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Part 1: The Early Church 100-450 AD

We must learn from history - church history, especially as it relates to the practice of prophetic gifts throughout the ages. If this New Testament gift has only a 20th century manifestation, then we must ask some hard questions. But no, a study of church history will show that prophecy is not some glamour gift of this modern age.

Like a golden thread woven throughout the fabric of Church history, prophetic gifts have graced the Body of Christ. This prophetic heritage of the Church is a reflection of the glory of God to our culture. From the earliest days of the Apostolic Fathers in the second century to the Reformation period and the Latter Rain Movement of 1948-51, the revelatory was evident.

There is an identifiable link between the reviving presence of the Spirit and the voice of the Spirit. When the Comforter comes He often brings words of comfort mediated through God's people. We are experiencing that same phenomena at the Toronto Airport Fellowship and in the renewal meetings that are springing up world-wide. An exhaustive study of the prophetic in Church History could be in itself the subject of a book. For the purpose of understanding the relationship of the prophetic and the church, we will review some of the historical highlights.

Have you noticed an increase in the ability or desire to prophesy as it relates to revival or renewal movements?

Not only was the New Testament written against the backdrop of a massive revival, but the Apostolic Fathers (70 AD - 200 AD) also wrote during seasons of refreshing from the Lord. Irenaeus, Justin Martyr and Tertullian all recount the continuing work of the gifts of Spirit in the Church. Richard Riss, in his series Tongues and Other Miraculous Gifts In The Second Through Nineteenth Centuries, suggests a reasoned approach to their letters and documents.

In the early history of the church, the gift of tongues was closely associated with prophecy. When the second century author Irenaeus quoted Acts 10:46, he substituted the word "prophecy" where the Biblical passage specifies tongues. These miraculous gifts in general tend to be closely associated with one another, and accounts of tongues and prophecy are often included in accounts of healings, miracles, revelation and visions.

Justin Martyr wrote to his friend Trypho about "gifts of prophecy" in the plural in approximately 148 AD - "from the fact that even to this day the gifts of prophecy exist among us Christians... Now if you look around, you can see among us both men and women endowed with gifts from the Spirit of God." This discourse with Trypho was in the context of an overall discussion of other charismatic gifts.

Prophecy was flowing in those early days of the Church along with a host of powerful spiritual encounters.

In A.D 206, Tertullian of Carthage, the father of Latin Theology, became a Montanist, a widespread prophetic movement that lasted into the fifth century. In his work called A Treatise on the Soul, Tertullian describes that third century renewal in this fashion:

"For seeing that we acknowledge spiritual charismata, or gifts, we too have merited the attainment of the prophetic gift, although coming after John the Baptist. We have now amongst us a sister whose lot it has been to be favored with sundry gifts of revelation, which she experiences in the Spirit by ecstatic vision amidst the sacred rites of the Lord's day in the church: she converses with angels, and sometimes even with the Lord; she both sees and hears mysterious communications; some men's hearts she understands, and to them who are in need she distributes remedies."

Dr. Kenneth Latourette, in his foundational book, A History Of Christianity, defends this movement which was severely persecuted by the established Church. He summarizes the impact of the Montanists in this way:

"It had itinerant preachers supported by the gifts of the faithful, and in time seems to have been fairly well organized, with the head living in Phrygia. It prized the records of the teachings of Christ and his apostles, but it believed, although not contradicting what had been said there, that the Holy Spirit continued to speak through prophets, and among these it included women. It stressed a high standard of Christian living among Christian communities into which laxity was beginning to creep."

Persecution of the Montanists may have been based on a few issues. They did teach a soon return of the Lord. The concept of an early return of Christ was not new nor was it exclusively a tenet of the Montanists as we find several allusions to it in the Epistles and Revelation.

However, they gave dates and places which we know is not scriptural. Another reason why they were ostracized was probably cultural. Eusebius, an opponent of this movement, criticized the prophetic style. He reported that Montanus, the founder of the movement, "suddenly fell into frenzy and convulsions. He began to be ecstatic and to speak and to talk strangely, prophesying contrary to the custom which belongs to the tradition and succession of the church from the beginning."

It's hard to put new wine into old wine skins. Even now the same issues arise as fresh oil and new wine fill the Church.

Did you notice at this juncture in our history that prophets were making the same mistakes, i.e. dates and places? We need to solve this classical problem of saying too much, too soon!

During the dark night of the soul in the Church, when the word of the Spirit almost became non-existent, there were still some shining prophetic voices heard in the land. Gregory, the pupil of Origen, in the fourth century was blessed with prophetic gifts and miracles.

By Christ's mighty name he even commanded rivers to change their course and caused a lake, which afforded a ground of quarrel to some covetous brethren to dry up. Moreover, his predictions of things to come were such as in no wise to fall short of those great prophets.

Genevieve of Paris accurately prophesied God's intervention over the city and called the believers to fast and pray as Attila the Hun was preparing to invade Paris, in A.D. 451. The seemingly invincible army suddenly changed the course of the march and Paris was saved.

