Search — Theology Explorer

Craig Keener prophecy and authority Nathan

Keener himself acknowledges prophets had 'no authority outside of their message'

Mike uses Keener's own words to push back on other egalitarians who argue prophecy equals authority.

Prophecy and eldership are very different: prophecy is passive, requires no qualifications or appointment, and the prophet has no ongoing authority

Mike summarizes the key differences that undermine the prophecy-equals-eldership argument.

prophecy vs. eldership

1 Corinthians 12:28 apostles 1 Corinthians 12:28 kubernesis (administrating)

1 Corinthians 12:28 — 'administrating' (leadership) appears as a gift distinct from the office of teacher

Mike examines another gifts list.

Ephesians 4:11-12 offices vs. gifts Ephesians 4:11-12 pastor-teacher

Ephesians 4:11-12 is about offices (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds/teachers) not about gifts applicable to the question

Mike examines Ephesians 4 but determines it is about offices, not gifts.

1 Corinthians 12:29-30 Philip Payne teaching ministry 1 Corinthians 12:29-30

1 Corinthians 12:29-30 — Paul's rhetorical questions show not everyone is supposed to teach

Mike cites Paul's own words against the idea that all Christians should have a teaching ministry.

Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Series recap: Videos 3-4 and Mike's assessment of egalitarian scholarship

Continued series overview with editorial commentary on the quality of egalitarian biblical scholarship.

Deborah priesthood women in Old Testament

judges Deborah priesthood Miriam

Overview of today's topics: women in OT leadership positions — Deborah as judge, female prophets, and the priesthood restriction.

Road map for video 3

Huldah Aimee Byrd Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

Aimee Byrd claims Huldah canonized the Torah by her prophecy — Mike calls this utterly ridiculous stretching.

Example of egalitarian over-reaching

Exodus Moses Miriam prophetess

Introduction to Miriam: sister of Moses, a prophetess with an important role — not just a 'hood ornament.'

Beginning the examination of Miriam

Micah 6:4 Philip Payne Miriam textual stretching

Philip Payne also claims Miriam was 'sent by God to lead Israel' — Mike calls this reckless handling of the text.

Additional egalitarian scholar making the same claim

Numbers 12 Moses Miriam Numbers 12

The Numbers 12 passage is actually about God rebuking Miriam for usurping Moses's authority, not about her valued leadership.

Exegesis of Numbers 12

Numbers 12 Moses Miriam Numbers 12

Conclusions from Numbers 12: Moses is a different kind of leader; Miriam is rebuked for trying to usurp his authority.

Drawing conclusions from Numbers 12

Numbers 12 Miriam prophetess Numbers 12

Miriam was a prophetess; some incorrectly deny female prophets existed in the Bible.

Affirming the reality of female prophets

prophetess private vs. public prophecy

Mike rejects the claim that female prophets only prophesied privately — Scripture doesn't support this restriction and there are examples of public prophecy.

Pushing back on complementarian minimizing

Exodus 15:20-21 Miriam prophetess Exodus 15:20-21

Exodus 15:20-21: Miriam leads women with tambourines in singing after the Red Sea crossing — she functions as a prophetess in divinely inspired worship.

Examining Miriam's leadership in Exodus 15

Numbers 12 Miriam prophetess Numbers 12

Numbers 12 implies Miriam prophesied to the people in general, not just women — 'hasn't the Lord spoken to us also?'

Soft evidence that Miriam prophesied to men and women

Miriam prophetess prophetic singing

Mike rejects limiting female prophets to speaking to women only, and rejects limiting Miriam to prophetic singing only.

Final positions on scope of female prophecy

Conclusions on Miriam: some degree of leadership, not like Moses, rebuked for pushing for more, not a priest, leadership sometimes focused on women and connected to prophecy.

Summary conclusions on Miriam

Moses priesthood Miriam

2 Kings 22:14 Linda Belleville Huldah prophetess

Introduction to Huldah the prophetess (2 Kings 22:14) — Belleville emphasizes the king choosing Huldah over other prophets.

Beginning examination of Huldah

2 Kings 22:15-20 Huldah Aimee Byrd Torah canonization

Huldah delivers a powerful prophetic word to King Josiah about judgment on Jerusalem and mercy on him personally.

Reading Huldah's prophecy in 2 Kings 22

Jeremiah Zephaniah Nahum Philip Payne Craig Keener Paul, Women, and Wives

Egalitarian talking point: Huldah was chosen over contemporary male prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.

Presenting the egalitarian case for Huldah's prominence

2 Kings 22:14 hermeneutics Huldah 2 Kings 22:14

Rebuttal: there is no textual indication they chose Huldah over other prophets; proximity in Jerusalem is a better explanation.

Mike's pushback on the Huldah argument

2 Kings 22:14 hermeneutics Huldah 2 Kings 22:14

Another textual explanation: Huldah's husband was 'keeper of the wardrobe' — a court connection that made access easier.

Additional contextual explanation for choosing Huldah

Huldah prophetess prophetic authority

Still, Huldah was a prophetess sought by the king for direction from God — that's genuinely significant for our study.

Balanced conclusion on Huldah

Prophecy has a passive element: the prophet relays God's instructions but does not have authority to make decisions for God.

