In religion, a prophet is an individual who is considered to be in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people.
The English word ‘prophet‘ comes from the Greek word, pro, meaning ‘in advance‘ and ‘phesein‘, which means ‘to tell‘; therefore, a ‘prophḗtēs‘ is someone who foretells future events, and conveys messages from the divine to humans. In another interpretation, it means advocate or speaker.
The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.
The job of a prophet is often a dangerous one. Throughout history, people have mocked, imprisoned, and persecuted them.
For example, the Christian prophet Jeremiah, was thrown into a pit of mud, where he would have died if he hadn’t been rescued (see Jeremiah 38). Stephen, the first Christian martyr, knew this well. Before he was stoned to death, he asked, “Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?” (Acts 7:52). It makes most think twice when hearing the calling to be prophets.
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