The State of the Prophetic Office in Christianity Today
I was sitting on a plane and I had about 20 text messages come through, each one a more important testimony or story than the last, about how different friends had encountered actual prophets in our day who gave them prophetic words. These words all had stories attached and each prophet had brought different people into a place of great authority and connection in their sphere of society. Each one was a testimony of how the prophet had affected their life and how the outcome was forever different because of the word they had received. I was so excited because it wasn’t just spiritual encouragement. I heard them talking about different men and women who God is raising up or has raised up as prophets and how prophets are alive and well in our time. I then heard clearly in my Spirit that God is restoring the dignity of prophets in our time.
God is restoring the dignity of prophets in our time.
Prophets in the Old Testament were the most sought after people when anyone faced transition, crises, or national purposes in Israel and beyond. The Prophets were the hosts of God’s thoughts and when people met with them, this very omnipresent God made an appearance through His prophets in a way that proved that He cared very deeply about those who sought after Him.
In the New Testament we see the role of prophets to carry another equally important role to help establish God’s kingdom in all the world. They were the ones who helped the rest of Christians navigate their revelation and prophetic journey. The world is so hungry for the divine counsel of the Holy Spirit who when you meet with Him, what normally takes a year of counseling, an expensive business coach, a life coach or an educational process can happen in a moment.Think about the multi Billion dollar industry of psychics, new age, mediums and the occult. Why are they so present in society? Because people are looking for spiritual guidance. People are hungry for spiritual truth that they can apply to their pain, their careers, their identities. This is such a counterfeit to the ministry of prophets who bring a connection to God’s original plans and intentions in real time through the Spirit of God. And He does it free through His prophets!James Goll is like a master encyclopedia of the prophetic in our generation. He has released a new book, The Prophet, that helps reestablish the theology of prophets for our time. His in-depth teaching approach to a very controversial subject has created an on-ramp for everyone who is hungry to understand prophets and their role for the church today. His materials mentor and train, and are as great in perspective as they are in education. This book will give you an edge in the prophetic that the world needs right now. It will help shape the culture of how you engage your sphere of influence in the prophetic and will give you courage Biblically to pursue your calling. It will also help you understand some of the hardships that prophets face as well as give you insight for the different ways revelation comes.James has unlimited experience as a prophet that is so rare and that makes this book different. He also takes his time fleshing out the role Biblically but also uses his experience to point the way. Ultimately we want to see the role of a prophet have its rightful place in the church because it acts like having a full bank account, it is a resource we can’t live without once we experience it. It adds grace to situations and accelerates everything we do when we can divinely place prophets in their authority and in relationship.Read this book, let it fashion the role of prophet into your theology and heart so that you can pursue the healthiest form and we can restore the office of the prophet.
Shawn Bolz
