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A prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak. Those who are not prophets must then commit themselves to the divinely inspired word as an act of faith. This can be problematic, especially as there are false prophets. When the prophet is held to be genuine, new religions may be adopted, based on the prophet's teachings, and on their interpretation. 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 this sense, the terms are synonyms.) In popular usage, especially among Christians, a prophet is believed to be someone foretelling the future. While the Bible certainly does contain examples of this sort of prophecy, the majority of messages from Biblical prophets in the Hebrew Bible were social or religious messages that contained no such predictions. As Greek poets were inspired, Thomas Paine argued in ''The Age of Reason'' that "prophet" among the Jews had simply meant poet or musician: : "There is not, throughout the whole book called the Bible, any word that describes to us what we call a poet, nor any word that describes what we call poetry. The case is, that the word prophet, to which a later times have affixed a new idea, was the Bible word for poet, and the word 'prophesying' meant the art of making poetry. It also meant the art of playing poetry to a tune upon any instrument of music." The prophets of the Hebrew Bible were speakers for God rather than "seer-priests" and were absolutely against divination and the like (Allen, 1971). Some prophecies that seem to foretell the future are now widely believed as having been made some time after the event; these prophecies are sometimes given the technical name '' Vaticinia Ex Eventu ''. The concept of a prophet is an old one, and is important in numerous religions. The Greek Oracle s were inherited from Autochthonous sacred sites that preceded the Greeks' arrival in the Aegean . The '' Bible '' refers to prophets of Yahweh , Baal , and other regional deities (see Bible Prophecy ). Christian s refer to John The Baptist as a prophet of the Christian God, and Muslim s refer to Muhammad as ''the'' Prophet, the last and greatest of the prophets of Allah , or God. Latter Day Saint s also commonly refer to Joseph Smith, Jr. and his successors as prophets. SOCIOLOGICAL TAXONOMY OF PROPHETS 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. PAGAN GREEK AND ROMAN ORACLES The role of spokesperson for the gods is an archaic one in the Hellenic world. However, the word ''prophet'' itself derives from the Greeks, who used the word ''προφήτης'' to refer to an interpreter or spokesperson of a deity, who "utters forth." In Greek Religion the interpreters of Zeus , Apollo , and other God s were the Oracle s, at numerous ancient sites, where the god or goddess spoke through women, sometimes identified as Sibyl s and the utterances, in classical times, were interpreted by men. In various Greek legends, oracles (particularly Apollo's at Delphi ) spoke cryptically of the future, and their meaning was frequently misunderstood. In ''The Iliad'' the Trojan princess Cassandra warns of upcoming events, but has been cursed such that no one believes her prophecies. PROPHETS IN THE TANAKH (HEBREW BIBLE) In 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. The root nun-bet-alef ("navi") is based on the two-letter root nun-bet which denotes hollowness or openness; to receive transcendental wisdom, one must make oneself “open”. Cf. Rashbam 's comment to Genesis 20:7. According to I Samuel 9:9, the old name for navi is ro'eh, ראה, which literally means "Seer". That could document an ancient shift, from viewing prophets as seers for hire to viewing them as moral teachers. Allen (1971) comments that in the First Temple Era, there were essentially seer-priests, who formed a guild, divined, performed rituals and sacrifices, and were scribes, and then there were canonical prophets, who did none of these (and were against divination) and had instead a message to deliver. The seer-priests were usually attached to a local shrine or temple, such as Shiloh, and initiated others as priests in that priesthood: it was a mystical craft-guild with apprentices and recruitment. Canonical prophets were not organised this way. The similar term "ben-navi" ("son of the prophet") means "member of a seer-priest guild". Some examples of prophets in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) include Abraham , Sarah , Isaiah , Samuel , Ezekiel , Malachi , and Job . In Jewish tradition, Daniel is not counted in the list of prophets. The Tanakh states that prophecy is not limited to Jews, and is remarkable for the many accounts of prophets it contains. It specifically mentions the prophecy of Bilam , a gentile. The accounts include details of men, women and even animals receiving prophecy in various ways. 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 , 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. PROPHETS IN JEWISH THOUGHT Classical Jewish texts teach that the most direct forms of prophecy ended shortly after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE and the codification of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) by the Men Of The Great Assembly (''Anshei Knessset HaGedolah''). 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 , in particular in his '' Theologico-Political Treatise ''. The 's ''Prophetic Inspiration After the Prophets: Maimonides and Others'' (Ktav) Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote one of the 20th century's classic commentaries on the prophets, entitled "The Prophets". 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 ''). 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). Christians recognize that anyone they consider prophetic is still human and fallible, and may make wrong decisions, have incorrect personal beliefs or opinions, and sin from time to time; the human characteristics of a prophet are ''independent'' of the message God has given him and do not negate the validity of his prophecies. Nevertheless, some Christians believe the minimum requirements of a true prophet can be summarized as follows:
