Who are the Hebrew Prophets?: A Virtual Debate on Being a Prophet

Research Paper on

Prophecy

 

Who are the Hebrew prophets?

A Virtual debate on being a prophet

 

By

 

 

Seong Woong Kim

ID: G10174396

 

 

 

Hebrew Prophets (OT502)

Dr. John Goldingay

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuller Theological Seminary

School of Theology

Summer 2006

A Virtual Debate between a Korean Shaman, a Prophetic intercessory movement leader and Amos, OT prophet

                            

Participants

Hyo-Nam Lee (Korean Shaman)

Cindy Jacobs (Intercessory Prayer Movement Leader)

Amos (OT prophet)

 

Presider: Seong Kim (Fuller M. Div. Student)

Audience: Fuller M. Div. Second Year Students

Place: Fuller Catalyst

 

Panel Discussion

 

Seong: It is an honor to have you all here today, given your busy schedules.

 

Everyone: It is our honor to participate.

 

Seong: We have three topics to discuss today.  The topics are “who is a prophet?” “How does a prophet receive words from God/god?,” and lastly “who are this prophet’s audiences?”  The three of you claim that you hear God/ god’s voice, so please share your prophetic experiences, lives, and ideas with us. We live in a high-tech age with an overflow of information, yet very little clarity about what is the truth. Today’s panel discussion is very significant to people because it will help people to understand how to hear God/god and how they can apply those messages in their lives. Why don’t we all introduce ourselves?

 

Cindy: My name is Cindy and I’m leading a prophetic intercessory prayer movement. I am a chairwoman for “Warriors of Intercessory Prayer” and also a member of International Advisor Board for the Women’s Aglow Fellowship. Let me briefly explain what the Warriors of Intercessory Prayer is.  We would like to help believers develop their spiritual sensitivity and an openness to hear God’s voice.  As you can see from the OT and NT, God speaks to His people on a personal level.  Hearing His voice and living for His will are the backbones of our Christian life.

 

Amos: I am an OT prophet.  Cindy said she heard Him, but I really did hear His voice. My ministry was around BC 760.  I was from Southern Judah, but I ministered in the Northern part of Israel, Samaria.

 

Lee: So both of you guys are Christians?

 

Cindy: Yes, I am a Christian, but I don’t know how Amos calls himself a Christian.

 

Amos: It is a matter of terminology, but technically I am not a Christian. Let me just call myself a person who followed the God of Israel. I am definitely not a believer of Judaism either.

 

Lee: Wow, that’s complicated.  Anyway, let me introduce myself.  I am a shaman.  Let me help you understand what it means to be a shaman. If you’re feeling clueless here, think about either Eskimo or Native American shamans. Obviously, Korean shamanism has a different background. There was a time that I was a Christian, and I spoke in tongues. But for the sake of my family’s unity, I changed my religion from Christianity to a sect of Buddhism after I was discharged from the army. In May of 2005, I had some special spiritual experiences and became a shaman.

 

Seong: Let’s talk about your special personal experiences as a shaman, such as signs, Mr. Lee. 

 

Lee: on 1999, I had a karaoke business in Suwon in South Korea. The business was not doing well, so I went to see a fortune teller to check. She said there is big god in me so I need to be a shaman.  If I refuse to become a shaman, I will be a cause to bring bad lucks to people around me.  If I accept to be a shaman, I have to do “Shin Nae Rim” It means I need to invite spirit(s) to come and dwell in me. In order to do “Shin Nae Rim”, I need to prepare well and do special ritual calls “Kud.” April of 2004, I received a spirit who was died about 120 years ago in region of Hwanghae in North Korea as a result of false incrimination.  I became a “disciple” of that spirit (Lee, 13-68).  Usually women receive female spirits but in my case, I received a female spirit, even though I am a male.  Because of that I live life as a woman, not as a man.

 

Cindy: Since I was a little, I had special intuition. When I was four years old, I asked mom to give me a sibling.  My mom said “your dad and I agreed that we won’t have any more children other than you,” but the very next year, my sister Lucia was born.  Not only that, I knew who died even before people told me so (Cindy, The Voice of God, 23-24).

 

Amos: I am a shepherd and a farmer.  I have no clue what a prophet does.  I am only caught by God while I was tending my sheep (Amos 7:14-15). He told me to go to His people, Israel, so I obeyed Him. I don’t have any special spiritual experiences nor intuition like others. Mr. Lee had irresistible spiritual experiences and Cindy also had some sort of intuitions and training, but as for me, I don’t have any of those experiences nor any training at all. Simply put, I just became a prophet in one day.

 

Seong: That is very interesting, Amos. Both of Cindy and Mr. Lee have very vivid and significant personal experiences or calls, but you don’t have any of those, and you became a prophet and lived as a prophet? Am I right?

 

Amos: Yes, you are right, but please don’t misunderstand me. I might not have had an ecstasy but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have mystical experiences of God with inner conviction and compulsion. While I didn’t have experiences like Mr. Lee, or telltale signs like Cindy, I have a strong call as a prophet from God.  I am called by Him and I must tell His people about His words.  I don’t add or delete any of His words to His people; if I do, woe to me!

 

Lee: When you said mystical experience, can you share what it was?  In my experience, the first time the spirit descended and dwelt in me, I jumped up and down for an hour at the top of mountain. There was something like a hot fever arising from inside of me, and although I jumped for an hour, I didn’t feel tired at all. 

After that event, I gained magical powers that allowed me to foresee others’ problems and futures. For example, I told one of my friends not to go to work one day because he will have broken leg.  But he didn’t listen to me.  Of course he had a broken leg.  When I went to beauty salon one time, I asked the owner if she doesn’t have any sick child, she said her second child is ill without reason.  So I healed the boy.  The beauty salon owner gave me $1,000 to show her token of gratitude (Lee, 58-9).

 

Amos: Those are very interesting stories. If Mr. Lee can foresee others’ lives like that doesn’t it burden some of you? Anyone want to know what he sees in your futures?  Anyway, let me talk about mystical experiences. The mystical experiences that I want to talk here are not the type you think about, like tribulation, hearing, illusions, contact with spirits… etc. The mystical experience that I want to talk here is this: the God of Israel, Yahweh, spoke to me and His words are true. His words are worth to put my life on and have faith on His words (Sawyer, 5).  The word of Yahweh is the fundamental basis of the prophets’ existence. Our relationship to it was so personal and direct. “The word was so exclusively bound up with the specific time at which it came to [us] and with the specific message which it gave [us], that for the most part [we] found it simply impossible to think of the word of Yahweh in objective terms and as something having very specific properties of its own” (Rad, 60).

