Catholic and Pastoral Epistle

 Catholic and Pastoral Epistle

“False doctrine of the present time” Teaching of Bible and Teaching of the Church against the Catholic Church teaching”

What is false teaching: Teaching is “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true.” Biblical doctrine refers to teachings that support with the revealed Word of God, the Bible. False Teaching is any idea that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies the Teaching given in God’s Word. For example, any teaching about Jesus that denies His virgin birth is a false teaching. False doctrine of the present time against the Catholic Church Here I tried to find out some common issue in the present time. These are false teachers and false teaching-

Drug Addiction: The Bible and the Church teaches moral values, that is, they tell us what is fair and right for us. The Church is against deeds and things that take away people from the Creator. There is some teaching in the Bible and in the Church about drug addiction.

Drugs in the Scripture: In the Scripture there is no indication about drugs. The people of the Bible did not use drugs as is done today. But, Traditionally in Israel they drank wine, what is an alcohol, at feast and big celebrations. It made them drunk when after drinking people lost their senses and sometimes became involved in immoral and disorderly acts which created problems in society. This could become habitual. So, later it was forbidden especially before or during the liturgical celebrations. The Old Testament and New Testament discourage too much drinking of wine. (1 Samuel 1:13ff; Is 28:1,3; 28:7;5:11;5:22; Proverbs 26:9; 4:15 ;23:31;19:1; Je.35:1ff.) (Rom 13:13; 1Cori 5:11; 1Cori 6:10; Gal 5:21; 1Cori11:21; 1Timo3:3)

Teaching of the Church: The Church teaches that the abuse of drug is not good and that it brings indiscipline in the family and the community. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that ‘the virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air. Drugdoes not cause danger for the user only but especially for the others. So anybody that brings danger to others is guilty.

Mixed Marriage:Technically, Mixed marriage is a marital bond between Catholics and non-Catholics. Here both parties are Christians but they have differences in doctrinal matters. In broader sense, when a marriage takes place between a Catholic and a non-baptized, is called ‘inter-religious marriage’ or ‘mixed marriage’. For example, if a Catholic boy marriage a Muslim girls after securing necessary dispensations from the Church, it becomes an ‘inter-religious’ or ‘mixed’ marriage, we will use the term mixed-marriage between a Catholic and a Muslim party.

Concept of Mixed Marriage in Bible:Interfaith marriage or mixed marriage in the Bible is mostly discouraged. Yet, there are a number of instances of marriage between an Israelite. It is true that even for the first Hebrews it was considered proper to marry members of the same nation and the Bible disapproves of Esau (Gen. 26:34) and Judah (Gen 34:2) who married Hittite and Canaanites instead. Joseph is recorded as marrying Egyptian women. Mixed marriage- Ruth 1:16; Ezra 10:10-11; 1Cori 7:12-14.

Church Teachings on Mixed Marriage: Marriages between a Catholic and non-baptized person are not sacramental and fall under the impediment of disparity of worship. It is invalid without a dispensation, for which authority lies with the Ordinary of the place of marriage. In addition, the Catholic Church recognizes the Pauline privilege, wherein a Catholic may marry an un-baptized previously married person who consents to convert (1Cori 7:12-14). Marriage is an indissoluble covenant, which signifies the relationship between God and his people (Israel), and the relationship between Christ and the Church. Therefore, even though the non-Christian spouse leaves the Catholic reasons, the Catholic party cannot marry again.

Sexual abuse: Most of the people generally believe that sexual abuse means that very young Girls are raped by older men. Some Children that these people are some kind of secret monsters who go about stalking children all the time. A girl can be raped or sexually harassed assaulted by adults. A wife can be rape or sexually assaulted by her husband, when he forcefully commits sexual intercourse with his reluctant wife and persecutes her bodily, it will be rape.

