The word “prophet” (in W. E. Vine’s Expository dictionary) is defined as: “One who speaks forth or openly, a proclaimer of a divine message.” There were prophets living in Old Testament times and during the writing of the New Testament. Mr. Vine goes on to say: “In the case of O.T. prophets their messages were very largely the proclamation of the Divine purposes of salvation and glory to be accomplished in the future; the prophesying of the N.T. prophets was both a preaching of the Divine counsels of grace already accomplished and the fore-telling of the purposes of God in the future.”

It is obvious that the Old Testament prophets have passed off the scene but what about New Testament prophets? Are there still prophets in the church today, and if so, are we all prophets? In Ephesians 4:9 we learn that after Christ ascended to heaven, He “gave gifts to men.” That is, He gave gifts to believers in the church. In verse 11 we read, “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some PROPHETS, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” We can conclude from this that NOT ALL believers have the gift of a prophet, which is confirmed 1st Corinthians 12:29-30 where Paul asks if everyone has all the gifts. The obvious answer is “No, all believers do not have all of these gifts.” Besides that, I believe Scripture teaches that all New Testament prophets have passed off the scene to. Why? Because the purpose for their gift has been fulfilled. They, along with apostles, were given these gifts to “lay the foundation of the truth of Christianity.” We see this in Ephesians 2:19-20, “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, HAVING BEEN BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” The apostles and prophets in the early church were raised up to teach the “foundational truths about the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ” and once they had taught all the truths that had been revealed to them THE FOUNDATION WAS LAID! Their work was done (for you only lay the foundation of a building once) and thus they were no longer needed. 

This is the answer to your first question, but your second question is more involved. You ask, “Can we all prophesy?” Mr. Vine defines the word “prophesy” as: “The speaking forth of the mind and counsel of God.” The New Testament prophets were being given “fresh revelations from God” and then they proclaimed them orally and through the inspired scriptures. As we just saw, their work is done and the canon of Scripture has been completed, which means there are no new revelations from God. Yet one can still “speak forth the mind and counsel of God” by learning the scriptures and proclaiming the truth in them. We have this truth brought out in 1st Corinthians 14:1, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that YOU MAY PROPHESY.” The apostle Paul then gives the reason for desiring to prophesy: “But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” So, prophesying today is not “dispensing a new revelation about future events,” but rather “telling forth God’s mind in the scriptures so fellow-believers can be edified, exhorted and comforted.” 

Later in this chapter we learn that God ordained an actual meeting for prophesying. We see this in verses 29-32, “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. FOR YOU CAN ALL PROPHESY one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” Again, prophesying today is proclaiming God’s mind and counsels through the scriptures so I believe the two or three who speak in this meeting feel led of the Spirit to communicate God’s mind to others by reading and commenting on specific scriptures that will meet a current need of the believers present. They may need edification, or exhortation, or comfort, and by prophesying their needs will be met. God limits the number of speakers due to our limited attention span and limited ability to take in so much truth at one time. We saw that “you can all prophesy” which means that any brother (sisters are excluded from speaking in the public meetings of the church…see verses 34-35) that is led of the Spirit to prophesy “can prophesy.”  (DO)  (538.5)