The New Testament refers to prophecy as a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7–10).
In the Old Testament, prophecy can be seen as people set apart through consecration to deliver God’s message to the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 18:18). It is essential to view prophecy as God views it; therefore, Moses will be our reference in this blog.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering” (Exodus 25:1–2).
“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you…” (Exodus 25:8–9).
Moses’ ability to deliver this message exactly as God had shown him to the people of Israel is what is called prophecy.
Knowing that God is Spirit and Moses was a spiritual man, the message came from the realm of the Spirit (John 4:24). Therefore, the message Moses delivered from God to the Israelites had to be “downloaded” from the Spirit of God. For Moses to deliver that message to the natural world, it had to pass through his spirit, his soul (his thoughts and mind), his brain, and then to his mouth — before it became words the Israelites could understand (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
This process of translating a message from the Spirit, through the soul and the mind, requires deep spiritual strength. It also carries potential hindrances that can prevent the message from being delivered accurately.