A Nice Long-Sleeve T-Shirt...It's Blue

So I went to this conference. The speaker tolds us that the gift of prophecy was real and that we should ask for it.

Hmm.

How 'bout that?

Here's the problem. I don't know what he's talking about.

Somewhere along the way, this guy decided that prophecy was a christened form of fortune-telling. Prophesy, if we are to believe the speaker, is getting "words of knowledge" about people, dreaming dreams, future telling and the like. It is, according to speaker, "hearing from God but not just like 'my sheep hear my voice,' but more intense, more clear. God begins to show you things about people. And you need to speak that. And sometimes God ask you to do stuff that makes you look stupid."

Look, buddy. I'm not worried about you looking stupid - that's been established. I am concerned that you go around suggesting that you're speaking for God and that God looks stupid.

Request? Please Stop.

Here are two things that never came up in any of the talking he did. He never referred to the Old Testament Prophets who spent ninety percent of their time calling a people to repentance. Secondly, he never mentioned caution. He never once said anything about being cautious because sometimes the source of our dreams is the pepperoni pizza we had at midnight.

Ok, here be the deal - God can tell us anything God wants to tell us. If God wants to tell us the future, I'm cool with that. If God wants to tell me about your occasional pot habit, that's cool too. I know riding with God means you never know where you might end up.

I'm cool with that.

But why did prophecy take on a whole new meaning when it got written in Greek? Why did the meaning change between the Testaments? I've been around other folks who believe this and I've never heard one good answer.

Yes, I've asked.

Here's what I don't get - Paul, student of the Torah and of the great teachings of those who had gone before him, completely changes the meaning of the word "prophecy" from 'repentance preaching' (or something like that) into a New Testament equivalent of fortune-telling? And he never bothers to explain why? Why doesn't he just use the word "fortune-telling" if that's what he really means?

I don't buy.

I think we are losing when we believe that prophecy is "future-telling." Was that part of what the prophets did? Sure - every once in awhile. But let someone stand up and scream...

"STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY DO YOU TRAMPLE THESE LITTLE ONES? WHERE ARE YOU GOING? WHY DO YOU LOVE LIES? WHY DO LIES BRING YOU SUCH COMFORT? WHY DO YOU IGNORE THE LAW OF GOD? WHY DO YOU PROSTITUTE YOURSELF TO THE GODS OF CULTURE?"

...they call you a dissenter, a trouble-maker, divisive.

Not that they didn't call prophets all those things.

I wonder if they addressed them as prophets? Sneering, of course, but in ancient times, did they say, "Sure Prophet Elisha...whatever you say, Mr. Prophet Man." Or in the New Testament, "Sure, Little Miss Prophetess...does your daddy Phillip back you on this one too?"

Well, you know, at least they had the title then.

Anyway, I got a nice long-sleeve T-shirt from the weekend...

posted by Headless-in-GR @ 10/18/2004 04:18:00 PM