Prophecy

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For other uses, see Prophecy (disambiguation).

Prophecy in a broad sense, is the prediction of future events or the speaking of divine words (divine Revelation) through chosen human messengers (prophets). The etymology of the word is Greek, from pro- "before" plus the root of phanai "speak", i.e. "speaking before" or "foretelling" (proclamation). Prophecy is a general term for assertions presented as the revelation of divine will. Sometimes the Greek word mantikê (divination) is translated as prophecy.^[1]

Throughout history, people have sought knowledge of future events from special individuals or groups who were thought to have the gift of prophecy, such as Oracles at Delphi in ancient Greece. Cultures in which prophecy played an important role include the Assyrians, Celts, Chaldeans, Chinese, Druids, Egyptians, Greeks, Hebrews, Indians, indigineous North Americans, Mayans, Tibetans, and many in the Christian and Muslim traditions, among others.

1 Prophecy in religion
2 Evidence of prophecy
3 Folk prophecy
4 Scientific prediction
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Prophecy in religion

In many religions, gods or other supernatural agents are thought to sometimes provide prophecies to certain individuals, sometimes known as prophets, by dreams or visions. The Tanakh, the Old Testament of the Bible, contains prophecies from various Hebrew prophets who spoke judgement upon the Israelites, foretold of their impending trials, tribulations, and then promised divine blessings if the Hebrews repented from their evil ways. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament is accepted by many Christians as a prophecy that includes divine promises of a anointed messiah or Christ that would lead the people in war and personally issue judgement at the end times and Armageddon (see Eschatology, Bible prophecy and "End of the World").

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' words and deeds.

In the Bible 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. Prophets often brought words of comfort, exhortation or general upliftment to the Church. 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 his prophets.

Muslims maintain Muhammad (circa 600 AD), was mentioned in the prophecies of earlier prophets, in the chain of their prophets like Jesus & Moses [1]. Their belief is that an angel (Gabriel) visited him in the cave called Hira on the Mount Jabal-al-Noor in Makkah. From then onwards he started reciting the Koran they believe to be from God ("Allah," in Arabic). Such events equated with dreams, visions and remote viewing by deniers were taken to be true by followers & took him to be the 'Last Prophet' until the 'End of Times'. Then again Muhammad left some prophecies about future personalities like Mahdi & the second return of Jesus. Some of the followers keep waiting for such prophecies to show up.

More recently, in the 1800's, 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 Baha'is see both the Jewish and Christian scriptures, especially the books of Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, and Revelation as containing many prophecies promising the coming of Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i 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.

Many prophecies from many differing sources relate to the Promised One as diverse as the Book of Enoch, Bible (Old and New Testaments), Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce, Buddhist, Chinese, Muslim and Zoroastrian sources, and indigenous people's prophecies to name a few. Having prophecies about the coming of a special spiritual teacher is the most unique ways of recognizing someone of notable importance in advance (who would return by reincarnation to be reborn and live as a human. By necessity the person must appear to fulfill all or at least most of the prophecies about their foreseen appearance, life and actions. The events of (and solutions for) the End Time are spectacular enough that no dispute will exist as to the time, and the person expected will then be identifiable, but not before (according to prophecies). Once the time has been identified as having started numerous imposters will claim to be that person, however just having the ability to foresee is not the only criterion by which the person can be recognized. He must be an advocate of peace too.

[edit] Evidence of prophecy

Prophecy always involves some kind of communication with the future or with different realms of existence, which are usually not discernible by or in harmony with empirical science. Therefore, skeptics consider prophecy to be false. Believers, however, claim that prophecy is possible through supernatural means, which bypass the natural laws.

The hypothetical power of prophecy has not been scientifically tested and remains unproven, but many people believe that certain prophecies have been fulfilled, especially if they are central to their religion. Others consider that some apparently fulfilled prophecies can be explained as simple coincidences, or that some prophecies were actually invented after the fact to match the circumstances of a past event (vaticinium ex eventu).

Many prophecies are also vague, allowing them to be applied to many possible future events. The cryptic prophecies of Nostradamus are a prime example of this, but Nostradamus's supporters argue that detailed predictions would have earned him a reputation for witchcraft or that can become a Self-defeating prophecy. Some charismatic ministers such as William Branham, Richard Rossi, and Paul Cain are regarded as prophets by their Pentecostal followers.

[edit] Folk prophecy

[edit] Sortes virgilianae

In the Middle Ages, as the figure of the Latin poet Virgil developed into a kind of magus or wizard, manuscripts of his work The Aeneid were used for divination, the sortes virgilianae. A line would be selected at random and interpreted, very much in the way Old Testament lines were interpreted for arcane meanings, in light of a current situation.

[edit] The crawling baby

In some cultures it is customary to place a series of objects evocative of possible future occupations in front of a baby. Whichever object the baby crawls to or picks up is said to indicate the kind of profession the baby will grow up to have.

[edit] The Knock Airport Prophecy

The people of Knock in Mayo, Ireland used to have a prophecy or legend that 'a great silver bird will fly down and take people away'.^{[citation needed]} Many years later the Knock airport was built in the area.

When the days grow drk and the 15th cycle completes,
Adrian shall rise again
Lest the four guardians come to good's aid,
Evil will rule the earth once more.
Inplace of the former guardians a new four will be chosen
And on the darkest day when his rebirth is complete
They shall face eachother at the lone star.

^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Scientific prediction

For a theory to be considered genuinely scientific it must in some sense predict the future. A scientific theory differs from prophecy in that it is both falsifiable and reproducible. In principle, a scientific theory makes a prediction that could actually invalidate the theory by not coming true. Furthermore, a scientifc theory makes a prediction that can be tested under reproducible conditions by different experimenters. All of classical physics claims to do this, that is condition A will always lead to condition B in all experiments. Newton's Laws and the theory of relativity generate quantified solutions that can be tested with measurements. Using them one can predict to high accuracy, millennia into the future, the orbits of the planets for instance. Quantum physics, however, generates statistical probabilities. Thus, condition A will sometimes lead to B and sometimes to C or even D,E,F..., and one cannot predict what will happen in a certain instance, but only that A will lead to B or C x out of y instances.