Concept of abuse in Bible: The Old testament portrays the goodness of sexuality. The story of human sexual love begins in the Garden of Eden. The misuse of sexuality is also considered sin. God has forbidden the Israel to have illegal sex. That is very clear in the TenCommandments: `Do not commit adultery’ (exodus 20:14). ``Do not desire another man’s wife’ (ex.20:17) The Old testament passages condemn prostitution specially the prophets Amos and Jeremiah spoke against prostitution (Amos 2:7, Jer. 5:7). The Book of Sirrach warned against adultery, prostitution and sexual misbehaviour (Sirrach 9:3-6, 23:16-21). The law of Israel forbade sexual misconduct including adultery, incest, rape and bestiality (Lev. 20:10-21. Deut. 22:23-29, Gen 18:20, Ex 22:18). In the New Testament: The New Testament emphasized the holiness and authentic love, which is the basic background of sexual morality. `One who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart’ (Mt.5:28). Sexual morality is not a matter of external behaviour but a person’s internal disposition. Jesus rejects adultery (Mk. 7:22, Mt.5:19). He condemns both divorce and remarriage. ‘Whoever divorce his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her’ (Mk. 10:11). It is adultery and a serious violation of God’s will. (1Cori 6:9; Heb.13:4)

The Church Teaching: The Holy Mother church does not allow any sinful act. The Church always hopes, wants our mutual eternal love, help and understanding. It does not hope anything insistently doing which cannot out freely from the persecuted fellow. ‘Rape is illicit sexual intercourse with a woman against justice. Because the woman’s right over her body is violated. In addition to the violation it may bring social dishonour to her and abstract a future marriage.

Homosexuality:The Catholic Church teaches that, as person does not choose to be either homosexual or heterosexual, being gay is not inherently. All sexual acts must be open to and express the symbolism of male-female complementarities.Sexual acts between two members of the same gender cannot meet these standards. Homosexuality thus constitutes a church teaches that gay people are called to practice.

The church also teaches that gay people "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity", and that "every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided”. Whilst holding that discrimination in marriage, employment, housing, and adoption in some circumstances can be just and "obligatory”. The church points to several passages in the Bible as the basis for its teachings, including Genesis 19:1-11, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, I Corinthians 6:9, Romans 1:18-32, and I Timothy 1:10.

The Christian tradition has generally prohibited all sexual activities outside of this includes activities engaged in by couples or individuals of either the same or different sexes. The Catholic Church's position specifically on homosexuality developed from the teachings of the, which was in stark contrast to Greek and Roman attitudes towards same-sex relations,

Canon law regarding same-sex sexual activity has been shaped through the decrees issued by a series of ecclesiastical councils. Initially, canons against sodomy were aimed at ensuring clerical or monastic discipline, and were only widened in the medieval period to include laymen. In the stated that "the unnatural vice" is the greatest of the sins of lust.

Divorce: ‘Divorce is a legal or customary decree that a marriage is dissolved. The term was employed in ancient Rome for the mutual separation of married people. Etymologically the term divorce does not indicate whether the mutual separation included the dissolution of the marriage bond and fact, it came to be used in ecclesiastical law in this neutral signification. There are many causes for divorce in our country- Lack of respect, Sex Discrimination, Lack of Love, Lack of Equality, Neglecting of Religion, Individual affair, Dowry etc.

Biblical and Christian view about Divorce

Divorce in the Old Testament: A number of texts of the Bible tell us what Jesus said about divorce and remarriage. The texts give insights to the meaning of what he said, in two instances Jesus refers to passages in the Old Testament in order to explain his own teaching regarding marriage and divorce. The two passage found in the Old Testament are the following: Genesis 1:27; Gene 2:22-24; Dt 24:1; Dt 22:13-19; Dt 22:28-29; Dt 24:1-4; Leve 21:7, Ho 2:4; Ben Sir 7:26;25:26;

Divorce in the New Testament: Then some Pharisees came up and as a test began to ask him whether it was permissible for a husband to divorce his wife. In reply, he said, ‘What command did Moses give you? They answered, ‘Moses permitted divorce and the writing of a decree of divorce’.  But Jesus told them: he wrote that command for you because of your stubbornness. At the beginning of creation God made them male and female; for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and two shall become one. They are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, let no man separate what God has joined”. Back in the house again, the disciples began to question him about this. He told them whoever divorces his wife and marries commits adultery against her; and the woman who divorces her husband and marries commits adultery. Divorce in the New Testament-Luke 16:18; Matthew 5:31-32;

Christian view about Divorce: ‘Among Roman Catholics there are two cases in which a marriage, which is otherwise indissoluble, can be dissolved in special circumstances. If two unbaptized persons are lawfully married and one of them became a Roman Catholic, the other refusing to live ‘Without offences to God”, the marriage can be dissolved according to what is known as the “Pauline privilege”( 1 cor. 7: 15; Canons. 1120-7)

 The second case is that of two baptized person whose marriage has never been consummated. “This union can be dissolved either by solemn profession of one of the parties or by a dispensation of the Supreme pontiff for good and just reasons” (Canon 1119). These decisions are quite different from declarations of nullity.

