Question:

Are apostles and prophets supposed to be part of Christianity today?

Answer:

No, apostles and prophets are no longer a part of the New Testament Church.   Apostles, by definition, had to be personal witnesses of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:21-24).  Obviously, there are no candidates for this office today!  As for prophets, these were men (and women!) who had the miraculous gift of prophetic utterance.  They could speak authoritatively under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.   I cannot absolutely “prove” that this office has ceased, but I believe that the biblical case that there are no more prophets is very strong.   The evidence is that only apostles could give such miraculous gifts (Acts 8:11-17).  Paul says that such gifts will cease (1 Corinthians 13:8).  It was prophesied in Zechariah that prophecy would cease soon after the ministry of the Messiah (Zech 13:2-6).  The purpose for the miraculous gifts has ended (Hebrews 2:3-4).  For all these reasons, I believe that there are no prophets today.  The church is principally lead by evangelists, pastors/elders and teachers (Ephesians 4:11).

I hope this helps.

John Oakes