 

There were definitely people who experienced God in a different way than I did.  Moses, Enoch, Daniel, Paul, and John also experienced God in a physical way (see, Exod 24:9-11; 2Cor. 12:1-4; Rev. 1:1-13). Although they experienced God in a physical way, those experiences were secondary, and only supported the fundamental thing.  The important thing for Hebrew prophet is not an event nor an incident, but the authentication of the prophet’s message.

 

Cindy: I have a hard time understanding what Amos said.  Since I am leading a prophetic intercessory prayer movement, I personally heard His voice. When I was age of 9 at Fresourt, Arizona, I asked the Lord what he wanted from me. Then I heard the Voice, and I said, “I have a plan for you to do for Me.” Not only that, when I was 12, I had dreams of suffering people in hell, and they lasted for a week.  Thru those dreams and visions, I knew that God called me as a prophetic intercessory prayer warrior and a messenger of the Gospel.  And then, when I was 20, I was waiting for my husband in my car and read Psalm 2:8. At that moment, it caught my eyes.  I realized that it is His promise to me.  I have many experiences like that. (Cindy, Voice, 27-31) Since Amos introduced himself as a prophet in the OT, I can not believe that he doesn’t have experiences like myself and Mr. Lee.  

 

Lee: I think if Amos calls himself a prophet, he must meet two qualifications. First he must show others some kind of divine sign in him and second is signs of miracle to audiences.  There are two kinds of shamans in Korea. Some become shamans through lessons, while others are spirit possessed. A shaman who learns to become a shaman is only imitating, but a spirit possessed shaman has a special spiritual ritual, just like I did. When a person is spirit possessed, usually the person is ill along with high fever, auditory hallucination and illusion before special ritual. When the person has a ritual, he or she becomes a shaman and receives acknowledgement from the public as a spirit possessed shaman. But there are various levels of spirit possessed shamans. Spirited possessed shaman doesn’t count a shaman who learns and become doesn’t consider as shaman. When a spirit possessed shaman goes through the ritual to become a shaman, he or she must pass a test. When a shaman conducts this ritual, he or she must use a fan and bell while he/ she dances.  Here’s the test.  Somebody hides these two items, and the new shaman must find these with the help of a spirit.  If he/she fails to find it, he/ she can not become a shaman. (Lee, 65-7)

 

Amos: Of course Hebrew prophets also have divine intervention when God calls His prophet. When God speaks thru His messenger, there is Ecstasy. (Num 11:16-30, Judges 3:10, 11:29, 14:6, 19, 1Sam 10, Joel 2:28) There are also numinous effects too. Those effects are strong and influential, and they’re not limited to time, locations, and people groups. (1Kgs 9:22, Jer. 23) We need to look carefully to ensure that those prophetic messages are not one time events, but that they continuously happened (Sawyer, 10)

Both of you are questioning my qualification to be a prophet since I don’t have any outside signs like you do. But what more you can ask of a prophet other than recognition that “Yahweh called me.” This is the most exciting and clear sign.  There is no other sign than His call to me and also to other prophets. Because “Yahweh called me”, I captured by Him.

Yahweh put His words in my mouth. This is my identity, truth, and calling as prophet.  What else do I need?  So I said this. “Do two walk together, unless they have made an appointment? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does evil befall a city, unless the LORD has done it? Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”(Amos 3.3-8)

What does it mean? Like a roaring lion, Yahweh’s words need no other signs.  My personal experiences, feelings, or mystical events are not important.  (a) Yahweh’s words cry like a lion. (b) I heard Yahweh’s roaring words.  (c) I can not resist speaking what Yahweh told me to say. only these three things are most important to me. There is no need to get support from outer signs for this because it is complete in itself. (Westermann, 228-9)

It seems like Cindy and Mr. Lee can not see the bigger picture.  Yahweh himself is the most important key in here, other than that, everything is only supplemental, existing to prove who Yahweh is.  If Yahweh breaths His spirit to His prophet, or forcefully makes his/her as His prophet, don’t you think it sounds so inhuman? Yahweh never treats His people like that, from creation onward.

 

Cindy: Amos, you are intentionally not talking about why a prophet is not called a “man of spirit” (ish ha-ruah). Prophets were of the mentality that “their prophetic endowment and powers were due to possession by or any action of the spirit of Yahweh (ruah Yhwh)”.  “The idea of a possessing, immanent spirit of Yahweh as the cause of the prophet’s special qualities and powers was fundamental in the older, primitive ‘nebiism’.”(Monwinckel, 83)

 

Amos: Cindy, what you just said, is that your own idea or are you quoting from others?  It sounds like you are quoting someone else, and I think you are misunderstanding me.

Most of the pre-exilic reforming prophets, such as me, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah, were against those ideas, and so were Hosea (cf. 9.7), Micah (cf. 3.8), Isaiah (cf. 31.3), Haggai, and Zechariah. Zechariah talks about ‘spirit” often, but his fundamental emphasis is not on outer signs. Some times “it is never explicitly stated that this is Yahweh’s ruah.” (Monwinckel, 84)

Cindy, I think I know the scholar you’re quoting, and he concludes that “The reforming prophets emphatically stress the fact that they have received Yahweh’s word and are furnished with religious, rational, and moral criteria for knowing what really is his word….their own consciousness of possessing his word. To them this means a word that is authenticated by expressing Yahweh’s moral nature and demands, and the prophet’s own knowledge of God and moral sense…..The test is religious and moral, an ‘apprehension’ or knowledge of God–not the ecstatic ruah and mystical union of divine possession” (Monwinckel, 98).

Therefore, when a person claims to be a prophet, the important thing is not a checklist of mystical experiences, but the question of how that person can identify himself or herself as a prophet. I claim to be a prophet, so what messages do I have to speak? What is the significance of my messages for this generation? Don’t you think these are more important than mystical or supernatural signs? There may be mystical signs, but what if the messages are not right, don’t you think those are useless?

 

Cindy: Amos, you make it sound like God gives strong spirit in beginning but take away when it close to the end. “Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”(James1.17) If every perfect gift comes from above, don’t you think you and I have to do the same thing?  Amos, don’t you think you are limiting His power.

 

Amos: Cindy, I think you are misinterpreting the scripture here. I see many people emphasize the phrase “Yahweh is unchanging,” and they force people to believe and practice exactly the same things as in the old days, like robots just off the assembly line. The people’s mistake is they forgot that Yahweh is unchanging, yet He is expansive.  Yahweh is neither ocean nor rock. 

When the scripture says “Yahweh is same as yesterday, today, and tomorrow,” this refers to His character and sincerity. When Yahweh shows His love to people for His salvation and truth, He expands and multiplies. The medieval scholasticism missed this important part.  They put God in a box, and made the mistake of thinking that they perfectly understood Him. I think it also applies to the prophet or the prophetic act. There were times that the Former Prophets allowed people to prophecy in a state of religious ecstasy. This is only my personal opinion, but I believe that Yahweh allowed Former Prophets to do that because of the social and religious situations at that time.  