“There is thus great variety among Christians with regard to the matter of divorce. Modern developments have created a situation in which Christians are faced with difficult moral decisions about divorce, since the teaching of the churches and the practice of the civil legislatures have more and more diverged. There can be no doubt that Christian teaching from NT times onwards has been that marriage between Christians is a lifelong union to the exclusion of all others, and almost all Christian services of marriage stress this aspect of marriage. There is also strong Christian tradition that this concept of marriage is not merely a Christian ordinance but that it derives from the natural moral law. The Roman Catholic Church because of its structure and discipline has succeeded in maintaining discipline among its members, which most other Christian Churches have been unable to secure. But even in the case of the Roman Catholic there have been actions, which seem to outside observers to be stretching their own principles rather further than they ought to go. On the other hand, we see that strict law in a Christian community is impossible to maintain unless there is a workable system of dispensation for cases where this is needed. Most of the Christian Churches must depend on the free readiness of their people to live according to their teaching, though in the conduct of the marriage service by ministers an opportunity exists to establish rules which uphold to some extent the Christian belief as to the intrinsic nature to the marriage bond”

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OPPOSED TO UNNATURAL BIRTH CONTROL

The basic reason for the Church's opposition to any sort of sinful action is that such actions are contrary to the nature God has given us. Jesus said about marriage, "Let no one take apart what God has put together" (Mk 10:9). This can also be applied to the act of sexual intercourse which has been called "the marriage act" for centuries of Christian history.

In the natural act of completed marital sexual intercourse, there is a symbolic bodily unity of man and wife. However, in every form of unnatural birth control, there is a positive effort to destroy the procreative potential of an act that God has given us as a unique sign of married love.

Looked at in another way, the sex act is meant by God to be a symbolic way in which a couple are called to renew, at least implicitly, their marriage covenant. In this bodily union, they are called to affirm anew their original promises of married love, to take each other for better or for worse, to be as one until death.

Unnatural birth control contradicts the symbolic renewal of the marriage covenant. Instead, it says, "I take you for better but not for the imagined worse of parenthood."

In the New Testament, it is possible that the Greek "pharmakeia" refers to the birth control issue. "Pharmakeia" in general was the mixing of various potions for secret purposes, and it is known that potions were mixed in the first century A.D. to prevent or stop a pregnancy. The typical translation as "sorcery" may not reveal all of the specific practices condemned by the New Testament. In all three of the passages in which it appears, it is in a context condemning sexual immorality; two of the three passages also condemn murder. (Gal. 5:19-26; Rev. 9:21, 21:8). Thus it is very possible that there are three New Testament passages condemning the use of the products of "pharmakeia" for birth control purposes.

THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE AGAINST UNNATURAL BIRTH CONTROL: The question of birth control has been raised many times for 19 centuries of Christian life, and the Church has always responded with a firm and universal negative to abortion, sterilization and all forms of unnatural birth control. The encyclical Humanae Vitae in 1968 simply reaffirmed this universal Tradition.

Bibliography:

1.BIJOY, Rebeiro Gabriel `Sexual Abuse’ Affiliated with pontifical University, Rome, Dhaka, 2001.

 2. TAPAN BlaiseRozarioÔMixed Marriage: A New Challenge in the Family Life, Affiliated with pontifical University, Rome, Dhaka, 2011.

3. MICHAELDewriMilon, Drug Addiction and Pastoral Care in the Context of Bangladesh, Affiliated with pontifical University, Rome, Dhaka, 2009.

4. JND Kelly: A Commentary on The Pastoral Epistles, I & II Timothy and Titus, London, Adam & Charles Black, 1963.Pp. 188-190.

