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By Stephan A. Schwartz
Excerpt:
There is no siren whose call is quite so exquisite as the music of the future. For as long as writing has existed there are records showing we have sought to know its form. Last year alone literally billions were spent by widows, lovers, spies, and presidents. All seeking, like an arrow through time, some way to answer: “In the future, what will… ?” Serving up answers are prophets, psychics, experts, and fiction writers.
In Biblical antiquity, prophets were recognized because they could interpret dreams. Although not all dreams relate to the future in the Bible, most do, like Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. [1] Alternatively individuals have their own dreams, as Joseph did when an angel came to him and told him “to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.” [2]
But it was a tricky business, one could be accused of being a false prophet, and many Christians believed then, and still believe today, that when such dreams are accurate they do not come from the individual, but from God. As Peter made clear, “no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God.” [3]
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Publication History: EXPLORE March/April 2008, Vol. 4, No. 2
