Prophet

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{{cquote|For both prophet and [[priest]] are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the [[God|LORD]].|||{{bible|Jeremiah|23|11}}}}
A '''prophet''' is a person who claims to have received a message or [[revelation]] from a supernatural being (often, a [[god]]).  The religions which are based on those revelations are called [[revealed religion]]s.  Prophets are regarded as fully human, but divinely inspired, unlike the Christian [[messiah]], who is regarded as a human manifestation of [[God]]. The basic concept of prophecy is that the prophet is speaking ''for'' the supernatural; but often enough this involves revealing what is going to happen so that prophecy has acquired a secondary meaning of ''prediction'' by supernatural means.

While prophets are said to receive supernatural guidance, they can be fooled. For example, {{bible|1 Kings|13|12|24}} describes an unnamed "man of God" who was supposed to abstain from food and drink but was tricked into breaking his vow by some guy who claimed he got a message from God to give the prophet something to eat and drink. And then God [[Examples of God personally killing people|kills the prophet]] rather than the guy who lied to him, because that's apparently just how Big G rolls. Anybody can claim those contrary to the visions they receive are from the Devil and that ultimately can prevent cognitive dissonance.

Commonly accepted prophets within [[Abrahamic religion]]s include [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]] and [[King David|David]]. In the [[Hebrew Bible]] one of the three sections is the ''Nevi'im'' or prophets, which is divided into former (mainly history: [[Joshua]], [[Judges]], Samuel, and Kings) and latter prophets ([[Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah]], [[Ezekiel]] and the twelve minor prophets). [[Islam]] considers [[Jesus]] to be a prophet, and holds [[Muhammad]] to be the last and greatest prophet of all. 

Prophets are not just an ancient manifestation.  
#More recent examples include [[Joseph Smith, Jr.]] of [[Mormonism]].
#Current examples of self-proclaimed prophets include: [[David Koresh]] or [[Jim Jones]].

==False prophets==
Religions that postulate prophets must address people who claim to be prophets but fail in their [[precognition|predictive power]], and those who simply say things the dominant group disagrees with. The concept "false prophet" is often invoked to deal with such problems.

People are supposed to be able to distinguish a false prophet by their lack of predictive power. However, when one considers the batting record of modern prophets, it starts to look like they're all false. In the [[Bible]], readers are warned to "beware of false prophets and false messiahs leading thee astray." The Antichrist in the [[Book of Revelation]] is said to accompanied by a "False Prophet" who is cast into the Lake of Fire along with the [[Antichrist]] and [[Satan]] to suffer for all eternity.

==Profits==
Many prophets over the course of history have harbored a desire for profits.  Sadly, the pun is purely coincidental. 

==Quotes==
* Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. – {{Bible|Matthew|7|15}}
* And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast--miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. – {{Bible|Revelation|19|20}}
* "I am a False Prophet, God is a superstition!" - Eli Sunday, ''{{wpl|There Will Be Blood}}'', 2007

==See also==
*[[Messiah]]
*[[Fun:Starting a new religion]]
*[[Habakkuk]]
*[[Tom Deckard]]
*[[Prophecy]]
[[Category:Religious terms]]
[[Category:Prophets| ]]

Categories: Religious terms, Prophets