5. BROWN, R. E. ed: The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Bangalore, TPI, 1990.

6. DONALD, Senior, ed.: The Catholic Study Bible, New York, Oxford University Press, 1991.

7. Terence j. Keegan, First and Second Timothy Titus, Philemon. New Collegeville Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2006.

8. http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=54&c=3

9. http://godswordonline.net/titus1.htm

PROPHETS

PROPHETS

Introduction

A prophet is someone who is called by God and he calls people in the name of God and in place of God. A prophet is a spokesperson for God. Prophet is someone says something on behalf of someone, for God. Prophet is someone who is called by God and he calls people in the name of God and in place of God. He is the spokesman of God.

To be a prophet or servant of God is not a human choice, but it is God who chooses. People try to make them diviner proclaiming great adventure. In the Books of prophets a prophet is described as the man of present rather than a man of future. A prophet is not a futurologist, but he is interested first and foremost in the present and that of his audience not to make present divine, but change the present history of the people is the prime concern for the prophet. But, therefore, it doesn’t mean that a prophet is confined in the horizontal of his own history.

At the same time he is equally passionate with his future. He believes that the future is connected with the initiative of God and the response of human freedom. However, whatever he sees for the future is always related to the present. He warns of the future judgments, so that people may change their behaviors/attitudes at present. He speaks of the future blessings to give hope for the present. The prophet speaks to the present, in light of the future that God has revealed to him. His interest is not to make divine the future, but changing the present. The prime concern of his oracles is the present history of his people.

The prophet is known as ‘The Man of God’, ‘The Servant of Jehovah’, ‘The Messenger of Jehovah’, ‘The Critic of Society’, ‘The Announcer of Future’, ‘The Interpreter of God’s Word’, ‘The Sentinel of People’, ‘The Man of Spirit’, ‘The Man of Witness’, ‘The Man of Sign’, ‘The Man of Present’ and ‘The Man of Unconditional Hope’. 

Etymological Meaning

The English word ‘Prophet’ comes from the Greek word ‘προφήτής’ (Translitaration: prophetes) means one who speaks forth or advocate /speaking (someone speaks something on behalf of someone). The Hebrew term of prophet is נָבִיא (nabi>nabîm). The verbal form of this Semitic word basically means to call or calling.

prophet<προφήτής (pro+phetes) means to say/saying (someone says something on behalf of someone)

Pro (preposition): for. It has three deferent meanings:

a. Temporal: (related to time)>before

b. Spatious: (related to place)>in front of

c. vicarious: (related to person/object)>in place of...someone/something

Phetes (noun) saying/proclaiming

On the other hand, in Hebrew Prophet is called nabi, which has two forms: verbal form (nabi) and noun form (nabîm). Verbal form of this Semitic word refers to calling and noun form refers to one who calls on behalf of someone. So nabi means someone who calls on behalf of someone >God.

A prophet is someone who is called by God. From the experience of the past, being enlightened by the word of God, lining in the present he delivers guidelines to the people for the future. He is a spokesperson, who speaks on behalf of God. Today a Prophet has a very important role, especially on regards of Spirituality. In the Bible, often we see a prophet performs both a teaching and revelatory role, announcing God’s Words on present issues revealing the detail about the future. For example: Isaiah preached boldly against the corruption of his days (Isaiah 1:4) and delivered grand visions of the future of Israel (Isaiah 25:8). Finally, I can say a prophet is a critic of society, an announcer of future and a charismatically authorized messenger.

The Positive Names for the Prophet

Nabi>prophet: Someone who calls on behalf of someone >God.

Ro’eh >seer 1 Samuel 9:9: Someone who possesses supernatural vision, insight and foresight.

Hozeh > messenger 2 Samuel 24:11: An authoritative messenger of God, a beholder or seer, who receives supernatural vision.

In the Nook of 1 Chronicles 29:29 we find Samuel>Ro’eh, Nathan>Nabi and Gad>Hozeh.

The Negative Name for the Prophet

In the Book of Joshua 13:22, we find the negative name for the prophet kosen>diviner>false prophet.

