Christianity Plain and Simple

Who Are Prophets and Priests?

Just as it is important to know who is an apostle, it is good for us to understand who exactly prophets and priests are and what they did.

First, let us understand who prophets are. Prophets are men who whose job was to tell people what God wanted. They were not preachers but existed solely to reveal what the people needed to hear from God. Some examples include Moses, who revealed the law and wrote the first five books of the Bible or Jeremiah who revealed in the book named after Him God's coming judgment.

Amos 3:7 - Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Hebrews 1:1 - God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

The reason people needed prophets was mainly because the entire Bible had not been written. Now that it has, and now that Christians have the Holy Spirit living inside of them, there is no need for a prophet to come with new revelations or prophecies from God. The last prophet we had was Jesus Christ, who came to reveal the Gospel in Himself. The final prophets shall come at the very end to tell of the Lord's coming judgment, though this will only happen after the Rapture. So, any man who now claims to be a prophet is either deceived or lying.

Hebrews 1:1-2 - God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Mark 6:4 - But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Revelation 11:3 - And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

While we mentioned prophets are men who came from God, a priest, was someone who went to God for men. They were the ones that did sacrifices, asking God to forgive the sins of the people.

Some examples of priests include Aaron, the first priest, and Eli, the mentor of Samuel.

Like Jesus Christ was the last prophet we had, He is also the last priest. He now goes to God on our behalf as both the priests asking God to forgive us and the sacrifice for our sins. He is now the only mediator between God and man.

1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 8:11-12 - But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Therefore, any man saying He can go between God and people now to forgive our sins, is going against the doctrines of the Bible and of the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Something also interesting to mention was there were the rare prophetesses in the Old Testament and at least once in the New Testament, though no mention of women as priestesses.

Exodus 15:20 - And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

Judges 4:4 - And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

Luke 2:36 - And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;