Next week we will look at the prophetic among the Reformers.

Discussion Question:

What do you believe was God's purpose for releasing predictive prophecy in the church during these days (100-450 AD)?

Part 2: The Reformers and the European Revivalists 1400-1846 AD

When you think of the Reformation you tend to think of Calvinism, orthodoxy, and surely not prophecy or prophetic utterance! In one sense the reformers were prophets - calling the Church into God's truth on a grand scale. When I speak of prophecy in this article, I mean the manifestation of revelatory words as Paul describes as one of the nine gifts of the Spirit in 1 Cor 12-14.

However, the Reformation was more than just a return to the light and to the Scriptures. Martin Luther taught on the value of the prophetic in his commentary on Joel 2:28: "For what are all other gifts, however numerous they may be, in comparison with this gift, when the Spirit of God Himself, the eternal God, descends into our hearts, yea, into our bodies, and dwells in us, governs, guides, and leads us? Thus with respect to this declaration of the prophet, prophecy, visions and dreams are, in truth, one precious gift."

Martin Luther was not just an armchair theologian. After wrestling with God in prayer for his sick friend Philip Melanchthon, he operated under a prophetic gift and declared to him, "Be of good cheer, Philip, you shall not die." As a result, a gift of healing was released and his dying friend was revived.

On the back of the Reformation, an amazing story of the "French Prophets" emerged. They are also known as "the little prophets of the Cevennes", named after the young age of those who prophesied and the Cevennes mountains where they hid from persecution.

There had been a quasi religious freedom for the Protestants in France since 1598 and the Edict of Nantes. However, in 1685, Louis XIV revoked the treaty and persecution returned. Like the Montanist movement, they experienced strong convulsions and ecstatic movements as the word of the Lord was being proclaimed. To a large extent, this was the contentious issue with the French church and government. Thousands were martyred, many fled to England, others entrenched in the mountains. Those who attempted to defend themselves during the years 1701-1710 were called 'the Camisards." Miracles, healings, tongues and prophecy flowed in their meetings. The anointing seemed to be very contagious. Within a year of the first prophetic word given by a young girl in February, 1688, there were a thousand prophets.

The rise of the gift of prophecy is not confined to these last few decades. It seems like we are following in the path of other pioneers, some of them were children. Have you witnessed child prophets in your midst?

One peasant named Halmede had a son 12 years old who had received the blessing. It wasn't a blessing to him, knowing that many households were massacred for such news. The local parish priest counseled the father that a forced fast with added beatings would stop his son from prophesying. But to no avail, Halmede returned in a short while with the same complaint. The last hope offered was the use of a snake skin as a charm, or amulet which would be placed over the boy's head when he began to shake and prophecy. However, when this was attempted, the child was shaken with a violent trembling and with a loud voice he shouted out the displeasure of the Lord over the sinful act that the father was committing. Then, like a bolt of lightening, Halmede was struck and began to weep tears of repentance. Within a few days he also became a shaking prophet like his son with gifts of revelation and knowledge.

The common manifestations of the "French Prophets" were as follows: falling to the ground, groaning from the chest, the jerks, visions, prophesying in perfect French when 'patois' was their only spoken language, and a host of other gifts of the Spirit and miracles. One man named Jean Cavalier testified that God's presence would often come upon him and he would experience 'the jerks' and at times fall to the ground. This lasted for nine months, until one Sunday morning prayer time in his house when God loosed his tongue and he prophesied after an extended period of shaking. Children as young as fourteen months prophesied the word of the Lord in impeccable Parisian French. They often spoke of the angelic song that would be heard in their meetings. There were even signs in the sky as fire would fall from heaven to blind the eyes of their enemies. These revelations were usually focused on winning the lost in their midst and encouraging the saved. Yet when they fled to London for refuge many were taunted. A puppet play was even written, mocking their experiences of God.

In their defense, Mr. A. Bost, the 1707 chronicler who recorded their testimonies while in their London exile affirmed that "just one of them was worth a thousand of us". In his final reflections he asks this stirring question, "We have seen the declarations in our Holy Bible which announce so clearly that God will not cease to manifest Himself in His church through many signs of His power. Do we even desire these signs? Or at least do we deplore their absence?"

How do you respond to such a question? I personally deplore the absence of this kind of prophetic gifting in the Body of Christ. A little shaking during the delivery of a 'Word from the Lord' has not offended me, neither the prophet Jeremiah. He said "my heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and His holy words" (Jer.23:9).

Shaking prophecies didn't stop there. The Evangelical Gazette of Berlin, in March, 1846, published an account of an extraordinary revival taking place in Sweden. The revival began in 1844 in Smaland, the poorest province of the country. Simple villagers, not knowing how to read or write, experienced an outpouring of the Spirit and began prophesying in perfect Swedish. They were called the 'roestars', which literally means the yellers or proclaimers, like John 1:23 - "the voice of one calling out in the desert." They too would tremble and shake both before a word was given and during. They would be on the ground or remain standing for up to two hours while the revelation was proclaimed. It seemed that they were shut up with God and their senses were locked away in Him. Even the persecutors who tried to stop them would at times be seized with the same prophetic manifestations and became 'roestars' themselves!

