On Prophecy

Reading this thread and other threads in this forum, one might see the prophets merely as a intelligent men with deep understanding of the Torah.

I have to make a point for you to consider. My impression from the Bible the prophets actually has received some kind of revelation. I can see that for example from Isaiah ch. 6, from Jeremiah 23: 25-29. There are more examples.

I think it is pretty important to understand if Yehovah (with or without capital Y - as in this post)  is "talking" with people.

dawis wrote

I think it is pretty important to understand if Yehovah (with or without capital Y - as in this post)  is "talking" with people.

Why is this important?

Well, I guess it will make one more humble, and have more appreciation to the prophets, and eventually  analyze their words more carefully. That should lead us to follow the Torah better according to the natural law.

But, another point - which was actually the subtext of my thread, and the reason I made this thread in the first place. The point is that the message of the prophets to humanity is not just about obeying the laws. you can see that they talk about the future of humanity (e.g: Joel ch. 3 , Isa 26:19). I say those words has meaning. we cannot just overlook them.

The question here is whether human history is a way with direction and an end, or it just rises and falls like waves all the time long. Moreover, the entire idea of the "chosen people", that the prophets talk about (and was transform to a racist doctrine by the rabbical Judaism) has any meaning to you ?

dawis wrote

Well, I guess it will make one more humble, and have more appreciation to the prophets, and eventually  analyze their words more carefully. That should lead us to follow the Torah better according to the natural law.

I think the depends on your personality.  For me, I don't think this is true.  I respect the forces of nature quite a lot.

But, another point - which was actually the subtext of my thread, and the reason I made this thread in the first place. The point is that the message of the prophets to humanity is not just about obeying the laws. you can see that they talk about the future of humanity (e.g: Joel ch. 3 , Isa 26:19). I say those words has meaning. we cannot just overlook them.

I don't see the Old Testament as being about laws.  It is about ethics, from which laws follow.  And these ethics are based on inductive reasoning which should naturally also be able to predict the future.

The question here is whether human history is a way with direction and an end, or it just rises and falls like waves all the time long. Moreover, the entire idea of the "chosen people", that the prophets talk about (and was transform to a racist doctrine by the rabbical Judaism) has any meaning to you ?

Ecclesiastes 1 supports the waves view.  And so does much of the Old Testament that argues based on the past.  The "end times" passages are much fewer.

The "chosen people" to me just means the people who follow God.