Prophecy
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Prophecy defined
This article is about the concept and evidence of prophecy as such, and any psycho-physiological, cognitive, or other personal phenomena that were claimed to accompany the experience. The article is not about the popular beliefs in specific prophets.
Sources of data
By necessity this article will predominantly rely on the Jewish experience because the vast bulk of recorded knowledge and understanding of the prophetic experience is found in the Tanakh. To this will be added the commentaries found in the Talmud as well as post-Talmudic Jewish literature.
There is no intention to exclude non-Jewish sources, but the vast amount of data found in Jewish sources makes this an inescapable logical conclusion.
Etymology
In Western Europe, prophecy had two commonly used terms, one of which entered the mainstream English usage and the other remained in the realm of religious usage.
The term for prophecy that has entered English mainstream vocabulary as "News" is developed as a special use of the plural form of "new" during the 14th century. In Middle English, the word was the equivalent of 'newes', based on the French 'nouvelles' first used during 1382, plural of new (n.) "new thing," from new (adj.), q.v.; after Frrench nouvelles, used in Middle Ages Bible translations to render Middle Latin nova (neut. pl.) "news," lit. "new things." Sometimes still regarded as plural as late as the 17c.-19c. The meaning "tidings" is dated from 1423; newspaper is first attested in 1670, though in itself is much older. Newsreel was first recorded in France in 1916; newscast is from the 1930. The Newsletter is attested from 1674, but fell from use until it was revived in the 20th century. Newsworthy is first attested in 1932.[1]
The religious term for prophecy is derived from about c.1225, as a "function of a prophet," from Old French profecie (12th century), and from Late Latin prophetia, from Greek prophetia "gift of interpreting the will of the gods," from prophetes (see prophet), meaning "thing spoken or written by a prophet" is from c.1300. The verb prophesy is recorded from by 1377.[2]
Its interesting to note the times of origin of the two terms, one daring from the end of Dark Ages and height of the Crusades, when the focus was on the predominantly Greek-speaking Eastern Mediterranean, while the other is from a later pre-Renaissance Paris, the soon to be center of Europe, and Western world. News, thirst for knowledge and indeed the Information Age all had their beginning at this time, and indeed parallels the intent of prophecy in Tanakh, the Cristian ideal of sainthood, and the Islamic codes of behavior, to inform and prevent recurrence of unwise thought and deed.
It is interesting that despite the availability of the L.L. prophetia, the M.L. nova has been used by the French. Nova itself is derived from the Hebrew word for prophecy nevua since the Latins only had experience of oracles, and not specific experiences like those of the Hebrew prophets that bore an entirely different quality to their messages.
The phenomena of prophecy
Prophecy often consisted of a warning that God's wrath would destroy the people if they disobeyed God or did not repent. Prophecies sometimes included promises of blessing for obeying God or repenting. Warning prophecies feature in Jewish scripture (Elijah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc.) and in the Christian New Testament (John the Baptist, Jesus, etc.). Prophecies sometimes foretell the coming of a divine figure, such as Jesus, or appear in apocalyptic literature, such as Daniel or Revelation.
Some prophecy represents the divine truth but not about the future, such as when prophets decry sin without predicting judgment.
Record of prophecy in the Ancient World
Pre-Sinai prophecy
In many religions, gods or other supernatural agents are sometimes thought to provide prophecies to certain individuals, sometimes known as prophets, by dreams or visions.
Torah prophetic record
The Tanakh contains prophecies from various Hebrew prophets who communicated messages from HaShem to the nation of Israel and population of Judea and elsewhere.
Malachi's full name was Ezra Ha'Sofer (the scribe), and he was the last prophet of Israel if one accepts the opinion that Nechemyah died in Babylon before 9th Tevet 3448 (313 BCE). Babylonian Talmud, San.11a, Yom.9a/Yuch.1.14/Kuz.3.39,65,67/Yuch.1/Mag.Av.O.C.580.6
Book of Enoch prophecy
Around the time of the Maccabees, ~150 BC, a Jewish prophet left a 108 chapter book of prophecies. It is the largest source of prophecies relating to the End of an Age (End of Time). It is quoted or referred to in the New Testament.
Christianity
According to the New Testament, John the Baptist prophesied Jesus' arrival. Jesus is also depicting prophesying the arrival of the Son of Man and immanent judgment on unrepentant sinners.
The gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke share the same incident, where the disciples were pointing out how magnificent the Second Temple in Jerusalem was, when Jesus then replied by prophesying its destruction.
The Book of Revelation in the New Testament is accepted by many Christians as a prophecy that includes divine promises of an anointed messiah or Christ that would: lead the people in war, personally issue judgment at the end times, and Armageddon (see Eschatology, Bible prophecy and "End of the World").
The Book of Mormon contains many prophesies concerning the last days revolving around The Son of God. It relates many of the famous prophesies of Isaiah, and many other prophesies concerning The Last Days, given by The Holy Spirit, through Chosen Prophets that lived in the Americas.
Christians believe that Jesus fulfilled many of the promises spoken in Old Testament prophecy, including that he would be called 'son of God', and that he will return in the future and fulfill other prophecies such as those in the Book of Revelation. In the New Testament, many Christians see most of Jesus' life as God speaking through Jesus.
In the New Testament prophecy is often referred as one of the fivefold ministries or spiritual gifts that accompany the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The five ministries being; Apostles; Prophets; Evangelists; Teachers and Pastors. (Eph. 4:11) The focus of prophecy is not just future events though, this is only part of the prophetic gifting. Jesus often brought words of comfort, exhortation or general uplifting to those in need. Paul teaches in Corinthians that it is for the benefit of the whole body. It is not meant in Christianity for believers to know the future. But it is important for God to speak to believers as he does through prophets of the Hebrew Torah.
