Blogotional

The charasmatic/cessationism debate has really come down to a discussion of "prophecy." Each side defines the word differently, and they argue about the proper definitions, but they both stand more or less in the same place, save for the vocabulary. Jollyblogger argues the importance of the vocabulary this way

But semantics are vitally important here. In the Bible when someone uttered a prophecy they began or ended the prophetic saying with a "thus sayeth the Lord," or "the Holy spirit says" as in the case of Agabus. The Biblical prophet was doing so much more than offering his own interpretations of spontaneous impressions, he was speaking the very words of God.

The traditional formulation of a prohetic utterance is indeed "Thus sayeth the Lord." I posted on the extreme danger of this phrase last week. Charismatics seem to want to hold onto the idea of "impressions" as prophecy. As someone planted firmly in the middle of this debate, I would like to offer an alternative that I hope will please everybody.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia has a rather lengthy entry under "Preacher, Preaching." I'd like to pull a couple of quotes from it

3. A Man with a Message:

His work is always to be related to the Old Testament and New Testament. His sermon is under the creed of his church as the creed is under the word. The preacher is a man with a message, and the preacher who has no message of the particular kind indicated above is in no true sense a preacher. It has been well expressed in one of the valuable Yale series of lectures on the subject, "Every living preacher must receive his communication direct from God, and the constant purpose of his life must be to receive it uncorrupted and to deliver it without addition or subtraction." When he presents the message of his divinely-appointed ambassadorship in its integrity, he speaks with that peculiar kind of "authority" which has been pronounced "the first and indispensable requisite" in giving a message from God. He manifests thereby a "high celestial dogmatism," and "human weakness becomes immortal strength." The true preacher preaches from a divine impulsion. He says with Paul, "Necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16; compare Jeremiah 20:9). He says with Peter, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye: for we cannot but speak the things which we saw and heard" (Acts 4:19,20). The message of the preacher is greater than the man, because it is from God. It largely makes the man who preaches it in its fullness and power. Whatever be his own gifts or whatever the alleged gift conferred in the laying on of hands, without the sense of the message he is not chosen of God to proclaim His word. Destitute of that, he does not have the sustaining impulse of his vocation to enlist his entire personality in his work and give him mastery over the minds and hearts of men.

From later in the same entry:

9. Fundamental Postulates:

Upon the basis of what is taught in the word of God there are two fundamentally important postulates concerning preaching and the preacher.

(1) Preach the Word.

The first note of preaching is that it be the word of God (2 Timothy 4:2). Out of the Bible must the life of every generation of Christians be fed. To Holy Scripture, therefore, ought the pulpit to abide faithful, for out of its treasures the preacher fulfils his double office of edifying believers and subjugating the world to Christ. There must always be an organic connection between the word in the text and the sermon.

(2) "We Are Ambassadors."

The work of preaching is the fulfillment of a divinely instituted ambassadorship (2 Corinthians 5:20). The gospel is put into the hands of men for a distinct purpose, and is to be administered in accordance with the plan of its author. The preacher is in a very distinct sense a trustee. "But even as we have been approved of God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God who proveth our hearts" (1 Thessalonians 2:4). Those who have accepted the responsibility imposed upon them by this divine commission are enjoined to exercise their office so as to warrant the approbation of Him who has appointed them to a specific work. The homiletic practice of taking theme of every sermon from a passage of Holy Writ has been an almost invariable rule in the history of the church. It is the business of the preacher to present the truth embodied in the text in its integrity. In the exercise of his divinely-appointed ambassadorship he is to administer God's word revealed to Christian faith, not human opinions or speculations.

After reading all of that, it would appear that "preaching," when properly done, meets the formulation of "thus sayeth the Lord" but it does so out of Scripture and not out of any sense of special revelation. Thus I consider a preacher to be the New Testament holder of the office of prophet and to have the gift of prophecy.

I also think this definition of prophecy of consistent with the Old Testament office of prophet. While there are exceptions (Daniel's dreams, Isiah's foretelling of Christ as examples) in large part the prophetic literature of the Old Testament is an interpretation (exegesis?) of the Torah. The phrase "thus sayeth the Lord" is generally in the context of a quotation or restatement of existing scripture rather than it is a "specific word."

I would also note that the exceptions to the "preaching" rule comes with a whole lot more attached than "impressions." They are vivid and detailed dreams or visions. I can't rule out the possibility in the New Testament age, but it was pretty rare in their age, and I think in ours. It is also notable that it was rarely recognized for what it was in the Old Testament age. I'm not sure we'd know it if we saw it.

Thus my middle ground proposal is this. The gift of prophecy and office of prophet continues today, it is seen in the pulpit. Special revelation does not exist today. I don't rule it out it's possibility, but nothing has yet to reach the sufficient proof level, and in fact, probably nothing can absent long historical perspective. Impressions may be validly guided by the Holy Spirit, but do not rise to the level of prophecy and can never be associated with the phrase (or it's synonyms) "Thus sayeth the Lord."

My desire here is to satisfy the charismatic that the gift continues, and the cessationist that special revelation does not -- mostly in hopes of moving the discussion onto other gifts. Other gifts are to my mind even more prickly and dangerous.