Let's put First things First
Ask the average Bible reader to name the prophets. Easy peasy!
The major prophets of the Hebrew Bible were:
Joshua
Samuel
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Hosea or Hoshea
Joel or Yo'el
Amos
Obadiah or Ovadyah
Jonah or Yonah
Micah or Mikhah
Nahum or Nachum
Habakkuk or Habacuc
Zephaniah or Tsefania
Haggai or Haggai
Zechariah Zekharia
Malachi or Malakhi
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So far so good?
The TALMUD says that there had been twice as many prophets as the number of people who left Egypt (2,600,000), but only those whose messages were for future generations were recorded. This count was 48 male and 7 female Prophets.
What do you make of that fact?
HOW WE DEFINE the word PROPHET?
1. a person (of either sex) who claims contact with the supernatural/divine and who purports to SPEAK FOR THEM
2. human serving as an intermediator between the divine and humanity
3. human entrusted to bestow special knowledge from a divine source
What makes a prophet a PROPHET?
Is that clear enough? When such a person (list above) speaks or writes a message....it is called PROPHECY.Jews, Christians and Muslims have a matter-of-fact attitude about prophets and prophecy--BECAUSE they are monotheists.
However, their view is historically VERY NARROW!
In every civilization regardless of religion there are such prophets who have operated all through history!
List of Facts about Prophets:
1. Targets of persecution and opposition by authorities in power whom the prophets had criticized
2. Gave specific warnings about corruption and malfeasance in order to correct wrongful practices
3. Called "seers" because prophets could see what authority was doing wrong and reporting it publicly
4. Tertullian and Eusebius report the activity of prophets operating long after the death of the twelve original Apostles
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Are you still with me?
Can a religious body, group or organization do the work a prophet is said to do and correctly claim to NOT be a prophet?
What if there was an organization that wanted all the respect, gravitas and authority possessed by a prophet of God while
exempting itself from charges of FALSE PROPHET when its utterances failed? Would this group be guilty of trickery and blame-shifting?
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Deuteronomy 18:21-22
King James Version (KJV)
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follows not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses claims special privilege as:
"The mouthpiece of God."
This matches #1 on our list of definitions of PROPHET .....Check!
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The Watchtower magazine has repeatedly emphasized the status of its Governing Body as intermediary charged with the duty of
providing all the True teachings of Jehovah while demanding loyalty from obedient Christians.
This matches #2 on our list of definitions of PROPHET......check!
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Throughout its history, Jehovah's Witnesses have received New Light, it claims, as special discrete knowledge of dates for Armageddon.
This matches #3 on our list of definitions of PROPHET.....check!
Do Jehovah's leaders make the claim for themselves?
YES!
Watchtower 1972 Apr 1 pp.197-199
'They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them'
Watchtower described itself as "the modern-day "prophet"
"So, does Jehovah have a prophet to help them, to warn them of dangers and to declare things to come?
IDENTIFYING THE "PROPHET"
These questions can be answered in the affirmative. Who is this prophet? ... 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. ... Of course, it is easy to say that this group acts as a "prophet" of God. It is another thing to prove it. The only way that this can be done is to review the record. Thus this group of anointed followers of Jesus Christ, doing work in Christendom paralleling Ezekiel's work among the Jews, were manifestly the modern-day Ezekiel, the "prophet" commissioned by Jehovah to declare the good news of God's Messianic kingdom and to give warning to Christendom."
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Have they discovered a loophole for lying in the name of Jehovah and getting away with it?
Why YES! Through the cowardly trick of putting quotation marks "-----" around the word prophet! "Prophet".
Quotation Marks Can Communicate Sarcasm and Irony
One of the greatest virtues of quotation marks in our language is that they can become the body language and facial expressions of the written word. They can make any word sarcastic or ironic, like in this sentence:
Your freshly made “bread” kept my bowels churning all night.
"The quotation marks will suggest to some people that you are using that word in a special or peculiar way and that you really mean something else..."
YES THE GOVERNING BODY THINKS THEY CAN HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!
Claiming to be and denying all at the same time!
"Ever since The Watchtower began to be published in July 1879 it has looked ahead into the future... No, The Watchtower is no inspired prophet, but it follows and explains a Book of prophecy the predictions in which have proved to be unerring and unfailing till now. The Watchtower is therefore under safe guidance. It may be read with confidence, for its statements may be checked against that prophetic Book."
(The Watchtower 1 January 1969)
Indeed, 7 million members of this religion ALLOW THEM to escape condemnation for false prophecy and give them unwavering personal loyalty.
Is there no modern-day group of prophets who will STAND UP AND ACCUSE THIS RELIGION?
The answer is: YES! There exists a modern day prophet to point an accusing finger at this Governing Body in protest!
Who is this PROPHET? WE ARE!
The community of ex-JW members who publicly voice their accusations of lying, false prophesying, lethal blood policies, and child molestation malfeasance!
WE SO-CALLED APOSTATES are the REAL PROPHETS!
I remind you:
List of Facts about Prophets
1. Targets of persecution and opposition by authorities in power whom the prophets had criticized
2. Gave specific warnings about corruption and malfeasance in order to correct wrongful practices
We can laugh at this Twist Ending!