Prophesying to the Nations (3) Message

During a season of rapid spiritual decline, the role of prophets is to describe to their nation the consequences of giving greater authority to the spiritual powers of evil. The scope and direction of their message will vary according to the situation.

• Prophets will primarily address the people of God. Because they are people of hope, they will often be assuming that their nation will turn around and return to a place of blessing. The prophets will warn them what will happen if these hopes are not fulfilled. This type of prophecy is sometimes not fulfilled, because the warning spurs God people to pray and share the gospel effectively, which leads their nation back to blessing as they hoped (Jonah’s prophecy to Nineveh is an example).

• Prophets will teach the people of God to be prepared for the troubles that the decline in faith is bringing. They will explain the strategies that God has to protect his people during the time of distress that is coming. They will tell them what they must to do to be prepared for a time of disruption. This is important, because if they are not prepared, the people of God could be swept away by troubles that they do not deserve. God wants his people to stand together while everything around them is being shaken. They will be able to support each other while the foundations that everyone trusts are being swept away.

• Sometimes, God will get the prophets to speak to the leaders of the nation and warn them of the dangerous consequences that their decisions will have. The prophets will explain that what they think is good is bad in God’s eyes and that they are responsible for the outcome. They will explain that the leaders’ decisions and actions are increasing the authority of the spiritual powers of evil, so the harm that follows will be out of proportion to the scope of their mistakes. They need to know, that whatever their intentions, the consequence will be far worse than they expect, and they are mostly responsible. The message of the prophets will probably not be received by the leaders of the nation, but because they have taken up authority and placed responsibility on themselves, God will want them to understand the consequences.

• During the spiritual decline of a nation, God is unlikely to tell his prophets to speak to the unbelievers living in the nation, even if their numbers are growing. They do not believe in God, so they are unlikely to receive a message from him. Many do not understand the working of the powers of evil, so a prophetic message would confuse them. These people need to hear the gospel of Jesus, so God is more likely to send evangelists to carry the message of his love to those who don’t know him. He will send people to heal the sick and cast out demons and tell them that he loves them and wants to rescue them from their troubles.