets are mentioned 11 times in the New Testament. GOP 53.2
Jesus recognized that already in the Old Testament false prophets existed (Luke 6:26). He warned his contemporaries against false prophets (Matt. 7:15) and pointed also to future false prophets (Matt. 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22). GOP 53.3
Acts 13:6 mentions the Jewish false prophet Bar-Jesus of the first century. While 2 Peter 1:21 explains that the Holy Spirit moved God’s spokespersons, the very next verse contrasts them with false prophets that introduce heresies (2 Peter 2:1). John confirmed that in his generation “ many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, NKJV). GOP 53.4
The book of Revelation adds a new dimension: There are not only many false prophets, there is also the false prophet, the climax of all false prophecy, the land beast of Revelation 13 (Rev. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10). When it comes to the final showdown, the satanic dragon, the antichrist, and the false prophet (i.e., the beast coming out of the earth) will oppose the true Lord and Christ. It is interesting that the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation focus on the major figures of the great controversy, while John’s letters mention the minor players (antichrists and false prophets) in addition to the major player (the antichrist—1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7). GOP 53.5