PROPHECY – THE UNION OF THE WORD AND THE SPIRIT

Acts 2:17 – ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.’

The more I search the scriptures, I become aware of the prophetic nature of the entire Bible. The scriptures themselves are inspired, literally God breathed. The Lord inspired prophets in the Old Testament to write the scriptures, the nature of the whole book is prophetic. From Moses to Malachi, the scripture is the prophetic word of God.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter announced the beginning of a new era where all people could be filled with the Spirit. Following His message, quoted in part in today’s scripture, Peter said that this outpouring would enable all people to prophesy. It’s not just the special vessels, literally everyone from every race, age group, as well as male and female can prophesy. Here is how the LIFE IN THE SPIRIT COMMENTARY describes this:

“Upon receiving the baptism of the Spirit, people are to prophesy. Tongues that accompany the experience of immersion in the Spirit have the character of prophetic speech, and Peter links the power of the Spirit with the universal outburst of prophecy. The same connection is made between the charismatic power of the Spirit and prophecy in Numbers 11:24–29, where the elders prophesy after the Spirit has been transferred from Moses to them. Moses then expresses the desire that all God’s people might prophesy. Joel 2 promises the fulfillment of Moses’ desire, and the events at Pentecost potentially fulfill that desire. The age of the prophethood of all believers dawns with the outpouring of the Spirit in prophetic power, thus creating a community of prophets in the last days.

The initial fulfillment of Joel’s promise at Pentecost baptizes the disciples for a prophetic ministry of bearing witness to the saving work of Christ. But this baptism of the Spirit for prophecy is not confined to the believers at Pentecost. The words of Peter, “your sons and daughters will prophesy,” point to the continuing prophetic activity of the church.”

So what does it take to prophesy in today’s modern world? The two ingredients in Peter’s message were the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. He spoke from the prophet Joel and the tongues of the fire of Pentecost had just fallen upon him and may well have been on his head as he preached. For us today it is simple; be filled with God’s Word, be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and then proclaim His word. I believe prophecy could be called naturally supernatural. We don’t have to work it up, the anointing and the Word all always produce prophesy when you act in faith. So go ahead, saturate yourself in scripture and drink some of the new wine they were drinking in the Upper Room; the results will be you beginning to prophesy as well.