IS THERE ROOM FOR THE GIFT OF PROPHECY IN A CLOSED CANONICAL WORLD? - A LOOK AT PROPHECY, PART 4 OF 5

 

Bishop Blesses a Church, by Marie Ellenreider.

 I've heard of a church that collected the prophetic utterances in the congregation, and consider them equal to Scripture. I noticed a similar thought with Sarah Young's devotionals in the Jesus Calling Study Bible. A new phenomenon? No. The Montanists had the same thought about their "New Prophecy" in the 2nd and 3rd century, encouraging the formation of an official canon.

Let me start by saying that I believe the canon is closed. There is no new Scripture being written today. What is included in the Protestant Bible is sufficient for us.

So is there room for special revelation today? More to the point of this series, is there a place for the gift of prophecy even though the canon is closed?

Allow me to give several points on why I believe in a "yes" to the above.

1. We have the Holy Spirit in us directing us. That is special revelation. 
2.  Not everybody has access to our closed Canon. There are many people groups that have no Scripture, no knowledge of who Jesus is. I have no problem with the sign gifts (including prophecy) being used by God to establish His word now as He did for those who have access to God's Word.
3. Canon comes from the Hebrew word quaneh, which means cane or measuring stick.  Whenever we hear a sermon or a Christian song, let alone what someone is prophesying, I need to compare it with the Canon, just as the Bereans did when Paul and Silas taught the Gospel in their synagogue (Acts 17:11). We should NEVER take someone's word that they're speaking God's truth without comparing it with Scripture.
4. What about those who say that if it agrees with Scripture, it's not necessary and if it disagrees, it's unbliblical? No disagreement about the second clause, but concerning the first: well, does God ever need to repeat Himself? He does in Scripture. The Ten Commandments are given in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. Psalms 14 and 53 are basically identical, the final five verses of Psalm 40 are repeated in Psalm 70, and Psalm 108 is a mixture of the endings of Psalms 57 and 60. There are prophecies that appear in more than one prophecy book. And of course there are two sets of the history of Israel's monarchy and four accounts of Jesus' life. Maybe God wants to remind us of something we should know but have forgotten (either unintentionally or not).
5. Could your pastor be forthtelling God's Word as he preaches? I once filled out an application for pastoring, and it listed a set of preaching styles including one titled "the prophet." They defined that style as one who focuses on contemporary issues and applies God's Word to those items.
6. I mentioned a couple of days ago that spiritual gifts are meant for the local church. Is it possible God has a message for an individual or a local congregation that is more specific to specific circumstances, such as property purchase, a planned ministry, etc.? 

You may agree with me, and you may not. You may have a batch of Scriptures used in context to refute me. But hopefully, I've given something to think about.