But when you look at the Latter Prophets, Israel knows who Yahweh is and what His will is for them.  People learned from the prophets’ messages. I happened to be in the middle of the huge transition in trends of prophecy, as an OT precisely indicated. “It is easy to see why Amos has been taken as the beginning of a turning point in the development of religious thought in Israel and eventually in the entire history of the Western world. The path-breaking change supposedly inaugurated in the eighth B.C.E. by this first of the classical prophets is most often said to be from a primitive emphasis on ritual (especially animal sacrifice, but also the observance of festivals, or even the singing and playing of hymns of praise of God) to a higher and nobler stress on morality; from a narrowly tribalistic mentality to an all-embracing universalist outlook” (Podhorets, 111).

 

Cindy: That is funny! Then how come the Apostle John prophesied even if he was from latter period. Why did he prophesize? 

 

Amos: (Amos tries to say something to Cindy, but Mr. Lee jumps into and cuts him off.)

 

Lee: I am sorry that I stopped you. That is why Koreans are not familiar with discussion.  (Everyone laughs) I don’t think that there’s an easy way to resolve Cindy and Amos’ discussion. Before we lose this point, let me ask you a question. Does it mean that someone who has false morals can not prophecy?  Is there anybody who is morally perfect?

 

Cindy: I think Amos can answer my question later. I don’t think Amos means a person who prophecies must be morally blameless. But I do place an emphasis on good character and a blameless life for people who desire to become prophets. There are five things I ask of people who work with me. (1) Don’t exaggerate. (2) Orderly manner.  (3) Keep promises. (4) Stewardship for money.  (5) Say only what God said.

Some people have a hard time becoming prophets like (1) people who practice witchcraft and sorcery  (2) people who join some kind of mystical group like Freemasonry  (3) people who try to deceive God and steal from God  (4) descendants of all kinds of compulsion. It is not easy to break generational curses. Prophets should keep those five things above and be free from those four categories I just listed.  (Cindy, The Voice, 86-7)

 

Amos: I think Mr. Lee misunderstands what I meant by the prophet’s qualifications and Cindy breaks it down into too many narrow details.  It is important to have high standard of ethic as prophet, but the most important thing is that the prophet have some identity for his/her call.  People who live morally don’t necessarily become prophets.

When I first introduced myself, I introduced myself as one who was caught by Yahweh and became a prophet. What does it mean?  When I introduced myself, why didn’t I start with my family, my occupation before my call, or my vision?  Simple, the only important thing is Yahweh Himself, nothing else. The prophet’s identity and moral awakening influence the generation in which he/she lives. (Westermann, 229)

 

Seong: Let me summarize what we have been discussing for far. Cindy, Mr. Lee, and Amos are messengers of God/god. You are prophets. Do you agree with what I say? (All three agreed.) But Cindy and Mr. Lee have special experiences when you called by God/god, along with mystical signs, am I right? (Two agreed.) Compared to Cindy and Mr. Lee, Amos has a different idea. Amos says that mystical signs are not as important as prophetic secret like Yahweh’s words itself, certainty, authenticity, moral life and awakening of the messenger, and awareness among one’s generation. Am I right?

 

Amos: You are really good at summarizing what others say. That is one of good qualifications to be a prophet.  (Everyone laughs.)  I will point it out later, but let me make the point now that prophecy is not only a foretelling, but is also proclamation to community (Sawyer, 2). Prophecy may even connote promise or warning in a sense. “Yhwh thus ‘fills’ (male) a promise or warning, or establishes/ ratifies/effects it… ‘Predict’ or ‘fortell’ for qara…gives a misleading impression. Rather, Yhwh declared an intention and now fulfills.” (Goldingay, 680-1) The prophet summarizes and organizes what previous prophets said, and also contextualizes His words for the current community. We will talk about this later, but I want to say that I do agree with what Seong just said.  Let me add a little to what he said so that no one can misunderstand my position. I am not saying there are no mystical signs when there is a call from Yahweh, but I want to highlight the point that there is something more important than that.

 

Seong: I understand your points, but I think Cindy and Mr. Lee are not satisfied with that.

 

Lee: I think Cindy is less satisfied than I am. (Laugh) I assume that Amos and Cindy should have more in common since Christianity and Judaism are rooted on Yahweh, but from what I’ve heard, you guys have different views of God. It seems like this difference began long ago, and results in different cognitive understandings of God.

 

Cindy: Are you exercising your magical power now? (Laugh)  Maybe prophecy can be a foretelling, but what Amos said about a prophet is shaking the true root of what it means to be a prophet. Anyone can proclaim to a community even if you are not a prophet. For example, a scholar who studies the future can proclaim this to a community. Not only that, even historians, sociologists, and stock brokers can do the same thing.

The basic fundamental of prophecy is telling people what God will do in future so that they can prepare. Prophecy is not only the foretelling of future but also the past, which will provide spiritual benefits in believers’ lives.  For example, Jesus talked about the Samaritan woman at the well.

 

Amos: I am afraid that Cindy is partially right. There are some elements like that. There are four common signs given by Hebrew prophets, myself included, and those are visions of salvation, criticism of society, personal dedication, and the prophetic literature. (Eaton, 5) Among those four, visions of salvation can include foretelling coming future calamity, visions of the afterworld, and also promises of a coming ruler. If you look at prophecy from that perspective, Cindy is right.

But there is one thing that we must be careful about. If prophecy is only a foretelling of future, just like Cindy said, then what is the difference between prophecy and going to a fortune teller? Cindy must be aware of that Yahweh doesn’t allow any fortune telling or witchcraft among Israel. (Lev 19:31, Deut 8:11) Yahweh prohibited Israel from consulting fortune tellers to find out about the future.  If He allows foretelling of this future, don’t you think that is ironic?

This is only a personal belief, but even if a person knows the future, it won’t reform that person. There were many prophets who proclaimed Israel’s future destruction, but they couldn’t avoid it. Communal and individual spiritual awakening are critical if people are to turn to Yahweh.

 

Lee: I am really good in foretelling future occurrences. When you become a shaman, you need to have a shrine. You put a flag front of your house and a place for incense in a shrine. You hang images of Buddha or stories and other gods’ pictures on that wall. In the shrine, there is a little table and you put little bit of rice and coins to check fortune. Obviously the spirit within me tells me what to say. My guests are usually people don’t honor their ancestors or there was someone who died by falsification.  If that is the case, things are not going well in their lives. Therefore, by foretelling, I help them with their financial matters, relationships, and health.  I saved a person from bankruptcy and helped a person to have a baby in supernatural power (Lee, 75-139).