Nature of prophetic authority vs. governmental authority

eldership David Nathan

Isaiah's wife Isaiah 8:3 Isaiah's wife prophetess Isaiah 8:3

Isaiah's wife is called a prophetess (Isaiah 8:3) — she likely prophesied in her own right.

Brief note on another female prophet

Jeremiah Isaiah Amos Jeremiah Isaiah Amos

Not all prophets are equal: prophets had different scopes and sizes of ministry — being a prophet doesn't mean you did everything every prophet ever did.

Distinguishing degrees of prophetic ministry

Nehemiah 6:14 Nehemiah Nehemiah 6:14 Noadiah false prophet

Noadiah the prophetess (Nehemiah 6:14) was a false prophet hired against Nehemiah — she should not be used to establish frequency of female prophets.

Brief note on another OT prophetess

prophetess frequency of female prophets

There were probably more female prophets than those listed in the Bible, but they seem infrequent; multiple possible explanations exist.

Speculating on frequency of female prophets

God doesn't rule out women being prophets; female prophets existed when good men were available (Miriam, Huldah), refuting the 'no good men' argument.

Key conclusion on female prophets

Miriam Huldah prophetess

eldership Deborah prophetess

Preview: next week will address whether female prophets prove women can be elders — transitioning now to women in other roles and the priesthood.

Transition to Deborah and priesthood topics

Judges 4:4-5 Deborah Judges 4:4-5 Lappidoth

Some complementarians claim Deborah did only private counseling — Mike says this is wrong based on Judges 4:4-5.

Rebutting complementarian minimizing of Deborah

Judges 4:6-7 Deborah Barak Judges 4:6-7

Deborah gives commands to Barak and the troops as a prophet/leader — egalitarians argue she is 'the leader of leaders.'

Deborah's prophetic commands to military leaders

Deborah Levites Aimee Byrd

Aimee Byrd claims Deborah was 'the word of God to Israel' since they couldn't access Scripture — Mike says this is false; the Levites taught the law throughout the land.

Rebutting Byrd's claim about Deborah

Judges 4:6 Judges 4:14 Deborah Barak prophetic authority

Did Deborah command Barak? She relayed God's command ('has not the Lord commanded you?') but Judges 4:14 shows her using her own words more forcefully.

Analyzing the nature of Deborah's authority over Barak

Deborah prophetic authority governmental authority

Deborah as prophet relays God's instructions but doesn't make the strategic decisions — her leadership is different from governmental leadership.

Distinguishing prophetic leadership from governmental leadership

judges Judges 5 Deborah judges Judges 5

Conclusions on Deborah: she was a leader (not priest/king/military leader) but a judge and prophet; she had less leadership than other judges in some ways.

Summary conclusions on Deborah

1 Kings 21:8 Jezebel Ahab 1 Kings 21:8

Rebuttal: Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab's name with his seal — proving she did NOT have independent authority; she was a cult leader, not a legitimate example.

Refuting the Jezebel argument

judges Deborah Old Testament women prophetess

Summary of what women were in the OT: town representatives, queens with limited authority, one judge for decades, prophets with clear divine approval.

Final summary of women's roles in the OT

spiritual gifts prophetess women apostles

Preview of NT topics: Were women apostles, elders, deacons, teachers? Do female prophets mean women can be elders? Does God's gifting of women mean no role restrictions?

Preview of upcoming content

1 Corinthians 14:28 1 Corinthians 14:32 hupotasso Pauline style 1 Corinthians 14:28

Two more key terms: 'en ekklesia' and 'hupotasso' found throughout the context

Mike continues demonstrating the passage's consistency with its surrounding context using Greek terms.

judging prophecy view flow of argument prophecy section

Style Argument 2: The passage interrupts the flow of instructions about prophets -- rebutted

Mike addresses the claim that these verses break the flow of the prophecy discussion.

Joel 2 Acts 2:15-18 Joel 2 women prophesying Acts 2:15-18

Acts 2 and the Joel prophecy: men and women prophesied publicly at Pentecost

Mike cites Acts 2 as scriptural evidence against the utter silence view.

submission Anthony Thiselton marriage authority

The scenario of a wife judging her husband's prophecy illustrates the authority problem

Mike illustrates why judging prophecy creates a specific submission/authority issue.

1 John 4:1 1 Corinthians 12:10 1 John 4:1 testing prophecy 1 Corinthians 12:10

Judging Prophecy Hinge 1: Was testing prophecy a real practice in the early church?

Mike establishes that testing/judging prophecy was indeed a regular church practice.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 testing prophecy 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 prophecy vs. scripture

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 confirms testing prophecy was standard practice

Mike provides additional scriptural evidence for the practice of testing prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Corinthians 14:6-28 1 Corinthians 14:29 1 Corinthians 14:6-28 structural parallel

Judging Prophecy Hinge 2: The passage's structure mirrors tongues/interpretation with prophecy/judging

Mike shows how 1 Corinthians 14's structure supports the judging prophecy view.

1 Corinthians 14:29-36 D.A. Carson 1 Corinthians 14:29-36 structural analysis

D.A. Carson's structural analysis: verse 29 maps the two-part expansion

Mike quotes Carson's explanation of how verse 29 introduces the two topics expanded in what follows.

1 Corinthians 14:32 hupotasso 1 Corinthians 14:32 prophetic self-control

The 'spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets' means self-control, not a hierarchy

Mike interprets verse 32 as a parenthetical about prophets' ability to control themselves.