Through his (prodigious) nose with a Brooklyn accent?
Now about my brother ... who became a Unity minister ... splain that!
Posted on 07/14/2012 10:36:38 AM PDT by Salvation
Contrary to what many fundamentalist preachers or late-night radio hosts would have you believe, biblical prophecy is not primarily about "predicting the future" or finding clues in the Bible that correspond to people or events in our own day and age! The prophets of Ancient Israel did not look into some kind of crystal ball and see events happening thousands of years after their own lifetimes. The books they wrote do not contain hidden coded messages for people living in the 20th or 21st centuries!
Rather, biblical prophets were mainly speaking to and writing for the people of their own time. They were challenging people of their own world, especially their political rulers, to remain faithful to God's commandments and/or to repent and turn back to God if they had strayed. They were conveying messages from God, who had called or commissioned them, rather than speaking on their own initiative or authority. However, because the biblical prophets were transmitting messages on behalf of God (as Jews and Christians believe), much of what they wrote for their own time is clearly also relevant for people living in the modern world. The overall message of faith and repentance is timeless and applicable in all ages and cultures.
To understand what biblical prophecy really is, let's look more closely at the origins, definitions, and uses of some key biblical words.
Biblical Vocabulary:
In the Hebrew Bible, the word for "prophet" is usually nabi' (lit. "spokesperson"; used over 300 times!), while the related feminine noun nebi'ah ("prophetess") occurs only rarely. Both words are derived from the root verb naba' ("to prophesy; to speak on behalf of another"). The root meaning of "prophet" is clearly expressed in several biblical passages, such as when God tells Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet" (Exod 7:1). Aaron's role was not to predict the future, but rather to be the spokesperson or mouthpiece of Moses, who evidently did not wish to speak to Pharaoh directly (see Exod 4:10-17). Later, God also tells Moses, "I will raise up for [the Israelites] a prophet like you from among your own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet who shall speak to them everything that I command" (Deut 18:18).
Two other Hebrew words (ro'eh and hozeh) are closely related, but usually translated "seer" rather than "prophet." The word ro'eh seems to be older, as explained in the Bible itself: "Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, 'Come, let us go to the seer' (ro'eh); for the one who is now called a prophet (nabi') was formerly called a seer (ro'eh)" (1 Sam 9:9). In contrast, hozeh seems to be a newer word, since it is used mostly in the Chronicles. All three words are used of three different people in 1 Chronicles 29:29: "Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the records of the seer (ro’eh) Samuel, and in the records of the prophet (nabi’) Nathan, and in the records of the seer (hozeh) Gad." In other texts, nabi' and hozeh are practically synonymous and are sometimes even used for the same people.
| Hebrew | English | Torah/Law | Frmr. Proph. | Lttr. Proph. | Writings | HB Total |
| naba' | to prophesy | 3 | 17 | 87 | 9 | 116 |
| nabi' | prophet; spokesperson | 14 | 100 | 156 | 47 | 317 |
| nebi'ah | prophetess | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| nebu'ah | prophecy; message | - | - | - | 4 | 4 |
| hozeh | seer | - | 2 | 4 | 10 | 16 |
| ro'eh | seer | - | 4 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
In the biblical Greek of both the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, abbreviated LXX) and the New Testament (originally written in Koine Greek), the word for "prophet" is profhthV (prophetes), which stems from two other words: pro + phemi. The verb phemi simply means "to speak." The preposition pro has many different possible meanings, depending on the context in which it is used; it can mean "before" (which is why many people think "prophets" are those who "speak before" something happens, thus "pre-dicting" it), but it can also mean "for" or "on behalf of" (which is why most biblical scholars insist that "prophets" are those who "speak on behalf of God"). Which of these two possible meanings is more appropriate should be judged from the actual usage in the Bible.
