Opinions On "THE RECKONING"...

[Bad Thoughts]

They exist outside of time and don’t change. Whatever they knew after encountering Sisko, they also knew before. They’re just pretending not to understand when talking to him that first time.

Is that supported by the show, or is this opinion a manifestation of what a God should be? Being outside time does not make them timeless, nor does it mean that they. They are segregated from the rest of the galaxy by both distance and the wormhole. They can be ignorant of things because of distance. They might live forever, yet not know about the existence of an individual until that person is in their midst. Until Sisko, they don't know Bajorans all that well. They don't know how corporeal beings perceive the universe, only that they were once corporeal. They were unaware of Okora and the damage he would do with the reintroduction of the castes until confronted. Indeed, they even say that they know of the progression of time because of Sisko. Similarly, they fail to appreciate the danger posed by the Dominion until they are already on Bajor, when the Doninion fleet was passing through their own (sub)space and Sisko metaphorically shook his fist at them. They are not omniscient.

 

[Captrek]

Is that supported by the show, or is this opinion a manifestation of what a God should be?

It’s made pretty clear in the pilot. It’s also how Sisko describes them to Jake in the S1 finale.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

It’s made pretty clear in the pilot. It’s also how Sisko describes them to Jake in the S1 finale.

You wrote that they were pretending!

 

[Captrek]

You wrote that they were pretending!

They had to have been. Given what we know about the Prophets, the pre-Emissary Prophets must have known everything that the post-Emissary Prophets knew.

Also, the pretending wasn’t completely successful, if you look at it. At the very start of the encounter, one of the Prophets says, “The creature must be destroyed, before it destroys us! Destroy it now!” Obviously, they did understand linear time.

 

[Farscape One]

To be clear, Sisko told Jake that the Bajorans faith in them is what helped them through the Occupation, and since they see the future as easily as the past and present, why can't they be considered gods by the Bajorans? It's a matter of interpretation, which it is.

Think Clarke's Law: any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic. In the case of the Prophets, it seems more biological than technological in terms of their existing outside time, but the principle is the same.

 

[Farscape One]

They had to have been. Given what we know about the Prophets, the pre-Emissary Prophets must have known everything that the post-Emissary Prophets knew.

Also, the pretending wasn’t completely successful, if you look at it. At the very start of the encounter, one of the Prophets says, “The creature must be destroyed, before it destroys us! Destroy it now!” Obviously, they did understand linear time.

Not necessarily. I always felt the Prophets simply used terms that gave that impression, like a universal translator. They probably don't have an equivalent word or phrase to describe their 'moments', so it translates to Sisko as 'before' and 'now'.

It would also explain why they never show up as themselves... only as images of other people the intruder would know. (Just look at Sisko and Quark when they talk to the Prophets.)

I thought of this years ago, but I don't think I ever mentioned this... it is entirely possible the Prophets are like the Changelings. When they are in the Great Link, they are basically a single entity. But when a part of them separates, it's a different being. What if the wormhole realm is their Great Link, and the Orbs are a separate being?

 

[Trekker09]

Not necessarily.
It would also explain why they never show up as themselves... only as images of other people the intruder would know. ...

it is entirely possible the Prophets are like the Changelings. When they are in the Great Link, they are basically a single entity. But when a part of them separates, it's a different being. What if the wormhole realm is their Great Link, and the Orbs are a separate being?

I don’t see how the Orbs could be construed as prophets themselves – they were tangible objects sent by them to offer guidance and wisdom.

According to Memory Alpha, “in their natural state, the Prophets appeared as blue translucent energy [and the exiled Pah’Wraiths as red] capable of rapid movement throughout any environment.” Don't we see that in "The Reckoning" confrontation? If you put a bunch of flames together they form one massive fire – so yeah, it could be parallel to the Link where everyone merges as liquid.