Where do Prophecies Come From? – The dictionary describes a prophet as,” a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.”, Wikipedia says,” In religion, a prophet is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and to speak for them, serving as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this new found knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.”
The Bible lists a slew of prophets, and it is the Bible that we first hear of prophets and prophecy.
Old Testament Prophets
Major Prophets
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Minor Prophets
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Other Prophets
Elijah
Elisha
Gad
Micaiah
Nathan
Samuel
New Testament Prophets
John the Baptist
John the Revelator
Agubus
Anna
Barnabas
Paul the Apostle
Throughout time there have been others that have been put into the category of prophets and it would be unfair not to mention some of them.
Great religious leaders;
Jesus – Christianity
Moses – Jewish prophet
Isaiah – Jewish prophet
Zoroaster – founder of Zoroastrianism
Buddha – founder of Buddhism
Confucius – founder of Confucianism
John the Baptist – prophet and contemporary of Jesus Christ
St. Paul – Christianity
Mohammed – Prophet of Islam
St. Francis of Assisi – early Christian theologian
John Huss Bohemian Christian reformer – founder of Czech Hussites
Martin Luther – primary founder of Protestantism
Loyola – theologian and founder of Jesuits
Calvin – founder of Calvinist branch of Protestantism
George Fox – founder of Quakers
John Wesley – founder of Methodist movement
Swedenborg – founder of Swedenborgianism
Brigham Young – 2nd prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Mary Baker Eddy – founder of Christian Science
Gandhi Hindu – reformer and Indian political leader; mother was a Jain
Lao-tzu
Abraham
Jesus Christ
Saint Augustine
John Calvin
Joseph Smith
Zarathustra (Zoroaster)
Prophecy in the classical sense of the word comes from an individual who has always experienced a divine call. Today there are countless individuals from all walks of life that claim to be prophets speaking for a slew of dis-incarnate spirits, master teachers, arch angels and the creator of the universe. It is certainly up to the individual to determine the authenticity of anyone who claims to be speaking for the source of all creating. Prophecy is inspired thought and writing and usually gives philosophy and insight on wisdom, love and peace usually applying to humanity. Those who try to manipulate and direct individuals are most probably are not speaking from an inspirational channel. Gauge from where insight and information are coming from for yourself and that will determine as to whether it is inspired for you or not.