Prophet

A prophet is a person who is believed to communicate with God, or with a deity. Prophets are thought to speak for God (or the gods), with the purpose of delivering a divinely inspired message. A prophet often operates through some means of divination or channeling. The process of receiving a message from God (or the gods) is known either as prophecy or as revelation.

In popular usage, especially among Christians, a prophet is believed to be someone foretelling the future. While the Bible does contain examples of this sort of prophecy, the majority of messages from Biblical prophets in the Hebrew Bible were social, religious messages, and warning concerning the consequences of sin.

The concept of a prophet is an old one, and is important in numerous religions. The Greek oracles were based on sacred sites that preceded the Greeks' arrival in the Aegean. The word prophet itself derives from the Greek word προφήτης, referring to one who "utters forth". In Greek religion the interpreters of Zeus, Apollo, and other gods were the oracles, at various ancient sites, where the god or goddess typically spoke through women.

illustration: The oracle of Apollo at Delphi:http://www.sikyon.com/Delphi/images/pythia_sm.jpg

The Bible refers to prophets of Yahweh, Baal, and various regional deities (see Bible prophecy). Christians refer to John the Baptist and Jesus as prophets, and other Christian prophets are refered to in the Book of Acts and the letters of Paul. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last and greatest of the prophets of Allah, or God. Latter Day Saints also commonly refer to Joseph Smith, Jr. and his successors as prophets, and the Bahai's consider their founder Baha'ulah to be a prophet. Contemporary new religions, such as the Unification Church, view their leaders as prophets as well.

Because of the influence of the bible, the Hebrew concept of prophecy is of great significance. The biblical prophets provided the world with a sense of history as the progressive unfolding of God's will, rather than a never-ending cycle based on the rhythms of nature. They stressed the idea that there is only one true God worthy of worship. Furthermore, they stood up to kings and priests alike to proclaim that without social justice, religion itself is meaningless. Finally, they left us with the eduring hope of a better world to come, a messianic age of peace and good will both in this life and the next.

Prophets in the Bible

Who is a prophet?

In Hebrew, the word traditionally translated as prophet is נְבִיא (navi), which means "proclaimer". The concept of navi is given in Deuteronomy 18:18, where God said, "I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him." Thus, the navi was thought to be the "mouth" of God. Nevertheless, prophets are not infallible, and they are capable of sin. The prophet Aaron sins by making the golden calf while Moses is receiving the ten commandments. Miriam sins by challenging the authority of Moses. Jonah runs from away from his calling, and then complains to God because his prophecy that Nineveh would be destroyed was not fulfilled. Both men and women could act as prophets. Biblical prophetesses include Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Abigail, the unnamed prophetess of Isaiah 8:3, Huldah, Noadiah, and Esther. Prophets could also be patriarchs (Abraham), kings (David and Solomon), hersdmen and tree dresses, and even gentiles (Balaam). In one extreme case, even an animal temporarily became a prophet (Balaam's ass).

Moses, the first great prophet

illustration: Michaelangeolo's Moses http://www.rainfall.com/posters/images/landscape/06612u.jpg

The prototype of the prophet is Moses. He knows God very personally, so much so that he can argue with God about policy. In God's name, he stands before the king of Egypt and demands liberation for the people of Israel. He actually represents God. As a prophet is a mouthpiece of God, so God gives Aaron to Moses as his mouthpiece. Although a prophet does not need to do miracles and indeed miracles can be done by mere magicians, through Moses God does the greatest miracles of all. More important, the bible says he was the first man to whom God revealed his true name, YHWH, or Yahweh. And it was through Moses that God revealed the Ten Commandments and the rudiments of the Jewish religious law.