 

Cindy: I don’t think Amos believes in a supernatural God. It seems like he doesn’t believe in the power of prophecy. Christians should receive God’s supernatural power naturally.  When you seek supernatural power, it can be happen anywhere and at any time. I remember one time when I went to LA and stopped at a gas station. I saw a gentleman who looks like a vagabond. He tried to wipe my car window.  At that very moment, I heard God speak to me strongly. So I boldly made conversation. “You just came out of prison. When you were young, the Spirit of God told you to share good news with others, but you ran away from it.  Now you need to go back to your home and share the good news with others.” Then this young man started to run away from me.  I ran after him, and when he saw me, he stopped and said this:

“Yes, you are right.  I just came out of prison. When I was little, I used to attend a church with my grandfather.  God told me to share the good news with others, to be His messenger, but I ran away from Him few years.  Now I will go back to my hometown and tell people what I have been through.  I will be His messenger.” (Jacobs, The Supernatural Life, 15-16)  This is only one example from many, and this is called prophetic evangelism.  When you trust in God with supernatural power, this can happen all the time.

I think the reason why Amos can not understand of God in supernatural power is he lived before the grace period, which means before Christ. That is why he didn’t have a chance to know God in this supernatural way. It looks like Amos is not confident that he knows a supernatural God, and he also sounds like a liberal theologian. Liberal theologians don’t believe in the supernatural power of God. Don’t you think so?

 

Amos: I am a pretty direct person. There is a saying in my culture that “the Enemy is coming out from your own family.”  I think Cindy criticizes me by suggesting that I don’t trust in Yahweh’s supernatural power.

That is not true.  I personally saw visions five times regarding future events. (Amos 7.1-3, 4-6, 7-9; 8.1-3; 9.1-4). Then I boldly proclaimed how Yahweh would judge Israel. You know what? It happened. You know that what I said was true, since you Christians have OT also.

If I don’t believe in Yahweh’s supernatural power, then how can I see visions of Yahweh and proclaim the future of Israel. Doesn’t that suggest that I really experienced Yahweh’s supernatural power? Also I’ve got one question for Cindy. You use “supernatural power” often. When do you mean by that?

 

Cindy: That means overcoming natural law.  For example, look at the signs and wonders in the Scriptures. Prophecy is God’s way of involving His people.

 

Amos: Then don’t you think something here doesn’t make sense at all? When Yahweh judged Israel, He used nature-based disasters like locusts, droughts, and earthquakes, as well as international circumstances. During the period of my ministry, Assyria was trying to move westward. Therefore, it was threatening Israel. Let me ask you a question.  Natural disasters and international circumstances are they supernatural or not?

 

Cindy: They’re mostly natural things but there is God’s supernatural intervention behind them.

 

Amos: I don’t think you are wrong. I want to add more what you said. When Yahweh works through nature and social circumstances, our understanding of Him should be enlarged. You don’t need to be in ecstasy nor see visions or dreams. Those are not required. You saw someone and thought, “that person just came out from prison. He refused his calling from God. That is why he is currently going through hard times. If he goes back to his home and becomes a messenger of God, he will be well.” You don’t need to look at things like that.  Things that happen in our lives today can be influential to many people, but yet also impact the individual. Yahweh works on each of these levels, and so much is possible for him. So, we must read and interpret Yahweh’s will out of everyday occurrences. (Blenkinsopp, 82)

 

Cindy: (silently) then you don’t need to read the Bible, just the newspapers….

 

Amos: (heard Cindy’s comment, begins to say something but changes his mind) I would like to ask you something, Cindy. Why do you think Moses was called a law-giver, not a prophet (Deu 15:18)?  Do you think Moses identified himself as prophet?

 

Cindy: Sudden question….

 

Amos: Seong, would it be okay if I ask the audience this question?  (The presider nods ‘yes.’) Is there anybody who can answer my question?

 

Hannah: I think the biggest difference between Hebrew prophets and gentile sorceresses, fortune tellers, and practitioners of witchcraft relates to proclaiming the future based upon supernatural power. (Deut. 18.9-22; Exod. 22.18; Lev. 19.26, 31; 2 Kgs. 17.17; 23.24; 1 Sam. 28.3-25). Gentile sorceress and fortune tellers can make a wild guess about what might happen in the future such as war, famine, and disaster, but Hebrew prophets very firmly proclaimed what would happen in future and it did really happen in history. Not only that, the Hebrew prophets pointed out that their prophecy rooted from Yahweh’s court meeting through their personal experiences. (Jer. 23; Isa. 38.7ff, Sawyer, 17) But Moses…

 

Sujin (unable to contain herself): I got an idea from what Hannah just said. The reason why we can call Moses as a prophet is that although he didn’t act like other Hebrew prophets, he did tell Yahweh’s community about His teaching, encouragements, and concerns.  After his death, everything happened just as Moses said. Again, the Pentateuch itself can be prophetic literature.  

 

Amos: Excellent observation!  Do you finish all your OT classes?

 

Hannah, Sujin: Yes, we did.  We took Dr. Goldingay’s Pentateuch and Hebrew Prophets classes.

 

Amos: No wonder! Very good observation. (turning his face to Cindy)  Cindy, did you hear what these students just said? I would like to offer an objection what you said about “prophetic evangelism.” You mentioned a young man who ran away from God and later obeyed a challenge to follow Him to be His messenger.

I think anyone can speak like that, even if the person is not involved in a prophetic intercessory prayer movement; in fact, even people who are not Christians can speak like that. Why do I sound so harsh here?  I hope you don’t judge people by appearance. I also have had a few experiences with these kinds of people when I put gas in my car.  People who offer to clean your car window for a few bucks, you can tell right away that they don’t live normal lives.

I know I have to be careful in choosing my words in the US, but I think people who were born here know what I am trying to say. I’m speaking to the average Joe here. When you see someone who tries to clean your car window for a couple bucks, you probably think that person might be some sort of drug addict, be involved in crime, or have mental problem, and you don’t need to be a prophet to come to this conclusion. This is a social norm.  I think Cindy approached the young man based on this social norm.

Also “share the good news’ is very ambiguous. What does it mean for that young man to “share the good news with others?” Does he become a messenger of gospel?  Does he live a life according to what Yahweh said so that thru his life he can be a tunnel to show the gospel to others? Not only that, “if share the good news” can be a prophecy to him, he needs to have his own definition of what it means to him personally. I thought “share the good news” is for all Christians. Isn’t it?

 

Cindy: (tries to say something but Amos stops her.)

 

Amos:  I am not finished yet. I need to add more so that you can understand me better.  There is one more thing that I want to tell you, Cindy.  Cindy probably has more wonderful stories that she hasn’t yet shared with us, but until what I’ve heard from her so far, her stories of the supernatural power of Yahweh happened to each individual and were private.  A baby sister was born, someone died, came out of prison…. Etc.

