Seven Ministries of the Prophet

THE SEVEN MINISTRIES OF THE PROPHETbyJohn H. Painter , College Station,

Texas and Froukje Eibrink Jansen ,The Netherlands INTRODUCTION

There is, throughout the Bible, a model which God has used todescribe the Church's structure, processes, and history, withoutcalling attention to the model, itself. The model is so pervasivethroughout the Bible, that it is surprising that no one haspreviously called attention to it. The essence of the model is itsseven-foldness.For example, there are seven churches in the Book of Revelation whichexisted physically at the time of the prophet John's writing. But,his writing was for the end-time, the time in which we now findourselves. So, those seven churches are to exist spiritually, in thepresent time. To say this is to apply two of Steve Meeks' principlesfor prophetic interpretation, which say that prophecies are fulfilledfirst in the natural and next in the spiritual and that thesucceeding fulfillments expand in scope. Thus, the seven churches inAsia were a type of a spiritual reality for the end-time.Another kind of example of the seven-fold model is Jesus' owndescription of His ministry, delivered in His home-town synagogue atNazareth [Luke 4:18-19], at the time when He identified Himself as aprophet. He read the first six of a list of seven ministry items fromIsaiah 61. Paraphrased, He said that He had come to 1) Herald libertyto those captive, 2) Comfort those who mourn, 3) Call out the Lord'sacceptable timing, 4) Preach the dispatch of destitution, 5) Healthose whose hearts don't work right, and 6) Herald the restoration ofvision to those who can't see. But, Jesus stopped reading, there.What He did not read in Isaiah 61:2 was 7) Call out the day of pay-back. That final element of Jesus' ministry is reserved for Hiscoming appearance.The two examples above showed Church structure and Church process.There are many more of both in the Bible. For instance, Hebrews 6:1-2gives Christ's doctrinal principles for the Christian walk tomaturity. Psalm-51 shows David's counterpart to that progression. Theseven Jewish feasts, the seven Romans-12 gifts of grace, and many,many other "sevens" all fit the same basic pattern in structure,process, or sequence.The pattern is that which God commissioned Ezekiel to carefullypresent to the people [Ezek. 43:10-12], the pattern for the spiritualTemple of God. The pattern is most generally stated as a sequence of1) Faith, 2) Truth, 3) Spirit, 4) Power, 5) Ministry, 6) Doctrine,and 7) Perfection. That is, all the sevens of Church structure,process, and sequence partition nicely into the sevencharacterizations just listed. Observing together all the partitionedsevens then defines the seven listed characterizations, individually.But, the Plan of the Temple is not what is to be covered, here. Wehave simply given this introduction to show how the seven propheticministries fit into the whole picture of God's structures, processesand sequences for the end-times. The Temple teaching is presented ina different venue.THE SEVEN PROPHETIC MINISTRIES1. THE PSALMIST/REFRESHER/RELIEVER (Faith Context). As the titlesuggests, the prototype for this ministry was the prophet David [2Sam. 23:1-2]. All his life, David was a psalm-writer. But, hisearliest ministry was playing his harp, to the relief of Saul. WhenDavid played, Saul was refreshed, spiritually [1 Sam.16:23]. Thissame word, "refreshed", was used by Paul to describe how Onesiphorusministered to him in Rome and Ephesus [2 Tim. 1:16]. And, it was usedby Peter to refer to the effect that the presence of Jesus will havein the coming times of restoration, spoken of by all the prophets[Acts 3:19-20]. It is literally a lifting up of the soul.David dealt with the very foundations of the faith of his people. Hebuilt a new place of worship, into which God's presence moved, theTabernacle of David [2 Sam. 6:17]. He changed forever the manner ofthe ministry of the priesthood to God [1 Chr. 15,16], institutingthe "ordinance of David" [Ezr. 3:10]. The ordinance of David calledfor priestly praise, worship, and recording, directly before the arkof the presence of God. There was no mention of a separating curtainin David's Tabernacle.By the time of Jesus, the Jewish Church had become corrupt, and therewas again a curtain separating the priests from their God. This time,Jesus, the Son of David tore it, as a reminder of the forsakenordinance of David [Mat. 27:51]. But, it was James, in Acts 15, whomade the connection between simplified worship and David'sTabernacle. Bad Pharisaical teaching in the New Testament Church hadplaced a stumbling block in the way of the gentile believers. Theissue was whether or not Christians had to accept Jewishcircumcision, in order to be saved.James, speaking by the Holy Ghost, quoted Amos 9:11, and said thatthe real issue should not be the formalities of the institutionalchurch, but the basics of faith and worship, as in David'sTabernacle. (The first church works, so to speak.) This word wasshared with those Gentiles new to the faith, in Antioch, by JudasBarsabas and Silas, who were prophets [Acts 15:28]. It was a greatrelief to those who were the first to be known as Christians. TheAntioch Christians were spiritually relieved by the Judean prophets,Judas and Silas, just as previously their brothers in Judea had beenphysically relieved by those at Antioch [Acts 11:28-30]. Thus, thedoors of Jesus' Church were thrown open. Salvation would be by grace,through faith, and not by works [Eph. 2:8-9].This prophetic ministry is in the Faith Church, as typified byEphesus. This is the church that hated the Nicolaitans, literallythose who would overcome the laity. This ministry is to break throughthe legal, pharisaical formalities of the institutional church, toget back to the basics of praise, worship, and recording by thebeliever, in direct contact with God. In fact, it is for not doingthe first works that this Church is criticized by Jesus. It mustconcentrate on leading the believer immediately into the presence ofGod. This is a ministry of prophetic relief, while building again thefallen tabernacle of David [Acts 15:16].

