The excerpt was then taken with permission from the book Apetolos, by Augustus Nicodemus Lopes, by Editora Fiel.
In his controversy against the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus once referred to his apostles as those who, as the prophets, sages, and scribes sent by God to ancient Israel, would also be sent, rejected, persecuted, and killed (Lr 11:49 with Mt 23 34); In this way, he draws a parallel between the apostles and the prophets sent by God to his people.
- It has been observed that the successors of Old Testament prophets.
- Such as Isaiah.
- Jeremiah.
- Ezekiel.
- Daniel.
- And Amos.
- For example.
- Were not new Testament prophets.
- Who had ministry in local churches.
- But the apostles of Jesus Christ.
- More specifically Twelve and Paul.
As we saw previously, the prophets were directly called and called by God (cf. Is 6,1-9; Jer 1,4-10; Eze 2,1-7; Am 7,14-15). The most used word for? Prophet? in the Old Testament it is (nabi), which conveys the concept of someone speaking for another, like? its mouth? (Ex 4:16; 7. 1; cf. Deuteronomy 18: 14-22). Therefore, the prophet was above all someone who spoke of God, inspired and guided by him. The prophets spoke boldly of their message to the people of Israel (Lk 1,70; Heb 1,1-2). Some of these prophecies were written and recorded in the Old Testament, which Paul calls “the prophetic scriptures. ” (Romans 16. 26, cf. 2Pe 1. 21; 2Tm 3. 16). Note that the message of the prophets did not consist only in the prediction of future events related to God’s action in history, which have always been fulfilled (Dt 18,20-22; cf. 1R 13,3,5; 2 K 23, 15-16). Much of his message was to expose these events and apply them to his day. The prophets introduced their words with the formulas, so says the Lord? Y? the Word of the Lord telling me,? who identified his message as inspiring and infallible. As such, it must be received by God’s people as the Lord’s own word.
The intertestmental literature produced by the Jews in the centuries after Malachi considered that the ministry of these prophets ended malachi. Similarly, the authors of the New Testament refer to ancient prophets as a closed and defined group (see Mt 23. 29-31; Mc 8. 28; etc. ). The question is, why did God continue to reveal himself?, Who are the successors of Old Testament prophets as recipients and transmitters of the Word of God, there is no doubt that it was the twelve apostles and the Apostle Paul, not the Christian prophets of the local churches, such as those of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Corinth, for example (Acts 11. 27; 13. 1; 1 Cor 14. 29). Contrary to what was happening in the Old Testament, prophesying in the nascent Christian church was a gift that all Christians could exercise in worship, provided that they followed a certain order (1C 12. 10; 14. 29-32) and, unlike the great prophets of Israel, the words of Christian prophets were to be judged by others (1C 14. 29) and were under apostolic authority. authority (1C 14. 37).
Unlike Christian prophets, the Apostles of the New Testament, the Twelve, and Paul received a specific call from Jesus Christ, received direct revelations from God, such as ancient prophets (Acts 5. 19-20; 10. 9-16; 23. 11; 27. 23). ; 2C 12. 1), and so he foretold future events related to the history of salvation, including the Lord’s Second Coming, the Resurrection of the Dead, and the Final Judgment; this does not mean that their call came because they had the ‘gift’. ‘(1C 15. 51-52; 2Ts 2. 1-12; 2Pe 3. 10-13). Let us remember that the Revelation is a prophecy (see Ap 1. 3; 22:18-19) written by an Apostle. Unlike Christian prophets in local churches, who left nothing written, the Apostles were inspired to write the New Testament. (1 Ts 2. 13; 2P 3. 16) and his word should be received, like ancient prophets, as the Word of God, no doubt, unlike the prophets of the local churches (Gal 1. 8-9; 1Co 14. 37). New Testament authors who were not apostles, such as Mark, Luke, James, and Judas, were nevertheless part of the apostolic circle and associated with the Apostles, writing from their testimonies.
As successors to Israel’s prophets and channels of revelation, the apostles appear with them at the base of the church. In Jesus words: “Shall I send you prophets and apostles, and will you kill some and persecute others?” (Lk 11, 49). Paul joins the two groups twice in the letter to the Ephesians as those appointed by God to lay the foundations of the church; ? built on the foundations of the apostles and prophets? (Ephesians 2:20); ? Who in other generations has not been revealed to the sons of men, as has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit? (Eph 3. 5). Do many scholars understand that? Prophets In these two passages in Ephesians prophets of the New Testament churches are mentioned, who came after the apostles. However, even if they are in a reversed time sequence,? Prophets are best understood as the great prophets of Israel, who came before the apostles. Sequence? Apostles and prophets? it need not be understood as a time sequence. The apostles are mentioned first because they are central to the context.
In his second letter, Peter urges his readers to remember both the words that were taught by the “holy prophets” and the commandment taught by his apostles?(2 P. 3. 2) Do some understand this, their apostles? Here is a reference to the pioneer missionaries who founded the churches Peter writes to. However, Peter’s letter was not intended for specific local churches, but for Christians in general (see 2 P. 1. 1). The only group of?Apostles?Those who would fit as your apostles would be the twelve, who were the apostles of all the churches. The letter of Judas, whose similarity to Peter’s second letter led scholars to believe in a literary dependence on others, when referring to the apostles in this same context, refers to them as “the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ,” in a clear reference to the group of twelve (Thu 17). These passages reflect the awareness that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were the continuous prophets of the Old Testament as channels through which God revealed His will.
Once God’s revelation about the plan of salvation was fully written and recorded definitively, fully, and infallibly by the Apostles in the New Testament, thus completing the revelation given by the prophets of Israel in the Old Testament, the ministry ended with both groups.
Since the Apostles were the successors of Old Testament prophets, there is no possibility today of apostles like the Twelve and Paul, because they were the recipients and transmitters of God’s final revelation to his people, which is recorded in the New Testament. .