Question
How were prophets different from fortune tellers?
Answer
The difference between prophets and fortunetellers is that fortunetellers only predict the future. They foretell what will happen in the future. Some might think that the only role of the prophets was to foretell the future. Of course, this was part of their role, they did so, but it was not the majority of their work. Prophets did many other things. Prophets represented God before the people. They received God's message and proclaimed it to the king, the king of Israel. They reminded the people of the covenant, the covenant with Moses. They told the people that there is a coming judgment in case of rebellion and a coming blessing in case of obedience, according to the covenant of Moses. They also called the people to repent, and encouraged them to repent and return to God. They taught the people. The prophet was like a watchman over the people of Israel. So, he didn't only foretell the future, but he did many other things.
Mr. Sherif Atef Fahim teaches at Alexandria School of Theology in Egypt.
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