Many Christians believe in the possibility of a second coming, but I would like to ask realistically what criteria would a modern day prophet or Christ have to meet before you believed in them? I mean lets face it if it does happen who is gonna believe such a claim in this day and age. What are the chances of them getting sectioned in a mental institute! What would be the best way for them to anounce themselves?
Modern Day Prophet
- Thread starter pharaohmoan
- Start date
Leo Volont
Registered Senior Member
Well, there is a lunatic fringe of the Spiritualist Crowd that are more than willing to believe any claim simply from inclination to believe, and then they will ignore all absolute proofs to the contrary. For instance, Sathya Sai Baba in India and the new phenom, Buddha Boy Ram Bomjon of Nepal, both caught many times so far with their hands in the proverbial cooky jar of fraud, and yet their hard core followers simply find opposition to be a healthy challenge to their Faith.
But, yes, we need to consider the General Public. And they will require a Big Miracle. As an example we can site Portugal in 1917 and the Our Lady of Fatima Appearances and the Huge Miracle of the Sun spectacle of 13 October. The whole country had been going Socialist, and the Catholic Church was VERY unpopular, UNTIL the Fatima Incident... and the Socialist Revolution stalled out. Portugal, by the way, was able to dodge both the nastiness of a Spanish Civil War, and avoided all of World War Two (The Protestant World War)
While Fatima converted almost every citizen of Portugal, the Newspaper Barons were quick to bury the story and keep it from reaching international distribution.
But if there were a similar Miracle today, just a few Newspaper Barons would not be able to so easily misdirect the public. Indeed, there are some modern prophecies that predict a Huge Miracle, and not one but two First Magnitude Prophets (and both will be assassinated).
Now, before all you secular atheists insist that people will never be fooled again by Religion, consider that people are caught up by popular fads, and it is really difficult to tell what the next new fad will be. A Huge Miracle might just spontaneously take off on a wave of public enthusiasm... not matter how stupidly non-reflective.
And yes, it does bother me that people are thoughtlessly stupid. Indeed, I am grateful to This Page for having never banned me, but EVERY Religious or Spiritual Page to which I have ever belonged has. Stupid and unreflective and hostile when questioned. And these are self-proclaimed religious and spiritual people. My only excuse for True Religion and Spirituality is that it comprises Two Orders of People -- the Idiots and Myself.
Well most prophets of God end up getting killed. So not many of them have the luxury of being put in a mental institute.
A prophet serves a purpose to call out to those who will hear. Once a Prophet has achieved his mission then death is an early mark to eternity. So no troubles there.
A Prophets teachings must not run in rebellion against the revealed Word of God that is the test that those who believe the Word of God use to test the prophet. Also whatever a prophet says will come to pass must come to pass otherwise they are a false prophet.
All Praise The Ancient Of Days
Leo Volont
Registered Senior Member
Actually not.
Remember that 'prophet' is only a word. Ancient History also calls some of the important people in their Histories 'law givers' and 'seers'. yeah, the Jews tend to be quick to kill each other, and other people as well, but this is exactly why we cannot generalize from jewish behavior to the behaviors of those who may likely be alot more civilized. We only need to consider whether most other Societies really would have murdered Jesus. Well, yes, America that killed Jack Kennedy and Martin Luther King would probably have also shot Jesus, but then again the American Protestants pride themselves on being the New Jews. I think that is what Capitalism is all about -- Protestants trying to be just like their Ideals, to be as mean, shallow and petty as the most Archetypical Jew.
Look back at any number of ancient Civilizations and Societies and you will find their important founders to have died of old age in their sleep.
Didn't Jesus say to someone he would be coming back in their lifetime? Christians have been expecting him to come on a specific date as far back as 1000. They keep pushing the date up. I think he just died like anyone else. The resurrection is a spiritual phenomenon.
Leo Volont
Registered Senior Member
Well, not exactly.
Jesus, when he was being led off to be crucified he put a Curse on Jerusalem saying that it would be destroyed in a lifetime.
Indeed, the Book of Revelations was a prophecy of this Destruction, and it did in fact occur. Jerusalem was trashed by the Romans first in 71 A.D. and again in 130 A.D. History calls it the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora.
People today who STILL try to find prophecy in the Book of Revelation are simply ignorant of History. It has already happened.
Now, Modern Christians argue that the prophecy has to do with them, and they are still here. Their mistake is that they believe themselves to be the Christians that Revelation speaks of. But they are Paul's Christians, who were not in fact authentic Christians at all. The Real Christians were Messianic Jews who still believed in the Law, the Sermon of the Mount, and all that Good Stuff. Paul's Christians believed it was a Good Thing to Kill the Messiah for a Free Sin Salvation. Jesus had warned of such False Apostles as Paul -- Wolves in Sheep's Clothing -- Weeds in the Wheat -- Wide Ways to Destruction. Modern Christians should just admit that they are Children of the Antichrist. Get past Denial and see the Truth. Then QUIT... hopefully after they take any and every legal step to shut down these Churches of Satan.