| Greek | English | Pent. | Hist. | Wisd. | Proph. | LXX Total | Mark | Matt | Luke | John | Acts | Paul | Hebr | Cath | Rev | NT Total |
| profhteia | prophecy | - | 6 | 7 | 3 | 16 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 9 | - | 2 | 7 | 19 |
| profhtein | to prophesy | 3 | 22 | 4 | 87 | 116 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 | - | 2 | 2 | 28 |
| profhthV | prophet | 15 | 172 | 18 | 120 | 325 | 6 | 37 | 29 | 14 | 30 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 144 |
| profhtikoV | prophetic | - | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| profhtiV | prophetess | 1 | 3 | - | 1 | 4 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 |
| yeudoprofhthV | false prophet | - | - | - | 10 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | 2 | 3 | 11 |
Prophetic Words:
A careful study of the hundreds of relevant texts shows that biblical prophets rarely speak about future events as if they were inevitable, but much more often transmit various kinds of messages on behalf of God to the people, conveying God's interpretation of the past, present, and future aspects of people's lives. Thus, a "prophet" in the Bible is primarily a "spokesperson for God," someone who receives messages from God and conveys them to other people. If a prophet speaks words that are not from God, he or she is considered a false prophet or sometimes called a prophet of another god (e.g. "prophets of Baal" in the OT).
The messages transmitted by the biblical prophets are not only or primarily about the future, but about the past and present as well. They provide interpretations--from God's perspective--about past events, present circumstances, as well as future possibilities. Note that I say "future possibilities" rather than "future events," because when biblical prophets speak about the future, it is usually not about what will inevitably happen, but rather about what might happen, depending on how people choose to react and act: whether they listen to the prophetic message and live their lives accordingly, or ignore the words of the prophets and suffer the consequences.
What can we learn from this story? At least one crucial point about the nature of biblical "prophecy," namely, that even when prophets speak about the future, they are not predicting an inevitable, unalterable future! Rather, they are warning people about a possible future that might come upon them if they continue in their evil ways and do not turn back to God. But if the people do listen to the prophet's message and react appropriately, with prayer, repentance, and faithfulness to God, then the future will look very different than what the prophet had foretold!
Of course, not all biblical texts make the conditional nature of the future so explicit; the two alternatives ("If you don't repent, here's what will happen; but if you do repent, then God will be merciful to you.") are not always clearly stated, but might remain implicit. Some texts may even presuppose that people will not repent, and thus will be punished for their wickedness; but if they do, even contrary to all expectations, then the disasters foretold by the prophets will not come about after all!
The role of biblical prophets as spokespersons for God, speaking God's words primarily to people of their own time (and only secondarily to people of future generations), can also be seen in the various "introductory formulas" found so often in the prophetic books of the Bible. The messages God wishes to convey through the prophets to the people are often preceded by some very familiar phrases:
Prophetic Deeds:
Moreover, when biblical prophets convey God's messages to the people, they do so not just in words but sometimes also in deeds, not just by speaking or writing, but also by performing various symbolic and/or miraculous actions. Examples are found throughout the Bible, esp. in the stories surrounding the prophets Elijah and Elisha in the books of Kings and in the book of the prophet Ezekiel:
Which books of the Bible are considered "prophetic"? The answer depends on which Bible you mean! Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians all use slightly different versions of the Bible, count different books among the "prophets," and arrange them in different orders in their respective Bibles.
So What?
The categorization of a biblical book can significantly affect how you interpret it, especially in the case of the Book of Daniel. Is this a "prophetic" book much like all the other prophets, as some Protestant Christians emphasize? Or is it somewhat "prophetic" but more accurately described as an "apocalyptic" book, as other Protestants and most Catholics maintain? Or is it not really "prophetic" at all, but rather belonging to a different literary genre that should be read differently, as most Jews agree?
