It is extremely noteworthy
that throughout history that those who in hindsight were lauded as being
model Christians, or perhaps even genuine prophets had always been
persecuted at the time they were delivering their message.
It is also equally interesting that those who
were persecuting them considered themselves to be model Christians who were
arguing over the letter of the Law rather than the Spirit of the Law. These
persecutors were the Pharisees of their day. To
these
Paracelsus states,
"do not be surprised, that those who
proclaim that they are Christian, are against Christianity."
Jesus Christ Himself was persecuted by
the very priesthood that saw itself as being the supreme authority of God on Earth.
How many so called heretics have been persecuted by churches of the same
mindset over the past 2000 years.
That some of these people may have been genuine prophets sent by God to
illuminate our Earthly darkness should not be
discounted.
So why should it be any different today
that if the words of God should be presented to the world that they would
likewise not be recognized, accepted or even scoffed at by the learned
because they would seem to upset the status quo as they have defined it. Leaders and false
prophets become incensed by
a true prophet because a prophet exposes them for who they are and what they do.
Any truthful person is a mirror revealing who we really are to ourselves -
how much more so a prophet. This is
infuriating to those without humility.
Some topics that are closely related to
Christianity are considered strictly taboo by Christian leaders
who consider anything other than what they say to be evil.
Everyone has a personal responsibility to
find the truth about God, Jesus Christ and Christianity. This is a personal
endeavor. Some may be good teachers but ultimately the path is a solitary
one that takes place within our heart, guided by our conscience. This means
taking ourselves to task - not our fellow man.
We aught not forget that Christianity is
a metaphysical belief system that provides the guidance and distinguishes Western culture and out of which the entire Western culture evolved.
It is where the West found it's identity out of which came our culture,
sciences, morality, music and much more.
In Bible Study the Old and New Testaments are
studied exhaustively in an attempt to know who and what God, Jesus Christ
and the prophets were and what their message is. How valuable would having
more details about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ be to a Christian?
In the Old Testament the Heavenly Father is constantly communicating with
his people through prophets before the first coming of Jesus
Christ. It would seem that life after the first coming of Jesus Christ is
even more precious and worth living than before His coming - why then
are there no prophets recognized by the Christian Churches in the past 2000
years other than the authority of church leaders. It would seem unreasonable
that we would be forsaken by God for nearly 2000 years - that He would not
make Himself known or His words expanded upon or further explained.
There have been many false saints and
false prophets who have even started their own Christian sects but,
(someone starting their own religion is always a false prophet. Not even Christ started Christianity -Christianity as a Law already existed - He came to
fulfill the Law not to change it - because there were no Christian churches
does not mean that the Spirit of Christianity did not exist - Christ as the
son of God existed before being physically born) one would think that in
the time leading up to the the
second
coming of Jesus Christ that there be a few more and
clearer indications for preparation in addition to the Holy Bible. See
the
Gospel of John.
The Bible should be the standard by which all
other inspired works are to be measured by. But, truly inspired works are not to be
confused with mere apologetics - if a so called "prophet" or self
styled inspired person uses a bibliography there should
be some serious doubts.
Prophets usually become popular only after the
fact. While they live the authorities hate and persecute them, after their death - the
authorities embrace them and quote them.
Every one hundred years or so a genuine prophet
appears to suite his times. They always make an historical impact but, their
spiritual writings and their spiritual impact is often left in obscurity to
be discovered by the few who genuinely seek the truth about God. There are a
few relatively recent noteworthy authors who may very well fall into the
category of "prophets." They are little known but their work is
monumental, in complete adherence to the Bible, and is published and read
for decades or hundreds of years after the fact because their content is eternal.