Did you ask me that if I can not trust Yahweh’s supernatural way of prophecy? Certainly   not! The visions that I saw were not like limited to individuals like Cindy’s. It was for Israel, who has covenanted with Yahweh.

Cindy said that the reason why I don’t know Yahweh in supernatural way is because I was before the Messiah.  Let me ask you then, which country did Messiah come to/from? Why did Jesus’ disciples ask him “when is the time to restore His kingdom?” (Act. 1:6) I heard that Christians said that the church, the believers’ community, is a new Israel.  In that case, Cindy’s prophetic intercessory prayer movement should focus on this new Israel. Don’t you think Yahweh’s promise for Israel is more important than your sister, or a man released from prison?

 

Cindy: Amos, are you criticizing me and saying that I ignore the nature of prophecy and degrade it to only personal experience?

 

Amos: I don’t deny it. You switch head and tail. First, you switch prophecy itself and symptoms of prophecy. Second, you switch community and personal experience. It’s a matter of priorities. If you look at OT prophecy, there was no prophecy for the individual’s luck.  Prophecy has been proclaimed to Israel, for Yahweh’s community and their spiritual benefits, only. All prophecy is for the community, even if it was sometimes addressed to individuals. When the community heard His words, individuals did respond.  I hope I can have time to explain later. 

When the prophets proclaimed His messages to Israel, some used symbolic acts, and some of these were acted signs (Isa. 20:3), or prophetic dramas. Many of the prophets are portrayed as weird people. Mr. Lee said that when he first time became a shaman, he danced and jumped for an hour, but compared to the Hebrew prophet’s symbolic acts and prophetic drama, well, it doesn’t even compare.

Sometimes those symbolic acts and prophetic drama seem very illogical and make no sense at all. But there is one thing we must remember. These acts only support Yahweh’s words, nothing else. “It is presented as no more than a dramatic alternative to the spoken word.” (Sawyer, 12) The object of all prophecy is based on Yahweh alone, whether it comes from words or symbolic acts.  The focus is Yahweh, who starts, and He will finish.

 

Lee: That is very unexpected. I didn’t know that Hebrew prophets also used symbolic acts to proclaim Yahweh’s will. Shamans are really good in prophetic drama. When we conduct rituals, we make one whole story about receiving blessings from gods. During rituals we use many musical instruments, like drums, bells…etc., can make strong bits. With those strong bits and instruments, we shamans dance and jump up and down.

 

Amos: But Mr. Lee, I don’t think that shaman’s acts are the same as the symbolic acts of the Hebrew prophets. Your acts don’t contain messages. The only message that you have is that you solve personal problems with help of spirits. Hebrew prophets have existential messages for their audiences, not like shamans.

 

Seong: This is getting serious here. Let’s change the subject. How can miracles and prophecy be related each other?

 

Cindy: Prophecy itself is a miracle. How can humans tell past and future? There were numerous testimonies about prophecy, spiritual warfare, healing the sick…etc. It is the Holy Sprit’s supernatural power through me. You can get more info from my book “The Supernatural Life. 

 

Lee: Shamans receive power from gods. We are semi-saints. Shamans usually have three functions such as conduct/ offer sacrifice to gods, healing the sick, foretelling of lucks. These are all gods’ interventions. (Dong-A Encyclopedia, Vol.10, 475).

 

Amos: Hebrew prophets have a long relationship with miracles and wonders. Among Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, and the prophets in the period of Joshua-Kings, some weren’t as strong as others, so we call them Writing Prophets. The Hebrew prophets’ focus was Yahweh Himself, even if they were been exposed to signs and wonders. The objective of prophecy for Hebrew prophets was to let Israel know the truth of Yahweh’s message and His authority. Everything else was secondary. For an example, look at 2 Kings 6:1-7.  (Sawyer, 13-16)

 

Seong: I have a question for all three of you. So you are mediators between man and God/god. How do people see you?  What does it mean to you?

 

Cindy: People know me internationally as a minister of intercessory prayer of spiritual warfare and reconciliation thru my writings and lectures. What does it mean by people know this ministry? It is time for churches to re-focus on prophecy. Because of this ministry, many people got encouraged and movements started. This prophetic intercessory prayer movement is a new spiritual movement for this last generation. I help fulfill people’s spiritual needs.

 

Lee: If you look into Korean history, shamans were very low class people.  The last dynasty of Korea, the Yi Dynasty, chooses Confucianism as the back bone of the country.  Confucianism is about typical practical morals. These practical moralists were ignorant of “things of spirituality.” Shamans usually appealed to lower class citizens. We were mediators of god and man and helped them solve practical spiritual problems by the power of the gods. Although technology advances today, people in the countryside, the inner city, and fishermen’s villages still depend on shamans.  (Lee, 218)

 

Amos: Israel and the prophets had a love and hate relationship.  Israel respected prophets as Yahweh’s messengers, but yet was irritated by their messages, especially the kings and priests (cf. 1 Kgs. 22.8) Prophets were frequently imprisoned (Jer. 37), persecuted (2Kgs. 17.33), ignored (Isa. 6.9ff), and rejected (Isa. 53.3) by Israel. Without support group(s), prophets wouldn’t be able to survive (Sawyer, 19)!

 

Seong: That’s confusing. According to Cindy and Mr. Lee, regular people acknowledge them as prophets. Amos, as a representative of the Hebrew prophets, you portray the relationship between prophets and Israel as one of love and hate?

 

Amos: Basically Hebrew prophets were not “anti” messengers to Israel, but they were messengers for Israel.  There were constant evaluations of whether a prophet (s) was for Yahweh and the people of Israel. Sometimes these evaluations required miracles and wonders, but ultimately, it required radical obedience.

There were often tensions between true prophets and people in leadership offices, like kings and priests. There were also tensions between prophets.  For example, if you look at 1 Kgs. 22, there is story of Micaiah. King Ahab had 400 prophets in king’s courtyard. Zedikian was a leader of them, but when they spoke, they proclaimed what king wanted to hear.  But Micaiah, he only proclaimed what Yahweh wanted him to proclaim to Israel because he was in danger of being portrayed as a false prophet and also was in a life-threatening situation. Not only that, prophets could get in trouble with priests. Hard to imagine as it might seem (audience chuckles), at times priests were opportunistic and political. (DeVries, 147)

 

Cindy: I know Amos had troubles with Priest Amaziah. I think the story comes out of Amos 7.  To be honest with you, I questioned if Amos was a true prophet. Why?  Prophecy should be used for the benefit of church, and for OT period, it should benefit Israel.  If there is no benefit for the church, it is useless.

