(Greek: prophetes, speaker for)
The Hebrew words for prophet and prophecy, nabi and hozeh, mean: the first "interpreter and mouthpiece of God"; the second, the vision or revelation interpreted. A prophet in the Old Testament was one who made known the will of God, not always by foretelling the future, but often by exposing and rebuking evil, by standing lor the law. Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Balaam, Elias, Eliseus, and Nathan are mentioned as prophets. The prophets whose writings form a book of the Old Testament are mentioned in the article on the Books of the Bible. We gather from the prophetic books that prophecy was a vocation; that it required supernatural knowledge, revelation of some truths or facts by God and inspiration to utter and impress these on men. The bulk of the prophecies of the Old Testament concerns the punishment of guilty nations, and the fulfilment of the ancient promises. This is to bring the new and final Covenant. Few will live to see or be worthy of it; from the remnant will arise the Messianic Kingdom, the nations united under the great king, the Son of David. The prophecies mentioned in the New Testament are those of Zachary, Saint Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, Saint John the Baptist, and of Our Lord.
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