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Prophets and Prophetesses .. are they even for today..

(Acts 3:22 KJV)  For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

(Mat 10:41 KJV)  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

(Acts 3:26 KJV)  Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

 The new testament also makes it clear that a women cannot upsurt authority over a man.. The  church today as well is supposedly deeply concerned also about having a prophetic voice in our society, in having an active  part in even how the world is run daily by the governments.  The Churches' usual practise, method also for for accomplishing  this concern of theirs  is to appoint a committee, mostly made up of men? even  at every conference,  to draft resolutions about the items of social injustice and then pass it on ironically to some one else higher in authority supposedly?  When the whole Church itself ironically was to be the authority..

(Mat 16:19 KJV)  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (John 15:16 KJV)  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

These final resolutions are next duly pre passed by the local assemblies, and then the politicians are lobbied by the more persistent churchmen to incorporate the resolutions. In many case the world is singularly not inspired  to make the proposed changes or pass the resolutions and why? because the church is not speaking in God's authority to start of with.

 (Jer 1:5 KJV)  Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

God's personal preferred way of changes still is by prayer, and to still appoint an individual, a Prophet to speak for Him to the people, face to face to the leaders, such as Jonah, Moses, or such as Nathan to remind David about Bathsheba's husband (II Sam. 12:1-15), an Elijah to speak about the matter of Naboth's vineyard (I Kings 21:17-29), an Amos to denounce the fat kine of Bashan who made their husbands oppress the poor so that they could sleep on beds of ivory, overeat, and spend a fortune on beauty ointments (Amos 4:1; 6:4-6). It was John the Baptist's preaching, not nicely worded resolutions in the Sanhedrin, that prepared a people to hear their God. Jesus himself had a prophetic office. There were, are also male and female prophets..

 Like Jesus the prophets also grew up in their home town. They  were appointed directly by God for their mandatory tasks next assigned to them by God, His Holy Spirit  and not by men.

(Acts 1:24 KJV)  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen,

(Acts 8:29 KJV)  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

(Acts 16:7 KJV)  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

(Acts 10:19 KJV)  While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.(Acts 11:12 KJV)  And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:

(Acts 11:28 KJV)  And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

(Acts 18:5 KJV)  And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

(Acts 18:25 KJV)  This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.

(Acts 20:22 KJV)  And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:

(Deu 18:15 KJV)  The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

While the Holy Spirit led, inspired prophets, like Jesus Himself,  tended still like today not to be respected, heard adequately, their words still have, had  NEXT dire, real warning and negative consequences on those who did not listen to them, even the personal losses of the listeners' properties, lives too.

(Mat 23:37 KJV)  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38   Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

(Acts 5:3 KJV)  But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4  Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5  And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6  And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

(Mat 13:57 KJV)  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. 58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

(Ezek 33:30 KJV)  Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 31  And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32  And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 33  And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

(Gen 20:7 KJV)  Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

(Num 12:6 KJV)  And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

(Deu 13:1 KJV)  If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,

(Deu 18:18 KJV)  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

(Deu 18:22 KJV)  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

(Deu 34:10 KJV)  And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,

(Judg 6:8 KJV)  That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage;

(1 Sam 3:20 KJV)  And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.

(1 Ki 13:18 KJV)  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

(1 Ki 18:22 KJV)  Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

(1 Ki 20:13 KJV)  And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

(1 Ki 22:7 KJV)  And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might inquire of him?

(2 Ki 5:8 KJV)  And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.

(2 Chr 25:15 KJV)  Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?

(2 Chr 28:9 KJV)  But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven.

(Ezek 2:5 KJV)  And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

(Ezek 14:7 KJV)  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself:

(Ezek 33:33 KJV)  And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.

(Hosea 12:13 KJV)  And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

(Mat 10:41 KJV)  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

(Mat 13:57 KJV)  And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

(John 4:19 KJV)  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

(John 9:17 KJV)  They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

(1 Cor 14:37 KJV)  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 

(Jer 18:1 KJV)  The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2  Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3  Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7  At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8  If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9  And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10  If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

(Jer 18:11 KJV)  Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. 12  And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. 13  Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. 14  Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? 15  Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;  16  To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. 17  I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

(Jer 18:18 KJV)  Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. 19  Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. 20  Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. 21  Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22  Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. 23  Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger. The dishonest persons , the corrupt, the exploiters, the sex-grabbers, the abusers, the domineering persons would clearly, still do hate the prophets, even today, and they would wrongfully try to shut them up, try to harm them too, and deny the validity of their existences.