There are three steps in the life of the prophet

Meeting the Yahweh>Lord: Isaiah 6:1-9

Expressing the experience about God: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Proclaiming the word of God Ezekiel 3:12-22

The Idea about a Prophet

According to the Modern Critics: Modern Critics fount do find in them (Prophets) a unique class of religious individualists with a message found in the present rather than the distant past or the distant future”[1]. They defined Prophets as “A prophet is one who proclaims a message on behalf of another, generally a deity”[2].

Extra Biblical Meaning of Prophet: In the past century, there was an archeological excavation in the city Mari of Mesopotamia, where some extra biblical Oracles (Prophecies of 19^th century B.C.) were found, which resemble some of the OT prophets’ Texts.  The Oracle givers sometimes bore names answers, ecstatics or speakers. We also find some Oracles givers as shouters, revealers and votaries in the Ancient Near East Text (11^th century BC) and Assyrian Text (680-627 BC). In the Palestinian Text we introduce Oracle givers as visionaries. The Oracle givers speak mostly about themselves or sometimes on behalf of Baal, whereas the prophets speak on behalf of Yahweh.  

In the Ancient Greece prophets refer to s group of ecstatics. Generally, the prophecies were associated with the cult of Dionysus.

Prophet in the Old Testament

Abraham is the first prophet in the Bible. In Genesis 20:7 God spoke to Abimelech in dream, saying, “Now then, return Abraham’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you will live.” We find more than 133 prophets in the Bible. Among them sixteen are prophetess. In addition, many others foretell such as the 70 elders of Israel (Numbers 11:25) and the 100 prophets rescued by Obadiah (1 Kings 18:4). God had revealed Himself to Abraham on several occasions. Jacob and Joseph, descendants of Abraham, both had dreams regarding the future that could be categorized as prophetic. Moses was called a man of God and was considered a great prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10). Joshua and many of the judges served as prophets. The last judge, Samuel heard the voice of God as a young boy (1 Samuel 3:4). Later he anointed David, who served as both king and prophet in Israel. The time of Elijah and Elisha was marked by a high level of prophecies, as well as miracles.

Prophet in the New Testament

In the New Testament, we come to know that John the Baptist foretells the coming of the Messiah (Matthew 3:1). Jesus Himself appears as prophet, priest, king, and Messiah, fulfilling many of the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. We also see Simian, who was waiting for the coming of the promised Messiah. Anna was pleased, when she saw infant Jesus. The early church also included prophets, for example, Ananias was given a prophecy about the Apostle Paul’s future (Acts 9:10-18). The four daughters of Philip who could prophesy (Acts 21:9). In the last days, two “witnesses” will prophesy from Jerusalem (Revelation 11). In the New Testament prophecy is listed as a spiritual gift in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. Here prophet performs the task of faithfully speaking God’s Word to the people. God’s household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone (Ephesus 2:20). The prophet is the instrumental in guiding the nation of Israel and establishing the church.

The Classification of Prophets

Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Canonical Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Non-canonical Prophets: Nathan, Elijah and Elisha.

Pre-canonical Prophets: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All the pre-canonical prophets are non-canonical but all the non-canonical prophets are not pre-canonical prophets.

Writing Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Non-writings Prophets: Nathan, Elijah and Elisha.

Classical Prophets:  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Non-classical Prophet: Nathan, Elijah and Elisha.

Pre-exilic Prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah.

Exilic Prophets: Obadiah and Ezekiel.

Post-exilic Prophets: Daniel, Joel, Jonah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

Court Prophets: Eliza.

Temple Prophets: Nathan and Eliza.

A Prophet is a Seer

Commonly a seer means a foreseer, one who sees or looks. The term seer refers to the futurologist, who can foretell beforehand. However, in the biblical understanding a seer never indicates a foreseer, who says something about future or human fate. A seer is a prophet. A Prophet is a man of present, who experiences the past, being enlightened by the Scripture, he speaks about the present to the people on behalf of God. In II Samuel 24:11 we find Gad as a prophet and he was also known as the seer of David. But mainly he was a prophet. The word seer appears parallel to the Prophets in II kings 17:13 and Isa 29:10. Samuel is called a seer three times in I Samuel 9:1-27.  In verse 9 we read anyone who went to inquire of God would say, “Come, let us to the seer”.

