here
has been an upsurge of prophets in recent years who have come like John the
Baptist. They are preaching a fiery message of condemnation and judgment to
the Church and calling it back to God. Prophets are also speaking out against
the nations and the authorities in government, and calling them back to order,
as John the Baptist did to the king of his day. But is this what God intends
for the New Testament church? Should there be a John the Baptist ministry
functioning in this day and age?
The writer to the Hebrews makes a very interesting
observation right at the beginning of this book. He says the following words
Hebrews 1:1 God, who in many parts and in different
ways spoke in time past to the fathers through the prophets,
2 Has in these last days spoken to us through [his] Son, whom he has
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
At first glance this verse seems to be telling us that in
times past God spoke through the Prophets, but now since Jesus has come, He
does not need to do that any more. Many have taught just that and used this
passage to show that the office of Prophet has been done away with and no
longer exists in the New Testament. Yet the Prophetic Movement has not only
been clearly manifested but continues to grow, as God calls more and more of
His people to the prophetic ministry, and raises them up into prophetic
office.
So do we simply ignore what this verse teaches, and assume
that it was out of order? Or could it be that we have missed a very important
principle in which the prophets of the Old Covenant are clearly seen to be a
completely different entity to the prophets of the New Testament? Or let me
take it a step further and ask you this question, "Does God treat the New
Testament Church differently to what He treated the nation of Israel, or is
the Church simply an extension of God's dealings with Israel? Your answers to
these simple questions can make all the difference in the world as to how you
view the end times prophets of the New Covenant.
I can well remember my very first experiences as a prophet,
before I even realized that such a ministry still existed today. I had found
myself saying things to folks and doing things that seemed totally irregular.
And yet I knew that I was somehow being led by the Holy Spirit. I told my wife
one day, "You know sometimes I feel as though I am one of those prophets
of the Old Testament. They would often tell people what God was saying, and
what God wanted them to do, and I sometimes find myself doing the same
thing." When I first saw a 'real' prophet functioning publicly in
ministry I almost jumped up and down in my seat shouting, "That's it - I
must be a prophet!"
Well I have come a way since then and today we are training
God's prophets for their function in the end times church. But I see now that
prophets seem to fall into two different categories, and the way they behave
seems to depend on how they view Israel and the Church. So I am going to give
you a few points on how I see things, and then I am going to leave it to you
to decide what you think.
Let's consider a few things about John the Baptist.
He was an Old Testament Prophet
John the Baptist signaled the end of what came to be known
as the 400 Silent years. It had been that long since a prophet of God had last
been seen, and folks had begun to wonder if prophets still existed. That
doesn't mean there were no longer prophecies. John's own father prophesied on
the day of his circumcision, and when Jesus was circumcised both Simeon and
Anna the prophetess came and spoke prophetic words over him. So how could they
say that there had been no prophets?
Obviously the Prophetic Office was very distinct, and when
someone rose up into that office it was clear to everyone that such a person
spoke directly from God. John came preaching the Old Covenant, and he came
preaching a fiery message of judgment. He sounded very much like some of the
prophets of old.
He had only one Job to Perform
John had a very specific task to do. He was to prepare the
way for the coming of the Messiah - God's promised one. He referred to himself
as the voice crying in the wilderness, and it was clear that his job was to
identify and to point the people to the Christ. Once John had performed the
task he was called to do, he was no longer needed. He explained this in the
following words.
John 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man
who is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I did not know him: but that he should be made manifest to Israel,
therefore I have come baptizing with water.
Once John had baptized Jesus, and pointed Him out as the
Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, his job was done, and he
faded away. In a sense it was necessary for him to be removed, otherwise he
could have set up an opposition party to Jesus later, and would have been
found competing with Jesus' teachings. Because the message that Jesus brought
was totally different to John's.
He Was Not Called to the Church
Jesus was bringing in a new order of people. He was
bringing a new dimension of the Kingdom of Heaven. And John the Baptist was
not part of this new order. He was certainly a very important part of the old
order, but he had no place in the new. Jesus explained it in these words.
Matthew 11:9 But what did you go out to see? A
prophet? yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger
before your face, who shall prepare your way before you.
11 Assuredly I say to you, Amongst those that have been born of women there
has not risen a greater [one] than John the Baptist: nevertheless he that is
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than him.
