Announced prophet's brand (4)
I believe the answer is:
sear
'brand' is the definition.
(both can mean to burn)
'announced prophet's' is the wordplay.
'announced' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'prophet' becomes 'seer' (I've seen this before).
'seer' sounds like 'SEAR'.
(Other definitions for sear that I've seen before include "Dried up, parched" , "Scorch, brand" , "Make very hot and dry" , "Cook (quickly at great heat)" , "Burn briefly" .)