The work of the Spirit is somewhat subjective. It relates to our feelings, emotions and intuition. However, God has also given us a very objective means of discerning truth and His will. That involves “prophecies.”

Well, what are “prophesies?” What do you think of when you read this word?

When Paul uses the word “prophecies,” he means authoritative messages from God. The Old Testament prophets did not speak of their own accord but punctuated their messages with “Thus saith the Lord.” Their messages were warnings for the people to repent and promises of what God would do in the future.

Nahum called the Nineties to repent or perish. They didn’t repent and they perished. In the New Testament, we find the same thing. John the Baptist called repentance because of the coming Kingdom of God.

All biblical “prophecy” contains both fore-telling and forth-telling. Even today when I stand and declare the Word of God to you, biblically this is prophecy.

Evidently, in the Thessalonian church, there were certain people with the gift of prophecy. The New Testament was not yet complete. The canon of Scripture was not yet closed. The Lord was still revealing truth through these messengers. Ephesians 2:20 says the church is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” These New Testament prophecies were the “foundation” and we continue to build on that by teaching the Apostle’s Doctrine today.

So, let’s listen to and follow the direct, authoritative Word of God.