What is prophecy in the Bible?
Prophecy rests on and experience of a revelation from God. So when the Jesus is blindfolded and mocked, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” (Lk 22:64) the expectation was that any true prophet would receive supernatural knowledge from God about people and events. Jesus knowing the sinful life of the woman who anointed him in Luke 7:39, and Jesus’ knowledge of all men’s hearts (John 2:24) are examples of prophecy. Prophecy means not only foretelling (as in e.g. Mark 13) but much more often forth-telling a revelation from God. David Watson gave this definition of Christian prophecy. “While the written word is God’s truth for all people at all times, the prophetic word is a particular word, inspired by God, given to a particular person or group of persons, at a particular moment for a particular purpose.” Prophecy is not just good Bible teaching. “Prophecy would express a new word from God as such, whereas teaching would tend to denote more a new insight into an old word from God.” “Prophecy receive
