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Posted on : 05 Mar, 2006
Subject : Prophets, Prophetesses & Seers
Prophets, Prophetesses & Seers
Elohim [God] promised, through the prophet Joel, that in the last days, the spiritual gifts of prophecy, spiritual dreams, and visions would be restored among believers.[1] “And it shall be in the last days, says Elohim, that I shall pour out of My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and also on My male servants and on My female servants I shall pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.” [Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17-18]
The gifts of prophecy and spiritual visions were not limited to ‘Old Testament times.’ We find that prophets and prophetesses are mentioned both ‘testaments’ – the older and the newer. In 1st Corinthians 13:2, Paul referred to the gift of prophecy, and the ability to understand mysteries. Agabus had the gift of prophecy, as well as the four daughters of Philip. [Acts 21:9-10] Anna, one who identified the infant Jesus as the Messiah, was also called a prophetess. [Luke 2:36] In addition to the many prophets who wrote or are mentioned in the Old Testament [such as Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel], there were also prophetesses [including Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah].
Prophets
Generally, we use the word ‘prophet’ to refer to anyone, male or female, who delivers the revealed word of Elohim. The Hebrew words navi [Strong’s 5030] and naviyah [5031] signify a man or a woman who brings and announces Divine messages. The Greek words are prophetes [Strong’s 4396] and prophetis [4398] The Hebrew root word can mean ‘to be called’, as well as ‘to bubble up’. The Greek word means ‘one who is moved by the Spirit’, and particularly ‘one who foretells’. A prophet or prophetess is a messenger of Elohim. A prophet may deliver an exhortation, a sermon, a warning, or words of consolation. A prophet or prophetess may give interpretation of Yahweh’s word. Prophets and prophetesses frequently communicate through [difficult-to-understand] symbolism.
Prophets often reveal things, by foretelling events before they occur. [This aspect of prophecy best fits with the Greek word prophetes.] In that context, a prophet or prophetess may be a ‘revelator’. Although the word ‘revelator’ does not appear in the Bible, we commonly speak of the John who recorded the book of Revelation as John ‘the revelator’. Certainly, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets were ‘revelators’ – they revealed things, through the Spirit, centuries before they would occur.
Careful reading of the Scriptures tells us a number of things about prophets. One interesting fact is that they are privileged to know only part of Divine will. They may have an opinion of their own, which may be different from God’s will. Nathan, for example, gave King David his opinion that he ought to build a temple, but Yahweh corrected him, and told him otherwise. [2nd Samuel 7:1-5]
Prophets, prophetesses and seers are human, and are subject to common passions, weaknesses, faults and flaws. Daniel served as the chief magician in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. [Daniel 4:8-9] David, Mormon, and Moroni served as generals of their respective armies, and were responsible for the battlefield deaths of many men. Yahweh commanded the prophet Hosea to marry a woman who was harlot before he met her; she was unfaithful to him, but he was commanded to buy her back and marry her again. [Hosea 1-3] Abraham, Jeremiah, David and Peter infrequently told lies. [Genesis 12:10-29; Jeremiah 38:24-29; 1st Kings 2:8-9; Matthew 26”69-75] A few prophets killed people in non-combatant circumstances, including Moses, Samuel, Elijah, and Nephi. [Exodus 2:11; 1st Samuel 15:33; 1st Kings 18:40; 1st Nephi 4:16-18 (1:118-120)]. Jonah was very angry with Yahweh. [Jonah 4:1,9] King David’s life is an example of multiple instances of poor judgment, and the many human frailties that a prophet may have.[2] David committed adultery with Bathsheba, conspired to murder her husband, failed to follow a number of Scriptural and standard political laws, and he did not always measure out justice fairly. And in an eccentric quirk, he danced through the streets of Jerusalem naked, with joy!
Prophets and seers held regular occupations, such as shepherd, judge, tentmaker, fisherman, and king.
