New Testament Prophets Who Are Not Directly Called “ Prophet”
In our search for New Testament prophets we encountered some persons that were called prophets. Among them one finds John the Baptist (Matt. 11:9), Anna (Luke 2:36), Jesus (Luke 24:19), Judas and Silas (Acts 15:32), and Agabus (Acts 21:10). John the Baptist reminded his contemporaries of the prophets of old calling people to repentance; and yet “ as the immediate forerunner and herald of God’s saving history,” the coming of the Messiah, he was more than a prophet. Agabus is mentioned twice in Acts. We hear less about him than about John the Baptist, whose miraculous birth narrative is recorded in Luke 1 and his horrible death in Matthew 14:11. In the case of Agabus readers are informed about two predictions that he made and that came true: the predictions of a great famine (Acts 11:28) and Paul’s imprisonment (Acts 21:11).GOP 53.6
There were other prophets that, however, remained unnamed. We have little or no information on their activities. One group is mentioned in Acts 11:27. The prophets and teachers in Antioch were involved in setting apart Paul and Barnabas for their ministry (Acts 13:1-3). Obviously they included “Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen . . . and Saul” (NKJV). D. L. Book suggests: “In this case, there appears to be an overlap between the two roles of prophet and teacher for these five; it is not clear if there is a distinction made here in the lists as to who did what.” GOP 54.1
Philip’s daughters are not called “prophets” or “prophetesses.” We just hear that they prophesied and thus followed their calling (Acts 21:9). In this case at least one of the terms of the word family prophēt- is used. Another example is the apostle John, the author of Revelation. He “does not specifically use prophētēs of himself, but nonetheless claims to write prophēteia (Rev. 1:3; 19:20; 22:7, 10, 18, 19) and to belong to the group of the prophētai (Rev. 22:9).” John also uses vision and audition formulas to describe how he received divine revelations: “I heard” (Rev. 1:10, NKJV), “I saw” (Rev. 5:1). Even a heavenly journey is recorded (Rev 4:1, 2). “Like Old Testament prophets, John used the phrase TaSe Aeyev [these things says] (Revelation 2-3).” GOP 54.2
But sometimes the word family prophēt- is missing completely, and yet a person is a prophet. For instance, Paul is not called a prophet, and yet he must have been one. He did not only exhort, comfort, and challenge church members, building up the church, but he also made various prophecies, for example, about the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2), the future resurrection (1 Cor. 15), and Christ’s second coming (1 Thess. 4). In 2 Corinthians 12:1-7 he gives us a report about himself, which includes the claim that he had visions from God and divine revelations. While Paul was an apostle, he also was a prophet.GOP 54.3
Would that also apply to Peter and others? We do not know precisely, but a lack of specific language is not an indication that they may not have had the prophetic gift. One has also to take into consideration that oftentimes their life stories are not recorded. Peter has left us only two short letters. The chances to hear more about him personally are much slimmer than with Paul. In his second epistle he provides additional insights about what will happen at the day of the Lord, the judgment day (2 Peter 3). This is a prophecy, most likely based on divine revelation. In 2 Peter 1:14 Peter talks about his imminent death and states: “as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me” (NKJV). Jesus had talked about Peter’s death in John 21:18, 19. However, apart from speaking about his advanced age, Jesus had not indicated the nearness of Peter’s death. Therefore, in 2 Peter 1:14 the apostle may have referred to a special revelation that he received from the Lord. The term deloo can be rendered “to make clear,” “to reveal,” “to show,” and “to give information.” In the LXX of Exodus 6:3 and Daniel 2:28-30, as well as in other places, this verb points to revelation. “Since the context is about the prediction of someone’s death, we should understand the term within the frame of divine revelatory communication.” These hints may place Peter into the category of a prophet.GOP 54.4