The gift of prophesy is one of the many spiritual gifts that are in manifestation during the Church Age. It is, obviously, very misunderstood by many who, like the Corinthians, are ignorant of what the Bible says about this gift (along with many others).
The gift of prophesy is the supernatural, God-given capacity to announce the message of God with authoritative power.
It has nothing to do with blurting forth a “God told me...!” type of “revelation” in a church service. It refers to the preaching of God's Word in the power of God's Spirit, and the message of the prophet today comes from Scripture, the Bible.
The gift of prophesy, like all other spiritual gifts, is given for the edification of others.
Prophesying is the preaching of God's Word (Scripture) that edifies, exhorts, and comforts. It has nothing to do today with direct revelation ("God told me..."); we don't need anymore direct revelation (we have all the revelation God wants us to have in the Bible). We need more gifted men to preach and proclaim the revelation we already have. We need prophets: men with the gift of prophesy who live in the Word of God in order to “hear” from God through the pages of Scripture, and then proclaim His message with power.
Prophets are preachers; prophesying is preaching.
The gift of prophesy is the gift of preaching.
[During this study a question was raised that dealt with the issue of the transition that took place at the end of the Gospels and during the Book of Acts. Reference was made to the "Gospel of the Kingdom," which was given to the Twelve in the Great Commission, and the "Gospel of the Grace of God," which was given to Paul and the Church. For a brief overview of the various gospels mentioned in the New Testament, please see my article entitled "There is More than One Gospel."]