The prophetic guilds

Prophetic activity is seen during the period of Judges in the activities of figures such as Deborah, a remarkable woman who in addition to being a prophetess was also a judge, military leader, psalmist, wfie and mother. The last judge, Samuel, likewise combined the function of priest, prophet, warrior, and political leader.

illustration: "The Song of Deborah" http://associate.com/photos/The-Bible-and-its-Story—1909/The_Bible_and_Its_Story_3/10.html

In this period also emerges the the phenomenon of prophetics schools or guilds. According to 1 Samuel 9:9, the old term for navi is ro'eh, ראה, which literally means "seer". This book describes Samuel as not only a judge, priest and warrior, but als as a leading figure among the bands of roaming prophets. These "seers" and "sons of the prophets" (ben navim) prophecied in a trance-like stayed induced as they played varioius musical instruments engaged in ecstatic dancing. The also attended the sacred altars of the "high places" such as Beth-El, Jericho, Shiloh, and Gibeon. King Saul is described as participating in their prophetic rites (1 Sam 10). King David appears to act likwise when he stripped and danced "with all his might" during the procession which brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jesusalem for the first time (2 Sam 6:14).

Other indivually named prophets during this period include Gad, seer to David prior to his becoming king; Nathan, who condemned David's adultery with Bathsheba and later helped Bathesheba's son Solomon gain the throne; and Ahijah, the wandering prophet who predicted that Israel would be divided in two because of Solomon's idolatry.

The phenomenon of prophetic guilds continued until at least the time of the prophet Elisha, who met two separate groups of prophets from Beth-El and Jericho at the time of Elijah's ascension (2 Kings 2). Although these appear to be prophets of God, not every prophetic group was devoted to the same deity, and some may have been sacrificed to several gods as part of their duties attending local shrines. These, along with Israelite prophets who spoke falsely in the name of Yahweh, came to be known as "false prophets."

Northern reforming prophets

Starting with the Elijah, the bible tells of prophets who did battle in the name of Yahweh against the prophets and priests of other gods. These prophets spoke boldly to the kings of Israel and Judah to urge them to worship Yahweh alone. Elijah and his protege Elisha operated during the period of the northern dynasty of Omri, urging Israel to turn away from foreign gods. Eljiah and Elisha are portrayed as powerful miracle-workers, and they are not above bloodying their own hands as well. When the Baal-worshipping northern Queen Jezebel put to death hundreds of the prophets of Yahweh, Elijah responded in kind by reportedly slaying four hundred and fifty prophets devoted to Baal (1 Kings 18).

During this period, the "court prophets", seers who advised the kings, also arose. The best of these, such as Nathan and Isaiah, gave good advice. Others occasionally found themselves in verbal battle against other prophets of God. A classic example is seen in the confrontation between the independant Micaiah son of Imlah and the court prophet Zedekiah son of Kenaanah during a political confernce btween King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah (1 Kings 22).

illustration: Micaiah before Kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat http://oneyearbible.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/micaiah20and20the20false20prophets20befo_1.jpg

Up until this point, the activities of the prophets were preserved in the form of stories with a few sparse quotations from the prophets themselves. Starting with Amos and Hosea, the sayings of some of the prophets were preserved by scribes, and some may have written down their own prophecies.

Early literary prophets

The first of the literary prohets was Amos. He appeared in the mid-eighth century B.C.E. when Israel's power was at its zenith after the power of the Syrian empire centering on Damascus had waned. He appeared seemingly out of nowhere to denounce the royal shrine at Beth-el as idolatrous, declaring:

"I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:21-24)

illsutration: The Prophet Amos http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8710/8710-h/images/053th.jpg

Amos' sayings are characteristic of the prophetic emphasis on justice as opposed to formalized religion. His verses are among the most quoted in the bible. They found particular resonance in the American civil rights movement and were put to good use to preachers such as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

The last of the northern prophets was Hosea. His ministry is dated to about 735 B.C.E. A man of deep pathos, he reported that God commanded him to marry an adulterous woman to symbolize God's own feelings of having been betrayed by Israel's love affair with foreign gods. Like Amos, he disparaged formal religion without sincere devotion to God and warned of impending disaster for Israel if it did not repent. It was from Hosea 6:6 that Jesus quoted when he said, "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice" (Mt. 9:13). Tragically, Hosea's warnings of doom proved true when the Northern Kingdom was invaded by Assyrian forces and its people forced into exile.

