Agabus, Paul's Arrest, and the Nature of New Testament Prophecy


We just finished Acts 21 in our Sunday morning Bible readings, a chapter which includes the prophecy of Agabus and its fulfillment with Paul's arrest.  

Is there something you may have missed?

Some believers of the Charismatic persuasion see inaccuracies in the details Agabus's words.  These supposed inaccuracies evidence a more fallible nature of New Testament prophecy: God doesn't hold the same standard of 100% fidelity and veracity as He did in the Old Testament.  

In other words, someone today claiming the gift of prophecy doesn't need to be right all the time.  Prophecy today can be fallible and even non-authoritative.

That argument may seem convincing until we look a bit closer at Acts 21.  Does the text actually highlight or even demonstrate inaccuracies in the prophecy?  Have Christians in church history agreed with this modern reading of Agabus?  

Dr. Nathan Busenitz answers these questions in a blog article called "Throwing Prophecy under the Agabus."

Popular posts from this blog

Controversy about Alistair Begg and Gay Weddings?

Image
Last week, Alistair Begg got himself into hot water.  His ministry, Truth for Life, posted a video which included his advice to a grandmother concerned for a grandchild trapped in the transgender lifestyle.  Moreover, this grandchild is getting married and has hopefully invited the grandmother to the wedding. Begg the grandmother two questions.   He asked her if she had expressed her disapproval of the lifestyle, and he asked if she had expressed disapproval about the wedding.   The grandmother said she had on both accounts.   His advice, therefore, stunned the grandmother: He told her to attend the wedding with a gift in hand! We can all sympathize with the drive to be as loving as possible, but let’s back up and consider a few points.   Christians look at Scripture and see biblical prohibitions against practically every expression on the current LGBTQ+ spectrum.   From both the Old Testament and the New, passages condemn such behaviors as deviations from normal creation.   Moreov
Read more

How Was the Trauma Training Today?

Image
Because we are including so many more foster children and children from broken homes into our fellowship, our church participated in a trauma training session today.  Our main purpose was to gain practical insights into how to handle situations where children who have experienced trouble act out their emotions.  To that end, we can be thankful for our time together.  However, there were many errant teachings included which we must reject.  ERRANT TEACHING ON THE BRAIN The presentation alleged that the brain is physically transformed through traumatic events, creating “holes” in it and in its ability to process information.   This is possible, but there is a lot of debate on this subject.   The subject is relatively new, based on the largely anecdotal research of Dutch psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, published in his book The Body Keeps the Score .   Secular psychologists and even some Christian counselors (who are not always biblical in their approach) have found value in this un
Read more

What should we think about the upcoming solar eclipse?

Image
As celestial phenomena unfold, many individuals rightly turn to Scripture, seeking insights into their significance.  Eclipses, comets, supernovas, and meteor showers spark fascination and questions as to whether these events carry divine messages.  However, discerning between natural occurrences and supernatural signs requires careful consideration among Christians, particularly in the context of hermeneutics (the science of interpreting the Bible) and eschatological (end-times) beliefs. The Balance of Natural Order and Divine Intervention I am a supernaturalist, meaning that I believe God made this world and can intervene in events in miraculous ways to accomplish His purposes.   God made the cosmos, and on the fourth day of creation, the Lord made the sun, moon, and stars, establishing these luminaries to be “for signs and for seasons and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14).   The word “signs” carries a special fascination for us, but we also see that God had a broader intent f
Read more