The confusion surrounding prophecy is also due to a lack of understanding of its biblical dimensions and its relationship with the word of knowledge. The apostle Paul speaks of “prophecy” and “the word of knowledge” as two distinct manifestations of the Spirit, but their nature is linked to prophecy since they belong to the category of gifts that use prophetic speech (1 Corinthians 12:8,10).

Indeed, many preachers mistakenly separate the word of knowledge from prophecy simply because the Louis Segond version does not literally call it prophecy. However, the Parole de Vie version describes them as “speaking in God’s name” and “making God known.” Thus, what Louis Segond calls “prophecy” is the “thus says the Lord,” while what it refers to as the “word of knowledge” is the knowledge of God, according to the Annotated Bible and Ostervald versions.

Although these two gifts are distinct in the manifestation of the Spirit, they both operate within the prophetic realm and are interconnected, like the body and blood. From the Old Testament, we see that “thus says the Lord” and the word of knowledge are prophetic offices. In other words, from the prophet’s mouth, we hear both “thus says the Lord” and the revelation of mysteries.

All of this reveals that the word of knowledge is not prophecy or a dimension of authentic prophecy, but rather, the word of knowledge and the word of wisdom accompany it. When the word of knowledge unveils hidden mysteries of a person’s life to make them aware of God’s greatness, prophecy presents them with God’s will. If the word of knowledge is the path God uses to draw a person toward Him, prophecy is the divine purpose they must fulfill.

Thus, prophecy—”thus says the Lord”—and the word of knowledge are interdependent. There is no prophecy without the word of knowledge and vice versa. To properly recognize one, it is necessary to have an understanding of both, as the Bible provides specific discernment for each. Below, we delve deeper into these two offices to enhance our understanding of the authenticity of prophecy…

This text is an excerpt from the book AUTHENTIC PROPHECY: A House with Many Rooms written by MWANZA KANIKI GIGLON.

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