Where Is the Evidence?
Mark Driscoll claims that God closed the canon and that the Bible alone is the final authority. He warns that living prophets create confusion. But where does the Bible itself say it can function without prophets? Where does it say God would stop speaking once the apostles were gone? The burden of proof lies with the critic, not with the Restoration.
The Bible’s Witness: Scripture Needs Prophets
The Bible teaches that God’s word is living, not static, and that it requires living interpreters.
2 Peter 1:20-21: “No prophecy of the scripture is of private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Scripture cannot interpret itself. It requires living voices inspired by the Spirit.
Ephesians 4:11-13: God gave apostles and prophets for the perfecting of the saints “till we all come in the unity of the faith.” That unity is not yet here, so the need for prophets continues.
Amos 3:7: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” God’s pattern has always been to speak through chosen messengers.
Revelation 11:3: John foretells two prophets yet to come in the last days. If prophecy ended in the first century, who are these men?
Without prophets, scripture becomes subject to endless private opinions. That is why Christianity splintered into thousands of denominations. Text alone cannot produce unity. Living prophets are what keep the Church in one faith.
The Problem with Sola Scriptura
The doctrine of sola scriptura is not taught in the Bible, nor is it taught by the Catholic Church itself. It arose in the Reformation and has produced division ever since. Worse, it can become a form of idolatry.
A book without living interpretation turns into a silent authority, a god of ink and paper rather than a God who speaks.
Hebrews 13:8 teaches that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” If God spoke through prophets in every previous generation, when did He change His law?
Rejecting prophets is as dangerous now as it was anciently, unless Mr. Driscoll can demonstrate when God changed that divine law. Israel rejected Jeremiah and fell to Babylon. The Jews rejected John the Baptist and crucified Christ. Why would rejecting prophets today be any less serious?
To treat the Bible as the final word against all living revelation is not faith in God, it is faith in an ancient artifact.
Early Christian Views
The earliest Christians did not believe revelation had ceased. They expected it to continue.
Irenaeus (c. 130-202) taught that God still spoke through the Spirit and that prophecy remained part of the Church (Against Heresies 3.11.9).
Hermas (2nd century) in The Shepherd of Hermas was originally accepted as scripture by early Christians, and records visions, prophecies, and angelic messengers as guidance for the Church.
Tertullian (c. 160-225) argued against those who rejected new prophecy, saying, “We admit the existence of prophecy… we acknowledge spiritual gifts even now.” (Against Marcion 5.8).
Early Christians did not believe the heavens were closed. That idea came later, when creeds replaced prophets.
The Restoration’s Witness
The Restoration restores the pattern of living oracles.
Doctrine and Covenants 21:5: “For his [the prophet’s] word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth.”
Articles of Faith 1:9: “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and… that He will yet reveal many great and important things.”
Far from producing chaos, prophets unify the Saints worldwide. Where Protestant sola scriptura divides believers into sects, the voice of living prophets holds the Church together in one body.
Replacing the Burden of Proof
So the questions for Mr. Driscoll are these:
Where does the Bible teach that revelation would cease?
Why did Peter warn against “private interpretation” if scripture alone was sufficient?
Why did Paul say apostles and prophets were needed until unity, if they were only temporary?
Why does Revelation itself prophesy of future prophets if prophecy had already ended?
When did God officially change His law of speaking through living prophets?
Until those questions are answered, the charge that living prophets are “unbiblical” collapses. The evidence shows that it was post-apostolic Christianity that silenced the prophetic voice. The Restoration restores what God always intended: a living Church led by a living prophet, guided by a God who still speaks today.