When God spoke, speaks  it was impossible to not to be affected. All of the persons who heard the message of God, the Kings, Queens, the peasants, nobles, priests, magistrates, and even the other Prophets, high and low, all had to decide only for God and his righteousness, or suffer negative consequences next too.

The secular nearest equivalent to this today is the courageous newspaper editor or the radio commentator who is mature  enough to speak out against injustice. But God still has his own prophets today .

More Christians could also take time to be true men of God, to look with God at history and society, and then write and speak from the housetops what God says to them

(Eph 4:11 KJV)  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 17  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

It is interesting to note that Jesus and the Apostles, tended to hold all of these offices at one time or another in their personal lives, thus even confirming the hierarchy order of these offices.

(Heb 3:1 KJV)  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;2   Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

(Mat 25:29 KJV)  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

(Luke 19:17 KJV)  And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

Sadly mostly  all of the great churches and even many evangelical Protestants the leaders they have have stated that prophets died out in the apostolic age, and some of these churches next also would lie to you and say that God next had died as well, thus they are, were also hoping to avoid any personal accountability to God for their sins. It thus would be really, really  inconvenient, discomforting still  for these theologians and for these establishment if any  prophet would now  appear and remind them also to  rightfully to repent of all of their personal deliberate, and unrepentant sins. Thus even the theologians  would lie and have us to  believe wrongfully  that the message of all of the New Testament prophets was distilled into our canonized scriptures; and thus with the book of Revelation to it take us to the end of time, therefore no further word from God is to needed at all. By  the bad theologians , pastors false approach, definitions all  present prophets today thus must be cranks, although it is still hypocritically nice for them even to use the same  term for the occasional scholar who rises above the academic requirements to say something interesting. Their stated  supposed contradiction between a completed canon of Scripture and a continuing line of prophets is false.

Jer 9:15 KJV)  Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

The Non Christians rather too often deliberately do like to believe in the lie that God does not exists, or that God is dead, for  that way hopefully they will  not give a personal accountability next for all their sins, wrong doings to God. They are dreaming only. They will give a full account, so will we all.  Many a Christian even  have also a similar false doctrine towards their  sins, false reasons not to not to repent, they call it falsely the dispensation of, the age of grace, and they still lie when they say God will merely next forgive all of their  unrepentant sins or deliberate ones. God is not mocked for what one sows will they  reap..

"At every stage the written Word of God has needed prophets to apply it to men's hearts in concrete situations. The test of a true prophet like Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel was that he spoke according to God's law and never in contradiction to it (Deut. 13:1-5). For eighteen centuries Christians of all denominations have agreed that the written word of God is complete with the New Testament canon but that is not the issue still. The issue is confused by the phenomenon of predictive prophecy, which the Modernists on the one hand deny as unscientific and the Fundamentalists on the other hand make the norm of prophetic function. If we accept the premise that God is in time. If, however, we consider with Einstein that this universe is a limited space-time continuum, that God being eternal cannot be limited in time, and that he has in fact made space-time as an essential part of his creation, then the if a prophet meets with God and looks at space-time as God sees, he will be able to look at and describe other parts of space-time. At face value, this is exactly what the prophetic books seem to do. They are a series of disjointed descriptions of vivid scenes at various points in the space-time continuum. Isaiah, for example, in chapter 53 sees the cosmic event of the death of the Son of God on the cross. He also saw other periods of history, such as the exile and restoration, as well as the events of his own century. if we draw a semi-circle representing time, and Put God at the center, then we can visualize the prophet leaving his own spot on the time circle, going to the center and out again along another radius to see or be a seer of another segment of space-time. "

Whereas the Modernist's problem is that he cannot believe that the prophet can foretell as well as forthtell, the Fundamentalist is too interested in the details of his man made prophetic charts to note the importance of social righteousness in God's plan for men and nations. It is true that God demonstrates his control of history by giving long-term and short-term prophecies of every major event in Scripture. The whole argument of Isaiah 41:21-48: 16 is based on the fact that God had predicted the earth-shaking events of the Seventh and sixth centuries B.C., while the idols had been dumbly silent. When the prophecies were fulfilled and Cyrus had completed his predicted appointment, Israel was to understand and be wise. This line of apologetics is part and parcel of biblical history, but it is evident that predictive prophecy was only a by-product from the point of view of the prophet himself, Peter tells us that in fact the predictions were enigmatic when delivered (I Pet. 1: 10- 1 2).

