Jehovah's Witnesses and others - when is "prophet" applied to a religion and not individuals?

Question

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20071029124921AAEuM9s

Answer 1

All of Israel (with its millions of individuals) was the singular "servant" of Jehovah.
...(Isaiah 43:10) “You are my witnesses,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “even my servant whom I have chosen


Jehovah's Witnesses have never pretended that they are infallible or inspired. Jehovah's Witnesses have never pretended that they experience miraculous messages from God or Christ. For more than a century, Jehovah's Witnesses have always presented their suppositions as the result of sincere bible research, rather than as "predictions" or "prophesying".

Ironically, the term "prophesying" can merely describe SHARING or PREACHING any divine truths, such as those contained in the bible. Can such "sharing of divine truths" be accomplished by a group?

The Hebrew Scriptures (that is, the so-called "Old" Testament) several times refers to "the sons of the prophets", which seems to refer to a group or guild. It seems that there were perhaps local chapters of this "prophet" group (note that two different prophet groups brought a message to Elisha, from Bethel and from Jericho).

(2 Kings 2:3) Then the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him: “Do you really know that today Jehovah is taking [Elijah]?” At this [Elisha] said: “I, too, well know it.

(2 Kings 2:5) Then the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him: “Do you really know that today Jehovah is taking [Elijah]?"


Clearly, each of these groups functioned as a cohesive entity to disseminate information and serve the purposes of true worship.

(1 Samuel 10:5,10) At the time of your coming there to the city, you [Samuel] will certainly meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place... So they went from there to the hill, and here there was a group of prophets to meet him


The members of these groups obviously submitted themselves to Jehovah's prominent agent, Samuel and Elisha for example.

(1 Samuel 19:20) They got to see the elderly ones of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing in his position over them

(2 Kings 4:38;6:1,2) Elisha himself returned to Gilgal, and there was famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting before [Elisha]... And the sons of the prophets began to say to Elisha: “Look, now! The place where we are dwelling before you is too cramped for us. Let us go, please, as far as the Jordan...” So [Elisha] said: “Go.”


It seems quite telling that the individual members of the 'prophet' guild or group or class were not personally named, but functioned as components within the larger organization. Again, it seems likely that every member of the collective "sons of the prophets" was fully committed to serving godly purposes, primarily with regard to preaching or publicizing godly messages which may have been communicated divinely to others. The group functioned as a collective "prophet" in that it "prophesied" or "taught the prophecies" that heaven had provided through some earthly agency (and not necessarily their own membership personally).

While Elisha and Samuel likely served as the direct channel for much of what the prophet class taught, the bible serves as the only source of divine truth for any valid "prophet" class today.


Interestingly, however, even those Christians who personally enjoyed direct communication from heaven at times came to wrong conclusions; these wrong conclusions were even communicated "out among the brothers"!

For example, the apostle Peter enjoyed remarkable privileges in the early congregation, but it seems that he was the source of an incorrect teaching about the apostle John that was not formally corrected until several DECADES had passed, and John himself finally wrote his gospel about 98 C.E.

(John 21:21-23) Peter said to Jesus: “Lord, what will this man do [that is, the apostle John]?” Jesus said to him: “If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you? You continue following me.” In consequence, this saying went out among the brothers, that [the apostle John] would not die. However, Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but: “If it is my will for him to remain until I come, of what concern is that to you?”


Jehovah's Witnesses apply the term "prophet" only in a very limited sense to themselves as a religion, not to individuals. The Scriptures indicate that whenever Jehovah purposes to execute judgment upon a people, he always makes arrangement for a 'prophet's work' as a warning. Their self-description as a "prophet" (in this limited sense) does not indicate special inspired knowledge or foreknowledge, but their willingness to perform Christ's assigned warning work in our day leading up to Armageddon.

What group is working harder than Jehovah's Witnesses to preach God's message globally (as Noah did before the Deluge)?

(Amos 3:7) For the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will not do a thing unless he has revealed his confidential matter to his servants the prophets.

(2 Peter 2:5) Noah, a preacher of righteousness...

(Matthew 24:14) And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20000622/
http://watchtower.org/e/19990715/article_02.htm

Answer 2

The Governing Body of JWs applied the description 'prophet' to themselves at one time. They wrote an article called, 'They Shall Know That A Prophet Was Among Them'. It said:

'So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come? These questions can be answered in the affirmative... This 'prophet' was not one man, but was a body of men and women. It was the small group of footstep followers of Jesus Christ, known at that time as International Bible Students. Today they are known as Jehovah's Christian witnesses.'

However, they qualified this as an elite group within JWs as follows: 'But regardless of how Christendom views or regards this group of anointed witnesses of Jehovah, the time must come, and that shortly, when those making up Christendom will know that really a 'prophet' of Jehovah was among them.' Also: 'Better it is to know now, rather than too late, that there is an authentic prophetic class of Christians among us.' Strictly speaking, then, the 'prophet' is the anointed class amongst JWs - including the Governing Body.

Perhaps JWs have learned a bit of humility since then for they seem strangely reluctant to admit to such earlier claims. Given that the first one was in 1972 - shortly before their prophetic warnings about 1975 were shown to be false - it would be nice to think they are a bit more cautious now. But it's disturbing that some actually deny they ever said they claimed to be a 'prophet'!

