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A prophet is a human messenger of God. The prophets of the Bible received divine revelation directly from God, and often shared this message with the people or the rulers of the day (and tended to be unpopular with them). The messages of prophets are commonly referred to as prophecy, and are mentioned by numerous people throughout the Bible.

The Bible also warns against false prophets, who may be pretending or have malicious motives. Deuteronomy 13: 1-5 warns that idolatrous prophets are sometimes sent to test the faithful. By testing everything (Matthew 7: 15-23), one can be careful about prophecies made by people who claim to be modern-day prophets.

Some people consider Prophets to have only existed in the OT (and John the Baptist), and that after Jesus there was no more need for prophets. However Acts 2:17, Acts 21:10 and 1 Cor 12:29 seems to suggest otherwise (although there do exist other interpretations than the literal). Also there is some contention over the validity of 'modern day prophets', and whether they are mearly con-artists etc.. Also those that believe in the existance of post-Jesus Prophets, believe there role has changed. Prophets used to be very important for peoples relationship with God, as they would reveal God's revelation of what he is like to the people. Now there is less of a need for that as you can have a relationship with God through Jesus (thanks to the teaching of church elders, and the Bible etc), without the need to ever meet (or hear from) a prophet.


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