With the death of David Wilkerson, another prophet is gone. By prophet, I don’t mean the term in the charismatic sense of foreseeing and prophesying future events but I mean the quality of the man or the woman of God who called a generation to repentance. Like Isaiah. Like Elisha. Like John the Baptist. We need prophets who will stand for holiness, declare God’s coming judgment, and preach the hard truths of the Word of God.
Leonard Ravenhill, who himself was a prophet of God, defined the prophet like this:
The prophet is God’s detective seeking for a lost treasure. The degree of his effectiveness is determined by his measure of unpopularity. Compromise is not known to him.
He has no price tags.
He is totally “otherworldly.”
He is unquestionably controversial and unpardonably hostile.
He marches to another drummer!
He breathes the rarefied air of inspiration.
He is a “seer” who comes to lead the blind.
He lives in the heights of God and comes into the valley with a “thus saith
the Lord.”
He shares some of the foreknowledge of God and so is aware of
impending judgment.
He lives in “splendid isolation.”
He is forthright and outright, but he claims no birthright.
His message is “repent, be reconciled to God or else…!”
His prophecies are parried.
His truth brings torment, but his voice is never void.
He is the villain of today and the hero of tomorrow.
He is excommunicated while alive and exalted when dead!
He is dishonored with epithets when breathing and honored with
epitaphs when dead.
He is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, but few “make the grade” in his class.
He is friendless while living and famous when dead.
He is against the establishment in ministry; then he is established as a saint
by posterity.
He eats daily the bread of affliction while he ministers, but he feeds the Bread of
Life to those who listen.
He walks before men for days but has walked before God for years.
He is a scourge to the nation before he is scourged by the nation.
He announces, pronounces, and denounces!
He has a heart like a volcano and his words are as fire.
He talks to men about God.
He carries the lamp of truth amongst heretics while he is lampooned by men.
He faces God before he faces men, but he is self-effacing.
He hides with God in the secret place, but he has nothing to hide in
the marketplace.
He is naturally sensitive but supernaturally spiritual.
He has passion, purpose and pugnacity.
He is ordained of God but disdained by men.
After reading through that list, where are the prophets of God? Where are those who would live and preach like the above?
In Ephesians 4:11 we see that prophets are among those listed that God uses in His Church. Some believe that not all of these gifted men listed in Ephesians 4:11 are for today. However, I believe that God gives gifted people to the Church who walk in these gifts. I don’t believe these gifts listed in Ephesians 4:11 are titles such as “Apostle Jones” or “Prophet Dibble” but I believe that God uses people in His Church in these roles. Further, these people are already operating in these gifts without our noticed and approval. In other words, the modern clergy/laity system “ordains” people to the ministry but God already has been using people before they go (Acts 13:1-4). A true prophet of God doesn’t need the “ordination” of men. The true apostle of God doesn’t need a title or an office. A true evangelist of God doesn’t care what people think about their gifts, they just seek to preach the gospel.
So where are the prophets of God? The watered down seeker church and the messy emergent movement are not the answer. They are not producing the prophets of God who will call people to repentance and holiness and complete abandonment to Jesus alone. The prosperity movement produces nothing but covetous people who want and desire nothing more than a god who will give them what they want. Oh how we need a Ravenhill, a Spurgeon, a Wilkerson, a Tozer! We need a prophet to rise up and call the Church to repent and cast herself on Jesus and His gospel alone!
I do praise God that there are still some voices out there. Carter Conlon, the brother who replaced David Wilkerson at Times Square Church in New York City, is a powerful preacher who preaches with the same anguish and urgency that Wilkerson preached with. The same unction of the Holy Spirit is upon brother Conlon as well.
I praise God for Paul Washer. Washer is a brother who is a Calvinist but he loves Jesus and he preaches holiness. He calls people to repent and he calls people to rise up and seek God. Washer said he would take a Leonard Ravenhill over a bunch of dead Calvinists any day. I agree with him. Give me a Paul Washer over a group of dead Arminians any day.
I praise God that He will send us more great people of God who will call His people to repentance. He always has and He will until Christ returns and establishes His eternal kingdom.
© 2011, Matt. All rights reserved.