Discussion Question:

What do you think of physical manifestations (shaking, etc) during the delivery of a prophetic word today. Is it acceptable? Is it desirable?

Part 3: The American Revivalists
and the Latter Rain Prophets
1801-1948 AD

Are you seeing any common prophetic threads as we take this bird's eye view of church history? The wild eyed prophets of the 80's and 90's don't seem so strange after all when one places them against the backdrop of periods of revival in the Church.

Of course, there were other kinds of prophetic manifestations in modern church history. In the 1801 Cain Ridge Revival, there were groups of believers in their midst called "spontaneous exhorters." Literally hundreds became prophetic preachers during those days. Mark Gali in his article in the "Church History" periodical states:

"Literally hundreds of people became spontaneous exhorters, excitedly giving advise or tearful warnings. Almost anyone - women, small children, slaves, the shy, the illiterate, could exhort with great effect."

This one event in American church history was the spark that "ignited the explosion of evangelical religion which soon reached into every corner of American life." The strong prophetic manifestations in their midst only spurred on revival fires in the United States.

Review some of the prophetic unctions that have come on evangelistic meetings where "spontaneous exhorters" would be heard. I believe these were valid prophetic gifts, released in the atmosphere of evangelism. Have you witnessed this?

Akin to the "spontaneous exhorters" of Cane Ridge is what the WEC missionaries called "the prompters". During the 1953 revival in the Belgian Congo they came face to face with "the prompters", inspired speakers in the congregation that would begin to preach prophetically to the unconverted and unrepentant. Those who were in great agony of soul would come through to peace with God as "the prompters" would speak out "Jesus is ready to forgive! Think back! There is still more to confess! The big sin still remains!" We could do with a few more of those in the twentieth century Church.

Would it be fair to call this prophetic preaching?

Almost during this same time in North America, there was a renewal called the Later Rain movement. In February 1948, the Holy Spirit fell on the students of Sharon Orphanage and School, a small bible school in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. The world soon heard of the outpouring that was marked by the manifestation of prophecy and the intensity of God's presence in worship. Like prairie fire, the restoration movement swept through congregations in both Canada and the United States. Within a year, Elim Bible Institute, in Lima New York became one of the renewal centers. Their annual Spring convention in 1949 was sheer glory. Carlton Spencer, the president's son, went on to explain the marks of this Divine visitation.

"Most gracious indeed were the gifts of the Spirit in operation in the meetings: some of them entirely new, others in a greater anointing and power and others operating in new ways. In most every service a spirit of worship prevailed. At times the congregation would break forth in heavenly chorus with prophetical solos interspersed... At times during the Convention there were ministries of laying on of hands with prophecy confirming calls and gifts imparted by the Lord.

Richard Riss, has reflected on the overall effect of the movement in his book, "Latter Rain." He concludes his review of the data by saying that, "the Latter Rain movement provided a tremendous impetus to the people in many Pentecostal circles to seek to exercise the gift of prophecy... an important influence upon at least some portions of the Charismatic movement almost thirty years later."

The mid-1990's have arrived and the Church is again finding the infectious joy and power of the Holy Spirit. He is again causing the gifts to operate in "new ways", even some operations of the gifts are "entirely new" as was the case at the Elim Bible Institute. Serendipity has come and we are indeed "surprised", if not "surprised by joy". All through the ages, the Church of the Living God has come face to face with His Almightiness. He is reshaping us by the strength of His presence so that we all may become shouters of His grace! The precious Holy Spirit is even now forming God's prophetic army which will bring in the 'Harvest'.

Still Relevant Today

Church history does impact on the "now" of the church. Take for instance the "Latter Rain Movement" that has just been discussed. Not only are the charismatic churches the benefactors of their "singing in the spirit" and other aspects of flowing in the gifts of the Spirit, but the whole concept of "prophetic presbytery" began here. If one looks hard enough you will always find the always the head waters of a breakthrough.

There is a 82 year old Foursquare preacher, Lloyd Kethum, that attends our church - East Gate Christian Fellowship in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was a first hand witness to those days when the Holy Spirit fell on that little bible school in North Battleford, Sask. He told me that this new thing - "prophetic presbytery" was powerful - where a few of the teachers from the school would minister wait on God for revelation for each one that came for ministry. These prophetic words were life changing, even some 50 years latter.

Did you know that the modern day "prophetic presbytery" that we hold at our conferences and churches has it's roots in the last Canadian renewal movement? Even the form that we practice here called the IRC and AOL is an electronic rendition of the same. Have you been a benefactor of this bit of history - "prophetic presbytery"?

Discussion Question:

We have seen that God quickens (or releases) the prophetic for His kingdom purposes at various times throughout history. Is He doing that now, and if so, for what kingdom purposes?

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