Entering the School of the Prophets

Today, if you are called into the prophetic ministry or prophetic office, I want to invite you to enter the school of the prophets. I have written extensively on schools of prophets: what they are and how they are designed to function. 

Do schools of prophets exist today? Is there a place(s) where you can be trained to function as a prophet? What would and should a school of prophets look like? Why does God use schools of prophets to train prophets? I want to answer these questions in this post. If you are looking for more information on the schools of prophets, I would recommend my book on Entering the School of the Prophets.

In 2003, I published my book, Entering the School of the Prophets. When I wrote my book on the schools of the prophets, there were no books on the subject. In that book, I share the Biblical basis for schools of prophets. Yes, the Bible teaches much about schools of prophets. Schools of prophets have existed since God took His spirit, which was one Moses, and placed that same spirit on the 70 elders in Israel. From there, we see the beginning of the schools of prophets in Israel. 

Israel always had prophets from that point forward. God used His prophets to prophesy direction to Israel's leaders. God also used prophets to ordain Israel's leadership. Both Saul and David were ordained by the same prophet, Samuel. Ahijah prophesied that Jeroboam would be king over 10 tribes. 1 Kgs. 29-32. And Deborah commissioned Barak to lead Israel's army into battle. Both Deborah and Samuel were judges...and prophets; they were senior prophets.

Previously, I wrote a blog post entitled, What is a Senior Prophet? Also, I have written a blog post entitled, What is a School of Prophets? Prophets should know what schools of prophets are and they should know who and who is not a senior prophet. Much of the error in the prophetic movement exists because men or women who were never called to be senior prophets are training emerging prophets to function as prophets. Yet they lack the grace to fulfill that calling.

When God calls a man or woman of God, he equips them with grace to function in and fulfill the assignment given to them. Without that grace, things do not operate correctly. Instead, problems surround what is being built by them, even if it is good. Often, good is the enemy of God's best. I believe much of the church lacks a clear understanding of the real grace message.

Prophets are called to be messengers of grace. In 1 Peter 1:10, the Apostle Peter, writing about prophets, says, 

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that would come to you searched and carefully investigated.

When grace is absent, error is present. When prophets stop prophesying of grace, heresy becomes common. Prophets release grace through the prophetic words they give. Today, I see an absence of understanding regarding the primary purpose of prophets - to prophesy grace. That prophetic grace upon prophets is purposefully designed to release an understanding of salvation that is offered to Mankind through Christ. 

The primary purpose of prophets is to release an understanding of the person of Jesus Christ. Although prophets may be used in personal prophecy, it is not their primary purpose to give personal prophetic words. Further, prophetic ministry is deeper than receiving dreams and visions of current or future events. It is more than words of knowledge or wisdom, discerning of spirits or prophecy. Prophets are called to bring Christ's government on earth as it is in Heaven.

Prophets have failed to establish Christ's government on earth because they have failed to go through the required training process to be ordained as prophets. Instead, we have many prophesiers and few prophets. In Entering the School of the Prophets, I describe the training process that is required to be ordained as a true prophet. That training process requires attendance in the curricula offered by 3 of those 5 schools of prophets identified in the Bible - Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho.

In each school, there is a grace released to function in the prophetic office. At Gilgal, prophets go through the cutting process of circumcision. At Bethel, prophets learn to receive revelation through prayer. At Jericho, consecration is required. All must be present for prophets to be ordained into the fullness of their calling. Sadly, few have gone through that process.

In 1990/91, I received a prophetic word from Tom Slone about being in the midst of a school of prophets. In that prophetic word, I was told I would say, "I don't want to be here. I don't want to go through this. I don't want anymore. I can't take it anymore." Then, God said in that prophetic word, "God says, you stay there anyway."

That prophetic word came to pass in 1995. I met a prophetic father, Burton Seavey. Burton was more than a prophet, he was a senior prophet. Every Tuesday, he had a School of the Holy Spirit at 7:30 pm. I went faithfully. I had been a prophet before that point. I had ministered as a prophet before that point. In 1990, I wrote my first book, Decade of Destiny. That book was me functioning in the prophetic office as a prophet to the nations. But I lacked what I needed to grow into the senior prophet I am today.

By going through that training process, I learned what it means to operate amidst a team of prophets. I learned what a prophetic presbytery is. I learned how seer prophets function. Burton functioned as a seer prophet. I learned how miracles happen through prophetic ministry. I learned how to access God's power through prophecy. I gained an understanding of the grace of the prophetic office. I learned more about dealing with demons and deliverance. I gained revelation of the prophetic office and school.

Since then, I have learned much more. As Dr. King said, I have been on the mountaintop. I have seen God's glory in the midst of the thunder and lightning. I have seen God's power manifest in miraculous ways. I learned why power is so necessary to the apostolic and prophetic office. Both require power to fully operate in them. That is the missing link between Israel's schools of prophets and our schools of prophets.

Until we are willing to pay the price to enter the schools of the prophets as structured by the Holy Spirit, we will not experience the reality of the schools of the prophets. Interestingly, between the School of the Apostles in Jerusalem and the School of the Prophets in Antioch, only the school in Antioch remains. Maybe prophets have more to teach apostles than apostles think.

Recently, I was listening to an audio teaching by Cindy Jacobs, which was entitled schools of the prophets. In that audio teaching, she prophesies that schools of prophets will arise across the world, even in local churches. I believe God is schooling His church and His prophets to shift the prophetic office into the position of prominence that it is called to have in this world.

God is looking for spokesmen and spokeswomen who will carry His prophetic word to the nations. Prophets are moving from the lowly place of being hermits hiding in caves into the high calling of being spokespersons. Yes, a new day has dawned for those called into the prophetic office. Get ready! More training is coming. It is time for prophets to shift into a new and different dimension of the prophetic office.