Classical Prophets

By the time of the later kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, priests and prophets had become clearly separated offices. Jerusalem emerged as the center of the priesthood, with only priests of the Levite tribe considered as authorized to offer sacrifice. Thus, priesthood was inherited, but prophecy was conferred directly by God. Eventually sacrifices outside of Jerusalem Temple were banned. Prophets who did not conform do this principle were considered false prophets. On the other hand, prophets often crticized the practices of corrupt priests, even in Jerusalem. The prophets whose words are preserved in the bible are particularly harsh in condemning the local shrines or "high places" where unauthorized priests serve not only Yahweh but tribal and local deities as well. They warn that unless such practices cease, Israel and Judah will face dire consequences, including invasion and exile. In this context they also begin to prophesy the restoration of the Davidic monarchy, centering on one of David's anointed descendants. Thus the concept of the Messiah was born. Among these, three prophets are particularly outstanding for their literary works as well as their political and religioius influence: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Isaiah

Isaiah's dates are controversial. The Book of Kings records him as beginning his activities at the end of the reign of King Uzziah, with his most important prophecies coming during the reign of Hezekiah. However, most scholars now believe that only some of the prophecies recorded in the Book of Isaiah are authentic saying of the historical prophet. These are referred to as "first Isaiah." This Isaiah counseled King Hezekiah to keep faith during the seige of Jerusalem by Assyrian forces that had already captured all of the other walled cities of Judah as well as previously conquering the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Like his predecessors, he stressed the importance of worshipping Yahweh only, urges repentance from idolatry, and warns of dire consquences otherwise. The idea of a "remnant" returning from exile under the leadership of a messianic king begins to take form in Isaiah's writings, although whether these belong to "first" or "second" Isaiah is debated.

"The Lion Shall Lie Down with the Lamb" http://www.ordination.org/Isaiah-11-6.jpg

Second Isaiah, or Duetero-Isaiah, is the title given to the writings that comprise many of the prophecies and hymns contained in the Book of Isaiah. Deutero-Isaiah, either as an individual or a collective body of prophetic writings later collected into a single volume, is thought to have been written during the period of exile in Babylon. It includes the famous messianic prophecy of Isaiah 60 as well as the Servant Songs concerning Israel's suffering and redemption. These hymns, especially Isaiah 52, were later interpreted by Christians to refer to Jesus rather than to the Jews as a people. A "Third Isaiah" is also posited, refering to writings incorporated into the Book of Isaiah from post-exilic times.

Regardless of the actual date of Isaiah's writings, they represent the most sublime expression of the messianic ideal. In this prophecies are expressed not only the hope of Israel's redemption, but also for a universal salvation in which gentiles as well as Jews are included. Isaiah's words have inspired religiouis figures, poets, artists, and composers throughout the centuries. It was from Isaiah that Jesus is portrayed as reading in his first public declaration of his ministry, it is Isaiah who inspired several of the most powerful lines of Handel's Messiah; and it is Isaiah's vision of the kingdom of the "Prince and Peace" that inspires Jews and Christians alike when they pray for the coming, or the return, of the Messiah.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah's minstry spanned the reigns of several kings. The book that bears his name seems to be largely the work of his personal secretary, Baruch. It records not only a large number of oracles and prophetic hymns, but also a good deal of historical material and even a letter from Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon. Lamentations, traditionally attributed to Jeremiah, is probably by another writer although it refers to Jeremiah's time.