Moreover, most biblical scholars emphasize that in order to interpret the writings of the biblical prophets properly, one must understand the historical context in which the prophets lived, since they were primarily addressing the people and political situations of their own day. To complicate matters, the canonical order of the prophetic books (how they are arranged in our Bibles) is not the same as the historical order (when they were originally written):
| Era / Century BCE |
Prophetic Books [with other named Prophets] |
| Pre-Monarchy (13th–11th Cent.) | Books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, beginning of 1 Samuel |
| Early/United Monarchy (10th Cent.) | 1 & 2 Samuel, most of 1 Kings [incl. Nathan & Ahijah] |
| Divided Monarchy (9th Cent.) | rest of 1 & 2 Kings [esp. Elijah & Elisha] |
| End of Northern Kingdom of Israel (8th Cent.) | Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah 1-39 |
| End of Southern Kingdom of Judah (7th Cent.) | Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, most of Jeremiah |
| Babylonian Exile (597/587–520 B.C.) | some of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah 40-55 |
| Early Post-Exilic Restoration (late 6th - early 5th Cent.) | Haggai, Zechariah 1-8; [also Ezra & Nehemiah] |
| Persian Era (5th–4th Cent.) | Isaiah 56-66, Jonah, Zechariah 9-14, Obadiah, Joel, Malachi |
| Hellenistic Era: Ptolemies (3rd Cent.) | Daniel 1-6 (more prophetic) |
| Hellenistic Era: Seleucids (early 2nd Cent.) | Daniel 7-12 (more apocalyptic) |
In addition to the prophets who have separate biblical books named after them (and who are sometimes also mentioned in other biblical books), quite a few other people are also called "prophet" or "prophetess" in the Hebrew Bible. Many of them are true prophets (who speak on behalf of the God of Israel), while some are false prophets (who serve other gods of other nations). Moreover, whole groups of prophets (lit. called "the sons of the prophets") appear in certain biblical stories. The following are some of the most important individuals referred to as "prophets" of God:
Although all of these prophets speak on behalf of God, rather than on their own authority, how they came to be prophets or when God first commissioned them for this role is only rarely narrated or alluded to in the Bible. The best know stories include:
False prophets, or prophets serving other gods, are sometimes also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Several biblical texts mention explicit criteria for distinguishing true vs. false prophets (Deut 13:1-5; 18:20-22), while other texts name certain groups or individuals as false prophets:
On a more artistic note, see the woodcut illustrations of several of the prophets in the Doré Bible Gallery.
Most of the NT references to "prophets" (mentioned 144 times in the NT, 116 of which are in the Gospels and Acts) are to the prophets of the OT, either generically as a group or often explicitly naming individual prophets (esp. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah, but sometimes also Jonah, Daniel, Elisha, Joel, Moses, Samuel, and even King David!). Some NT passages speak of the role of prophets in general, such as when Jesus says, "Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward" (Matt 10:41).
In addition to these references to the ancient Hebrew prophets, the NT also refers to certain people of its own day as "prophets," including John the Baptist, Jesus, and many early Christian leaders, either individually or generically:
In addition to all these individuals who are named prophets, the gift of "prophecy" (Gk. profhteia / propheteia) and the action of "prophesying" (Gk. profhteuw / propheteuo) are very important in the life of the early Christian communities, as seen in various NT texts:
(This page is still under construction; more will be added some day, although I cannot "predict" when! :-)
When you post at times I believe we have real hard core masons responding at times.
When you post at times I believe we have real hard core masons responding at times.
Heaven forfend if prophetic warnings of future events in the Bible itself are taken literally as (gasp!) prophetic warnings of future events.
We apparently are to instead look to odd, modern era “spiritual” emanations such as Fatima regarding future events, since these things ever so much more credible than the Bible.
Oops
. Who does the writer say denies Daniel?
Did you, in fact, miss those?
**This article is written by a proper Jesuit. **
Indeed!
And some other “off the bases” posters.
“Did you, in fact, miss those?”
As for Daniel never being called a prophet. Seeing as how he spoke to God, received answers, same as any other prophet, and received both advice on matters and visions of the future, sounds like he’s a prophet.
