Prophecy Then and Now: From Prediction to Participation

  Prophecy Then and Now: From Prediction to Participation

Prophecy is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Scripture today. For many, it still conjures up images of ancient seers forecasting world events or modern "prophets" predicting national politics and global timelines.
It’s time we distinguish Old Covenant prophecy from New Covenant prophecy—not just in method, but in purpose, function, and duration.



1. Old Covenant Prophecy: Divine Decrees Within a Covenant of Shadows

Under the Old Covenant, prophecy was authoritative revelation given directly to specific prophets to warn, instruct, or reveal what God had sovereignly planned for Israel and the nations. The prophetic word came as a "Thus says the Lord" directive, often accompanied by strong warnings of judgment or promises of future deliverance.

Why? Because Israel lived under a covenant of law, land, and lineage. Their history was intimately tied to covenantal blessings and curses (Deut. 28). God, as the covenant Lord, acted in history to bring about what He promised—both judgment and restoration.

Old Covenant prophecy was tied to:

Covenant enforcement (blessing or curse)

National destiny (Israel's exile and return)

Messianic hope (the coming of the Christ)

Temple, land, and law-centered narratives


Many of these prophecies were conditional. God did not unilaterally decree every detail, but responded to the people's choices (Jer. 18:7–10). Even within prophecy, God's relational nature is clear: He pleads, warns, and adjusts based on human response.

With the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and the full arrival of the New Covenant (as Full Preterism holds), the age of that kind of predictive prophecy has ended—because the covenant it served is fulfilled and obsolete (Heb. 8:13).



2. New Covenant Prophecy: Mutual Edification, Not Mystical Forecasting

Under the New Covenant, prophecy is no longer about predicting geopolitical outcomes or divine punishments. It is about building up the body of Christ.

Paul’s letters, particularly 1 Corinthians 12–14, redefine prophecy in a communal and relational context. Prophecy is a gift of the Spirit—not to replace Scripture or predict the future, but to strengthen, encourage, and comfort (1 Cor. 14:3).



New Covenant prophecy is:

Participatory (given to many, not just elite prophets)

Non-authoritative (subject to testing and discernment)

For the present, not a roadmap of the future

Driven by love, not prestige or fear


The goal isn’t to announce history ahead of time, but to align hearts with the Spirit and foster unity in the Church. Justification and covenant membership are Spirit-led, relational realities—not an abstract legal status. Prophecy, in this light, is about embodying the gospel, not just declaring doctrine.



3. The Ceasing of Prophecy: 1 Corinthians 13 and the Arrival of Maturity

One of the clearest statements about the end of spiritual gifts—including prophecy—is found in 1 Corinthians 13:8–10:

"Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away... For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away."



In context, Paul is saying that prophecy and other spiritual gifts were temporary—meant to serve the early church during its transitional phase. Once “the perfect” arrived, these partial gifts would no longer be necessary.

Full Preterism sees "the perfect" not as a future moment still to come, but as the completed arrival of the New Covenant—fully established in AD 70, when the old covenant order passed away. The early church, like a child growing into maturity, no longer needed temporary aids once the fullness of Christ’s presence and kingdom became available in the new age.

Therefore, prophecy is no longer a valid or needed practice today. It served its purpose in the time of transition. The Church is now called to maturity, grounded in love and guided by wisdom—not by predictive words.


4. Open Theism and Prophecy: Dynamic Partnership, Not Fatalism

Open Theism affirms that God knows all possibilities and engages creation relationally. This means that New Covenant prophecy wasn’t about a rigid script, but an invitation to co-labor with God during a crucial transitional time in redemptive history. Even while it lasted, prophecy was never about sealing fate—it was about calling people into relational faithfulness. Now that the age of prophecy has ended, God continues to work through wisdom, community, and love—inviting His people to live responsively and creatively within the freedom of His presence.

Conclusion: A Prophetic People, Not Prophetic Predictions

The New Covenant doesn’t eliminate prophecy—it fulfilled it and moved beyond it.

Prophecy today isn’t needed, because we are no longer awaiting future revelations or warnings. We are living in the age of fulfillment, where God’s presence is fully accessible to His people, and where maturity in love is the guiding force.

The Church is no longer to be driven by signs and forecasts, but by faithfulness, wisdom, and love. Let’s stop waiting for prophetic headlines and start living as the embodied fulfillment of the promises.