Let me tell you one story. There was a prayer meeting led by Rev. Jack Hayford, Church on the Way, and Lloyd Ogilvie, Chaplain for the US Senate. It was an intercessory prayer meeting for the city of Los Angeles and anybody could join in and pray in the front, with an open microphone. Pastors from many different denominations gathered together and prayed, when all of sudden, one man yelled loudly. “God speaks. Anyone who builds beautiful house for benefit of own sake and not to take of people who are in needs, woe to you. You are not taking of the poor, broken hearts, and lost.”

It was a scary moment.  Jack was so tender and kind, but he very firmly said, “Sir, please control yourself. According to scripture, the spirit of prophecy will obey the prophet, and you need to control yourself. You are losing your sanity now.” Jack asked ushers to take him out of the place.

God is a God of order.  1Cor 14:33 says “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints.” Uproar is same as chaos.  1Cor 14:40 emphasis on ‘but all things should be done decently and in order.’ The Greek meaning of ‘decently’ is orderly and nobility. (Cindy, The Voice, 203-2006) Prophets should be courteous and follow procedures. In this sense, I can not understand how Amos had trouble with Priest Amaziah.

 

Amos: Courtesy and procedures….  I think Cindy doesn’t know what is important, and not only that, she misunderstands the time period in which I addressed Israel.  Cindy, you don’t understand what social situations were when the Hebrew prophets worked. They didn’t live in your world, Cindy. I’ll make it short: they worked in the most urgent period of Israel, and were burdened with whether or not Yahweh’s community would survive.  They don’t have time to follow courtesy and procedures.

As you know Cindy, I fought with Priest Amaziah. Why did I do that? Was it for courtesy and procedures? Certainly not! Please don’t misunderstand that prophets were always have trouble with priests. Let me explain a little bit here. Actually, prophets worked closely with local shrines. Myself, Isaiah, and Jeremiah did. Samuel worked closely in Shiloh and Ramah later. Nathan worked in Jerusalem, Ahijah was in Shiloh. The Prophets in 1Kings 13 were in Bethel, and lastly, Elisha was in Gilgal. But some prophets lost the spirit of the prophets, and began to emphasize procedures of rituals and functions. That is why some of prophets started criticize procedures and functions of rituals. They wanted to reform Israel.

It can be said that a pattern of ritual/ sacrifice replaced the relationship with Yahweh. As time went by, people got used to new things and made systems without considering original meaning behind these systems.

Then later, they didn’t listen to His voice at all.  Why didn’t Yahweh use social systems like priests or professional prophets? Why did he choose me, a farmer and a shepherd, to be His prophet? Why did He allow me to say “Yahweh caught me?” This is not new.  Yahweh always did things this way. Yahweh was not limited by social systems or people. (Westermann, 226-7)

What did Priest Amaziah say to me when we argued?  “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom”(Amos 7.12-13). Does this sound like courtesy and procedures?  No! Amaziah was already blinded by a cultic functionary.  He thought he could control Yahweh by ritual sacrifices.  Not only that, he lost his heart for the people of Israel and Yahweh. He became a maid of political powers. I wanted to reform this.

Throughout the history of Israel, you’ll see two things against each other: Yahweh’s prophetic power and the political establishment. The political system is only supposed to be a tool for serving Yahweh, but the people often forgot this. There were always tensions between politics and a spirit of prophecy, revolving around matters such as purity of promise or political opportunity.

The interesting thing is that only ancient Israel has the theory that the king’s power was given by the people and Yahweh and also people and Yahweh could supervision him.  (Deut. 17. 14-20)  The King is a brother of regular people, nothing more than that.  If that’s the king, what can you ask about the priests? (DeVries, 148-9)

 

Seong: Since we don’t have much time, let’s focus on the subject of “message” now. Who would like to speak first?

 

Lee: Message….. it is hard. Let starts with this. What does a shaman believe? Let’s answer this. The Shaman doesn’t believe in a God who wants to have relationship with people. We believe in spirits not with relationship based.

In animism, the symbolical shows up in many different images, but in Korea, the shaman serves ancestor gods. If you don’t serve these ancestor gods in the proper way, you are in trouble. That goes for your finances, health, and relationships. The shaman solves these problems by offering rituals and asking forgiveness and blessings from spirits. When ancestor gods reconcile with descendants, these troubles of finances, health, and relationships are solved. This is the theme of the message of my work.

 

Cindy: That is a pretty weak message.

 

Lee: Do you think so? To me, I don’t really see difference between Christianity and Shaman. As I introduced in the beginning, I was a Christian one time and I even able to speak in tongues. I even fervently ministered to others so church revival was so big.  I was more fervent than the chaplain! Given my personal experiences, first as a Christian and now as a shaman, I think that contact with the spiritual realm in Christianity, speaking in tongues, and healing the sick are no different from what a shaman does. (Lee, 149)

 

Cindy: I think you really misunderstand that, Mr. Lee. Shaman’s foretelling is by ancestor gods or spirits, but we, Christians, are led by the Holy Spirit. This is a fundamental difference.

 

Lee: Well, even though you did say that with your most serious face, my ideas haven’t changed. Cindy, for you that might be a big difference, but to me it is all the same. God is god or god is God. If you can tell someone’s luck and it helps that person, why does it matter if it is from a shaman or a prophet?  I didn’t have a chance to see Cindy when she was filled with the Holy Spirit, but when I saw other Christians speaking in tongues and prophesying, let me tell you, it was no different from what we do.

 

Seong: So technically, there was no difference between Christian acts of Holy Spirit and the activity of a shaman.  This is really interesting and important.

 

Amos: It is important but not interesting. To me, it is very shocking and serious.  Thru this panel discussion, I realized that we are focusing too much on private prophecy and on signs. There is no message for the community about any religious and moral issues.  It is only focused on foretelling of another’s past and future, and on the question of the existence of supernatural power.  There is no question of what this prophetic message can give us today.

 

Cindy: Amos seems like he intentionally wants to misrepresent myself and Mr. Lee.  I want to say clearly, “Prophecy is God’s gift for us in the last days, and it can build nations and change the direction of history.  It can be built and torn down by a spiritual movement led by prophets.”

 

Amos: Cindy, please understand me if I become little emotional. I wasn’t like that when I was a farmer and shepherd, but after became a prophet, I changed. I became a little emotional and harsh. Let me be direct here. When you said “build and tear down,” it doesn’t for individual. Cindy, what kind of prophecies have you done about the war between United States and Iraq, or the war on terror? What does Yahweh say about these?

 

Cindy: That is a political issue, and it is not for me. I lead a prophetic intercessory prayer movement, not a political action committee.

