The prophet's handbook

their behalf, intercede for their best interests, and direct and govern their affairs. What an explanation. Prophets, then, are to see to God’s business and not their own. Their words are to uphold and expedite God’s purpose for sending them, and not what they want to be. Prophets must become aware that they are God’s agents, and their ministries are His divine agency. A prophetic agency, in or outside the church, is ordinarily interposed in the principal’s territory or settled in a remote territory amid the population it exists to serve. Its call is to establish the principal’s authority and strengthen his or her holdings in distant lands. Think about how the prophetic is to accomplish this on behalf of the Godhead and the kingdom of heaven on earth. As with natural or secular agents, so it is with God’s spiritual ones. Chief prophets are assigned by the Lord territories over which they rule and spheres of ministry within which they serve. According to the pattern set by Samuel, they generally have a diverse mix of prophetic staff members to facilitate their agency assignments. In ecclesiastical matters, prophetic delegation and dispatch pertaining to the church’s realm on earth. Prophets under these circumstances become the embodiment of God’s executive authority beneath His apostles, although always as their collaborators. Any genuine apostle will have a strong multifaceted prophetic staff to work alongside him. In this way, the prophets are the first and most potent authorities the apostle can rely upon. Extent of Agency Power and Authority The word authority means the lawful right to enforce obedience, the legitimate power to influence or direct the behavior of others—usually subordinates. The exercise of authority involves instruction, command, censure, and discipline. Hebrew terms for authority convey words and sentiments that ascribe majesty, glory, honor, renown, and even ornamentation to our basic understanding of the word. The ornamentation refers to the badges and other insignia of authority. These all signify the exalted station of the one placed in authority over others. Additional words and meanings include the accompanying grandeur, appearance, and excellency that impose their forms upon the one so installed. These are inherently contained in the office to which the authorized one attends. The sum of these words explains the weight of authority and its effects on those upon whom it is placed. It is not difficult to see how, based on the above, authority originated with God; nor is it hard to understand its effect in Moses’ inauguration of Joshua, one