what is a prophet?

Question

What does a prophet do?

Answer 1

Prophets foretell future events, usually of either impending doom or great joys to come. They also warn people of what will happen to them if they do not change their ways.

An excellent example of this would be Jeremiah in the Bible. He warned his people of impending doom if they didn't change their sinful ways. Read the book of Jeremiah, it will show you exactly what a prophet does.

Answer 2

Tecnically speaking, in christian theology, a prophet is someone who has a particular gift of hearing what God is saying, and acts on it. They do not always tell people immediately, sometimes there is a delay, and somtimes they act rather than speak- hosea in OT married Gomer on God's command, and then took her back after she ran off and ended up as a prostitute. Though there did appear to be an office of 'prophet' in the OT, most of them had another role e.g. Moses was a leader of the people, and Isaiah was a priest.
There were also prophets in the NT, though this wasn't made such a big thing of; probably cos the church was just beginning, and covers a very short time period, comparatively. it seems to mean the same thing, but it is not clear how official this was, and what authority a prophet had.
I hope this is helpful.

Answer 3

It is according to the religion. For example, the only "credentials" that Muhammad had was that he claimed he was a prophet.

Actually, that is not entirely true. First he claimed he was merely an apostle (a follower of a person or religion). Then he (or Caliph Uthman) changed it to prophet. Then they added that Muhammad was the "Last Prophet."

So anyone can claim to be a prophet and if people believe them, then they are a prophet.

The same with "Reverend" as in Jesse Jackson. He merely claims he is a "Reverend." And people call him that.

That is why there are cautions about "false prophets."

The Muslims claim that Adam (of Adam and Eve fame) was a prophet. But what was Adam's prophecies? According to the Bible God spoke directly to Adam and Eve so did Adam give God's "revelations" to Eve?

Clara Prophet of the Church Universal Triumpant (CUT) is a prophet since she married a man who's last name is Prophet. But she claims to be a Prophet from God. So do we call her Prophet Prophet?

Some "prophets" collect money from followers. These include Prophet Prophet, Muhammad, Joseph Smith, etc. And I suppose Jesus (who the muslims claim was also just a prophet) did receive fish and bread from someone to feed the multitude.

(I've always wondered what happened to the boy when he got home and told mom why he did not have the fish and bread for dinner :)

Jews, Christians, and Muslims all agree that Moses was a prophet. So I guess he is the best example to study for what a prophet should or should not do.

Answer 4

An inspired messenger called by God to declare His will. Prophets were described as Gods servants, watchmen and holy men. In the New Testament the prophets were cited as a noble example of the patient suffering(James5:10). Another word for prophet is seer.

Answer 5

Prophet:
a spokesman for God, OT prophets were not interpreters of Gods will; they uttered the actual words which God gave them. Two aspects to their work:
Forthtelling
Foretelling.
There were schools of the prophets, but little is known of them (1 Sam. 19:19, 20: ll Kings,2:3,5 4:38; 6:1)
There were true and false prophets (Jer 28:1ff). The prophets of the OT were of two kinds: the former, who wrote and interpretative history of the background of the period i which the great writing prophets lived and worked; the latter, also called writing Prophets-
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
and the Twelve Minor prophets

Answer 6

A prophet receives truth and revelation from God and teaches it to people. He is someone who speaks with authority and power. He is also someone who prophesies, or tells of things to come, such as the prophets in the Old Testament foretold the coming of the Messiah.

There are prophets in modern times. God's truth was restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. Through him, the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth. It's a wonderful thing to know about! If you're interested in learning more, check out the church website: www.lds.org

Hope that helps! :-)

Answer 7

Three Hebrew words are used in the OT to designate the prophets, namely navî’, ro’eh and hozeh. The last two words are participles and may be rendered “seer.” They are practically synonymous in meaning. The first term, navî’, is difficult to explain etymologically, although various attempts have been made. The significance of these words, however, may be learned from their usage.

Each of the words designates one who is spokesman for God. The usage of navi’ is illustrated by Exodus 4:15-16 and 7:1. In these passages it is clearly taught that Moses stood in relation to the pharaoh as God. Between them was an intermediary, Aaron. Aaron was to speak to Pharaoh the words that Moses gave to him. “He [Aaron] will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him” (Exod 4:16). The man who can be designated a navi’, then, is one who speaks forth for God.

The two words ro’eh and hozeh perhaps have primary reference to the fact that the person so designated sees the message God gives him. This seeing may mean that the message first came through a vision and in some instances it did, but overall the use of these two words is as broad as the English words perceive and perception. They may refer to sight, but they usually refer to insight. Thus the words designate one who, whether by vision or otherwise, is given insight into the mind of God, and who declares what he has “seen” as a message to the people. The biblical emphasis throughout is practical. It is not the mysterious mode of reception of the prophetic revelation that is emphasized, but rather the deliverance of the message itself for God.

The biblical prophet must be distinguished from the prophetes of the Greeks. The latter really acted as an interpreter for the muses and the oracles of the gods. The prophets, however, were not interpreters. They uttered the actual words that God had given to them, without any modification or interpretation on their part. The Bible itself gives an accurate description of the function of the true prophet: “I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him” (Deut 18:18). The words were placed in the prophet’s mouth by God; i.e., they were revealed to the prophet, and then the prophet spoke to the nation precisely what God had commanded him.

Answer 8

I've heard that in religion, a prophet is a person who has directly encountered God, of whose intentions he can then speak as if he were God himself.
But I would say that prophets are people who see the future or predict stuff...

Hmm there's a band called Lost Prophets,I like one of their songs (not that this has to do anything to do with the question,but hey lol)

Answer 9

A prophet is a person just like the others except that he has a holy book from God and a miracle as an evidence and he usually comes among people who do not believe in God or have some wrong beliefs. he is always has messages from God by the Holy spirit or Gabreil. They also have a wisdom of their own.

Answer 10

The biblical definition of a prophet would one who hears from God and communicates the message to others. It doesn't necessarily have to do with future events. Prophecy in the bible can take different forms - it can be communicated as the relating of a vision, a poem, or a parable, among others. It can have a "thus saith the Lord" attached to it or not. Prophets in the bible came from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, noblemen, etc.

A priest in the bible is someone who hears from the people (or represents the people) and communicates that message to God, kinda the reverse of the prophet.

god bless!!