Answer 3

Before your question can be properly answered, it is necessary to get a full understanding of the word "prophet" before it can be applied to an individual or an organization. It is also necessary to understand the meaning of the verb "prophesy" as well as the definition of a "false prophet" in order to assess your concerns. I say this in view of the question in the link you provided.

Certainly to prophesy can mean to reveal future events but prophesying is by no means limited to such. Prophecy is an inspired message; a revelation of the divine will and purpose of something to come, a moral teaching or an expression of a divine command or judgment. To illustrate, the account at Luke 22:63, 64 shows that Jesus' face was covered over so that he could not see. He then was struck and spit upon and the religious leaders commanded him to "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" Were these ones asking Jesus to reveal future events? Hardly. They were demanding that he, as the son of God, use divine revelation to identify who struck him even though his face was covered over. From this we can see that to prophesy does not necessarily mean to reveal future events.

Most people have one well-known definition in mind to which they point with regularity: it is found at Deuteronomy 18:20-22. A closer examination of this scripture, however, shows that false prophets can give signs that actually come true. That is a profound statement. Why? Well, if false prophets tell things that come true, what showing does a true prophet make?

If the above were the sole criterion by which to measure the trueness of a prophet, Nathan the prophet would have been put to death because according to the account at 1 Chronicles 17: 1-4, 15, Nathan plainly stated to King David something that God had NOT commanded him to say – something that did NOT come to pass. Indeed, Nathan was wrong. Did God put him to death? No, God directed Nathan return to David and correct matters. If a false prophet can give you a sign that comes true, how do you recognize a true prophet?

Consider the words of God found at Deuteronomy 13:1-5: “In case a prophet or a dreamer of a dream arises in your midst and does give you a sign or a portent, AND THE SIGN OR THE PORTENT DOES COME TRUE of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us walk after other gods, whom you have not known, and let us serve them,’ YOU MUST NOT LISTEN to the words of that prophet or to the dreamer of that dream, because Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you are loving Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul. After Jehovah . . . you should walk, and him you should fear . . . , and him you should serve . . . And THAT PROPHET OR THAT DREAMER OF THE DREAM SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH, BECAUSE HE HAS SPOKEN OF REVOLT against Jehovah your God . . . and you must clear out what is evil from your midst.”

Did you notice? He was to be put to death DESPITE THE FACT THAT HIS SIGN CAME TRUE! Why? Because he spoke of outright revolt against the Most High God. Clearly, then, a false prophet is one who is trying to turn us aside from worshiping the true God. If they are attempting to subvert our faith and cause us to stop serving the true God, of necessity they must be the false prophets!

Are Jehovah's Witnesses false prophets? Some seem to believe so. Why? Well, some often mention so-called erroneous sayings concerning the end. Interestingly, the first century apostles were keenly interested in this as well. They asked Jesus point blank when these things would occur and he provided them with a sign. Jehovah's Witnesses also keenly watch for the outworking of this sign. Admittedly they have made errors. It should be noted, however, that some so-called predictions of the end (such as the strong assertion that Jehovah's Witnesses said the end would come in 1975) were never made. Still, this canard continues. Be that as it may, the truth is the same thing has been done over the centuries by both Protestants and Catholics.

In truth, those who long for the deliverance Jesus promised are keenly interested in when these things will happen. This can lead to wrong expectations. But wrong expectations are not synonymous with false prophets. In the final analysis, a false prophet is one trying to subvert the true faith and turn worshipers away from the true God. So before we point the finger at an individual or an organization and state in a clear, strong voice: "False prophet! False prophet!" we need to carefully consider all of the above. Since I do not know how you are using the term "prophet", I cannot now answer when it ought to be applied to a religion and not to individuals

Hannah J Paul

Answer 4

The Bible is full of prophets especially in the old testament. The prophets were individuals e.g. Samuel, Elijah, Jeremiah etc, these individuals had a calling in the faith/service they had in/to God. The word religion is frequently misused in our day. The faith we have in God is not a religion, rather it is a way of life.

Answer 5

Not even servants of God know the events of the future, unless God reveals it to them. A humble servant of God, therefore, does not initiate predictions of future events unless it has been revealed to him. (Read the accounts mentioned above about Nathan and Peter - neither initiated a prediction of anything. Peter, in fact, only ASKED a question and "the brothers" misconstrued Jesus' answer.)

It is presumptous and arrogant for an individual(s) to claim that his/their message is not his/theirs, but Gods, only to find out that it was really only his/their own human message all along.

A humble individual(s) - after one such experience of seeing his prediction fail - would probably realize that he only imagined himself (or themselves) to be the receipient of God's special attention, and abandon his (or their) claim to be the mouthpiece of God.

Prideful individuals, on the other hand, would tend to make excuses, minimize their responsibility, blame others, deny they made the prophecy, or deny the failure, even though obvious. And stubbornly continue to claim to be God's spokesperson, in spite of the fact that, at every opportunity to be vindicated as such, the outcome proved that God had nothing to do with it.

Nevertheless, as Jesus showed, the blind lead the blind and unfortunately, they both fall into a pit.

Answer 6

There is no distinction. The prophets were individuals hwo received visions from God and then shared them with others. That would mean they are applied to religion.

I hope that helps. Enjoy your day.

Answer 7

I would guess that it doesn't matter to God...If it is an individual, and they are false, God will exact his vengeance on them, same for an organization.