A TRUE PROPHET – By Jim Kent

In modern times the term “prophet” is used for anyone who predicts coming events of greater

or lesser import, with greater or lesser accuracy. However, the job of the prophets in the

Hebrew Scriptures was not to perform parlor tricks in which they foretold the future, usually in grim terms--that bit was the warning of what would happen to the nation if the people didn’t shape up. Mostly they were telling or showing folks how they were meant to behave so those dire futures could be avoided. Lots of times not enough people paid attention to them.

There are still prophets among us, showing us how to live, and lots of times not enough people have paid attention to them. The prophets have mostly lived gentle lives—modest,

considerate, respectful and kind to others, generous with their goods and talents—with

formidable courage and unshakeable integrity. If enough people learned from them, we’d have much better odds of avoiding dire futures. Instead, when those prophets die we comment fondly and favourably on these attributes, and then revert to our usual ways.

Let’s see if we can do better by The Prophet of Pigeon Forge.