Entertainment

There is this thing that tends to grab the attention of people. The thing I am thinking about is entertainment. By observing other people and myself it appears to me we spend part of our time searching for something to entertain us; whether it be a movie, card games, video games, or what-have-you. I like being entertained for some reason or another. The experiences of being in a different world whether it be movie(s), book(s), or video game(s) take me out of my reality.  In these "experiences" I am not physically in them, rather, my mind through my imagination takes me to a specific place.  I might even be able to travel to a different place on a whim, but I am not physically in these places.

Why do I like being entertained? Could it be that I am trying to escape my daily life, because it's too hectic and/or am I searching for something more?  For those of us who are insecure and/or tend to be loners, are we looking to fill the void of something?  What are we missing from our lives?  Or, perhaps we are not missing anything but we just like experiencing the process of going through being entertained.  What is it about these experiences that we like?  Is it because it takes us to a world we would like to be in but we cannot be a part of?  I am not entirely sure, but I know there have been times where I have watched a specific movie that made me feel this emotional anguish, which came over me as if I were missing something in my life.

...

Could it be that I miss God?

The Meaning of Prophet?

I did a search on the word "prophet(s)" on my Logos Bible Software and it gave me 2,455 results in 2,265 verses. These results included: prophet, prophets, prophetic, prophetically, and prophetess.  Here are the definitions of prophet: man of God (2 Kings 4:9) and seer (1 Samuel 9:9 and 2 Samuel 24:11). The word prophet contains the idea that the individual has been called (Jeremiah 1: 4-5) by God. Thus, you have "man of God" literary meaning God’s man. Keeping the suggestion of a prophet being God’s man we must remember the proposal that a prophet is also a "seer." The meaning of seer assumes the prophet has some sort of new power. Let us consider the following:

In Hebrew, as in English, the ordinary verb "to see" is used also of understanding ("I see what you mean") and of the power of perception into the nature and meaning of things ("He sees things very clearly"). In the case of the prophets, their powers of "perception" were raised far above normal because the Lord inspired them to become vehicles of his message.[1]

Let us consider Matthew 3:3.  The word prophet in Greek is (προφήτης) and it means: "An interpreter or forth-teller of the divine will."[2]  Let me even go further and quote what my digital commentary states:

A fixed feature of the early Christian tradition, Isa 40:3 is quoted in all four Gospels (John lacks the last line) to describe the function of John the Baptist. All four Gospels identify the words as those of Isaiah the prophet. The use of the quotation by Matthew is consonant with his stress on fulfillment; although he does not here employ a characteristic fulfillment formula, he does make use of a pesher-type formula ("this is that"), which points to fulfillment (cf. Acts 2:16). Of the Synoptics, however, Matthew most emphatically calls attention to the identity of John as the one spoken of by Isaiah with οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν, "this is the one."[3]

John the Baptist was considered the prophet which Isaiah wrote about. And, John the Baptist also brought forth the "good news" (see Isaiah 52:7 & 61:1). Therefore, John’s role as a prophet was composed of prophecy and the proclamation of God’s good news.

As I stated in class I believe the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Moreover, the church believes Jesus holds three offices (prophet, priest, and king) as we can read about these different offices throughout Scripture. Further, Christ is the pinnacle of each office which includes prophecy (Ephesians 2:20). Since Christ is the fulfillment of the message of the prophets, and because the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament; I have no reason to suppose there is or will be some sort of prophet who "prophesied" or will "prophesy" to the point where he or she would add anything new to the Bible. The canonization of the books of Bible assumes God’s revelation is "closed." Else, why canonize and close the canon of Scripture?

Now, I am certainly not going against the New Testament when it claims that some bear the fruit of prophecy. Indeed, God gave/gives the gift of prophecy to some, but this prophecy cannot add to what has already been revealed, rather, it confirms what has already been revealed. In fact, in thinking about what an office of prophecy might entail now we should consider Ephesians 3: 5-7:

Now this secret was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, namely, that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. I became a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power.[4]

Please note that verse 5 claims the "secret" has been revealed revealed here means to "uncover." Meaning, the revelation has already happened or has been fulfilled. So, while I might be able accept there are people who [currently] hold the office of a prophet; I would be wise to question anything that is or seems outside of Scripture. For further references I point to 1 Corinthians 14:29, 32, 37-40. Is it possible the role of the prophet [now] is mainly to proclaim the good news that has already been revealed?

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[1] Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort. Tyndale Bible Dictionary (Wheaton, 2001), p. 1085.
[2] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition (Anaheim, 1998).
[3] Donald A. Hagner, Word Biblical Commentary : Matthew 1-13, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas, 2002). 48.
[4] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2006; 2006). Eph 3:5–7