Prophecy today?

[descout]

I believe that prophecy or public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. I have been asked how I can believe such because of Acts 2:17-21, stating that the sons and daughters will prophecy. Although I think this re stating the prophet Joel does this mean that there can be prophecy or new revelation today? How to respond to this?

They believe that today they are just an extension of the church in acts 2, so prophecy and speaking in tongues is also for us today.

 

[JM3]

I believe that prophecy or public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. I have been asked how I can believe such because of Acts 2:17-21, stating that the sons and daughters will prophecy. Although I think this re stating the prophet Joel does this mean that there can be prophecy or new revelation today? How to respond to this?

They believe that today they are just an extension of the church in acts 2, so prophecy and speaking in tongues is also for us today.

Ask them:

What is the purpose of prophecy and speaking in tongues?

 

[descout]

Ask them:

What is the purpose of prophecy and speaking in tongues?

Where will this get me? They have explained that they are gifts of the Holy Spirit and ment for us all to have them.

 

[Fidelis]

Ask them:

What is the purpose of prophecy and speaking in tongues?

I think that’s a good idea. When ever one discusses topics like these that involve words or terms that can mean a wide variety of things to different people in different groups at different times in history, you must always be careful to define them. If not, your discussion will go nowhere, as you will be talking about completely different things. For example, what Catholics mean when they talk about “prophecy” is worlds away what Pentecostals mean when they use the exact same word. You need to ask them lots of questions first.

 

[NHInsider]

I believe that prophecy or public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. I have been asked how I can believe such because of Acts 2:17-21, stating that the sons and daughters will prophecy. Although I think this re stating the prophet Joel does this mean that there can be prophecy or new revelation today? How to respond to this?

They believe that today they are just an extension of the church in acts 2, so prophecy and speaking in tongues is also for us today.

I think you are combining things that are separate in Catholic theology. It is de fide that the deposit of faith was given to the Apostles and cannot be added to. The Church does not, however, teach that the gifts of tongues or prophecy ended with the death of St. John. Indeed, the validity of both private revelation and charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit are formally acknowledged in the Catechism, along with the affirmation that no further Public Revelation is possible.

However, your challengers’ reference to Acts 2 is just silly, since in Acts 2 the Apostle is quoting Joel’s prophecy and applying it to the events of Pentecost.

from the Catechism
66 “The Christian economy, therefore, since it is the new and definitive Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yet even if Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries.

67 Throughout the ages, there have been so-called “private” revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or complete Christ’s definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.

Christian faith cannot accept “revelations” that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain non-Christian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves on such “revelations”.

 

[diggerdomer]

I believe that prophecy or public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. I have been asked how I can believe such because of Acts 2:17-21, stating that the sons and daughters will prophecy. Although I think this re stating the prophet Joel does this mean that there can be prophecy or new revelation today? How to respond to this?

They believe that today they are just an extension of the church in acts 2, so prophecy and speaking in tongues is also for us today.

Of course prophecy and new revelation continues to occur.

The point is, no such “new” teachings are binding on Christians apart from the full revelation of God that was given to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

 

[DPMartin]

I believe that prophecy or public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. I have been asked how I can believe such because of Acts 2:17-21, stating that the sons and daughters will prophecy. Although I think this re stating the prophet Joel does this mean that there can be prophecy or new revelation today? How to respond to this?

They believe that today they are just an extension of the church in acts 2, so prophecy and speaking in tongues is also for us today.

Descout

It’s truly not for us to judge. Speaking in tongues is what it is.

But maybe there is understanding in this:

If one wants to be included and have relationship in a corvette club, it would require that one have a corvette. Or a motorcycle to join a motorcycle club.

And considering what Paul has said, that speaking in tongues is the least of the gifts of the Spirit, it seems that in their view if you don’t have the least of the gifts, then how can you be born of the Spirit. Hence the pressure, if you will, to show you have what they have, to be included, and have relationship.

Peter teaches that Prophesy is not private, and Paul teaches that a Prophet edifies the Church.

So if some one speaks in such a way that no one understands, or knows what is said then it’s not prophecy. For at Pentecost it was noted that those hearing what was being said, understood in their own languages what was being said. So the gift of speaking in tongues is surly for speaking to others of another language to understand what is said in their language, but the speaker is using a language foreign to the hearer. Actually the miraculous act happens in the hear, not the speaker.

 

[Oldtimer_7]

If prophecy is seen only as a foretelling of future events, then there is a quick and dirty test. Do these events occur. I think of William Miller, the founder of the Seventh Day Adventists, who predicted the end of the world five or six times. We now have those who are predicting the end of the world in 2012, because of the Mayan calendar. This is news to the Mayans (who are still around) because they say that their calendar is like any other. When one year ends, another begins. I for one will not give away all my earthly goods and climb on my rooftop wearing white robes.

The other function of prophets was to criticize the current direction of events. Thus John the Baptizer acted in his prophetic office when he attacked Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife Herodias. This was speaking truth to power and he paid the price, as did Jesus when he confronted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the Temple authorities. Of the two gifts of prophets, this is the much more important.

This is the one that the government tries to suppress even today. The IRS regulations that are invoked against churches where the clergy address public issues is a prime example. It was historically one of the tools used by Hitler and the Nazis to silence the clergy, both Evangelical and Catholic, who opposed his regime.

If your priest does not preach on current matters, or if my pastor does not, then they are neglecting their prophetic office just as surely as Jonah did by boarding that ship. This can only play into the hands of those opposed to religion and God’s love for us.