2. THE ENCOURAGER/COMFORTER (Truth Context). This use of theword, "encourager," is in the building up sense of [1 Ths. 5:11],which combines the meanings of beseeching, comforting, and consoling.The Greek is paraklesis, which means literally to call one alongside(for aid). It connects prophecy with comfort and truth in the senseof [Acts 15:32], describing the follow-up ministry of Judas Barsabas and Silas at Antioch, after they had come to the spiritual relief ofthe brethren there.An Old Testament example of this ministry is Nathan, who encouraged David in his relationship with God [2 Sam.7] and later confronted David over his sin against God [2 Sam. 12]. Nathan first comforted David, but then brought him to the truth about himself. Nathan's veryname describes his ministry. It is "giving, to bring forth." Psalm 51sets forth the result of Nathan's ministry. That Psalm enumeratesDavid's seven foundational steps toward edification, which match thesequence: faith, truth, spirit, power, ministry, doctrine, andperfection.Another Old Testament example is Zechariah, who was raised up by Godto encourage the Church which had just come out of seventy years ofbondage in Babylon, and which was to rebuild the Temple. However,what Zechariah wrote then is also an encouragement now to thegeneration which is coming out of seventy years of bondagein "Babylon," and is to rebuild God's spiritual Temple. For, the bookof Zechariah is essentially a roadmap to the New Testament book ofRevelation.In the New Testament the counterpart of Nathan encouraging David isBarnabas encouraging Paul [Acts 13:2]. This he did until it came timeto encourage another, when Barnabas teamed with John Mark, hisnephew, who was vacillating and needed reassurance. As soon asBarnabas left with Mark, the prophet Silas stepped into the rolevacated by Barnabas. Silas, who had come to Antioch on a matter ofrelief dealing with basic faith, now moved into the role ofsupporter, traveling companion, and encourager of Paul. At thecorporate level, this ministry is to edify or build up an entirechurch, as a unified body. Together, Barnabas and Paul strengthenedthe souls of the disciples at Antioch. Judas and Silas also performedthis ministry to the brethrenThis prophetic ministry is in the Truth Church, typified by Pergamos,the church of faithful witness. But, even here the lie of theNicolaitans has taken hold, and stumbling-blocks are cast before thelaity. This ministry is to prophetically build up and strengthenindividuals, even leaders, in what the truth really is. This isthe "jump-starting" ministry. It is like the recoverable boosters fora Shuttle launch vehicle. It is to get a servant of God up andrunning. It is also to build up and strengthen the brethren ascorporate bodies, even entire churches.

