Anna, Prophetess

There are two seniors in Luke's account of Jesus' birth, one a man and the other a woman by the name of Anna. She was no ordinary woman, says Luke. She was a prophetess, a title seldom given to a woman in the Bible. Scripture speaks of six women as prophetess: five under the old covenant and Anna in the Luke's Gospel. In addition, Luke writes in Acts about the four daughters of Philip who prophesied.  That brings the number of prophetesses to ten. Conversely, Jezebel in the book of Revelations (Rev. 2:20) calls herself a prophetess but she was false.

Other women prophesied, but are not called prophetesses. These include: Rachel (Gen. 30:24), Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1-10), Abigail (1 Samuel 25:29-31), Elisabeth (Luke 1:41-45), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:46-55).

Here is Luke's account of Anna:

And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. - Luke 2:36-38 ESV

I cannot fill in the details about Anna better than Helen Gwilliam. I refer you to her short story, a fictional account of what may have occurred. She concludes her story about Anna with these words.

Early one morning as she was preparing for the day, she heard the voice of Simeon in the temple. Simeon was well known as a devout and godly man in Jerusalem. Anna knew that he would not be in the temple unless the Holy Spirit had directed him. She stayed in the background, watching as Simeon stood with a young couple and began prophesying over their baby. "Could this really be?" thought Anna. Joy surged through her entire being. 

When Simeon noticed Anna, he motioned her forth. As the young mother passed her baby to the aged Anna their eyes locked. Though generations apart, a deep understanding seemed to pass between the two women as each knew that they had a special part to play in the birth of this baby. A fire burned in Anna's heart as she held the tiny infant. In some ways, He looked so ordinary, and yet He almost seemed to be speaking to her. "I am the Bread of Life, I am the Resurrection and the Life, I am the True Vine, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". Anna knew that the babe was "Emmanuel—God with us."

Not too many weeks later, the Lord called Anna home to be with Him. Yet Anna lives on. Today, she is part of that great cloud of witnesses. Her spirit lives in the hearts of thousands of men and women who are again looking for the great Messiah to come not as a baby in swaddling clothes, but as a King clothed with great glory. “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him." Rev 1:7 (NIV) "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Rev22:20 KJV

Let us give thanks to God for those prophetesses in the church who continue to teach and speak about the Lord Jesus. In my years of public ministry I have known many wonderful women like Anna, teachers of children and adults, prophetesses who speak forth the Word of God and urge us all to look for the return of our Lord Jesus. Even so, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! —Rev. 22:20.