I am using the expression “Agabus prophecies’ to refer to what most people would describe as “prophecies of doom” but which are in essence redemptive. We do not witness this kind of prophecies nowadays and that is quite unfortunate.
Agabus is a New Testament prophet. We read about him only in the book of Acts. We are told about only two of his prophecies and none of them is positive (good news): (1) Acts 11:27, 28 – “During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius).
Agabus’ second prophecy is in Acts 21:10, 11 -“After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, ‘The Holy Spirit says, “In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.”
Obviously, Agabus was not a carrier of “good news” by today’s church standard. Yet, for the more spiritually discerning it was good news given the inevitability of both events. Agabus prophecy about the famine helped the church organise a response to it. It stirred up the spirit of giving among believers in Antioch to support the church in Judea, thus strengthened the fellowship between both sides of the Church (Jews and Gentiles) -we need more “Agabus prophecies” today.
We need to hear from Paul himself about his understanding of God’s purpose in his hardship including prison: Philippians 1:12-14, “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”
Wow! God used Paul’s arrest and prison time to spread the gospel of his grace. Kings, governors, religious leaders, and prison guards heard about the grace of God to the world through Jesus Christ thanks to what happened to Paul that Agabus prophesied about. Hence, it was good news even though it did not sound like it.
Let me take it one step further. Revelations 12:11, “They overcame him [devil or Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they [Paul and other apostles and Christian martyrs] did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
Please note that they overcame Satan because they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Hence, Apostle Paul could receive Agabus prophecy as the word of God. It built up his confidence as he faced Jerusalem because he knew that the Lord was still in control.
May the Lord help us appreciate the prophetic ministry as the means through which the redemptive work of God is carried out in the world in his Sovereignty through believers as tools labouring for His purposes and glory, in Jesus Christ’s name!