Jesus made it clear that regarding the Old Covenant John
the Baptist was the greatest prophet who had lived. But when it came to the
New Covenant that He was about to introduce, John was nothing. Even the least
in this new kingdom was greater than John. There was about to be a change, and
in fact this change was so drastic that it even caught John by surprise. We
find out that later on while he was in prison, he sent some of his disciples
to check Jesus out and make sure that he had not missed it. Jesus just didn't
seem to be what he had expected from the Messiah.
He Was the Last Old Testament Prophet
Not only was John the Baptist the greatest Old Testament
prophet, but he was the last. He brought the end of a dispensation that had
existed since God first entered into covenant with Israel and gave them the
Law. His approach was forceful and aggressive, not unlike Elijah of old and he
stirred people up to press into God. But his job was not to turn people back
to the Law. His job was to get their attention so that they would be ready for
the Christ. Once Christ had come, the Old Covenant was due to come to an end,
and Jesus was to introduce a New Covenant. Jesus described it like this
Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist
until now the kingdom of heaven is under siege, and the forceful are seizing
it.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied up until John.
14 And if you are prepared to receive [it], this is [the] Elijah, who was to
come.
To sum it up, Jesus declared that all the prophets of the
Old Testament, and the Old Testament Law, ended in John. He was the last of
the Old Testament prophets and the last representative of the Law that was
sent by God.
He Was Not Part of the Bride
The New Testament Scriptures teach that the Church is the
Bride of Christ. But at a wedding feast there are many people in addition to
the bridal couple. There are the parents of the bridal couple and the wedding
guests. Many of the guests are important people. They are friends of the
family and hold a special place, but they are not the bride.
Many have tried to explain this by teaching that the Bride
of Christ is only a small part of the Church, and that the rest of the Church
are the wedding guests. To do this they have to teach that only a select
remnant of the Church will be raptured and taken up with Jesus when He
returns. Once again it comes from confusing Israel and the Church.
John himself was fully aware that he was not part of the
Bride of Christ. He never saw himself as being that, but instead he described
himself in the following words.
John 3:29 He that has the bride is the bridegroom: but
the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly
because of the bridegroom's voice: my joy therefore is completed.
John represented the Old Covenant, and as such he
represented those who would fulfill the role of the friends and wedding guests
at the marriage feast. But a new order was about to come into being. And Jesus
was going to introduce a new group of people that had never existed before.
And each one would be far greater than anyone in the Old Testament, because
they would take the unique place of being the Bride of Christ.
So I once again ask the question that I did at the
beginning of this discussion. Do we need another John the Baptist? Surely
Christ has come, and He has through the blood of his cross brought in a new
order and a New Covenant. And this new order has brought the Old to an end.
Jesus Himself ended it on the cross, when he shouted out the words, "It
is finished!" The Old Covenant is over and done with. And with the
dispensing of the Old Covenant came also a dispensing of the Old Testament
prophetic office.
Now we have a new order, a new covenant, and a new breed of
prophets, that are not sent by the Father to an erring covenant people as in
the Old Covenant, but the New Testament prophets are instead gift of the Son
of God to His Bride. Paul expressed it well in the following passage
Ephesians 4:8 Therefore he says, When he ascended up
on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.
11 And he Himself gave some apostles, and some prophets; and some
evangelists; and some pastors and teachers;
12 For the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
building up of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all arrive at unanimous agreement concerning the faith, and the
knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the level of maturity of
the complete Christ:
In the Old Covenant God sent His prophets to call the
Nation of Israel back to God and back to the Covenant. But in the New
Testament the prophet is a gift of the ascended Jesus to His Bride, to equip
her and to make her into the same image as the Savior. This job is not only
allocated to the prophet, but to all of the gift ministries that Jesus has
given. And the approach that they are meant to take is not at all that of John
the Baptist. Paul gives us a graphic description of how we are to approach
people in ministry in this new covenant era that we live in.
2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God was encouraging [you] through us: we beg [you] on
behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For he has made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.
What a difference between this and John the Baptist's
approach. John's words went something like, "You brood of snakes, sort
yourself out or God is going to punish you!" But the New Testament
approach is rather, "We want to encourage you to move into all that God
has for you. You don't have to be judged anymore because Jesus had paid the
price."
This is as far from John the Baptist's calling as you can
get.
So in my opinion the answer to my question is an
unequivocal...
NO!
The Church does NOT need a John the Baptist
ministry. It is part of the old order, which has been done away with.