According to A. B. Davidson there may have been a class of seers in the time of the judges, whose methods may not have been greatly unlike those in use among other Semitic peoples, but we know nothing of them. Samuel is the only seer known to history. Nevertheless though the clues are few, there are some which the seer held in relation to both the priest and the prophet.

In the Book of the Chronicles contains, the word hozeh (seer) occurs six times in the OT and ro'eh (seer) occurs seven times. Though the term seer we come to a point of understand that prophet indicates a seer who knows everything that is going to be done. Since the prophet is the man of God and nothing happen without the consent of God and as a loving one prophet know the plan of God beforehand.

Some of the Old Testament references indicate prophets as seers. Abraham was the seer, who saw his own fate depending on God's promise. He believed that what was told to him will be true. Moses was also a seer because he saw that Israelites will be free from captivity and have own land.

In the book of Genesis 49:23 we read about Jacob, who said about what is going to happen in captives’ life. That is way he went to the king to shout against the king to make free the captives. In Genesis 40:23 we see that not only the prophet, but two prisoners saw the dreams and listening the dreams Joseph the dreamer said of their own fate and that came into existence. Joseph was the prophet who could see the future through dreams and interpreting the dreams of King. Joseph become an important person in the kingdom from a captive. Not only that but he saves the life of the countrymen. In the book of Samuel we know that he is the one who is the seer and also in the book of I chronicles we find the name of Samuel as seer in 9: 22, 26: 28, and 29:29. We find Gad as seer of King David (I chronicles 21:9 and 29:29)..The seer (prophet) said the fate of king Jeroboam (I kings). The priest of Bethel says to Amos (7:12) “O seer, go flee away to the land of prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel for it is the kings sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” But prophet says that god had called him from a herdsman to be prophet and prophesy to the people of Israel (Amos7:15). II kings 17:13 says the seer of the God shouts against the people, but they do not listen them and thus curse came upon them. Seers who knew the fate of Israelites, for that reason they warned people.

A Prophet is a Visionary

A Visionary is the one who envision the future. For some groups this can involve the supernatural. An example of a visionary is a great inventor who sees a problem and finds a way to create something that no one else has ever imagined. He is clearly speaking about seeing, and belongs among God's visionaries.

The essential characteristics of a visionary are revealed in his words:

a. to see/hear is to receive something.

b. to testify is to transmit what is received.

c. to introduce is to build up the individual and the community.

The Old Testament offers us plenty of examples for reflection on the role of visionaries: beginning with Abraham, Moses, Samuel and numerous prophets. Especially the example of Moses is particularly suitable for us and rich for the observation of individual elements of that role: he meets God in the burning bush;  he hears his word from the bush, from the cloud, from the sky (Ex 1-2-3);  he begins to understand the history of Israel in a new light; he learns about the promises given to the patriarchs; he hears the promise of liberation; he should transmit it to his people; he should lead his people out of the land of slavery; he leads God's people out of Egypt and through the desert; through him the Lord makes a covenant with His people; he calls the attention of Israel to the Covenant: he inspires and encourages them; he reproves and threatens them; he comforts the people in their afflictions; he heals their wounds in the name of God.

Among the prophets we could mention Jeremiah whose history is stormy and painful, which he feels deeply and describes in his call to the prophetic ministry and in his oracles where he speaks of his own bitter experiences and his break downs in the ministry of God's message: cf. Jer 1:4-19 - Jeremiah's vocation; 20:7-18 - Jeremiah's "Oracles."

Like Moses the prophets also will:- receive God's word; be visionaries (hence their title "roeh" - seer);- God will reveal his mysteries to them, as friends,- these mysteries are related to his plans of salvation; - they should transmit them to God's people in order thereby to assist their covenant with God, their life with God: if they are sinful to convert, if righteous, to become more righteous, if in despair, to strengthen them, if in sorrow and darkness, to comfort and enlighten them. In the book of Genesis Chapter 40 we see that not only the prophet but two prisoners saw the dream and listing the dream Joseph the dreamer said of their own fate and that came into existence. Amos was a great visionary as well, he saw several visions.

