What is a Prophet? What is a Prophecy? Can Prophecy be suspended?
Prophēteuo The word prophēteuo is a combination of the prefix pro-, meaning “before” and the root phe-, referring to speech. Prophēteuo means to speak publicly, or to speak of something before it happens. Moses was a prophet (Deut. 34:10 ), and although he made some predictions, his greater role was to tell people about their current responsibilities (according to Gods Word).
*Amos 3:7 (RSV) “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”
Prophecy -
A. a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events
B. Used in the NT of the utterance of OT prophets
i. of the prediction of events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions pertaining to it, the spirit of prophecy, the divine mind, to which the prophetic faculty is due
ii. of the endowment and speech of the Christian teachers called prophets
iii. the gifts and utterances of these prophets, esp. of the predictions of the works of which, set apart to teach the gospel, will accomplish for the kingdom of Christ - https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4394/kjv/tr/0-1/
*1 Corinthians 14:1 “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.”
*1 Corinthians 14:4 “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.”
*1 Corinthians 12:5-10 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
Private Revelations
1 Thessalonians 5: 20-22 “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good. Refrain from every kind of evil.”
*I don't put much stock in people that tell me that a saint or an angel spoke to them. Demons could represent themselves as saints and angels and give you a message that appears to be pious.
Angels like other apparitions come under the heading of private revelation, and are always secondary to official Church teaching and the Bible. When you experience other spirits they can come from your imagination, from good spirits or evil spirits. The Bible says that "Not all spirits are evil" so there needs to be discernment. The Church will only say that a private revelation is worthy of belief or not worthy of belief. You are not required to believe any appearance not even Lourdes or Fatima. I think it is wise to believe in some private revelation that approved because it can lead us deeper in our faith.
There is danger in private revelations. For example, the Koran was given as private revelation to Mohammed. The different cults like the Mormons and the Jehovahs Witnessess through private revelation are telling us the date Jesus is coming back and they have all been wrong. Any time a private revelation puts itself above the Church it will never be accepted and approved by the Church. Why is this? It is because in the Bible Jesus said of the Apostles "When they listen to you they listen to me, when they obey you they obey me" (Luke 10:16). So in listening to the Church we are listening to Jesus. The temptation to believe things that are not in line with the Church seem so reasonable so plausible and yet if they are in opposition to the Church they should not be trusted.
Repentance stops Gods chastisement
God can suspend a prophecy of judgement and chastisement? Yes, if the people REPENT, GOD will avert his punishment upon a nation and an individual.
2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. [15] Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.”
Jonah 3:10, “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.”
Jeremiah 18:8 (God says), “if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.”
Exodus 32:14 “So the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.”
1 John 1:9 (RSV) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
FALSE PROPHETS
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (RSV) “And if you say in your heart, `How may we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?' when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you need not be afraid of him.”
Jeremiah 23:16 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes; they speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”
"There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their licentious ways, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. In their greed they will exploit you with fabrications, but from of old their condemnation has not been idle and their destruction does not sleep" (2 Peter 2:1-3 NAB).
Mohammed, Charles Russel, Joseph Smith, Ellen Gould White, Aimee Semple McPherson et al are false prophets because they are preaching “another gospel” and not the Gospel of Jesus Christ “given once and for all to the saints” (Jude 3).
Jesus is the PROPHET that speaks for God
Any Catholic attending services from heretics (cf. Titus 3:10) is opening themselves up to false prophets and false teachers (cf.2 Peter 2:1) which are doctrines of demons (cf.1 Timothy 4:1). Hebrews 1:1-2 (RSV) “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
Luke 24:19 (RSV) “And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people…”
Modern Prophet
I believe Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano is a modern prophet for our times.
Here are the characteristics of a biblical prophet:
1. Moral clarity and speak inconvenient truths to power.
2. Speaks about consequences of sin.
3. Calls people to repentance
4. Leans heavily on Gods Word
5. Lives in exile (on the run)
6. Persecuted by the establishment (oftentimes his own brothers)
7. A marked man 4 murder.
So God sends prophets (the Greek word means “spokesmen“) whose role includes warning people that they are headed over the falls. You’d think people would be grateful for the heads up. But often people respond to bad news by killing the messenger. That’s what they did to Jeremiah and Jesus Christ.
Don’t worry about private revelations of chastisement
Matthew 6:25-31 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Serenity Prayer (A perfect prayer for stress): God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. —Amen.
Closing Prayer of the Divine Mercy (Another prayer for stress): Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion – inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
St Padre Pio - Pray, hope, and don’t worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer.