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A prophet is a person who speaks by divine inspiration, revealing the will of God.
The message of a true prophet cannot contradict the word of God, or the message of other true prophets. The words of a prophet are to be tested and proved, and a prophet is identified as true after their first prophecy or miracle comes to pass. A false prophet is someone who either correctly prophecies and then leads people away from God (such as Balaam), or someone who speaks things in the name of the Lord that do not come to pass.
There are many types of prophets (groups may overlap):
- Some prophets are called gods, as the LORD speaks directly to them. Examples include Moses and Elijah. (Exodus 7:1, John 10:35)
- Some prophets are called to be prophets from their youth to a lifelong ministry. Examples include Jeremiah, Samuel, and John the Baptist.
- Some prophets are anointed to deliver a prophecy under a unique inspiration, and may (or may never) prophecy or come under this inspiration again. Examples include Zacharias, Miriam, King Saul, and Caiaphas the high priest.
- A prophet may be directed by God through the visitation of angels. Examples include Daniel, Mary, and John the Disciple.
While on earth, Jesus lived as a prophet, revealing mysteries to his disciples, prophecying, performing miracles, and raising the dead. With regards to whether William Branham was a prophet, this should be based on whether he led people to God, and whether he spoke things that accurately came to pass.
| Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7)
And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)
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What is a Prophet?
- A "prophet' is "a preacher" under the English dictionary. But under the Hebrew or the Greek, a prophet is "a seer, one who foresees things and foretells things."
- Sermon: Q & A, Jeffersonville, IN, Aug 23, 1964
- A prophet doesn't only mean "a seer, a forthteller," it means "a revealer of the Word that's written in his own life." His own works reveals and vindicates the Word of that day, like Noah building the ark, Moses down there, whatevermore, then you...?... the promised Word for that hour.
- Sermon: Feast of the Trumpets, Jeffersonville, IN, July 19, 1964
The Son of Man is the office of the Prophet
- And Jesus never referred to Himself as Son of God; He referred to Himself always as Son of man. And notice, He revealed Himself then as the Prophet, the seer. Said, "If I do not the works of My Father then believe it not. "He met every description that was spoke of Him in the Scripture, even to His death, burial, resurrection, His crucifixion, His birth, all. And in His work He met the description of the seer, the Son of man.
- Sermon: Feast of the Trumpets, Jeffersonville, IN, July 19, 1964
The rejection of the Prophets, speaks of the rejection of Christ
- That's right. The Word always comes to His prophet. So we can't expect It to come to theologians. We can't expect It to come to denominations. It's got to come God's channeled route that He foretold us about, and that's the only way It'll ever come. It'll be hated, despised, rejected. When It does come, It'll be throwed out to one side and everything, but God will do it anyhow. It was rejected in Jesus Christ; it was rejected in John; it was rejected by Jeremiah; it was rejected by Moses. It's always that way.
- Sermon: Modern events made clear by prophecy, SBD, CA, Dec 6, 1965
Joseph as a type of Christ, the prophet
- Joseph, a perfect example, that was Christ in Joseph. Why, you notice he was loved of his father, despised of his brothers because he was a seer. They hated him without a cause. The man couldn't help what he was; he was. And the other brothers hated him, a very good type of all ages. Always when a seer comes on the scene, the rest of them hate him for the same cause as they did Joseph.
- He couldn't help it. He re--He could interpret their dreams. Never was He wrong. He--he foretold things. Never was he wrong. And his brothers hated him without a cause.
- And notice, his life portrayed Christ to us exactly, even sold almost for thirty pieces of silver, taken up out of the ditch, and set at the right hand of Pharaoh, the ruler of the world at that day. And every time he left the palace, they sounded a trumpet and said, "Every knee bow, 'cause Joseph is coming," a perfect type of Christ in the millennium when the trumpet sounds, and the--He'll come forth, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to Him.
- Notice, in his prison he was a prophet. That's when he was sold, and--and put into prison on account of Potiphar's wife. Then we find that in there the butcher and the baker, they both had a dream. And he interpreted the dream, and one was lost and one was saved. So did Jesus on the cross exactly. One was lost, one was saved, when He was in His prison, tacked to the cross. Just a perfect example.
- Sermon: Identified Christ of all ages, Birmingham, AL, April 9, 1964
| And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. (Matthew 13:57)
And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. (Ezekiel 14:9)
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Scriptures in the Old Testament concerning prophets
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Text:
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| GENESIS 20:2-7
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And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
| | EXODUS 7:1
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And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
| | NUMBERS 12:6-8
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And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
| | DEUTERONOMY 13:1-5
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If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
| | DEUTERONOMY 18:15-22
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The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
| | DEUTERONOMY 34:9-10
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And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
| | I SAMUEL 3:19-20
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And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.
| | I SAMUEL 9:9
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(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
| | JEREMIAH 1:5
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Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
| | EZEKIEL 14:9
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And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.
| | HOSEA 12:13
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And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
| | MALACHI 4:5
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Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
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Scriptures In the New Testament concerning prophets
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| MATTHEW 10:41
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He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
| | MATTHEW 11:7-10
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And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
| | MATTHEW 13:57
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And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
| | MATTHEW 16:4
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A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
| | MATTHEW 21:11
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And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
| | LUKE 1:76
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And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
| | LUKE 4:17-21
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And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
| | LUKE 7:16
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And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.
| | LUKE 13:33
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Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
| | LUKE 24:18-19
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And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
| | JOHN 4:17-19
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The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
| | JOHN 9:17
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They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
| | ACTS 2:29-32
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Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
| | ACTS 3:22-23
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For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
| | ACTS 8:34-35
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And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
| | ACTS 21:10-11
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And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
| | I CORINTHIANS 14:37
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If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
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