The last prophet, or final prophet, is a term used in religious contexts, especially in the Abrahamic religions, to refer to the last person through whom God or several gods speak, after which there is to be no other. The appellation also refers to the prophet who will induce mankind to turn back to God.
Abrahamic and ancient Near Eastern religions
Abrahamic religions all believe in the same god, but disagree on who is considered God's final prophet.
Judaism
Judaism considers Malachi to be the last of the biblical prophets.[1]
Christianity
In Christianity, the last prophet of the Old Covenant before the arrival of Jesus is John the Baptist (cf. Luke 16:16).[2] The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that Malachi was the "Seal of Prophets" in the Old Testament.[3] Christian denominations who hold that spiritual gifts (including prophecy) continue to be bestowed by the Holy Spirit on Christians are known as "continuationists" (including Catholics, Methodists, and Pentecostals), while the cessationist perspective, which teaches that charismata ended in the Apostolic era, is held by much of Reformed Christianity and Baptists.[4][5]
Mandaeism
In Mandaeism, John the Baptist is the greatest and final prophet.[6][7]
Manichaeism
In Manichaeism, the founder Mani is believed by adherents of the faith to be the last and final prophet after a long succession of religious figures, including Zoroaster, the Gautama Buddha and the Jesus Christ. According to Al-Biruni, a 10th-century Iranian scholar, Mani claimed to be the Paraclete promised in the New Testament and the Last Prophet.[8]
Islam
The phrase Khatamu ’n-Nabiyyīn ("Seal of the Prophets") is a title used in the Quran to designate the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is generally regarded to mean that Muhammad is the last of the prophets sent by God.
Indian religions
Hinduism
In Hinduism, the history of mankind is described in four religious (dharmic) ages (yugas), which depict a gradual decline in religious activities, only to be renewed at the end to start a new cycle of the four ages. At the end of the Kali Yuga, the current and last age in a cycle, Kalki, the tenth avatar of Vishnu, is prophesied to appear to punish the wicked, reward the good, and inaugurate the Satya Yuga of the next cycle. Kalki is the last avatar in the current cycle.[9]
References
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