Jeremiah began his ministry during the reign of King Josiah and apparently supported the young king's Yahwhistic reforms (Jer 11:1-10). Like all true prophets of the period he harshly condemned idolatry. However, he was just as strong in criticizing the Temple itself for corruption. He warned rulers and priests alike that they must do justice and care for widows and orphans, not simply offer up the required sacrifices and trust that the city of God's temple would be protected (Jer. 7:5-8). His career at court was a stormy one, and he was flogged and later imprisoned for his outspoken views.

illustraiton: Rembrandt's Jeremiah http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/Rembrandt/Jeremiah.sm.JPG

After Josiah's death in battle against Egypt and Judah's vassalage to Babylon, Jeremiah urged accomodation with the Babylonian Empire, which he saw as God's instrument to punish Judah for her sins. He was opposed by a leading court prophet, Hannaniah, who predicted that the Babylonian yolk will be broken within two years. Jeremiah countered with a prophecy of his own predicting Hananiah's own impending death (Jer 28). After this, there is preserved a copy of a letter from Jeremiah to those Judeans already in exile in Babylon, urging them to ignore what other prophets tell them. He advises them to settle down, buy houses, and pray for the Babylonian king, for it is God's will that they remain there for seventy years.

His advice regarding accommodation was not heeded. The vassal king Zedekiah rebelled against Babylon, provoking a brutal reprisal. The city was sacked, burned to the ground, and the king himself was blinded and exiled to Babylon. Jeremiah, from his own exile in Egypt, continued his prophetic activity until his death.

Jeremiah's passionate tone earned him the title "the weeping prophet" as well as "the prophet of doom". His verses are among the most poignant in the bible, demonstrating such themese as God's love and wrath, the dire consequences of sin, the concept of a "new covenant" between man and God, the promise of redemption, and the hope that repentance will bring salvation.

Ezekiel

Exekiel is the great prophet of the Jewish exile in Babylon. A priest with no temple in which to offer sacrifice, he bemoaned the fate of Israel and Judah and called for a revived faith centered on the hope of a rebuilt temple and a messianic king. Althouh his book show much concern with priestly issue, it deals to a great extent with the moral principles of what later become known as "ethical monotheism."

Ezekiel was apparently a younger contemporary of Jeremiah and may have heard the older prophet preach in Jerusalem. Much of Ezekiel's prophecies take the form of poetry. He partipated viscerally in his prophetic pronouncements through fasts and other mortifications of the flesh. The death of his own wife was, to Ezekiel, associated with God's feelings of mourning for Jerusalem at the moment of its destruction. His expressions of God's pain and anger are particularly striking, even disturbing to modern readers in the violent sexual imagery the prophet uses to rage against Israel and Judah's idolatrous "fornication."

More than any other prophet, Ezekiel was a visionary. His several visions of aneglic beings and vehicles are particularly vivid. Moreover his revelation of the Valley of Dry Bones, although originally refering to the revival of Israel as a people, became an important basis for the belief in the resurrection of the dead.

IllustrationL Ezekiel's vision http://home.halden.net/rolf/merian/m125.jpg

The exiled elders consulted Ezekiel, and it is possbile that his prophecies, together with Jeremiah's, had great impact on the consciousness of exile community. His writings certainly very important in later Jewish life. They have also had great significance in kabbalistic thought and Christian apocaylticism.

Other Biblical Prophets

The prohetic books in the bible are the following:

Obadiah — Primarily a denuncation of the sin of Edom, probably sometime after Jerusalem's fall in 586 B.C.E.

Jonah — A humorous dramatic portrayal, probably written after the peiod of Babylonian exile, about a prophet who runs from his mission, gets swallowed by a huge fish, and finally goes to the great gentile city of Nineveh to deliver God's word: "yet forty days and Nineveh will be destoryed." When the city repents, God changes his mind and Jonah ends up pouting. The book serves as a counterbalance to exclusivism, showing that God wants to bring redemption to gentiles as well as Jews.

Micah — A southern prophet, probably a contemporary of Isaiah. His message shows an affinity with the themes of his northern counterparts, Amos and Hosea, as well as with the Isaiah himself. The Book of Jeremiah states that Micah was a spiritual forbearer of Jeremiah.