Prophets followed practices that may seem unusual to present-day church-goers. Some listened to music in order to focus their attention more firmly upon Elohim, before receiving prophecy. [2nd Kings 3:15; 1st Samuel 10:5; 1st Chronicles 25:1; Psalm 91:14, 20:6, 118:10] Some prophets and apostles went into a state of trance. The prophet Balaam fell into a trance, and Peter and Paul each fell into ecstatic trances. [Numbers 24:4&16; Acts 10:10, 11:51, 22:17] Elijah prayed or meditated in the unusual position of having his face between his knees. [1st Kings 18:42] Isaac, David, Jeremiah, and Nephi meditated or pondered to prepare to receive inspiration. [Genesis 24:63; Psalm 1:1-2, 5:1, 19:14, 63:5-6, 77:11-12; Lamentations 2:19; 1st Nephi 11:1 (3:37-38)]
Seers
A more specific word used to describe one with a particular type of prophetic gift is the word ‘seer’. A seer is, literally, ‘one who sees’. It is based upon the Hebrew word ra-ah / ro-eh [Strong’s 7200] that means ‘to have vision’ or ‘to perceive’. A seer may envision things that are past, present, or future. There was a time when prophets were generally called seers. [1st Samuel 9:9] “The king said that a seer is greater than a prophet. And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a many may have great power given him from God. But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things where are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by then which otherwise could not be known. Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becomes a great benefit to his fellow beings.” [Mosiah 8:15-18 (5:76-81)]
Yahshua [Jesus] was God in human flesh. The Messiah manifested all of the spiritual gifts we find in the scriptures, including the gift of ‘seeing’ [as well as healing, teaching, discerning spirits, revelation, and so forth]. Two examples of Jesus exhibiting the gift of a seer are found in the Gospel of John. The first is in John 1:47 and following, in which He saw Nathaniel before He met him. The second example is His meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well, in which he told her of her personal circumstances. [John 4:7+] The specific spiritual gift evident in each of these instances was the gift of a Seer – literally seeing events or information about someone.
Another Hebrew word that is translated as ‘seer’ is hozeh, which literally means ‘one who sees visions’ [Strong’s 2372]. Elohim communicates particular messages to prophets and seers through spiritual dreams and spiritual images. [Numbers 12:6-8] Prophets may also hear God’s voice [either audibly, or within themselves].
Seers were consulted by individuals, by the king, or by a quorum of elders. They asked the seer specific spiritual questions, or sought advice in certain matters. Sometimes seers were consulted about very mundane matters. For example, Saul sought direction from Samuel the seer in order to find some livestock that was lost. [1 Samuel 9:5ff]
In some instances, seers used tangible instruments to translate unknown languages, or to receive revelation. In some cases the seer had ‘interpreters’ or a ‘seer stone’. The Urim and Thummim [meaning Lights and Perfection in ancient Hebrew] were two stones that were used by the Seer or High Priest to obtain a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer from the Creator. [Numbers 27:21; 1 Samuel 28:6] There is no indication that the Urim and Thummim were used to translate languages, but they were implements used to facilitate discerning Divine will.[3] Two stones used by the Nephite seers for interpreting languages. [Ether 3:23, 4:5 (1:88, 99)] “And whosoever is commanded to look in [the Interpreters], the same is called seer.” [Mosiah 8:13 (5:74)] An individual seer stone, which could be used by a seer to translate, was one of the sacred objects that were kept with the ancient records. “And the LORD said, I will prepare unto my servant Gazelam a stone which shall shine forth in darkness unto light.” [Alma 37:23 (17:55)]
Some prophets used objects for divination to determine Elohim’s will. Joseph of Egypt used a cup, probably filled with water or wine. [Genesis 44:5, 15] Elisha helped King Joash use a bow and arrow for the purpose of divining the outcome of battles. [2nd Kings 13:14-19] Among the Nephites, the Liahona, a ball containing spindles, was used to determine in which direction the people should travel. [1 Nephi 16:10-29 (5:11-36); Alma 37:38-47 (17:71-84)]
Seeing visions is a spiritual gift. Paul and Moroni described one of the spiritual gifts that would potentially be among the saints[4] is the “beholdingof angels and ministering spirits”. [Moroni 10:14 (10:11)] The gift of the “discerning of spirits” is mentioned in 1st Corinthians 12:10.
