Jesus Reset David’s Kingdom
Jesus reset the kingdom when He ascended. David had reset the kingdom in his role as king, priest, and prophet, and Jesus arrived to make David’s kingdom eternal. Thus, Jesus did not start a new kingdom but reset the kingdom from David’s reset.
Jesus sits upon the throne of David, carries the scepter of David, holds the keys of David, arrives as the son of David.
So, when we seek to understand the role of the prophet in the five leadership dynamics of kingdom culture, we do not look to any prophet before Jesus for a model.
We learn some things about prophetic leadership from Moses and Elijah, who meet Prophet Jesus to discuss the kingdom on the mount of transfiguration. We understand some things from Jeremiah and Isaiah. Finally, we learn from Paul and James that the Elijah authority remains available for leaders and intercessors.
However, we do not understand the function of the prophet as a leader from these passages of Scripture. We do not emulate their role in leadership because that role changed, culminated in John the Baptist as the Elijah mantle extraordinaire.
Prophets of this era often fall into these exaggerations of authority and leadership or wander further into caves of mysticism.
Prophets in Applied Apostolic Academia
Prophets can and do train but should approach teaching with caution because they tend to make their experiences into principle and internalize revelation.
Prophets speak to sheep behaviors but should approach shepherding with caution because they tend to expect sheep to “get it” after one warning or counsel.
Prophets do evangelize but tend to do hit and run evangelism because they have a “now word” that touches the heart more than an assignment to disciple newborn babes.
Prophets work with apostles in a similar role. Blueprints and battleplans enter the scope of their authority and anointing. But, prophets tend to see the strategy for warfare and building without proper perspective–prophets cannot finish the entire project and emphasize parts of the building without access to architectural expertise.
The Prophet’s Role
We have instances where prophets attempt to do what apostles do because they remain reluctant to work from their proper roles. We have cases in which prophets try to make prophetic actions, worship, revelation, and intercession “all there is,” when that is an aspect of the entire battle plan. (You cannot dance stones into place.)
Prophets should operate in companies led by a double portion elder prophet mantled to provide expertise and experience to the group. That prophet should walk in a role of leadership that resembles apostle more than evangelist, shepherd, or teacher, leaning toward the completion of things and the company’s operational integrity with an intimacy with the Groom that demands maturity. A company is not a council.
Prophets should have a voice equal to their scope or metron of assignment: regional, territorial, national, and international. In my opinion, the number of global prophets would be less than ten at any moment or measurement of the experience.
When prophets write, they should have strong editorial input to drive the message to principle more than experience. The tendency to begin with the presupposition that everyone can do the same thing or that “deep” spiritual things require a certain “otherness” or “oddity” comes from pride and delusion. They will produce oddity more than expand the norm of the prophet after Christ’s kingdom reset.
Prophets Critique but Apostles Implement
The prophets that lead intercessors should stand alongside apostles in this role so that the outcomes are not measured by proposals more than production. To see or hear what should require submission to the leaders who can produce what is seen and heard. Prophets are nearly always poorly equipped to implement.
Implementation is not the prophet’s highest order of leadership, and problem-solving is as vital as decision-making in the apostle-prophet tandem.
The tendency of apostles to diminish prophets reveals insecurity; the tendency of prophets to dominate apostles reveals insecurity.
Once secured in the definition of terms and designed role of leadership, each role stands secure in function alongside the other in a foundational sense.
Finally, prophets should operate with a fathering spirit, and that spiritual condition alters the role of leadership for the kingdom after Jesus in significant ways.