Visions are most frequently found in the prophetic portions of the Old Testament. A prophetic work could be titled as a vision (Isa 1:1; Nahum 1:1), and certain prophecies Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah developed a greater capacity for visionary revelation. Visions play an important structural role in the Book of Ezekiel. The book is introduced as the "visions of God" (1:1). The prophecies of Zechariah contain a series of eight "night visions" (1:7-6:15). Though the interpretation of these chapters is difficult, it is clear that the visions reveal God's intention to deliver the beleaguered restoration community. The first and last visions stress the sovereignty of God, hence surrounding the others in a tenor of certainty. These visions contain an important prediction of the coming of God's servant, "the Branch" (3:8), a term that in biblical thought became synonymous with "Messiah."

A Prophet is a Votary

The word votary derives from the Latin word vōtum, means vow and vovēre means ‘to vow’. Votary is a person bound by vows to live a life of religious worship or service and he devout believer of a cult or religion. He is a committed worshiper. The votary is a person who is fervently devoted as to a leader or ideal; a faithful follower, as well as who is filled with enthusiasm, as for a pursuit or hobby; an enthusiast. Ecclesiastical terms of this votary means passionately devoted to the services or worship of God, a deity, or a saint. In the book of I Chronicle 25: 5 we find Heman, a seer of the king. Heman was a voraty. Lord loves him so much that He gave his 14 sons and 3 daughters. 

We don’t find the exact term that a prophet is a votary in the Bible. But the role and characteristics of the Prophecy made us think of this that, a prophet is a votary. If we look the etymological meaning of it we will have clear idea about the term. A votary is a person bound by a vow or promise, especially one bound to religious vows, as a monk or as a man. On the other hand, a votary is a person devoted to a particular religious or a certain form of a religious worship.

From this etymological definition of Votary, we can understand that, there are many prophets we can find in the Old Testament, who devoted or offered their lives at the service of God’s Words and take the promises to work on behalf of Yahweh.

There are four fundamental Dimensions of Votary as we find in the Scriptural texts:

a. “Super exposition of the object of Israel’s faith (Yahweh is the God of the whole world, the controller of the world history).

b. They demand that their hearers shall prove themselves true servants of God by marinating righteousness, love of neighbour, humility and trust in God ( Is. 1:16f. 7:9; 30:15; Mich 6:8)

c. Their deepening of the personal relationship between God and man (Jeremiah 31:31ff. Ezekiel 36:25; Hosea 2:16), a relationship the full force of which is to be made effective in the future.\

d. Their portrayal of the messianic age to come”[3].

Prophet as a Shouter

Shouter comes from the Hebrew term nabi, e.g., Abraham. The term appears in the Books of Samuel, where it describes a group of individuals, who roam around playing music and acting in an ecstatic fashion. In English translations of the Bible the shouters are simply described as prophets. Prophet Amos was a shouter that the priest of the Bethel says to Amos (7:12) “O seer, go flee away to the land of Prophesy there but never again prophesy at Bethel for it is the kings sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” The priest said Amos shouter because he shouts against the king and kingdom. In the book of II kings 17:13 we read that prophet shout and worn the people on behalf of God, but people did not listen them and thus curse came upon them. 

Prophet is as Messenger

The term messenger derives from the regular Hebrew word mal'akh, and the Greek Angelos means an angel or a messenger, who runs on foot, the bearer of dispatches. This may be a human messenger or a messenger of God, an angel. The context must decide the right translation. In Haggai 1:13 the prophet is called God's messenger. Job 33:23 changes to “angel” (margin "messenger"); and Malachi 3:1 suggests “angel” instead of “messenger”. Malachi 2:7 and 3:1 have caused a great deal of comment. The Greek apostolos, “apostle” becomes “messenger” in 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25. In 1 Samuel 4:17 Hebrew “basar” uses as “to tell good news or he brings the news”. Genesis 50:16 reads "message" instead of "messenger."

Gad, seer of the David was a messenger, God ask him to bear his message to King David saying “Thus says the Lord: three things I offer you; choose one of them ... now decide what answer I shall return to the one who sent me.” In the book of Amos we find God said to Amos “Go and prophesy to the people of Israel” (Amos7:15) but he was not treated well there rather threatened to be out of Bethel.

