Was Agabus a True Prophet?

A “Wrong-Headed” View of New Testament Prophecy

• Cessationism holds that the gift of prophecy has ceased in the churches today.
• Continuationism holds that the gift of prophecy is operable in the churches today.

Some “continuationist” views of the spiritual gifts and prophecy affect the interpretation of the prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21:11. One who holds such a view is Wayne Grudem, well-known for his Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020) In Grudem’s view, there are two types of New Testament prophecy. Apostolic prophecy was infallible and authoritative, equivalent to Old Testament prophecy, and ceased after the days of the apostles. A secondary type of prophecy for congregational guidance was fallible, non-authoritative, and continues throughout the church age. Notice Grudem’s second view of prophecy applied to the prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21.

“However, using OT standards, Agabus would have been condemned as a false prophet, because in Acts 21:27-35 neither of his predictions are fulfilled.” Grudem claims Agabus got it wrong both in saying he would be bound by the Jews, and that the Jews would deliver him to the Romans. He writes, “Paul was not bound (δέω) by the Jews but by the Romans (δέω, 21:33 and 22:29), and far from delivering Paul over (παραδίδωμι, v. 11; essential to the word is the notion of active or intentional giving on the part of the subject of the verb) to the Romans, they tried to kill him (vs. 31), and he had to be delivered from the Jews by the soldiers (vss. 32-33) …” He later ameliorates this with “it is not that Agabus has spoken in a totally false or misleading way; it is just that he has the details wrong.” This fits Grudem’s view of secondary New Testament prophecy, which has “divine authority in general content” even while getting details wrong.[i]

Luke has previously affirmed Agabus as a true prophet (Acts 11:27-28). Luke further faithfully records this prophecy (Acts 21) as the words of the Holy Ghost, and gives no hint that anything is amiss. It is reasonable to assume that, since Agabus spoke by the Holy Ghost and said the Jews would bind Paul, that they did bind him when they drew him out of the temple (vs. 27-30). The Jews “laid hands on him…took Paul, and drew him out of the temple.” That their intent was to kill Paul does not preclude that they instead gave him up to the Romans when the circumstances changed. Paul himself later uses (Acts 28:17) the very expression that Agabus used, Acts 21:11. Paul said he was delivered, παραδίδωμι, “into the hands of the Romans.” Making Agabus wrong also makes Paul wrong! That the Roman captain commanded that Paul be bound with two chains does not preclude that Paul could have already been bound by the Jews with some kind of restraint. “Agabus got it wrong” seems to be a modern idea brought to the text by those who hold a continuationist position (such as Grudem and D. A. Carson).[ii] This supports the view of modern prophets in the churches who get the “general content” right but the “exact details.” However, this also plays well into the hands of the skeptics and unbelievers. And it is just wrong-headed.

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[i] Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in 1 Corinthians, University Press of America, 1982, pp. 79-80.
[ii] For example, John Gill writes: “thus saith the Holy Ghost; who was in Agabus, and spoke by him, and foretold some things to come to pass; and which did come to pass.”