Islam
Muslims maintain Muhammad (circa 600 AD), was mentioned in the prophecies of earlier prophets, in the succession of Moses, David and Elijah, as well as Christian scriptural texts that include Jesus [1]. Muslim belief is that an angel (Gabriel) visited Muhammad in a cave called Hira on the Mount Jabal-al-Noor in Mecca. From then onwards Muhammad started reciting the Quran which Muslims believe to be dictated by God ("Allah," in Arabic). Phenomena equated with interpretation of dreams, visions and remote viewing by deniers of Muhammad's prophecy were accepted to be true by Muhammad's followers who accepted him to be the 'Last Prophet' until the 'End of Times'. Muhammad left some prophecies about future personalities Mahdi and the second return of Jesus. Some of the followers keep waiting for such prophecies to be fulfilled.
Claims of prophecy since the European Renaissance
Prophecy has been claimed for, but not by Michel de Nostredame popularly referred to as Nostradamus.
More recently, in the 1800s, Joseph Smith claimed to have translated golden plates through divine inspiration from Jesus, thereby producing the Book of Mormon. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that their founder was a "latter-day" prophet and that God has continued to call prophets to lead the Church in modern times.
In 1863, Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, claimed the he is the 'Promised One' of all religions. And Bahá'ís sees both the Jewish and Christian scriptures, especially the books of Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, and Revelation as containing many prophecies promising the coming of Bahá'u'lláh and the Bahá'í Faith. He is not acknowledged by Christians, Jews or Muslims as the 'Promised One' as they believe the events of the End Time did not occur during his lifetime.[3]
Among Christians, various groups have claimed the gift of prophecy in recent centuries. There are many accounts from the early Scottish Reformation of prophecies that came to pass. Jack Deere's book _Surprised by the Voice of God_ recounts many examples of such prophecies. Since the early 1900's, the number of Christians prophesying has greatly increased with the growth of the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostals believe in the gifts of the Spirit operating in the church today. The Charismatic movement, which started in the 1960's, started as an acceptance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gift by groups within mainline churches. Charismatics also believe in the gift of prophecy.
It is reported that when Ronald Reagan was governor, a certain Charismatic Presbyterian minister, accompanied by entertainer Pat Boon, prophesied over Reagan that he would one day be president. Evangelist Perry Stone recounts receiving and sharing a revelation to George W. Bush while he was governor, that he would be president.
Relationship to Messianic beliefs
Many prophecies from many differing sources relate to the Promised One as diverse as the Book of Enoch, Hebrew Tanakh, Christian New Testament, Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, Buddhist texts, Hindu texts, Chinese texts, Muslim Qur'an and Zoroastrian sources, and prophecies of indigenous people's from other regions of the World to name a few.
Communicating prophecies about imminent emergence to eminence of a spiritual teacher is one way of recognizing someone claiming prophecy. By necessity the person must appear to fulfill all prophecies about their foreseen emergence from mediocrity, life and actions. The events of (and solutions for) the society would need to be significant enough that no dispute will exist as to the identity, but not before they occur according to prophecies. Legitimate prophetic content makes the individual's identity, time and the manner of appearance difficult to identify accurately, preventing impostors from usurping a claim to the role.
Evidence
It was felt by at least one Wikipedia editor that this section was not properly referenced.
Prophecy always involves some kind of communication regarding the future or with different realms of existence. which are sometimes not identifiable through history, Some skeptics claim prophecy is not discernible by or in harmony with empirical science. Therefore, some skeptics consider prophecy to be false. Believers, however, claim that prophecy is possible through supernatural means, which are witnessed historically. Scientists using falsification as testing methods for predictions reject phenomena not ascertainable by externally perceivable evidence.
The hypothetical power allowing fulfillment of prophecy has not been scientifically tested and remains unproven, but many people believe that certain prophecies have been fulfilled. Skeptics believe many apparently fulfilled prophecies can be explained as coincidences, or that some prophecies were actually invented after the fact to match the circumstances of a past event ("Postdiction").
Skeptics also note that many prophecies are intentionally made vague, allowing them to be applied to many possible future events.
External links
- "Prophecy". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
See also
- Self-fulfilling prophecy
- Apocalypticism
- Bible code
- Bible prophecy
- Oracle
- Mahdi
- Muhammad al-Mahdi
- Malachy
- Nostradamus Vaticinia
- Prediction
- Prophet
- Vaticinium ex eventu
- Summary of Christian eschatological differences
- Rapture
- Apostolic-Prophetic Movement
- False prophets
- Kalki
- Kalki Purana
- Bhavishya Purana
References
- ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=news
- ^ http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=prophecy
- ^ Smith, P. (1999). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1851681841.
- Online Etymological Dictionary [2]
Further reading
- Marcus Tullius Cicero. 1997. De divinatione. (Trans. Arthur Stanley Pease), Darmstadt: Wissenschafltihce Buchgesellschaft.
- David Edward Aune. 1963. Prophecy in early Christianity and the ancient Mediterranean world. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-3584-8.
- Christopher Forbes. 1997. Prophecy and inspired speech: In early Christianity and its Hellenistic environment. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, ISBN 1565632699.
- Clifford S. Hill. 1991. Prophecy, past and present: An exploration of the prophetic ministry in the Bible and the church today. Ann Arbor, MI: Vine, ISBN 080280635X.
- Jürgen Beyer. 2002. 'Prophezeiungen', Enzyklopädie des Märchens. Handwörterbuch zur historischen und vergleichenden Erzählforschung, vol. 10. Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter, col. 1419-1432
- Fabio R. Araujo. 2007. Selected Prophecies and Prophets. Charleston, SC: BookSurge, ISBN-10: 1419668455
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