In the entire Old Testament there are three kinds of offices, or ministries. In this respect, we can divide the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament into three groups. From Genesis to Ruth there is the ministry of the priests. In this portion of the Bible there are kings among the Gentiles, but there is no king among the people of God. Here we have only the priests. Then from 1 Samuel to Esther there are the kings. Then after Job through Song of Songs, from Isaiah to Malachi, there are the prophets. The priests, the kings, and the prophets are of three kinds of offices, or ministries.
It is after the degradation of the priesthood that the office of the kings was manifested. The last priest in this line was Samuel. Before him, the priests were Eli and his two sons. These two sons were an absolute failure in the priesthood, almost bringing an end to the priesthood at that time. Therefore, the Lord raised up little Samuel. Because Samuel was not a direct descendant of the family of Aaron, although he was of the tribe of Levi, we may say that the priesthood of Aaron at that time was ended by the two sons of Eli. The Lord raised up Samuel to be a priest to bring in the office of the king. This proves that the kingship was manifested due to the failure of the priesthood.
Later, the office of the prophets was raised up due to the failure of the kings. Elijah and Elisha are the representatives of the prophets. They were raised up when the kingship, the ministry of the kings, became degraded, corrupted, and rotten. Even when King David failed by committing a sin, the prophet Nathan came in to function by speaking to the king (2 Sam. 12:1-12).
When the priesthood failed, the kingship came in, and when the kingship failed, the prophets came in. This indicates that the ministry of the prophets was not included in God’s original intention. What God originally intended to have was the kingship and, even more, the priesthood. We were saved not mainly to be prophets but to be kings and priests. Revelation 1:5-6 says, “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” This verse speaks of a kingdom and priests, but it does not mention prophets. This again indicates that we are saved to be kings and priests. Many Christians today want to have the gift of prophecy. There is not much teaching encouraging the believers to exercise the kingship and do the job of the priesthood. There is, however, too much teaching encouraging people to seek the gift of speaking.
According to 1 Corinthians 14, we can desire to be a prophet, but there is no need to desire to be a king or a priest. The kingship and the priesthood are ours by birth. We were reborn to be kings and priests. We may boldly declare, “Praise the Lord, I have been regenerated to be a king and a priest! I was born a king, and I was born a priest.” First Peter 2:5 and 9 speak of the holy priesthood and the royal priesthood. We are kings as priests, so we have the kingly, royal priesthood. This is the same thought as in Revelation 1:6. On the other hand, 1 Corinthians 13:9 and 10 say concerning the gift of prophecy, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is complete comes, that which is in part will be rendered useless.” The office, the ministry, of the prophets will end at the coming of the Lord, but the kingship and priesthood will never end. We will be the priests and the kings forever and ever (Rev. 22:3, 5).
At the present time, however, we need the prophets when the priests are weak, the kings are rotten, and neither do their duty. Such a degraded situation compels the Lord to raise up the prophets. Today in Christianity many people appreciate the prophets, speakers, preachers, and ministers, but they have not enough regard for the priesthood and the kingship. This means that what the Lord desires to have is mostly neglected. Do we have the priesthood, the kingship, or simply the prophets? Too many today pay their attention only to the prophets, prophecy, speaking, and teaching. There is almost no kingship and priesthood.
Prophecy is a matter of a gift, but the priesthood and the kingship are matters of life. They are matters of our rebirth. We are all born to be priests and kings. If we prefer, we can desire the gift of prophecy, but this is not an item of our birthright. It is not solely a matter of life.
We must not pay too much attention to the gifts. The gifts were added in due to an abnormal condition. When the church is abnormal, we need a prophet, just as we need a doctor when our health is abnormal. We do not always have a doctor in our home, but we do always have a kitchen. Too often in a church there is the “dispensary” of the preachers, but there is no kitchen. We need food to be served more than we need medicine to be dispensed.
We were born to be kings and priests. If the church life is healthy and normal, there is not much need of the prophets. Instead, everyone functions as a priest. If everyone exercises the priesthood and the kingship, the prophets will have to find a job somewhere else. When the king fails, a “Nathan” comes, but if the priests with the kings are normal, there is no need for the prophets. First Corinthians 12 and 14 reflect an abnormal condition in the church in Corinth. Romans and Ephesians, however, reflect a normal condition. When we are in Ephesians and Romans, there is no need of 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, but when we are abnormal in the church life, we need the prophets; we need the gifts.
The church life is a life of the kings and the priests. It must not be a life of the prophets. If we need the prophets, we are degraded. We are in the “books of the prophets,” which reveal a degraded condition. Since the generation of the apostles, it is because of degradation that the church has mainly had prophets and preachers. A great evangelist is the top preacher, the biggest speaker, but where are the priests and the kings? The Lord must recover the priesthood and the kingship.
Stanza 4 of Hymns, #848 says concerning the priesthood, “Through the church’s degradation, / Saints this office desolate; / Through the weakness of their spirits / Preaching doth predominate.” The priestly office is desolated through the church’s degradation. In today’s Christian churches we can hear much preaching, but when people are asked to pray, many are as silent as a tomb. When preaching predominates, it means that there is the ministry of the prophets, but there are no priests or kings. There is the gift, but there is no life. I say again, we were born to be priests and kings. The priesthood and the kingship are a matter of our new birth. If we want to have the gift of prophecy, we may desire it, but that is not something of our birthright.
As we have seen, the ministry of the prophets is needed because of the failure of the priests and kings. The prophets are needed to restore the priesthood and the kingship. Therefore, after the priesthood and the kingship are restored, there is no more need of the prophets. The office of the prophet was not in the original intention of God. In the original intention of God there were only two things: the priesthood and the kingship.