READ: Matthew 24:3-27
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets…That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about…” – Ephesians 4:11,14
A minister who stands in the office of a prophet will primarily function in the ministry of preaching and teaching. Anything that does not put the Word of God in its proper place is doomed to failure with the passage of time.
The Word comes first and is of paramount importance in every ministerial office. After preaching and teaching the Word, a prophet may operate in the ministry of healing, and other revelation gifts like the “word of knowledge” and “word of wisdom”. The prophet may also flow in the ministry of predictive prophecy or exhortative prophecy. Jesus was a great prophet (Luke 7:16). But His principal ministry was to go about preaching and teaching the Word of God, Matthew 9:35). Jesus also operated in the ministry of predictive prophecy. In Matthew 24, He predicted the destruction of Solomon’s temple (70 AD) when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. Jesus gave extensive predictions concerning the end of the world. We would do well to take note of these prophecies because Jesus was a great prophet.
A prophet, therefore, is someone who preaches and teaches. He also ministers healing and operates in the word of knowledge. A prophet also gives predictive and exhortative prophesies. This is a complete prophetic ministry, and as you can see, the Word of God comes first. Look out for real
prophets and stay with what is authentic. That will help you to know who a real prophet is.