 

Amos: See, there is the fundamental limitation of Cindy’s prophetic intercessory prayer movement. Cindy never mentions anything about war, famine, underdevelopment, unfairness, exploitation, unfair trade, AIDS, illegal residents, suicide, generations gaps, inner city problems. Because the church or Christians do not wrestle with these issues, secular scholars touch those. That is why people think Christianity is illogical and anti-social. Christianity becomes privatized, and the church falls victim to individualization. (Min, E-11)

It seems like you don’t say a word about these bigger issues, but only argue with smaller scale matters on an individual level. I promise you that if Christianity won’t take responsibility of these issues, secular scholars will.  If that happens, Christians will lose your privilege and you are losing right now. You are losing your privilege to counselors, therapists, philosophers, Feng-Shui, Tai Chi…etc.

 

Cindy: Look who is talking! So were you an international prophet? You’ve never been outside of Judah and Israel. Compared to you, I am getting international attention, and I can not even count how many countries I have been visited.

 

Amos: Cindy, I don’t think you read your Bible. If you read the book of Amos, it started with Yahweh’s 8 rages to 8 groups. (1.3-2.16) What does it mean by starts with words of rage?  (Look to audience)

Hannah: That means “the Lord is not a narrowly nationalistic God but one who is Lord of all the earth, the one who judges and punishes even the pagan nations.”(Jesen, 77)

 

Amos: (smile) We should all learn from Fuller students.  What is your name?  I guess that a person who has OT name is smart. (Everyone laughs)  Hannah, you said it right. Yahweh, who puts words in my mouth, was not limited by regions or people. Yahweh is the one who can anoint kings and bring kings down from their thrones. He is the Lord of history and generations. He is a Creator and Savior.  Hebrew prophets proclaimed to whole nations, not just individuals; they spoke to international issues and situations.

 

Lee: Shamanism is a common practice among Northeast Asians, Eskimos, Native Americans, and South American Indians, but for Koreans, Shamanism has a very strong national and ethical background. For example, Native American Shamans worship spirits like rivers, mountains, and animals, but in Korean Shamanism, we worship ancestor gods.  What I trying to say is religion contains regional and cultural elements. (Dong-A Encyclopedia, vol. 14, 526-34) But Amos said his Yahweh is not limited by regional and cultural, and He is the one who leads history. If that’s the case, how come Yahweh shows His anger to His people? Don’t you think it shows that Yahweh can not be bigger than regional and cultural matters?

 

Amos: Mr. Lee, you give very good criticism. I’ll answer Mr. Lee with the messages I proclaimed to Israel as a Hebrew prophet. Why was Yahweh angered with the nations around Judah and Israel?  First, when Yahweh spoke of His rage to 8 nations, the seventh and eighth were Judah and Israel. (Damascus-Gaza/Philistine- Tyre-Edom-Amon-Moab-Judah-Israel).

Israel considers seven to be a lucky number. So the first six nations received Yahweh’s rage words, and now the seventh is for Judah.  Judah expected good words, since they were the seventh mentioned, and the result was not what they expected. 

The important thing is not numbers, but the reason Yahweh raged against these nations! Why does He proclaim judgments? If you look at the whole picture here, these nations abandoned ‘righteousness’ (sedaqa) and abused ‘the poor’ (saddiq).  That is why Yahweh was enraged.  Yahweh couldn’t stand people who stepped on the poor and abused them, but still acted as if they were holy.  They were hypocrites. Their cruelness brought Yahweh’s judgments.  Judah and Israel were no different than these nations. “Yahweh continues to champion the weak and needy.” (Jesen, 77-81)

 

Cindy: Amos, you make God out to be a socialist, and you sound a lot like Karl Marx, Lenin, Mao, Gramsci, and Foucault. God doesn’t judge people by their social status.  Judgment is based on whether a person trusts in Him or trusts himself.

 

Amos: Do you really think so?

 

Lee: Amos, I am sorry to stop you.  If your Yahweh is absolute truth, sincere, and beauty, why does He judge people?  The reason why I changed my religion from Christianity to a sect of Buddhism is because I am sick and tired of how Christianity threatens people about judgment in the last days.  (Lee, 168)

 

Cindy: Mr. Lee, didn’t you mention that ancestor gods also feel rage? That is why they bring curses to people?  Isn’t it one of god’s judgments?

 

Lee: Yes, part of it!  There is a difference between Amos’ hell and mine. Judgments of ancestor gods are only warnings compared to Yahweh’s wrath. The goal is not destruction. 

 

Amos: It is true that I was “much less concerned than Hosea with forms of worship and much more concerned to excoriate what [I] takes to be an oppressive and exploitative sociopolitical set up” (Blenkinsopp, 81).  There is a reason why I responded so strongly to the social system.  In order to tell you those, I need to explain three things about Yahweh’s rage and judgment.

First, why did Yahweh judge the nations, especially Judah and Israel, just because they cruelly abused the poor? I didn’t directly mention the covenant in my writings. My prophecy was based on covenant. The covenant between Israel and Yahweh were protection and supplication from Yahweh to Israel. Therefore covenant required moral obedience and responses. Here is a good example; I criticized Israel’s hypocritical behaviors based on Exd. 22: 25-26. (Jensen, 70-71) “They lay themselves down beside every altar upon garments taken in pledge”( 2.8a). You have to give a coat back to original owner when night comes, but the religious leaders of Israel didn’t return these coats to their owners, but used them for their own needs. They didn’t do what Yahweh required to of them.

Second, here’s my definition of justice.  I didn’t proclaim Yahweh’s justice, but rather I proclaimed Yahweh’s requirement of justice, or His rage. Many people, including Christians, are confused about the concept of “Justice.”  I didn’t talk about the concept of “Justice” that people use in court. “Justice and truth both denote the maintenance of covenant. Righteousness in the Old Testament does not refer to some abstract ethical standard but rather ‘righteousness has to do with living and acting in a way appropriate to a relationship. For individuals righteousness is a function of their many and changing interconnections with others. Thus sedaqa is a quality that will often incline toward mercy and generosity. In the Old Testament sidqot yhwh, the ‘righteous deeds of the Lord’ (cf. Judg 5.11; 1 Sam. 12.7; Mic. 6.5; Dan 9.16) were precisely God’s acts of liberation in Israel’s salvation history.” (Jesen, 89)

Finally, why did Yahweh require justice from Israel?  Why am I asking people to practice justice? These questions are nationally and culturally linked to each other. Israel had been enslaved by Egypt. They were poor (saddiq), weak (dal), and needy (ebyon) people. How did Yahweh treat Israel in times like these?  Right! Yahweh treated them with justice. It means He treated them with mercy and kindness. Centuries later, Israel forgot how Yahweh treated them previously. They thought they were living well because they are smart. They oppressed people, just as they had been oppressed. Israel failed to imitate Yahweh. Israel broke the covenant. There is no difference between Judah/ Israel and the other nations around them (Jesen, 90)

 

Seong: I think we should start to wrap up now. We have more to discuss than what we discussed here today. Since we’re short on time, let me ask one last thing. Please share your ideas about what it means to be prophet and about prophetic messages today.