An example of a spiritual vision is found in the 16th chapter of the book Acts. Beginning in the 9th verse of that chapter it says that Paul had a vision in which appeared to him a man from Macedonia [a place with which Paul was unfamiliar]. In the vision, the man Paul saw begged him to come and give them spiritual help. After Paul saw the vision, he immediately made arrangements to preach the gospel in Macedonia.
In the Present Day
Again we are reminded that the Father promised that the time would come when the Spirit would come upon people, and “sons and daughters will prophesy, old men will dream [spiritual] dreams, and young men will see visions.”[Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17] The Messiah promised that His followers, after His ascension, would do “greater things” than He had done. [John 14:12] This is to say that the saints would do the same types of things, but in greater numbers. The gift of prophecy is one of the spiritual gifts with which believers may be blessed in the present day. Paul actually encouraged the saints to desire the gift of prophecy. [1st Corinthians 14:1]
What might a seer see? Based upon examples in the Scriptures, a seer might perceive various types of visions. There may be magnificent and mysterious visions, such as Ezekiel had of the Throne of Yahweh, John and Daniel had of the panorama of time, and that Lehi and Nephi had of the Tree of Life. The visions may include remotely seeing or sensing someone’s circumstances, such as Messiah did in regard to Nathaniel and the Samaritan woman at the well, or as Samuel had in locating the Saul’s family’s missing livestock. Or the seeing or sensing of conditions or circumstances may occur when laying hands on someone during prayer. Many seers [and others] were instructed by angels, who appeared to them. The visions of a seer may consist of the ministering spirit of someone deceased or living, appearing to and speaking to the seer – such as Moses and Elijah appearing to the Savior, or the Macedonian man appearing to Paul [5], or Samuel appearing to Saul. A seer may be gifted to interpret ancient tongues. Seers may receive prophetic revelations to foretell or warn the people of Elohim.
Contrary to recommendations and practices of some present-day charismatic evangelical leaders, receiving prophecy and seeing spiritual visions are not things to be learned or faked.[6] Prophecy is one of the spiritual gifts – and a gift is not something and individual decides to take. Although Paul encouraged the saints to desire the gift of prophecy, and one can cultivate the gift of seership – a person cannot commandeer it. A spiritual gift is an endowment conferred upon an individual [or group of individuals] through the transcendent power of Eloah – the Holy Spirit.
The genuine Spirit-bestowed gifts of prophecy and seership have not ceased. Although some in the present age shy away from using the titles of ‘prophet’, ‘prophetess’, or ‘seer’, the gifts, themselves, should be expected among the people of God. Solomon wrote: “when there is no [prophetic] vision[7] the people will perish.” [Proverbs 29:18] Prophets, prophetesses and seers should help lead, strengthen, benefit and bless the present-day assembly of believers with their various Spirit-imparted gifts.
David Bruce Clark
Lion of God Ministries PO Box 33 Oak Grove MO 64075
[1] There are those who do not believe that God manifests through spiritual gifts any longer. Such persons or denominations, of course, are those who have never experienced any of these gifts or blessings.
[2] The apostle Peter referred to King David as a prophet [Acts 2:30], and Paul said, in spite of David’s sins, he was a man after God’s own heart. [Acts 13:22]
[3] It is possible that the Urim & Thummim were used in a manner similar to casting or selecting lots. Although foreign to our present way of thinking, sortilege (casting or choosing of lots) was sanctioned by Elohim, and was used in the ancient congregations of believers. [See Leviticus 16:8-10; 1 Chronicles 24:5, 25:8, 26:13; Proverbs 16:33; Acts 24-26]
[4] ‘Saints’ is a title for the people of the covenant. Examples of its use include: Psalm 50:5, Romans 1:7, 1st Corinthians 1:2
[6] Certain charismatic teachers say that we ought to overlook their false prophecies, as well as the false prophecies of those who are ‘learning’ to prophecy. Deuteronomy 18:20-22 tells us we ought not associate with false prophets. No one should treat lightly speaking in the Name of the Lord. [Jeremiah 14:14-15, 23:32; Ezekiel 13:7, 22:28]
[7] The same word used by Joel, meaning prophetic vision or prophecy.
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