From time to time, I get an e-mail from one of our readers asking me if I am a prophet, since I claim to be interpreting Bible prophecy. The answer is “No, I am not a prophet, that is, I don’t dispense revelation nor do I speak for God!” Almighty God does both for himself through his Scriptures.
As believers in Jesus Christ as our redeemer and Savior, we all have the indwelling Holy Spirit who gives us understanding of Scripture, revealing to us its meaning. If we diligently seek to understand, God has promised to reward us with his truth in order to bring us closer to himself and to equip us for ministering the gospel of Jesus to others as we go through our daily lives.
Nowadays, if we are saved, we have the testimony of the Bible and the Holy Spirit working in our lives through the New Covenant, so we don’t need new revelation. We already know the complete story of redemption and we have everything we need to know about God and his plan for Mankind, and thus there is no need for prophets claiming to give new revelation in today’s church. Those who claim to be prophets with new revelation are in reality exposing themselves to be false prophets.
I study and interpret prophecy, but I am simply an expositor of Scripture, not a prophet of God. I have received no new revelation. I do believe I have been given understanding, with my special areas of expertise being the Book of Daniel and Old Testament chronology and prophecy. Others will have different ministries and areas of expertise. No one person will have all knowledge, but collectively we will have all of the understanding and knowledge that God has given his church for this day and age, and we will have all that we need to accomplish what he wants us to accomplish, as individuals and collectively as the church.
At any rate, that’s how I understand the way God works with us today, including me, and that’s why I don’t claim to be a prophet or have special powers even though I do try to explain the meanings of Bible prophecies (i.e., those recorded as Scripture by genuine prophets of God in days of old). Any understanding that I have comes through study of Scripture, meditation on Scripture, and prayer to God to give understanding of Scripture, which God has promised to do for those followers of Jesus who diligently seek to know Him in spirit and in truth.