Prophecy and the Teaching Office

Bullinger proves pivotal in the history of Protestant views of the prophet and prophecy, for he signaled a significant shift from a focus on the office of the prophet to a focus on prophetic duties, particularly the task of teaching. Calvin even more profoundly identified the prophet with the office of teacher. In his use of Old Testament prophets as significant models for his ministry, Calvin cast this in terms of teaching and intentionally avoided explicit prophetic terminology so that ultimately he viewed himself as a teacher with prophetic functions. Distinctive to Calvin was his emphasis on the prophet’s duty to apply Scripture to contemporary circumstances and his language of temporary and permanent offices. Bullinger and Calvin both employed the prophet and biblical prophecy in their worship reforms and to strengthen scriptural and clerical authority, yet confessional distinctions around these uses increasingly emerged.