But the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish Diaspora marked the end of the Abrahamic Dispensation. It was the beginning of the Marian Dispensation -- the Appearances of the Apparition Mary and the promises of Spiritual Grace. In this case it was not an offer of Free Sin but an invitation to Spiritual Exploration.
It wasn't a prophecy, it was a reflection of the first destruction of Jerusalem, because it was written around 95 A.D.
Leo Volont
Registered Senior Member
Well, yes, but it was FOISTED as a Prophecy --- "Look how all this came true... blah blah blah".
But the point is that it is old news anyway.
I thought so too.
I don't have time to look for a reference right now, unfortunately.
I think it was in Matthew?
I would have thought that anybody who thinks they are a prophet would probably get sectioned. Whereas if an individual has done something, and a group of people have seen some sort of visionary you might have a chance of belief.
People are a lot more inellectualy independant now than they were 2000 years ago so are not so easily fooled by charlatans and people with mental illness, who are convinced by there own dellusions.
Anybody who anounces themselves as a prophet are generaly a bit loopy-
look-up-
Jim Jones,
David Koresh,
Charles Manson,
If david copperfeild had lived 2000yrs ago he would have given JC a run for his money (lol), they may have been called prophets back then but we call them confidence trickster's now well most of us but then again people still believe and some still teach their kids about santa claus
A prophet his someone who predicts or prophecises/has prophecies and are judged by their accuracy.
someone whose pupose is to call out to those who will hear is either a preacher or in the institute. A prophecy must have prophetic content of something that will take place or of consequence of an event that has taken place.
Leo Volont
Registered Senior Member
Its Mathew Chapter 24
Check this out:
http://www.solagroup.org/articles/endtimes/et_0003.html
The guy presents about the same argument that I sketched, that Jesus came back in 71 A.D. but everyone who saw it got killed by the Romans...not having any time to write a book, I mean a scroll, about it first.
Check this out:
http://www.solagroup.org/articles/endtimes/et_0003.html
The guy presents about the same argument that I sketched, that Jesus came back in 71 A.D. but everyone who saw it got killed by the Romans...not having any time to write a book, I mean a scroll, about it first.
Just had a look 1 bit says that the rapture has already taken place so if genesis was written 100 years after ashurbanipal ruled babylon (650bc),the 1 god concept comes into existence [god is born penned by the hand of man],it(god) exists for nearly a millenia [all actions during existence penned by the hand of man], A millenia later harcore sects of christianity in the name of all that is good and holy force beilef in god under pain of death [To save the life of a dying god, constructed by the hand of man],A few hundred years later the european philosiphers announce god is dead [penned out of existence or killled by man] man controled god for the purpose of man controling man, god has never controled man, men have only feared the unknown.
Just read a bit more I don't see how his prediction of downfall or rome and jerusalem is prophetic. We know that he travelled all his life and spoke to alot of people therefore, he must of listened to alot of people accuiring knowledge along the way, from this accuisition he would have got the feeling of loss of control over the people by the roman's and rabbi's, with loss of control comes loss of power,loss of power is a nation's downfall.common sense now but it gives him an intelligence ahead of his time.
I.E. if i say to u that within 50 years america will dissolve thruogh civil war between states and race, mexico and canada will close its borders sanctions by the world authority on the us over its botched domination attempt and mis-use of nuclear and chemical weapons force hungry citizens to oust the government,Isreal is destroyed by the united armies of asia for using us troops to oust indeginous people and for its use of nuclear weapons given to then by usa..
I am not making a prophecy but using common sense to see where the escalation of what i see happening in the world may end if 1 part of this comes true i'm not a prophet i'm combining what i know to guess a possible or likley outcome I think that there is no mysticism or proof in mathew of jesus prophecies more like a mis-interpretation of where jesus got his information from to guess the outcome.
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Ssshhhhhh!!!!!!
Prophecy of the future is only a part of the Work of a Prophet. Society as a whole has overlooked the main Job of a Prophet and that is to be a messenger of God to the people.
That is the main mission of a prophet.
And as a side not. Only a small proportion of prophets ever get the words they give put down in righting. Most prophets are killed long before that. That is why Jesus lamented when He looked over Jerusalem “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"
Many of the prophets where killed, and many are being killed today, same as it ever was, same as it ever was.
All Praise The Ancient Of Days
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M*W: Do all gods have messengers? How can you tell the difference between the gods and the messengers? Do you get a creepy feeling or something like that with the evil ones? Are they all really evil? Do the good prophets glow?
BTW, no, I wasn't banned during my hiatus, and it's good to be back!
God is a man made contstruct, it's only existence is in the form of belief ,like scooby doo or superman they all exist and they are all not real.
I think that the main job of a prophet is to translate to the people a vision he/she may have had incase of impending disaster.
as man created god and has controled gods actions since he was written into existence 2500 years ago if a man claims to be a messenger of god then he has got a screw loose, if he claims to be a man with a vision or perception of something which no-one else can see then he could be a visionary with an acute and unique collective of information which has guided him to a option many would not have.
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could you give an example of a modern prophet?
yes, and sometimes they get stigmata. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmata
but true prophets are kind of rare..