Nahum — A master of poetic imagery with strong nationalistic overtones and fierce devotion to Yahweh. Nothing is known of his personal life, but his oracles refer to impending defeat of the Assyrian empire as the Babylonian power was on the rise.

Habakkuk — One of many prophets active during the short reign of Jehoiakim, the second son of Josiah, just prior to the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. He initially shares Jereimiah's optimism toward the Babylonian power as God's intrument, but later portrays King Nebuchadrezzer as a cruel tyrant who will ultimately by judged by God.

Zephaniah — Possibly a man of royal lineage descended from King Hezekiah, this prophet lived during the reign of Josiah, probably during its early stages before the Yahwistic reforms had been fully implemented. He seems to have had strong connections to the Temple in Jerusalem and some scholars believe he could have been instrumental in effecting the reform program of Joisah.

Haggai — A post-exilic Jew who helped Ezra the Scribe rebuild the temple, his few survivial verses look with great excitement to the reestablishment of the sacred sanctuary. Unlike Amos, Hosea, and Micah before him, he stresses that God's blessing will be given only on the basis of properly performed religious rites.

Zecahriah 8:22 — 'Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him' http://www.thebiblestudypage.com/images/zphoto.gif

Zechariah — A contemporary of Haggai who, like him, emphasized the rebuilding of the Temple Zechariah seems to pin his messianianic hope on Jerusalem's governor Zerubbabel, who supervised the rebuilding of the Temple: "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it!'" (Zechariah 4:7)

Malachi — Writing after the Temple had been completed but the hopes of earlier prophets had given way to corruption and despair, Malachi's message is that true relgion bears fruit in true morality. Return to God, and He will return to you. His promise of the return of Elijah before the coming Day of the Lord is a fitting close to the collection of prophetic books.

It should be noted that The Book of Daniel is not considered on the prophetic books but one of the "writings" in the Jewish Bible. Whether he was a prophet belonging to history or a literary figure of a later era is a subject of much debate.

Prophets in Jewish thought

Classical Jewish texts teach that the most direct forms of prophecy ended with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. However, various rabbinic Jewish works, including the midrash, state that other less direct forms of communication between man and God still exist, and have never ended.

Many Jewish works, including the Talmud and Maimonides's Guide for the Perplexed states that gentiles may receive prophecy. However, Judaism generally does not accept that any of the specific people well known in other religions are genuine prophets. Jews have not recognized any specific gentile leader as a prophet, as most people who claim to be prophets in other religions have done so in such a way as to delegitimize or supersede Judaism itself. Judaism (based on Deuteronomy Ch. 13 and 18:20) holds that no true prophet will create a new faith or religion as a successor to Judaism. Thus, the Qur'an's claims that Jews have deliberately falsified the Bible and that only Muslims know the true word of God is rejected.

The Talmud states that minor forms of prophecy still occur. One example of this is the 'bat kol'. (e.g. Tosefta Sota 13:3, Yerushalmi Sota 24b, and Bavli Sota 48b). The Talmud states that each time a Jew studies the Torah or its rabbinic commentaries, God is revealed anew; there is still a link between the God and the Jewish people. Reference: Abraham Joshua Heschel's Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Others (Ktav)

A Jewish tradition holds that there were 600,000 male and 600,000 female prophets. Judaism recognizes the existence of 48 male prophets who bequeathed permanent messages to mankind. Jewish prophets

According to the Talmud there were also seven women who are counted as prophets whose message bears relevance for all generations: Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah (mother of the prophet Samuel), Abigail (a wife of King David), Huldah (from the time of Jeremiah), and Esther. There were, of course, other women who functioned as prophets, and the last prophet mentioned in the Bible, Noahdiah (Nehemiah 6:14) was a woman.

Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote one of the 20th century's classic commentaries on the prophets, entitled "The Prophets" which has received acclaim in most of the Jewish community, and in part of the Catholic and Protestant Christian community.