Most of what the prophets had to say concerned flesh and blood social situations, which were only too obvious to their hearers. Predictive prophecy was essential for God's historical revelation, but it is not essential to prophetic activity. Some of the New Testament prophets did give predictions, and we cannot rule out the possibility of prediction today; but whether or not there is an element of prediction, the prophetic voice is still essential for God's action in and through his people. " 

 "He who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" (I Cor. 14:3) but the main problem is that the  modern congregations still do not, and probably would not allow their minister to also be a prophet. But still the office of a pastor and a prophet are different offices, positions in reality. There are men of God who preach solely on behalf of God, financed solely by God, genuine prophets but sadly they still are too few.. 

  "Those so endowed were in no sense office-bearers in any one Christian community; they were not elected to an office; they were not set apart by any ecclesiastical ceremony; the Word of God came to them, and they spoke the message that had sent them. They came and went as they pleased. They were not responsible to any society of Christians. The local church could only test them as they appeared, and could receive or reject their ministrations. The picture of these wandering preachers, men burdened by no cares of office, with no pastoral duties, coming suddenly into a Christian community, doing their work there and departing as suddenly, is a vivid one in sub-apostolic literature."To fully support a man of God by a congregation with the freedom to be a prophet in the nation is still too often wrongfully unthinkable.

" Certainly John the Baptist had no hesitation in rebuking Herod Antipas. Some of the great patristic preachers, among them Chrysostom and Ambrose, addressed their words to emperors and empresses. They remind us of the prophetic tradition," "Spiritual concentration, prophetic preaching, mobility in the bloodstream of the body of Christ, discernment of the signs of the times, the rebuke of social wrongs, and the freedom to be a prophet without financial shackles-these are the marks of the gift of prophecy. God himself alone must call, the Holy Spirit must empower, but the church must recognize and make possible the exercise of the gift " by prayer.

We ALL should and need to  PRAY  that God might of his mercy raise up some MORE Prophets. Prophetesses such as Hoseas, Amoses, Deborahs, and Habakkuks, to speak from God to our proud, SINFUL,  sick world.

(Rom 15:30 KJV)  Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;

(1 Tim 2:1 KJV)  I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6  Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7  Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8  I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

(Rev 5:8 KJV)  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

(Rev 8:3 KJV)  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

(Rev 8:4 KJV)  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

(James 5:16 KJV)  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.17  Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

(1 Pet 3:12 KJV)  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

I also do  remember a specific time in my life when God was specifically asking me to go and to personally, face to face ask God's chosen Pastors even to repent, otherwise God would next act severely, and God did , about 18 evangelical pastors lost their jobs in the next short while in that one city alone. When I had entered into a local home for the first time a senior persons jumped with glee, they said you have been the person we, a group of them  had been regularly praying Tuesday mornings for, that  God would send someone to straighten up the churches and the bad Pentecostal pastors  But when it next came also time to rebuke their own local Baptist church pastor of sin they really now were not so happy to see me, and they next accused me wrongfully if being  now demon possessed. God does not show partiality.

"How do, or will  such Prophets, men fit into our Bachelor of Divinity level Seminary training program? The answer is simple. They do not, they will not, and they should not. Nor do they fit into our present man made scheme of the ordained ministry," otherwise they too next will become corrupted.