3. THE EXHORTER/ANNOUNCER (Spirit Context). This is not the same kindof exhortation as for the previous, in the sense of comfort-giving.The word, "exhort," is not used in the Old Testament, and its NewTestament use uniformly means comfort-giving. The nearest meaning tothe present use is one who carries and gives a verbal messageor "signal." This is a prophetic announcer, in the sense of "… showyou plainly …" [John 16:25].The Old Testament prototype of this prophetic ministry is Samuel. Hisname means "to hear attentively, to show forth." His characteristicswere those of being straight-forward, obedient, and directly to thepoint. When Samuel showed up on an errand for the Lord, the elders trembled [1 Sam. 16:4]. Samuel heard from the Lord and did what heheard. He was a "real-time" prophet. That is, he continually heardfrom the Lord during the performance of the Lord's task. Elijah wasalso an exhorter, like Samuel. Samuel laid on hands, anointed withoil, and the Holy Spirit filled the recipient thereof [1 Sam. 16:13].The exhorter is sent by God to a specific place at a specific time tospeak the Word of God and show forth what the Lord is about to do.The prophet, John the Baptist, was an exhorter. He called the peopleto repentance, to prepare the way of the Lord. He was very plain-spoken. Another New Testament exhorter was the prophet Agabus. Hefirst was sent to warn the people that a drought was at hand [Acts11:28]. These exhorters are like football quarter-backs. They are signal callers. They call out signals for plays sent into the game bythe Coach. The word, "signal," used in [Acts 11:28] is "semaino,"from which we get the English word, "semaphore."This prophetic ministry is in the Spirit Church, typified by Smyrna,which name means the oil of anointing. This is a church troubled bytribulation and blasphemy and false witness. It looks like it's goingdown to death, but its path is to life. This ministry is toprophetically exhort the saints to hear God for themselves by faith,and to receive the Holy Spirit. That is, the ministry is to lead thesaints to spirituality, the things of the Spirit, such as prophecyand the anointing. It is also to bear the warnings of God.


4. THE WATCHMAN/INTERCESSOR (Power Context). A watchman is someonewho watches over something, in the sense of guarding it. He bothguards and speaks. The characteristics and context of the end-timesprophetic Watchman are best seen in the Old Testament. There, we seethat the Watchman is associated with such end-times concepts as TheFall of Babylon, travailing like women in birth, the threshing floor[Isa. 21], and the day of visitation on the Church [Mic. 7:4].Ezekiel, who brings us the detailed description of God's spiritualTemple, was set by God as a Watchman, bringing His warning to boththe wicked and the righteous. That is, a watchman deals with both theunsaved and the saved. Habakkuk was such a watchman. He guarded andspoke God's end-times vision for the Church [Hab. 2:1-3]. Paul quotedhim, in speaking God's vision to both the Church and to theunbelievers in Antioch [Acts 13:13-49].The prophet, Habakkuk, operated as both watchman and intercessor. Hisministry as watchman was to the Church. His ministry as intercessorwas to God. Concerning the end-times, Habakkuk interceded with God,that in His wrath He would remember mercy [Hab. 3:2].The New Testament example of this ministry was Ananias, whom Jesussent to restore Paul's sight in Damascus [Acts 9:10-18]. Jesus gaveAnanias a vision of Paul's ministry. Ananias relayed this vision toPaul, and laid hands on him so that his physical vision might bemiraculously restored and he might be filled with the Holy Ghost.Miraculous signs, laying on of hands, and filling with the Holy Ghostare the marks of this prophetic ministry. The watchman/intercessorbears the Lord's current vision for the Church and delivers it. And,the speaking of the vision is authenticated by power-miracles andsigns.This prophetic ministry is in the Power Church, typified by Thyatira,a church of increasing works. But this church tolerates the falseprophetess, Jezebel, that manipulator of the leadership. Thisministry is to prophetically speak God's vision for the Church to thesaved and unsaved alike and to demonstrate God's miraculous powerthat attends such prophetic preaching and intercession. It is also towatch over both the vision and the Church.


5. THE COUNSELOR/DELIVERANCE MINISTER (Ministry Context). If you have heard the descriptor, "a Pastor's Pastor," that is what thisprophetic ministry is. The Old Testament prototype for this propheticminister is Elihu, Job's counselor [Job 33]. He was Spirit-filled andprophetic at Job's request [Job 33:6]. That is, he was counseling,prophetically, upon request. He dealt in the understanding ofrelationships. He led Job to the understanding of the relationshipbetween God and Job. He told Job exactly how God works with man. Heexplained about God's power and authority and man's insufficiency andneed to trust God. Elihu spoke not just to Job, but to all "wise men"[Job 34:2]. He explained to them the precise methods by which Godoperates with man. And, all the while, Elihu was speaking by theSpirit. It's five chapters worth. And five is God's ministry number.The key to this prophetic ministry is in [Job 33].In chapter 33, Elihu explained to Job five times that it was his soulthat was being dealt with. Elihu was bringing deliverance for Job'ssoul. He was showing Job the way for his soul to go from death tolife. And, it was Jesus, the ultimate counselor, the way, the truth,and the life [John 14:6], who said that knowledge of Him would removethe burdens of the soul [Mat. 11:28-29]. What He said was that Hewould "rest up" the soul. And, it would be through a relationship.And, this word, "rest up," is the same one Paul used, referring tothe spiritual refreshing he got from Philemon and from Stephanas,Fortunatus, and Achaicus [1 Cor. 16:17], who are New Testamentexamples.In [Gal. 6:1-2], Paul exhorted those who are "spiritual" to repairthose believers who are overtaken in a fault. The spiritual are tobear one another's burdens so as to fulfill the prescriptions ofChrist. For, in Christ, we may give rest to the souls of theburdened. The elders who were called in [James 5] also functioned inthis ministry.This prophetic ministry is in the Ministry Church, typified bySardis, a church of incomplete works, where many wear defiledgarments. This church needs to strengthen those things which are sickand dying. The ministry is to counsel the people prophetically,through the counselor's relationship with The Counselor. It is doneon request of those seeking rest for their souls. It is toprophetically lead them to see the relationship between themselvesand God. It is to first deliver and then rest their souls. And it isto be done as a service.