Also see: False Prophet for detailed definition of prophet and false prophet in Judaism.

Christian concepts of a prophet

Christians believe a prophet is a person who speaks for God, in the name of God, and who carries God's message to others. Some Christian denominations teach that a person who receives a personal message not intended for the body of believers (where such an event is credited at all) should not be termed a prophet. The reception of a message is termed revelation; the delivery of the message is termed prophecy. For Christians the authenticity of a prophet is judged by their fruits as Jesus said that one should judge a prophet by his fruits, (Gospel of Matthew 7) and by checking whether his predictions come true. Deuteronomy 18:21-22 contains several warnings about false prophets and is very specific about the test of whether a prophet is true or false. A false prophet is considered to be someone who is purposely trying to deceive, or is delusional, or is under the influence of Satan (for detail, see main article False prophet).

Biblical prophecies were often conditional, even if the conditions were not explicitly stated; repentance and faithfulness, as well as their opposite (sin), were common reasons why prophecies were rescinded (Jeremiah 18:7-10). Examples of such prophesies that were not fulfilled as anticipated include Jonah's prophesy concerning the destruction of Ninevah (Jonah 3:4), Ezekial's prophesy concerning the destruction of Tyre (Ezekial ch. 26-29), Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the death of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 34:4-5), Nathan's prophesy concerning Israel's future (2 Samuel 7:5-17), the angel's prophecy concerning Samson (Judges 13:5), Elijah's prophecy of Ahab's destruction (1 Kings 21:17-29), and Isaiah's prophecy of Hezekiah's death (Isaiah 38:1-5).

Catholic, Orthodox and most Protestant Christians hold that prophecy ended at the close of the Apostolic Age, that is around the end of the fist century CE. New Testament Age prophets include: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon, John the Baptist, Jesus, etc.

Paul refers to prophets as on of the three important charismatic offices of the church, together with apostles and teachers. The Book of Acts tells of several itinerant Christian prophets who operated in apostolic times. The Didache, also call the Teaching of Twelve, represents a transition to a more settled time, recommending that prophets be elected to serve as local bishops. The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian prophetic work that, while not accepted into the New Testament canon, represents a late book of Christian prophecy. The Montanist movement of the second century brought the era of Christian prophecy to a close when it was condemned as heretical.

The Islamic concept of prophet

Islam holds that Allah (Islamic proper name of God), sent messengers to all nations on earth, at various stages of their histories. These messengers, some who were also prophets, had the task of conveying religious guidance to the people of the world. Certain messengers were sent to guide certain people and they all held the same basic message of Islam. The Qur'an is held by most Muslims to be the uncreated speech of God and revealed via the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad, who is regarded as the final prophet.

The Qur'an specifically mentions the names of 25 prophets, and indicates that there have been many others sent to humanity throughout time. These 25 include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. These individuals were mortal humans; Islam demands that a believer accept all of the prophets, making no distinction between them. It is Muhammad who is held to be the last prophet, ending a long line of messengers. Also believed, according to tradition, is the return of prophet Isa (Jesus) on the Last Day.

A sect of the Ahmadiyya movement consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian to be a prophet. However as he comes after the prophet Muhammad, their teachings are considered heretical and non-Islamic by most Muslims.

Some historical figures who claimed to be a prophet in a more or less Islamic sense of the word include Musaylimah of Yamamah, Ha-Mim of the Ghomara, Salih of the Berghouata, and (possibly less than seriously) the great Arab poet al-Mutanabbi; no groups maintain their prophethood today.

Most Muslims, according to certain schools, distinguish between prophets per se (نبي nabi) and messengers (رسول rasul), the latter being those prophets who have brought a holy book rasila (such as the Qur'an or Bible).