Jesus warned us against false prophets, right in your own church, false prophets whom he has not sent. Many of these will be told, "I never knew you: depart from me, you evildoers" (Matt. 7:15, 22). Large numbers of false prophets are mentioned by the New Testament writers, and Christians are responsible for testing them..  "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (11 Pet. 2:1-3; 1 John 4:1-6). Still one of the problems with all the gifts of the Spirit is that whenever they are truly exercised ungodly men will begin to duplicate them, We should beware of the self-styled . prophet. "By their fruits ye shall know them" is Christ's advice, and fruits do not appear overnight. Over a period of years a prophet will establish his right to be heard and the reliability of his word according to the written revelation of God and the good fruits of his preaching and in his own life... We need to watch for the false, but as in all other cases the existence of counterfeits is no argument for denying oneself the genuine.  The existence of the False prophets do not deny the validity that genuine prophets still exists.

(Acts 5:29 KJV)  Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men... and so do all genuine prophets, apostles now too.

Every Christian will and should  exercise mercy when there is an obvious need that he can meet, but some Christians will also give themselves entirely to the gift of mercy.  Mother Teresa for example. "I believe that Mother Teresa was another Special Gift to the World from God."   So also thus all true Christians are prophets, as Christ was,  and they will on occasion speak prophetically to a neighbor, on a committee, or in society; but some called men of God will readily give themselves full time to this role, much more exclusively to developing and using the prophetic gift imparted to them by the Holy Spirit for this purpose.  We need to listen to what they say as well.

(1 Cor 1:21 KJV)  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

(Acts 17:30 KJV)  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:31  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

(2 Pet 1:19 KJV)  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:  20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet 17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

(Eccl 7:16 KJV)  Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
 
(Eccl 7:17 KJV)  Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
 
(Luke 12:3 KJV)  Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
 
(Mat 10:27 KJV)  What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
(Mat 18:1 KJV)  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7  Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8  Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 
 
(Mat 23:11 KJV)  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
 
(Mat 23:12 KJV)  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
 
(Luke 11:49 KJV)  Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute:

(Mat 10:2 KJV)  Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

(Mat 11:13 KJV)  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
 
( Note Jesus the Apostle and the other Apostles expanded, clarified  next  the old testament teachings.. and all of the new testament books were written solely by an Apostle.)

(Mat 23:34 KJV)  Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

(Mat 7:15 KJV)  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

(Mat 24:24 KJV)  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
If in comparison the   false prophets  and false apostles exist, there must also still exists the genuine ones too..

(Acts 2:42 KJV)  And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

(Acts 2:43 KJV)  And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

(Acts 4:33 KJV)  And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

(Acts 4:35 KJV)  And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

(Acts 5:12 KJV)  And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.

(Acts 8:18 KJV)  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

(Acts 13:1 KJV)  Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
 
(Eph 2:20 KJV)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

(Eph 3:5 KJV)  Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;

(Eph 4:11 KJV)  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

I like the scriptures to firstly speak for themselves, on any topic now as well..

For a start we know that in the Church of Christ there were more than just the 12 original apostles.. An Apostle is a calling,  who job description is being the senior father of the church, he is generally the, an original church starter, he is the equivalent today of a Missionary, and he or she  tends to have all, note all of the gifts of the Holy spirit. Apostle are generally characterized by the much persecutions and sufferings they bear too.. One generally tends to work one way up in the church and the last administrative position is the Apostle.. the job below the apostle are the prophets who are often found in the company of apostles, and generally below the prophets are the pastors -teachers who take the advice from the Prophets.. many pastor teachers deny the existence of apostles, prophets cause they are in sin and falsely refuse to submit to their authorities.. Some pastors today actually function in the role of an Apostle, but do not use the title.. and the elders are made up of the local pastors teachers, prophets, apostles.. there are women apostles.. such as Junia (Rom 16:7 KJV)  Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me... and women prophetess (by the way Apostle and prophets can be divorcees.. while pastor teachers cannot..) Evangelists is a separate gifted persons to the church, also one of the elders, generally has a healing or miracles gifts,   tend to travel from church to church, city while missionaries tend to be fixed.. Generally in the local Church the apostle is referred to as an elder.. as are the prophets, pastor teachers, evangelists.. Now as to a ruling elder, the church administrator,  the Bishop...an apostle, he tends to be responsible for a specific flock of churches in the geographical area.. he is the the most senior original apostle or his gifted appointee. God selects and equips the church  leaders, the church confirms it..
 
