Dr. Couch, I've heard you say that in the NT there is no one who prophesied except the apostles and also Agabus (Acts 11:28). But is this true?
Yes, this is true, but I was talking about the dispensation of the church. There are those who were under the dispensation of the law, mentioned in Acts 1, who were able to give prophetic utterances, such as Zacharias (Luke 1:67), Simeon (2:25) and Anna (v. 36). Of Simeon it was said "The Holy Spirit was upon him" (v. 25).
But you cannot find the average Christian, once you get into the dispensation of the church, who prophesied into the future. There were prophets who were "teaching" prophets but not giving prophecy into the future.
Remember, the key to understanding the Bible has to do with OBSERVATION! We observe what the text is saying. We don't come to the Bible with our preconceived ideas; we let the Bible speak to us—we do not tell it what to say!
Key words for Bible study are: OBSERVATION, INTERPRETATION, and APPLICATION. And, the word CONTEXT is also most important. If we do not interpret by Context we will get terribly confused!
Thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch (3/11)
