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Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthen the brethren Acts 15:32

Prophets – What confusion has been propagated among Christians over this word! Somewhere in the history of our contemporary understanding, we decided that a prophet was one who would tell us the future. That idea did not come from the Bible. It snuck in around the edges when the church moved toward a Greek philosophical heritage in the third century. In Biblical usage, the future is now!

For Judas and Silas, the word prophetai meant something very different; something that we need to recapture today. In ancient Greece, this word is used as a description for proclaiming, usually with a connection to religion, but not about the future. The prophet was a proclaimer of wisdom, revealed to another human, explained, clarified and taught for the good of the individual.

If we really want to understand the role of a Biblical prophet, we need to dig behind the Greek term and take a long look at a Hebrew word. After all, Judas and Silas are called prophets by a Jewish congregation in a Jewish history book. Clearly, what Luke had in mind was a Jewish heritage.

The Hebrew root is naba. Naba is also a verb associated with “proclaiming”. But naba is often found in the passive, indicating that the proclaimer is carrying the message of someone else. Jesus himself makes this very clear. He does not bring his own message. He brings the message of the Father. In the Hebrew tradition, the truth of the message always depends on its source. It is the authority that the proclaimer represents. Once that is determined, the validity of the message is unquestionable.

This points out the final critical difference between the Greek and Hebrew views. The Greek prophet reveals wisdom at the bequest of the beneficiary. I go to the prophet to ask for an answer. Not so in Hebrew. The Hebrew prophet is sent by God. There is no request. In fact, there is usually rejection since the prophet often brings God’s message of judgment. And the message is not usually about the future. It is about judgment now.

Has God stopped sending prophets? That hardly seems likely. Whenever God provides words that unveil His truth, a prophet is transporting the message. The real question is this: Are we listening? Or do we think prophecy is only about future foolishness?