6. THE SEER IN THE WORDS OF GOD (to lift up the horn). (DoctrineContext). The Old Testament prototype for this minister was Heman [1Chr. 25:5]. He was David's Seer in the words of God. He was also amusician, a player of cymbals, who was among the number chosen byname to usher the Ark of God into its new place in the Tabernacle ofDavid [1 Chr. 15:17]. There, he ministered both as a musician and asa giver of thanks to the Lord for His perpetual mercy. Outside theTabernacle, he was David's Seer in the words of God, to lift up thehorn. This latter description has within it two main ideas.The (Septuagint) Greek for "Seer in the words of God" is quite hardto render into English. Literally, this word "seer" comprises threeGreek words describing one who knocks (as on a door) upward to aking. Then there are three more Greek words which mean "in the wordsof God." Connected to this first idea by a comma are two more Greekwords meaning, "lifting up a horn." Lifting up (exalting) a singlehorn is most easily connected with the horn of anointing oil [Psa.92:10]. From the corresponding Hebrew, Heman, as a seer, envisionedin the words of God. That is, the words of God were substantivelyvisual to him. And, his envisioning had to do with lifting up a hornof anointing or salvation. It is Jesus, the Anointed One from thehouse of David, who is our horn of salvation [Luke 1:69].In the New Testament, there is a Greek word which manages to capturethis kind of envisioning. It means, literally, a mental puttingtogether, an understanding. Paul said that God gave him suchunderstanding of the mystery of Christ by revelation [Eph. 3:2-5]. Hesaid that this kind of understanding is given to prophets andapostles by the Holy Spirit.The New Testament shows a group of such ministers, including Simon,Lucius, and Manaen, lifting up the horn to anoint Paul and Barnabasfor service, by order of the Holy Spirit [Acts 13:1-3]. They areprophets and teachers. They are ministers to God in the same way asHeman in David's Tabernacle. And, the Holy Spirit speaks to themduring such ministry.The Seers in the words of God work in the Doctrinal Church, typifiedby Laodicea. That church is the one blinded by pride in its ownknowledge, thinking it has it all, not knowing it has nothing. Theseprophetic ministers work at the highest governing level, formulatingoperational instructions [2 Chr. 29:25]. The level of theseinstructions even go down to the words of the praise songs [2 Chr.29:30]. That is, these seers write instructions (even books) abouthow to do things in worship and in ministering to the Lord. Theseseers are teachers, but at the corporate level. Because they dealwith how God wants things done, they deal in what the New Testamentcalls doctrine. Seers in the words of God are promulgators ofcorporate-level doctrine. In the end-times warfare context, theseseers are like the discerning children of Issachar, who could seewhat the Church ought to do [1 Chr. 12:32].



