To the layman, predictions and prophecies definitions may not be different. However, subtleties in language provide differences in prediction and prophecy definitions. While it is not a crime to interchange the use of these words, it is interesting to take time and sought the delicate variations in use. One may be surprised at the different predictions and prophecies definitions and their uses in broad fields like divination, business, and science.
To enlighten us of the subtle differences in predictions and prophecies definitions, a short list of their meaning are given. The following predictions and prophecies definitions derived from sources such as dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopaedias, and scholarly articles available online.
Predictions and Prophecies definitions # 1
Prediction is from the Latin præ-, “before,” and dicere, “to say.” Prophecy derives from the Middle English word prophecie and the Greek terms pro, “before” and phēmi, “I tell.”
A prediction and prophecy definition from the point of view of non-believers and skeptics includes the Latin maxim vaticinium ex eventu, which translates to “prophecy written after the fact.”
Predictions and Prophecies definitions # 2
Predictions are something foretold or prophesied. Prophecies lean toward supernatural methods, e.g. divination and oracles. They may be interchanged considerably except in discussions involving a systematic, methodical approach when prediction is preferred. While predictions and prophecies definitions are synonymous, the former holds a certain authority and authenticity than the latter, which may be subject to disbelief.
Predictions and Prophecies definitions # 3
Predictions refer to foretelling future events using estimation methods. This refers to a more disciplined, scientific approach and may be inductively valid when an expert in the field is the predictor. Predictions are used in businesses, and multimillion companies greatly invest their resources in these activities anchored by statistical and methodical study to obtain a picture of possible outcomes, risks, and opportunities that are beneficial or protective of the company’s assets.
Prophecies may refer to written texts by self-proclaimed seers like Nostradamus who claimed to have visions of the future. Maimonides, a Rabbinic scholar, proposed that prophecies are an “emanation sent forth” from the heavens through a person, the prophet or medium, in which the message passes an “Active Intellect” that is “man’s rational faculty to his imaginative faculty.” Islam theorist Al-Farabi independently defined prophecies as messages from heaven. Predictions and prophecies definitions may then be confined to the supernatural in the latter, and both supernatural and scientific fields for the former.
Predictions and Prophecies definitions # 4
Predictions may refer to statements where an outcome is expected. The Greek word prophetes refers to a person who delivers divine messages which comprise the past, present, and future. Christian mythology is fraught with apocalyptic scenarios that are used throughout history as a means for people to convert from one religion to another and repent. The Christian conception of prophecy, as defined by the Catholic encyclopedia, refers to the phenomenon as a “foreknowledge” of events that will take place in the future. In addition, these events may also cover the past that is not known to memory and the present that is currently difficult to explain, or that no method of logical reasoning exists.