 

Lee: I try to contextualize shamanism into the present day. I have my own homepage on the internet, and I try to help people who want to improve their lives. I offered to perform a ritual for people who lost their lives thru natural disaster in Dec of 2004 in Southeast Asia.  I help spirits go to good places, rather than wandering around and doing bad things to people. As you know Korea and Japan historically don’t have a good relationship with each other. I am trying to reconcile with these two countries with cooperation with Japanese Shintoism. When religions united, people can be united also.

 

Cindy: I hope you don’t take this personally, Mr. Lee. To me, it sounds like you shared your business plans, not what prophecy means in this generation. I would like to quote one paragraph from my good ministry partner in South Korea. She is Rev. Hae JA Lee, and she wrote a recommendation on my book, “The Supernatural Life.” From her recommendation, she talks about how my ministry benefits many people.  On my book she said,

“My very good friend Cindy helps various types of people, from baby Christians to pastors, thru her book.  She invites people to join and experience God’s supernatural power in a practical and tangible way.  For the beginners, she introduces the Holy Spirit and teaches how to live life as a Christian.  For people who have relationship with the Lord will realize again His unlimited power. (Cindy, The Supernatural Life, Korean Version)

 

Amos: Just as Cindy quoted someone, I would like to quote another, in this case an OT theologian. This explains how 2700 years of Yahweh’s message can be applied to people who live in the 21st century today.

“Amos can speak to people and situations in our own day because the socio-economc situations are very similar: the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ is wide and deep, with significant implications for everyday life: access to housing, food, education, medical care, and leisure varies greatly according to people’s level of income. While these conditions can be related to one’s industry and determination, they are also affected by circumstances beyond one’s control, such as language barriers or family history. The problems are exacerbated by the individualism that pervades American life today. Amos’ condemning words to those who enjoy what money can provide without regard for the vulnerable, and his constant reminders of God’s loving concern speak eloquently and urgently to these concerns (Cook, 67).”

 

Seong: The time is up now.  We have had three very special guests here today, and we have had the opportunity to hear their takes on the questions “what is prophecy,” “how does a person become a prophet,” and “what does prophet’s message mean to us today?” My first impression of today’s meeting is this one discussion is not enough to cover everything in one time. We need to study more significance of prophecy in every religion.

I have personally gained so much here today.  As the presider, I can see that there are major differences in how the three of you understand prophecy, and I was challenged to think about what it means to be a prophet. What makes a prophet a prophet? What are key elements in prophecy?  Which part(s) of God/god’s characters show us thru prophet?  What kind of relationship does a prophet have with his audience and generation?  I think that the audience in here, all Fuller students, might be thinking the same things as I am thinking.

Also I realize that we expect to see a prophet in this generation. From Mr. Lee, I can see a shaman who wants to cry with hurting people. Emotional assimilation is one of the key elements to Christian servanthood, but I think the shaman develops this well.

Cindy tries to live a life with very clear vision and purpose. There is a little danger associated with limiting God’s power to individual and private matters, but her love for God and emphasis on courtesy and procedure can be very helpful to Korean churches. 

I should not talk about my personal preference as a presider, but I personally get a strong impression from Amos.  Amos’s confession of his call to be a prophet is very impressive.  Amos, who was a farmer and shepherd, became a prophet, but there is nothing to prove about his call other than he was caught by Yahweh. His confession is bold and firm. It might look a little dangerous, yet I’m very impressed. I can see a close relationship between Yahweh and Amos, just like David’s song says “Yahweh is my shepherd, I have no needs.”

The period of Jeroboam II was a critical time for Northern Israel.  Amos came as a prophet and proclaimed a message which was “a decisive no the future of Israel” (Clements, 23).  His message was short and clear. His message was that Yahweh was sedaqa (righteous) to you when you are weak and tired. Therefore, you need to do the same thing with others. That is mispat (justice). It impressed me.

At lastly, it is shocking to hear what Amos pointed out. He said not to put too much emphasis on spirit possession, ecstasy, foretelling of future, or prophecy, but to instead emphasize God’s character and His requirements.  It is so common in Korean churches to hear about hearing God’s voice based on signs and wonders. Happens all the time!

Now we have to finish this panel discussion. Before we finish here, I would like to quote from a famous 20^th century poet, philosopher, and painter, Kahlil Gibran. As people who live in a confused generation yet want to follow a true prophet and the spirit of a prophet, you will agree what he said.  Thank you all.

 

 

 

“I was born with an arrow in my heart. 

If I try to take this arrow out, it hurts, but if I leave as it is, it still hurts.”

Bibliography

 

Blenkinsopp, Joseph. A History of Prophecy in Israel, WJK (Louisville, Kentucky, 1996)

 

Clements, Ronald E.  Old Testament Prophecy: From Oracles to Canon, WJK (Louisville, Kentucky, 1996)

 

Cook, Joan E.  Hear O Heavens and Listen O Earth: An Introduction to the Prophets, Liturgical Press (Collegeville, Minnesota, 2006)

 

Goldingay, John. Old Testament Theology: Israel’s Gospel (vol.1), IVP (Downers Grove, IL, 2003)

 

Jacobs, Cindy. The Voice of God (translated into Kor. Namalul neipe doutnora), JOY Mission Press (Seoul, 1996)

___________, The Supernatural Life (translated into Kor. Chojayonjogin salmu sala), Shekinah (Seoul, 2006)

 

Jensen, Joseph. Ethical Dimensions of the Prophets, Liturgical Press (Collegeville, Minnesota, 2006)

 

Lee, Hyo-Nam. Mudangii upda (There Is No Genuine Mudang[Shaman]), Sangsang Communications (Seoul, 2006)

 

Min, Jong-Ki. “This Age Is Not Dancing with Music,” Choong-Ang Ilbo (20, Sep, Los Angeles, 2006)

 

Mowinckel, Sigmud. The Spirit and the Word, Fortress Press (Minneapolis, MN, 2002)

 

Podhoretz, Norman. The Prophets: Who They Were, What They Are, The Free Press (New York, NY, 2002)

 

Rad, Gerhard von. The Message of the Prophets: Study Edition, SCM (London, 1976)

 

Westermann, Claus. Tausend Jahre und ein Tag: Einfuhrung in die Bibel Sonderausg (translated into Kor. Chonyonga Haru), Korea Institute of Theology (Seoul, 1981)

 

Dong-A Encyclopedia, Articles on “Mudang” (vol. 10), “Shamanism” (vol. 14), DooSan/Dong-A (1997, Seoul)