In the Old Testament we see that God from age to age sends His messenger to prepare each man for their special task. There were also “schools” of the prophets in Ramah (1 Samuel 19:18), Bethel (2 Kings 2:3), Jericho (2 Kings 2:5), and Gilgal (2 Kings 4:38), where we see that God send prophet Nathan to king David 2 Sam 11-12:1, and the prophet Gad, seer of the David was a messenger, God ask him to bear his message to King David saying “Thus says the Lord” (2 Sam 24:11); God said to Amos “Go and prophesy to the people of Israel” (Amos 7:15) and “I will send my messenger”  (Malachi 3:1, Mk 1:2, Lk 7:27, Jn 1:6-7, Isa 40:3, Haggai 1:13.

Prophet as an Ecstatic

The word "ecstasy" is derived from the Greek word ‘ekstasis’, which denotes the state of one, who is "out of himself." The term ‘ekstasis’ is the state in which a man has passed out of the usual order of his life, beyond the usual limits of consciousness and volition, being rapt in causes of this state is to be traced commonly to strong religious impressions. Religious ecstasy is only one type of an altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euphoria. Although the experience is usually brief in time, there are records of such experiences lasting several days or even more and of recurring experiences of ecstasy during one's lifetime. Subjective perception of time, space and/or self may strongly change or disappear during ecstasy, sometimes called enlightenment.

Tertullian used the word in his discourse “On the Soul”. The power we call “ecstasy”, a deprivation of the activity of the senses which is an image of insanity (Genesis 2:21). Sleep brought rest to the body, ecstasy came over the soul and prevented it from resting, and from that time this combination constitutes the natural and normal form of the dream.

It is likely that some of Israel's prophets were ecstatics. The word prophet has at least two senses in the Old Testament. There are ecstatic prophets, and classic prophets. The ecstatic prophets are marked by odd, even frenzied behavior. In 1Samuel 19:20-14 David had just escaped, for the time, the hands of Saul. But Saul sent messengers to arrest him. The ecstatic type of prophets in the times of the kings was often in large groups, of even 400 at a time. Their prophecy might be induced by music. Kings often consulted them, and at times they gave messages such as the kings wanted, showing that at least in such cases there was nothing supernatural about their state. In other cultures there are similar phenomena, e.g., the dervishes.

In the New Testament: Such were the trances of Peter and Paul, Acts 10:10 ; 11:5 ; 22:17, ecstasies, "a preternatural, absorbed state of mind preparing for the reception of the vision", (Compare 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 ). In Mark 5:42 and Luke 5:26 the Greek word is rendered "astonishment," "amazement" (Compare Mark 16:8 ; Acts 3:10 ).

Conclusion

A prophet is called by God. He calls people in the name of God and in place of God. From the experience of the past, being enlightened by the word of God, lining in the present he delivers guidelines to the people for the future. He is a spokesperson, who speaks on behalf of God. Today a Prophet has a very important role, especially on regards of Spirituality. In the Bible, often we see a prophet performs both a teaching and revelatory role, announcing God’s Words on present issues revealing the detail about the future. Finally, I can say a prophet is a critic of society, an announcer of future and a charismatically authorized messenger.

Bibliography

1.      SENIOR, Donald, Mary Ann Getty, Carroll Stuhlmueller and John J. Collins, ed.: The Catholic Study Bible, New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.

2.      GOMES, Patrick Simon: Class Note on Prophets: O.T.”, Banani, Dhaka, 2014.

3.      The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909, v. 5, sv. Ecstasy by Augustine Paul, p. 638.

4.      WILSON, Robert P.: Encyclopedia of Religion. 1987, v. 12, sv. Biblical Prophecy by Mircea Eliade, p.14-23. 

5.      MARGHANITA, Laski: A Study of Some Secular and Religious Experiences, Ecstasy, London, 1961, p. 57.

6.      ElWELL, Walter A.: Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Vision, New York, 1997, p. 278.

7.      ORR, James, ed.: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Messenger, 1915, p. 329.  

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[1] Joseph Blenkinsopp: A history of Prophecy in Israel, the Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1983, P. 27

[2] Ibid, P. 27

[3]  Johannes B. Bauer, ed: Encyclopedia of Biblical Theology. sv.  Prophet, pp. 718-719.