Why Do People Call Themselves Prophets Today?

If Scripture presents prophets as part of the Church’s foundation, why do people still call themselves prophets and prophetesses today?

Some have never been taught the difference between biblical prophecy, preaching, spiritual discernment, personal impressions, and ordinary Christian wisdom. They may have experienced something emotional or unusually timely and concluded that God had given them the prophetic office. A burden to pray becomes a prophecy. An educated guess becomes a word of knowledge. A strong opinion becomes a divine message. When ordinary experiences are repeatedly described with supernatural language, people eventually begin to believe that their impressions carry the authority of God.

Others read the book of Acts as though every event recorded there is a command for every church in every generation. Acts records a unique period in redemptive history. The risen Christ had commissioned His apostles, the Gospel was moving outward from Jerusalem, the New Testament was being given, and the Church’s foundation was being laid. Everything that happened during that foundational period was true, but everything described there was not necessarily intended to continue as a permanent office or universal practice.

The Church is never instructed to search for new prophets, ordain prophetic successors, or maintain a continuing line of revelatory messengers. When Paul gave qualifications for enduring church leadership, he described bishops, elders, and deacons. He gave careful standards for pastors and teachers. Scripture does not provide the post-apostolic Church with a process for appointing new prophets who will receive additional revelation from God.

Some people inherit the title from a religious culture. They enter a congregation where “prophet,” “prophetess,” or “apostle” is treated as the next level of spiritual promotion. Once everyone around them accepts the title, few people stop to ask whether Scripture recognizes the office in the Church today.

Tradition, however, cannot create an office that God has not continued.

The title also carries influence. A pastor must explain Scripture. A teacher must defend his interpretation. A counselor can be questioned. Someone who says, “God told me,” attempts to speak from a position that ordinary examination cannot easily reach. If the audience believes the claim, challenging the speaker can feel like challenging God Himself.

Jesus warned against the hunger for religious titles and public recognition:

“And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.” —Matthew 23:7–8[[quote]]

Christ’s warning was not a prohibition against every descriptive ministry title. He was exposing the human desire to use spiritual position for recognition, superiority, and control. That same appetite can hide beneath modern prophetic titles.

For some, the title becomes a personal brand. “Pastor” sounds ordinary. “Bible teacher” requires years of disciplined study. “Prophet” sounds mysterious, powerful, and difficult to challenge. It can attract audiences, sell conferences, increase donations, and give the speaker access to people desperate for certainty.

People want to know whom they will marry, whether they will be healed, which job they should accept, whether their children will return home, and what will happen next in the nation. A person claiming direct access to God can offer the certainty frightened people crave.

The demand for prophets helps create the supply.

Paul warned that people would gather teachers who told them what they wanted to hear:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” —2 Timothy 4:3[[quote]]

A supposed prophet can make people feel specially chosen without calling them to repentance. He can promise prosperity without teaching contentment. He can announce victory without speaking about obedience. He can offer secret knowledge while avoiding the slow, demanding work of explaining Scripture.

Some who use the title may be sincere. Sincerity does not establish biblical authority. A person can sincerely misunderstand an experience, sincerely misinterpret a passage, or sincerely attribute his own thoughts to God. The question is not whether the person appears humble, passionate, or convinced. The question is whether Scripture authorizes the claim.

The word prophetess is itself biblical. Scripture used it for women whom God genuinely appointed during the periods of revelation. The problem is not that a woman uses the feminine form of the word. The problem is that anyone, male or female, claims a revelatory office that Scripture does not establish as continuing in the Church today.

No one becomes a prophet by printing the title on a business card, placing it before a name, receiving recognition from a religious organization, or being publicly affirmed by another self-appointed prophet.

God appointed the biblical prophets.

God gave them His words.

God held them to an absolute standard.

The modern title usually survives because people no longer apply the biblical definition. Once the definition is weakened, an impression can be called revelation, a prediction can fail without consequence, and a religious personality can claim divine authority without meeting the standard God established.

Christians must therefore ask more than, “Did this message inspire me?” We must ask, “Where does Scripture authorize this office today, and did God actually speak these words?”

If those questions cannot be answered from Scripture, the title should not be accepted.