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[[God]] told [[Moses]] that He was going to start sending '''prophets''' to speak for him. While [[Jesus]] was the greatest of these prophets, the [[Old Testament]] attests that God sent many before him that and there have been many since. The word prophet often has the meaning of someone who foretells the [[future]]. A prophet also may be understood as someone who speaks for God. [[Mother Theresa]] called for a greater respect for [[life]] at every stage. [[Pope Paul VI]] who wrote ''Humanae Vitae'' at the height of the “sexual revolution.” He was a prophet not just in the narrow sense of speaking God’s word by calling people back to a respect for themselves and for others, but also in the wider sense of predicting what would happen if artificial [[birth control]] became the norm: greater marital infidelity, loss of respect for [[women]], an increase in pre-marital sex among our youth, a general lowering of morality in all aspects of our society, not to mention government use of contraceptives for political purposes. He successfully predicted all these developments. Another prophet to come out of the sixties was [[Martin Luther King, Jr]]. He spoke the word of God and he spoke the truth in his call to end [[racism]] in this country. His call, like the prophets of old, was a call to conversion of [[heart]]; to make us realize that racism and bigotry divides the human family that [[Jesus Christ]] had to die for so that we could all be brothers and sisters of one another as children of the same loving God. Many prophets, such as King, are killed for their actions, making them [[martyr]]s. Some people don’t like hearing the truth, because it means they have to change. They “harden their hearts” to God and his truth.

 

 

Religious prophets speak for [[God]] through divine revelation.  Prophets in the [[Bible]] usually predict future events and the words of a prophet must always come to pass.  If they do not, then he is a [[false prophet]] and could be put to death according to the book of [[Deuteronomy]]. This was the main way prophets under the old testament could be judged – when their predictions come true, they can be said to be true prophets.<ref>Ezekiel 33:33</ref>

 

[[Jesus Christ]] declared: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." — Matthew 7:15-16

 

Predictions of the future were typically used to prove that they spoke for God. The purpose of prophets was mainly to correct wrongs.

 

Prophets in the [[Old Testament]] also have the distinction of being largely ignored by the Jewish people who they are trying to reach.

 

 

''See also:'' [[Bible prophecy]]

 

A large portion of the Bible deals with prophets and prophecy, including two sections of the books of the Bible, the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets. Note that the Minor Prophets is in reference to the length of their texts, not that they themselves were less of a prophet than the Major Prophets.

 

 

* [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]]

* [[Ezekiel (prophet)|Ezekiel]]

[[File:512px-Antonio Balestra - Prophet Isaiah.jpg|thumbnail|300px|Painting of [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]] by Antonio Balestra]]

 

* Huldah<ref>Huldah the prophetess 2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22</ref>

* [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]]

 

There are other prophets in the Bible as well that don't have books named after them, such as [[Elijah]], [[Elisha]], and [[Nathan]].  Furthermore, while discussion of prophets is less pronounced in the [[New Testament]] of the Bible than it is in the [[Old Testament|Old]], there are prophets in the New Testament as well, such as [[Agabus]].

 

== Prophets outside the Bible ==

 

Many religions that were set up after [[Jesus]] have labeled their founders as prophets, such as [[Islam]] with [[Mohammed]].

 

[[Charismatic movement|Charismatic]] preachers, especially in the faith movement, will often refer to themselves as prophets.

 

The [[Mormon]] Church believes in a succession of [[Prophets (Mormon)|Latter Day Prophets]] who have come in modern times.