Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: farkas@qual.eng.sun.com (Frank Farkas) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: False prophets Message-ID: Date: 17 Sep 90 07:22:09 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 44 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu [The discussion here is about the criteria for defining a false prophet. It was said to be that his prophecies come true. Jonah is given as an example: he told the Ninevites that they would be destroyed. They repented, and were not destroyed. Does that make him a false prophet? Many but not all respondents think there was an implicit "if you don't repent". --clh] I guess that I am confused with the various responses. There was nothing in the prophesy which said that they were not going to be destroyed if they don't repent. The prohesy said that they will be destroyed in 40 days, period. this is the reason why Jonah went outside of the city and waited patiently for the word of God to come true. The issue is not if Jonah was a true or a false prophet, but our defination of a prophet. The problem is that the man made definations are not perfect. And when we apply them to prophets in the Bible, they fall apart. Normally, the man made definations are used to try to descredit modern day prophets, by those who no longer believe that there are any more revelations. Let me give you another example, which is much less controversial than the case with Jonah. 2 Kings 20:1 ============ "....Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live." 2 Kings 20:5 ============ "Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy Father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold I will heal thee:..." Please explain the above Bible quotes in view of any man made defination of a prophet. The only thing one can say is that the prophet is the one who will tell those things which God told him to tell. The fact is that the only way to know if a person is a true prophet of God is that the Holy Ghost has to bear its witness to that truth. There are no simple guide lines. With brotherly love, Frank