IMHO, prophecy and prediction are not synonymous. Prophets, if I recall correctly, warned people about their conduct during the present and the consequences of their actions. It wasn't so much future oriented as it was for the present, ie., the time in which they lived. A prediction, on the other hand, is future oriented and anyone can make predictions. Just listen to Sylvia Brown sometime. She makes predictions for the next hundred years or so, knowing that she won't be around when none (or only some) of it comes true. I think Nostradamus was prophesying for his time and not ours, although I can see some similarities but that probably can be said of any era.