(Heb 3:1 KJV)  Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
 
(Mat 21:11 KJV)  And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
 
(Luke 24:19 KJV)  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people
 
(John 6:14 KJV)  Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
 
Jesus was a Prophet, but was now also the first Apostle of the church, he was the Apostle, the Prophet too...
 
Examples of the fatherly aspects of an apostle..
 
(Gal 4:19 KJV)  My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
 
(1 John 2:1 KJV)  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
 
(1 John 3:18 KJV)  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
 
(Mark 10:14 KJV)  But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
 
Secondly apostle Paul clearly WAS NOT one OF THE original 12 OR the 13th apostle..
 
(1 Cor 1:1 KJV)  Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God
 
(1 Cor 9:1 KJV)  Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
 
Have you also noticed that trying to discuss spritual gifts with spiritual  fools tends to end up in fights? why?? Can you next really teach a fool who thinks he or she knows it all anyhting? no!  (Rom 14:1 KJV)  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. (Prov 9:9 KJV)  Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

The New Testament office of an Apostle supposedly also had no parallel for sure in the Old Testament and I would agree that a more  valid Biblical definition of an "Apostle is a matured Holy Spirit anointed Christian person who has experienced all the gifts of the Holy Spirit... in other words he the Apostle has also personally had functioned in the role of prophet, pastor, teacher, evangelist, miracle worker, healer, giver, helper.. etc., and that was why they have been given such  importance in their roles now too. Mind you that is a general definition, the original 12 Apostles and Apostle Paul do not fully meet this criteria.

EPHESIANS 2:20 still does reminds us that the church of today as well is "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone". Note the inclusion of the New Testament prophets with the apostles as the continual. ongoing foundation of the church. "That these prophets are NT prophets cannot be seriously questioned, especially in the light of Eph. 3:5 where the apostles and prophets again are found together as recipients of the revelation of the mystery that the Spirit has "now" made known." And the gift of prophecy to the church was also to be eagerly sought.
 
(Eph 4:11 KJV)  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Because many they have also wrongfully neglected the continual Greek verse tense here  in the passage, stating thus God keeps on giving these anointed persons, offices, some persons would wrongfully state that there is clear implications there being only one historic  "foundation" and that once a foundation is laid, it does not need to go on being laid thus pointing to a SUPPOSEDLY temporary nature and cessation of the office of Apostle.or Prophet now as well.
 
The Christian Church foundational, original organization plan,  while truly first set in Pentecost is actually repeated  daily today as well when we now do build any new church work. In any new local church work the apostles, and  the NT prophets are continually raised up by still by God for them to serve in the founding, foundations  of the new church work. Once this task was, is complete, these offices of apostles and prophet's were  still needed even next in the administration and expanding the new church work and even by next also building another one, Now how come some people do not want to see this too? "In Eph. 2:20, apostles and prophets are closely linked. They are both important components of the one foundation.  Ephesians would actually indicate that we are dealing with two groups of specifically gifted people. In Eph. 4:11 we are told that Christ "gave some to be apostles, some prophets..." Here both nouns have their own definite article. They are clearly two separate groups.  Let’s also STILL note the important position accorded to New Testament prophets. In Eph. 4:11 they are mentioned second only to apostles. Their importance is also seen in Rom. 12:6-8, where the first gift mentioned is prophecy. Similarly, 1 Cor. 12:28 lists "first apostles, second prophets, third..." "
 
(Rev 22:6 KJV)  And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
 
(Rev 22:9 KJV)  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
 
Like I have said one is not a Christian before one notice the vast difference between fundamental Christians, in particularly between the Pentecostals and the non Pentecostals.. the difference lies also in the aspects, emphasis  of the Holy Spirit, Spiritual Gifts, and the gifted Church members, offices too.,, such as even Apostles, Prophets.. and there are differences even on the issue of eternal security.. While both sides claim to believe the Bible is the word of God, they seem to explain it all very differently... the problem to me it seems is that clearly one group is doing it mostly in their own wisdom, not in God's, they are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide,  teach them, but rather the flesh, mere men and the devil.. but next each one says the other group is doing this.. the same professing Christian group that has a low emphasis on the Holy Spirit is the one in error.
(John 3:16 KJV)  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
  A house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25)  applies to  Churches, and our homes, and our marriages too.
 
God Bless you.
 
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