Then Christ quotes Isaiah 13:10 in verse 24, But in those days *after* that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
Then Christ quotes Isaiah 34:4, then Daniel 7:13, etc....,
The Gospel includes those as Peter called ‘holy prophets’. Silly men/women snip and clip scriptures much like the scientific community devised their so called scientific methodology. And the longer I live the more I have observed the conjoining of religion of men in the same methodology some call science.
I think the author has called Christ Himself a fundie.
Through his (prodigious) nose with a Brooklyn accent?
Now about my brother ... who became a Unity minister ... splain that!
The writer of the post says Daniel was written in the 2nd and third centuries BC. Absolute nonsense. These claims for a late authorship of Daniel are just transparent attempts to explain away Daniel's incredible accuracy in predicting the rise of the Persian, Greek and Roman empires.
"The books they wrote do not contain hidden coded messages for people living in the 20th or 21st centuries!"
Really! Mr Author!
Daniel 12
12:9 "And he said: Go, Daniel, because the words are shut up, and sealed until the appointed time.
12:10 Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as fire: and the wicked shall deal wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the learned shall understand.
12:11 And from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety days.
12:12 Blessed is he that waitedth, and cometh unto a thousand three hundred thirty-five days.
12:13 But go thou thy ways until the time appointed: and thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot unto the end of the days."
I do not know about his specifics but nobody will truly understand until the end of days. We are near and dear very close. These passages and others like it it make more sense now than ever.
Especially in the book of Revelation a hundred million plus man army from the east will be a major event.
Right now we have 90,000 Chinese army and Russian army in Middle east.
I believe it is no coincede that China is called the Dragon which is in Revelation book. It is steeped in there culture.
From the fact that your beloved author lists it as a forgery?
I sent mys son to Holy Cross,
He came back a total loss.
O Holy Cross, O Holy Cross,
Where all they eat is apple sauce.
They eat it
Morning, Noon and Night,
They even eat it when they're tight,
O Holy Cross, O Holy Cross,
Where all they eat is applesauce.
Yes, he has le bec de Cyrano, the political dialog,but not the accent. It's just as annoying in any accent.
This just in from Unity
where the pastors receive a bonus for new members. "You are wrong about Islam, Ken. Mohammed (May Peace be Upon Him) was probably a very nice guy. You know, like Buddha, or St.Francis of Asissi... like that. He was cool."
I sent mys son to Holy Cross,
He came back a total loss.
O Holy Cross, O Holy Cross,
Where all they eat is apple sauce.
They eat it
Morning, Noon and Night,
They even eat it when they're tight,
O Holy Cross, O Holy Cross,
Where all they eat is applesauce.
Yes, he has le bec de Cyrano, the political dialog,but not the accent. It's just as annoying in any accent.
This just in from Unity
where the pastors receive a bonus for new members. "You are wrong about Islam, Ken. Mohammed (May Peace be Upon Him) was probably a very nice guy. You know, like Buddha, or St.Francis of Asissi... like that. He was cool."
I think I’ll pass on receiving Biblical instruction from any member of a religion that does not acknowledge that all Scripture is God breathed, but rather places more emphasis on it’s man-made traditions and rituals.
Where does it say that the prophets spoke of man made traditions?
They spoke the Word of God as warnings to the people of their day.
You certainly would not be referring the Last Supper and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist as man-made, would you? For the Holy Eucharist, as recorded in scripture, was instituted by Christ himself.
Whoa, dude...
Yes, he has le bec de Cyrano, the political dialog,but not the accent. It's just as annoying in any accent.
You bet.
This just in from Unity where the pastors receive a bonus for new members. "You are wrong about Islam, Ken. Mohammed (May Peace be Upon Him) was probably a very nice guy. You know, like Buddha, or St.Francis of Asissi... like that. He was cool."
Cool huh? I wish somebody had put him on ice before he started the Religion of Hate.
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