The Bahá'í concept of prophet

The Bahá'í Faith teaches that there have been other great prophets besides the seven cited by Islam, and that God will send more prophets in the future, when necessary. The founder of the Bahá'í faith, Bahá'u'lláh, who came after Muhammad, is one such prophet. In addition, there were other prophets who spoke to the followers of other faiths in other parts of the world. Thus the founders of great non-Western religions, such as Buddha, are also considered prophets of God. The faith teaches that religion is an unfolding process in world history, and the various prophets participated in this process in different times and cultures. This explains the differences in the world's great religions, which are ultimately one and come from God.

The Bahá'í Faith regards not only the prophetic messages as divine, but also the messengers themselves. This disagrees with the Jewish and Sunni Muslim conceptions of prophethood, but is similar to the Shi'i (esp. ghulat) view, and also resembles the Christian view of Christ. To avoid confusion, Bahá'ís will often refer to major prophets as "Manifestations" (mazhar); e.g. "the Manifestation of God for this Age".

The Direct Worship concept of prophet

Direct Worship teaches that God is equally accessible to all mankind, and that God has ordained only one universally common mode of worship for all mankind to follow. As such, any follower of Direct Worship can obtain enlightenment from God provided a certain level of sacrifices is met and that these sacrifices are performed directly in honor of God only. Consequently, prophets in Direct Worship are accorded a normal human status, but are recognised to have received divine revelation as a reward for performing significant prayers and sacrifices.

Tenrikyo concept of prophet

Tenrikyo's prophet, Miki Nakayama or Oyasama [1], is believed by Tenrikyoans to have been a kind of microphone of God, as God spoke through Oyasama, directly, to whomever was in the vicinity. She had three aspects: the Shrine of Tsukihi (the body of the woman was occupied by the mind of God), The Parent of the Divine Model (Oyasama taught the people by instructions and examples), and The Truth of the Everliving Oyasama (she continues to watch humanity develop, even after shedding her body).

Other prophets

Other people throughout history have been described as prophets in the sense of foretelling the future (as opposed to forthtelling the message of the Deity). Examples of such prophets include:

• Nostradamus
• Shirdi Sai Baba
• Sathya Sai Baba
• Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Madame Blavatsky)
• Deganawidah
• Dan Evehema, Hopi Elder
• Mitar Tarabich
• John Titor
• Jeane Dixon
• Hal Lindsey
• Edgar Cayce
• William Miller
• Merlin the wizard
• Mother Shipton
• St Malachy - see Prophecy of the Popes

Assessment of the prophet's authenticity and false prophets

Jewish views

According to Deuteronomy 18:21-22, one should judge a prophet by checking whether his predictions come true. The book contains several warnings about false prophets and is very specific about the test of whether a prophet is true or false. (For detail, see main article False prophet)

Christian views

According to the Bible, Jesus said that one should judge a prophet by his fruits. (Gospel of Matthew 7). In addition Christianity recognizes the divine nature of the Old Testament, and inherited the same text in Deutoronomy (although as with much of the Old Testament, the degree to which it is considered applicable varies)

Muslim views

According to Islam, Muhammed was the last prophet so any prophet after Muhammed is regarded as false.

The basic reasons for the initiation, continuation and the ultimate termination of the institute of prophethood, are derived by Muslims from various references of the Qur'an, are:

• To guide people to the correct path at such a level that they are left with no excuse for rejecting the basic truths taught by the prophets of God (Al-Nisaa 4: 165). For this particular purpose, God did not only send a few messengers at a particular place and time, but continued sending his messengers for a long period of time and in various nations and peoples.

• To guide people, according to their general socio-cultural and other collective circumstances to the laws of God; with the evolution in these socio-cultural and other collective circumstances, the laws were amended and sequentially brought closer to the ultimate likings of God (Al-Baqarah 2: 106 and Al-Maaidah 5: 3). For this particular purpose, teachings relating to the socio-cultural and other collective aspects of human life were not given in their final shape in the beginning; on the contrary, the final teachings were deferred till the time when man, in his collective capacity, was in a position to bear and follow them.

