The old prophets spoke of a god who saw things as they could never be.
This one is just a poor old prophet's consolation, as you might say.
The song is about a young man who wants to learn the future from an old prophet with a crystal ball.
He shook his head and muttered, "The old prophet was right about that."
Poetry was also the reason John never directly quoted the older prophets.
Slater had a hunch then, but he was almost certain now: The old prophet knew.
"I would, boy," came a voice from the doorway and Nestor turned to see the old prophet making his slow way inside.
It might even be thought that he vanished, like one of the old prophets, into the desert, to return at some vague future date.
When he spoke, it was like listening to an Old Testament prophet.
Today's pessimism would have been difficult for the old prophets to understand, because the modern world actually contains many of their predictions.