The term '''prophecy''' refers to a wide range of religious [[phenomena]] that have been manifested from ancient to modern times. The Greek term prophētēs is the etymological ancestor of the [[English]] word [[prophet]], and it has cognates in most European languages. The indigenous Greek prophētēs was a cultic functionary who "spoke for" a god; that is, the prophētēs delivered [[divine]] messages in association with a sanctuary where the god had made its [[presence]] known. However, the word prophētēs influenced European languages primarily because early Jewish and Christian writers used the term in translations of the [[Hebrew Bible]] and in the [[New Testament]] to refer to religious specialists in Israelite, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Today comparativists use prophecy to describe religious phenomena in various contexts on [[analogy]] with the activity of ancient Hebrew prophets and other figures who had a similarly pivotal role in founding world religions in Southwest Asia. | The term '''prophecy''' refers to a wide range of religious [[phenomena]] that have been manifested from ancient to modern times. The Greek term prophētēs is the etymological ancestor of the [[English]] word [[prophet]], and it has cognates in most European languages. The indigenous Greek prophētēs was a cultic functionary who "spoke for" a god; that is, the prophētēs delivered [[divine]] messages in association with a sanctuary where the god had made its [[presence]] known. However, the word prophētēs influenced European languages primarily because early Jewish and Christian writers used the term in translations of the [[Hebrew Bible]] and in the [[New Testament]] to refer to religious specialists in Israelite, Jewish, and Christian traditions. Today comparativists use prophecy to describe religious phenomena in various contexts on [[analogy]] with the activity of ancient Hebrew prophets and other figures who had a similarly pivotal role in founding world religions in Southwest Asia. |