7. THE JUDGE/INTERPRETER (Perfection or Completion Context). The OldTestament prototype of this final prophetic ministry is Daniel (Godis Judge). His characteristics were those of being able to judgethings that combined both the physical and the spiritual. Hisjudgment of the physical was on a spiritual basis. Even unbelieverswere able to attribute his apparent understanding and wisdom to anindwelling holy God [Dan. 5:11]. He interpreted spiritually even themost mysterious physical happenings [Dan. 5:26-28], discerning God'swill. And, his judgments in the physical were of the utmost seriousness and effect [Dan. 5:30].This ministry combines prophecy with spiritual wisdom, spiritual judgment, and knowledge of the will of God. Notice that we are nottalking about those who are wise in the wisdom of this physicalworld. We are talking about spiritual men (genre, not gender), whooperate in the prophetic, to the making of judgments in the Church.We are talking about those who speak wisdom among the mature [1 Cor.2:6]. And, these judgments are of several sorts. First is making comparisons of spiritual things [1 Cor. 2:13]. Then, there is thesizing up of things, through spiritual discernment [1 Cor. 2:14]. Aspiritual man makes these kinds of judgments, but is not subject tothe absolute judgment of any man [1 Cor. 2:15]. We are to absolutelyjudge not the man, but what the man says [1 Cor. 14:37], [1 Cor.10:15] among the mature.Such prophetic wisdom comes as a supernatural gift [1 Cor. 12:8]. Itis to be applied in meekness [Gal. 6:1], [Jas. 3:13], which is aquality of the mature. Those who operate in this way are referred toas "fathers." And, Paul says that there are not many of them [1 Cor.4:15]. They are men who understand the will of God and who buy backthe time lost to evil days [Eph. 5:17].The shining example of such a person in the New Testament is Stephen,the deacon [Acts 6:8-7:60]. He it was who showed forth such dynamicpower and wonders and miracles that he drew the attention of theJewish church hierarchy. They were not able to resist the wisdom andthe spirit by which he spoke (wisdom - an attribute of the HolySpirit [Ex. 31:3]), so they brought a false accusation against him.In reply, he taught the institutional church leaders so magnificentlythat they were cut to the heart. So they killed him. But, even as hewas dying, he saw the glory of God and testified that fact to hiskillers. And, in mercy, he prayed that this sin might not be laid tohis killers' charge for judgment.This prophetic ministry is in the Perfection Church, typified byPhiladelphia. It is the Church for which Jesus opens the door. Theprophetic ministry here is to apply spiritual wisdom given by theHoly Spirit to the judgments needed in governing the mature church.It is a ministry for those who know the will of God, "To the intentthat now unto the principalities and powers in heaven might be known,through the church, the manifold wisdom of God." [Eph. 3:10] And,this spiritual judgment is to be tempered with mercy. Because thosewho show no mercy in judgment shall be subject to judgment [Jas.2:13]. It was Jesus who rebuked the Pharisees [Mat.12:7],the "fathers" of the institutional church, about not knowing whatmercy meant in the context of judging. He was quoting [Hos. 6:6],God's rebuke against Israel's legalistic hypocrisy.CONCLUSION Restoration of the Prophetic Ministries. In looking back over theseven prophetic ministries, it is apparent that we have already seenthe first five of them manifested in the Church. The Psalmist we haveseen, such as Dudley Hall, cutting prophetically through thetrappings of the institutional church, to get back to thefundamentals of faith and worship. Encouragers, we have seen, withNeil Anderson's dealing with the truth being a good example.Prophetic Exhorters we have seen, from itinerant prophets such as Cindy Jacobs to Internet ministries. Watchmen/Intercessors we haveseen, such as Rees Howells. Peter Wagner has documented tha tministry for today. The prophetic Counselor we have seen, inministers such as Neil Anderson, getting down to the hands-onfundamentals of relationships. But, Judges we have not yet seen. And,Seers in the words of God, we are only just now beginning to see.It would appear that the seven ministries of the prophet are beingrestored to match God's modern historical restoration of the Church.That is, God has restored the churches of Faith, Truth, Spirit,Power, and Ministry. So, the prophetic ministries in those churches have also been restored. God is now restoring the church of Doctrine in His sixth move, and the corresponding sixth prophetic ministry isnow also being restored. We can expect the Judge to be restored atabout the time of the seventh, final move of God's restoration. Infact, it is the prophetic ministries of the Seer in the Word of Godand of the Judge that we see operating in Revelation 11 in the handsof the "Two Prophets." They shall be the final witnesses and martyrsin the time of the Great Tribulation.The Unknown Prophets. In the above exposition of the seven propheticministries, the New Testament examples of such ministers wererelative unknowns. That is, the prophets were not apostles, but werelesser figures, some of whom functioned as deacons or teachers. Thenames of some were not even given. This relative anonymity of theprophets is in line with prophecies that are now being heard in theChurch, with respect to the current (sixth) move of God. It is nowbeing prophesied that the prophets of the end-times moves will beanonymous. They will not be widely known, outside of propheticcircles. There is Bible support for this view. But, that is anotherstory.