In his 1 Corinthians 14 section on prophecy, Paul reminds us that God is not the author of confusion. Satan, the liar and slanderer is the one who brings confusion with him. In Old Testament law the death sentence was prescribed for false prophets in order to prevent the kind of confusion we see in our society today on what God’s word actually is and says. God also gave signs and wonders to accompany the prophets and distinguish them from the false prophets who could sometimes manufacture inferior signs as well, as with the first two plagues in Egypt. Jesus performed signs and wonders likewise to establish his credibility (John 4:48). In the New Testament apostles and prophets such as Agabus were given signs as well for the establishment of the church so that their words would be known to be from God (Ephesians 2:20). In Revelation 11 we read how two witnesses will prophesy and perform signs in reaction to the man of sin’s word and power, so that there will not be confusion on who is from God.
I do not believe prophecy is a present gift in today’s church. The office of a prophet is intercessory, being the personal communication buffer between God and his audience, while a pastor merely aides in expounding the scriptures the people already have. The pastor does not have a new word from God, he only explains the book God already gave. The people who claim apostleship today, such as Bill Johnson, fit Jude 4’s description of heretics. Anyone famous or obscure who prophesies one jot or tittle of falsity, such as a date for the second coming of Christ, cannot be from God. Those who say things such as “God told us to buy this car” or recommend unwise “leaps of faith” I have only seen to be taking God’s name in vain, operating in the flesh, not his power (1 John 2:16).
Jesus taught that by their fruits we will know whose prophets they are, and that “wonderful works” are not the fruit we’re looking for (Matt 7:15-24). While signs and wonders certainly are a notable distinguisher always paired with the office of prophet, alignment with God’s word and character are also needed to establish a prophet (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 13:8). Just as Job, before the Bible was written, and Old Testament Jews in the 400 years of silence before Jesus had sufficient word of God without new prophecy, we have sufficient revelation for our time. At such time as Revelation 11 prophecy occurs, or any other prophecy God deems appropriate, it will not confuse believers if it’s from God. Just as Jesus taught the scripture in a way that amazed people how well he knew it and could draw more out of it, future prophets will be rooted in and better establish existing scripture, not supplant it. Any prophet who says they have a word from God that (directly or functionally) takes away from our reliance on scripture is simultaneously taking away from and adding to the completed book (Revelation 22:18-19).
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Great takes all around, which i also would hold to. Do you think prophecy has ceased for good/forever?
I believe that the only prophecy we have ever had comes from not only the New Testament but also the Old Testament. And any prophecy whether the OT or NT is either God breathed or directly from Jesus Christ.