THROUGHOUT THE BOOKS of the O.T., the voices of the prophets have fallen on purposefully deaf ears, their warnings on the wayward and rebellious. The slow drift away from God, as Israel prospered at various times in her checkered history, always became an increasingly rapidly spiraling top-down descent into cultural immorality. From kings and priests to everyday man and woman, iniquity permeated the heart of the culture and its people, and imminent destruction was a specter forming before them all. Each and every time, God in his tender mercy and love would speak to the leaders through the dire warnings of a prophet. “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they put your law behind their backs. They killed your prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them back to you.” (Neh. 9:26) The resulting wide-spread anarchy against the ruler of heaven and earth left God with the holy responsibility to carry out the judgment inherent in the ‘if you—then I’ warnings in the Covenant of the Law. Isaiah, prophesying the soon-coming destruction of the nation, said “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Isa. 30:15) When the woes inevitably came, even the upright remnant left in the land became anxious of life and hope.
The Spirit of God has spoken from the beginning. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light.’” (Gen.1:2c-3a) From the creation of men and women in the image of God (cf. Gen. 1:28), the Spirit of God has spoken to the spirit of rebellious man; in the Garden, God called out to Adam, “Where are you ? ” (Gen. 3:9) Adam’s response was one of shame: “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Gen. 3:10) Right here, at this very point in human history, the revelation of the DNA of sin is revealed, attached to the core of every human life to follow with the exception of Jesus. Iniquity is in the human heart, and each of us must deal with it. The voice of God speaks to one remedy, early on: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Gen. 4:7) This is the single voice that speaks through the priests and prophets of the O.T. It is the voice of Covenant of the Law.
But there is a voice that speaks differently now, through the High Priest of the Covenant of Grace: “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” (Heb. 1:1) When Jesus came both being and bearing the Covenant of Grace, a new kingdom began, with new kings, new priests, and new prophets. It is the kingdom of now, but not yet; a kingdom imperfect on the earth that will one day rule the new earth. It is a kingdom purchased at great price, and having great purpose: “With your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10) In the headlong rush of human history towards Judgment Day, we Jesus-followers are now the prophets of God. We have been since the acts of the Holy Spirit began forming the church of Jesus Christ, which is the kingdom of heaven on this present earth. Our voice of prophecy has one voice, inspired of Spirit, with the single message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a disobedient and rebellious world: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
In times of general apostasy, and in the time of the great falling away, perhaps now in our time, the voice of God is always present to guide us through uncertainty. It speaks the message of salvation in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. And it speaks beyond this to a message of encouragement, one it has always spoken to the faithful remnant in troubled times, a prophetic word of peace and well-being. “You will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isa. 30:19-21)
Q. Is my path clear to me; is this God’s voice I hear?
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