Many Christians believe these standards create a conundrum for other Christians who actively support high profile ministers who have large followings who claim to have received prophecies that have later turned out to be mistaken. See Unfulfilled Historical Predictions By Christians . Some sects of Christianity would also use these guidelines to disqualify other sects as prophets of God. Some Christians, including many who believe in Dispensationalism , believe prophecy ended with the coming of Jesus , who delivered the "fullness of the law." Within this group, many Protestants believe that prophecy ended with the last of the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament of the Bible, leaving a gap of about 400 years between then and the life of Jesus. The majority, including the Eastern Orthodox , allow an exception for John The Baptist as a prophet contemporary with Jesus. New Testament passages that explicity discuss prophets existing after the death of Christ include Joel 2:28-31, Revelation 11:10, Matthew 10:40-41 & 23:34, John 13:20 & 15:20, and Acts 11:25-30, 13:1 & 15:32. LATTER-DAY SAINT CONCEPT OF PROPHETS The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints ("LDS Church" see also Mormon ) believes that God continues to communicate with his children. While anyone may receive revelation for themselves or their own families (through prayer, faith, repentance, obedience, etc.), special people have been called as prophets throughout history to proclaim God's message to the world. These prophets were and are regarded as special witnesses of Jesus Christ. 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 Jesus' Atonement . The Book Of Mormon relates the ministries of many of these prophets among the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, and it alludes to other prophets who would chosen from nations other than those in the Americas and those of the Bible . Latter-day Saints believe that God calls a prophet 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 Restoration of the Gospel in 1830 through Joseph Smith, Jr. , Latter-day Saints claim the true Christian church was, again, organized and established upon the earth. God directs the church through the current President of the Church. As the president of the church he is believed to be authorized to receive revelation for the whole world and is often referred to simply as "the Prophet." Joseph Smith (1805–44) is called the "Prophet of the Restoration" and was the first in the latter-days. As of April 2006, 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 and as a result have acknowledged they "have made mistakes in their understanding of what would occur". ''Reasoning From the Scriptures'' p.136 PROPHET OF CHILDREN OF GOD David Berg , the founder of the Children Of God (now ''The Family''), declared himself to be a prophet in 1972 . 1 THE ISLAMIC CONCEPT OF PROPHET Islam holds that Allah (Allah is the sole Deity in Islam), sent messengers to all tribes on earth, at various stages of their histories. These messengers, who are also considered 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 submission to God's Will. The Qur'an is held by all Muslims to be the literal word 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 ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophets_of_Islam#Prophets_in_the_Qur.27an Prophets in the Qur'an]), 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) before the Last Day to complete his interrupted duty and establish one community of believers for all the people on the whole surface of the earth. 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. 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 all Muslims. 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 '' Risala '' (such as the Qur'an or Torah). THE BAHá'í CONCEPT OF PROPHET In the Bahá'í definition, there is a distinction between minor prophets and '''major Prophets''', also referred to as lesser/greater, dependent/independent, follower/universal, and other similar phrases. The major Prophets are referred to as the '''Manifestations Of God''' , and compared to the sun, which produces its own heat and light. The minor prophets are likened to the moon, which receive their light from the sun. The Bahá'í Faith teaches that there have been other great Prophets, besides the seven Messengers or Apostles 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". TENRIKYO CONCEPT OF PROPHET Tenrikyo 's prophet, Miki Nakayama or Oyasama {Link without Title} , 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:
PROPHETS IN SCIENCE-FICTION AND FANTASY Prophets in fantasy include:
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