1. The Mission of a Prophet

World Scripture

Every nation has its messenger. Once their messenger comes, judgment will be passed upon them in all fairness and they will not be wronged. They will say, “When will this promise be, if you have been telling the truth?” Say, “I possess no harm nor any advantage by myself, except concerning whatever God may wish. Every nation has a term; whenever their term comes, they will not postpone it for an hour nor advance it.”
Qur’an 10.47-49

Now the word of the Lord came to me [Jeremiah], saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not
know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”
But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you you shall go,
and whatever I command you you shall speak.
Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”
Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched
my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations
and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
Jeremiah 1.4-10

The word of the Lord came to me, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you will have saved your life.”²⁰
Ezekiel 3.16-19

I am that gadfly which God has attached to the state, and all day long and in all places am always fastening upon you, arousing and persuading and reproaching you.
Socrates, in Plato, Apology (Hellenism)

I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.
Martin Luther (Christianity)²¹

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

What was God’s purpose in sending saints and prophets to this earth? It was to educate all people about the meaning of God’s true love by demonstrating the character and exemplary life that God desires. Especially God wanted them to educate the political leadership, and other leaders also, that they might practice the ways of God. Together they were to realize harmony between the world of the mind [religion] and the world of body [politics and economy] centered on God’s true love.²²
However, as the body often does not follow what the conscience requires, many rulers did not recognize the prophets and holy men who came to them. They refused their teachings and ignored their warnings.
Who can take responsibility to solve the tragedies and evils in contemporary society: confusion of values, moral corruption, drug addiction, terrorism, racial discrimination, and so on? Can politicians completely solve them with their political power? Politicians carry a great responsibility and burden in the decisions and choices they make. Especially in this age, when societies are more pluralistic than ever and nations are linked in a network of interdependence, it is crucial for leaders to take responsibility for making right judgments and decisions! Therefore, when leaders are about to make important decisions, I urge them to listen humbly to the voice coming from Heaven and look for solutions through following the heavenly way.
(219:110, August 27, 1991)

This world needs prophets, not philosophers. You can’t deny it. Did democratic thought originate with philosophers or prophets? Who were its primary exponents? We need to analyze it and come up with a clear answer. How about communism? It was put forward by philosophers. People of the world today follow what philosophers advocate, but we cannot completely accept their theories. From this viewpoint, the theories of the philosophers will pass away while the words of the prophets will endure.
Where are philosophers? They are at universities. Where are prophets? They are among religious believers. Do people give more respect to religion or to universities? They prefer the universities. All right then, where can we find hope, in universities or in religion? Clearly, in religion. We can find hope in a nameless religion, rather than at world - famous Harvard, Cambridge, or Oxford.
Among the prophets, were many of them scholars, or were they mostly uneducated people? They were mostly uneducated people. Yet conventionally, people put more trust in scholars than in the uneducated people we call prophets. From this viewpoint, we can conclude that the world is headed in the wrong direction.
(79:334, September 28, 1975)

Churches must educate families, tribes and nations to go the right path. They are like the prophets in the past, who admonished their kings, especially when they were on the wrong track, and guided them to do right. Likewise, God is utilizing churches as the womb to give birth to families, tribes and peoples who will lead the future world.
(106:35, November 11, 1979)