With the advent of the Muhammad, both these targets of the institute of prophethood were accomplished, and the institute of prophethood was terminated.

Latter-day Saint concept of prophets

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that God has never ceased to communicate with his children. While anyone may receive revelation for themselves or their own families (through prayer, faith, repentance, etc.), special people have been called throughout history to proclaim God's message to the world. This message, since the time of Adam and Eve, has consistenly been a call for people to repent and exercise faith in God and in the Savior's Atonement. The Book of Mormon describes in detail the supposed ministry of prophets among the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, and it alludes to other prophets who would be raised up among God's children in other nations, not just those recorded in the Bible.

Latter-day Saints believe a prophet is called to lead the Lord's true Church any time it is organized on the earth. Jesus did this during his mortal ministry, and Peter acted in Christ's place after His ascension, but because of persecution the church eventually fell into apostasy. With the latter-day Restoration of the Gospel in 1830 through the Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., Latter-day Saints claim Christ's Church was, for the last time, organized and established upon the earth. The Lord directs his saints through the current President and senior Apostle of the Church; he is called "the Prophet" because he is the only man on earth at any given time who is authorized to receive revelation for the whole world.

The prophet:

• Speaks for God, with divine power and authority
• Communicates God’s will to all people
• Is a special witness of Jesus Christ, testifying of His divinity
• Teaches the gospel and interprets the word of God
• Calls the unrighteous to repentance
• Receives revelations and directions from the Lord
• May see into the future in order to warn the world of coming events

Joseph Smith (1805–44) is called the "Prophet of the Restoration" and was the first in the latter-days. As of September 2005, the current Prophet and leader of the church is Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-). Between these two, in chronological order, were Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Joseph F. Smith, Heber J. Grant, George Albert Smith, David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Harold B. Lee, Spencer W. Kimball, Ezra Taft Benson and Howard W. Hunter.

Jehovah's Witnesses concepts of a prophet

Jehovah's Witnesses do not consider any single person in their modern-day organization to be a prophet. Their literature refers to their organization collectively as God's prophet on earth; this is understood however in the sense of declaring their interpretation of God's judgments from the Bible by God's guidance of His Holy Spirit. One issue of The Watchtower their magazine 1 Jan 1969, said: "Ever since 'The Watchtower' began to be published in July of 1879 it has looked ahead into the future... No, 'The Watchtower' is no inspired prophet, but it follows and explains a Book of prophecy the predictions in which have proved to be unerring and unfailing till now. 'The Watchtower' is therefore under safe guidance. It may be read with confidence, for its statements may be checked against that prophetic Book." They also claim that they are God's one and only true channel to mankind, and used by God for this purpose 2. They have made many eschatological predictions stating that there were "God's interpretations, not those of men".

David Berg, the founder of the Children of God (now The Family), declared himself a prophet in 1972. ¹

The Unification Church regards its founder, Sun Myung Moon as a living prophet.

The sociologist Max Weber distinguished two types of prophets, the emissary type and the exemplary. The emissary type believes that s/he has received an important message that must be communicated to others. The exemplary type bases his religious authority on experience that serves as an example to others.

Some prophecies that seem to foretell the future are now widely believed as having been made some time after the event; these propheices are sometimes given the technical name vaticinia ex eventu.

Prophets in science-fiction and fantasy

Prophets in fantasy include:

• The seers & druids of Shanara
• The wizards of Middle-earth
• The prophets of Kirthanin
• The Bajoran Prophets from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• The Prophecies of the Dragon in Robert Jordan's "The Wheel of Time" book series
• Paul of Dune

See also

• seer
  • Rishi
  • Vates
• fortune teller
• "Les Nabis" (the "prophets") an avant-garde group of late 19th century French artists.
• portent

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• The Family. The Religious Movements Homepage Project @ The University of Virginia. URL accessed on August 5, 2005.
• Prophets. Mormon.org. URL accessed on August 5, 2005.

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