Bible Question:
Was Christ the last prophet to come to earth? What I mean is . . . are there others who are considered to be able to communicate with God as Moses and Abraham did?
Bible Answer:
Jesus Christ is alive and is watching us read these words. He returned to life after His death and is alive in heaven today. He is many things to us. He is our Creator – our God! He came to earth 2,000 years ago to become our Savior. Some day everyone will realize that Jesus is the Lord of all. Jesus is our Creator, Savior, Lord, King, and God. He is also the greatest prophet that has ever existed and He is our faithful and merciful High Priest.
The Ancient Prophets
A prophet is one who speaks for God. The actual Greek word means “to tell forth” or an “utterance on behalf of another.” A prophet can give a prediction about the future if God gives him that kind of message. The Old Testament prophets and apostles also spoke for God when they wrote scripture. Sometimes they did not completely understand what they were writing.
As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. (NASB) 1 Peter 1:10-11
But there is a difference between the prophets in the Old Testament and Jesus. The Old Testament prophets were not Jesus’ equal. They wrote about Jesus who is their God, Savior, and Lord. They predicted His coming. Here is a short list of the major prophets that God spoke with: Abraham (Gen. 12:1-2), Moses (Ex. 3:5-6), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10-11), Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1), Elijah (1 Kings 19:9-10), Isaiah (Isa. 6:8), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4), and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:3). There are other prophets in the Old Testament who interacted with God, but these are the major ones. In the New Testament the apostles should also be considered prophets, since they spoke out for God.
Modern Prophets
Prophets also exist today, but there are none in the sense of being able to predict the future. Some years ago a Christian man approached a teacher of the Word of Truth and told him that he was a prophet. He did not mean that his words had the same authority as God’s own words – the Bible. Nor did he mean that the man was predicting the future. He was referring to the fact that his preaching and teaching of the Bible was with power, boldness, and strong exhortation. The real authority behind any teacher or preacher is the Holy Spirit, who applies the words that are spoken or written to the hearts, minds, and emotions of those who are listening. The responsibility of the one who ‘tells forth” is to accurately communicate what God has said in the Bible and not invent new meaning. It is his/her responsibility to accurately explain the meaning of the Bible. A true prophet is one who accurately says what God has said. If he fails, he is not a prophet of God. Here is what God thinks about one who claims to be a prophet and yet does not speak the truth.
And the LORD said . . . “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them . . .” (NASB) Jeremiah 14:14
Your prophets have seen for you False and deceptive visions; They have not uncovered your iniquity . . . (NASB) Lamentations 2:14
New Revelation
The Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles were endorsed by Jesus as those who had spoken and would speak for God (Luke 11:49; Ephesians 2:20). Jesus did not recognize anyone else. Since the apostle John, the last apostle, who wrote the last book in the Bible – Revelation, there is no one else who can add to the words of the Bible. Jesus did not recognize anyone else. The Bible is complete.
I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book. (NASB) Revelation 22:18-19
Conclusion:
The apostle John was a prophet too! But Jesus is the greatest prophet of all time since He was God Himself. He spoke for Himself!