Prophets comfort God’s people in crisis because they need assurance that, despite all signs to the contrary, God is God and will one day bring an end to all evil and oppression. On the other hand, prophets warn the people about the coming judgment because the people may be participating in, or be tempted to participate in, the very evil for which the oppressive system and its perpetrators will be judged. In fact, in the case of Revelation, we have clear evidence that John believes some in the churches to which he writes were engaging in forms of idolatry and immorality, the general categories
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