Pope Benedict XVI and Prophecy

I just purchased online for $61, including shipping, a newly published book, Christian Prophecy, The Post-Biblical Tradition, written by Niels Christian Hvidt. The list price is $74. The book has a hard cover with approximately 400 pages, printed on acid free paper, and is published by Oxford University Press. As far as I can tell this book, written by Dr. Niels Christian Hvidt whose degree in theology is from the Pontifical Gregorian University, is a major work on Christian Prophecy. It is a must read for anyone who wishes to get a new insight into the Divine interventions occurring today as well as during the last few centuries.

One thing that impresses me is the fact that the Foreword is written by Pope Benedict XVI! He begins by telling us what a prophet is not. He “is not a soothsayer; the essential element of the prophet is not the prediction of future events. The prophet is someone who tells the truth on the strength of his contact with God—the truth for today, which also, naturally, sheds light on the future." He makes an important point in that Moses speaks of himself as a prophet when he says to his people “God will send you a prophet like me.” Pope Benedict XVI says that Moses was a friend of God in a special way. He writes: “I tend to see the root of the prophetic element in that ‘face to face’ with God, in ‘talking with Him as a friend.’ Only by virtue of this direct encounter with God may the prophet speak in moments of time.”

Pope Benedict XVI points out that Niels Christian Hvidt worked within the framework of fundamental theology in his study of Christian Prophecy and therefore “investigates the purpose and preconditions of Christian prophecy in light of developments in the past 50 years in Revelation theology.” Most importantly he says that this book “offers a new approach to the actualization of Revelation, especially in the very life of the Church, which sociological investigations show in an interesting way.” The Pope ends with these words: “Niels Christian Hvidt has trod new theological land and therewith has made important contributions to a theme that needs further thought.”

In what I have had an opportunity to read thus far, I find the book quite deep but very readable. It is a big help to me in understanding not only how prophecy developed, but also its role in the Christian church.