Introduction To The Prophets

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Introduction To The Prophets
In times of spiritual and moral repression and
decay, God raised up men (prophets) in whose
mouth He put His word and whom He sent to the
people in an effort to turn them back to himself
Homer Hailey
Heb 11-2 Long ago, at many times and in many
ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his
Son,
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Introduction To The Prophets

• The Old Testament comes to a close with 17 books
  of prophecy with the ministry of 16 men
  (Lamentations, dated 586 BC is the additional
  book)

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Reading The Prophets Today

• The message of the prophets is not limited to
  their own time or to their witness about Jesus,
  they spoke and wrote Gods word for His people
  then and now. Understanding their message in
  their time and in relationship to Jesus helps us
  know what they mean for us today, individually
  and as Gods people.

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Origins of Hebrew Prophecy

• Becoming a Prophet was based on a call of God
  (not unlike today) to reveal His will for Israel
  and to speak his word of judgment and salvation.
• Two Types Of Prophets
• Literary or Classical Prophets
• Have a recorded/written legacy
• Nonliterary or Preliterary
• No books written about them but get mentioned in
  Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah

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Terms for ProphetsMen Women

• Man of God
• A Person Possessed By God For Special Service
• Seer
• Visionary
• Based on experience and insights of dreams and
  visions
• Prophet or Prophetess
• Meaning to speak or one who is called by God
  (Preachers)
• Diviner or Soothsayer
• Never applied to those that spoke for Yahweh!
• Practiced witchcraft

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Forces That Shaped The ProphetsWere Shaped By
Them

• Historical Events
• Monarchy
• Idolatry
• Social Oppression

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Literary Forms Used

• Prophetic Oracles
• Introduced by thus says the Lord or the word of
  the lord was to ____
• Usually contain a word of judgment or a
  confronting message of salvation
• Visions
• Poetry
• Examples Doxologies, Short sayings and prayers
• Autobiographical narrative
• Written in first person by the prophet the book
  is named after.
• Biographical narrative
• Written about the prophet in common speech

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Their Calling

• To speak for God to Men
• To speak Gods word
• To be a forth teller
• To contend with false prophets

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Their Calling

• The prophets heralded judgment for sin, or spoke
  with compassion of Gods mercy and forgiveness
  when the people would turn and repent of their
  sin.
• They prophesied of the coming Messiah and his
  kingdom.
• 1Pe 110-12 Concerning this salvation, the
  prophets who prophesied about the grace that was
  to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
  inquiring what person or time the Spirit of
  Christ in them was indicating when he predicted
  the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent
  glories.
• It was revealed to them that they were serving
  not themselves but you, in the things that have
  now been announced to you through those who
  preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit
  sent from heaven, things into which angels long
  to look.
• God spoke with them through dreams visions or a
  direct word from God, and they spoke with
  parables, metaphors and similes to the people.

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How Will You Know Them?

• First Test (Deut. 131-5)
• Test From Truth Already Revealed
• A true prophet will never contradict what God has
  already established. He will never lead people
  away from God, or the correct worship of God.
• Second Test (Deut. 1814-19)
• Test From The Example of Moses
• A true prophet will be like Moses in that
• No Sorcery or magic involved
• A humble spirit
• He will be raised up from the people not brought
  in from the outside
• Third Test Deut. (1820-22)
• A true prophet speaks truth and it will come to
  pass in order to verify it.
• This includes an accurate exposition of Gods
  revealed word, but also any prediction or
  miraculous sign
• ALL THREE OF THE TEST MUST BE MET
• IN ORDER FOR A PROPHET TO QUALIFY AS A TRUE
  PROPHET OF GOD!

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Prophecy

• Prediction is prophecy, but not all prophecy is
  prediction. Prophecy may concern the past or the
  present as well as the future. In the former case
  it is an inspired forth-telling in the later, it
  is an inspired fore-telling. Prophecy in the
  non-predictive sense is a declaring of the truth,
  on any given subject, Prophecy in the predictive
  sense is declaring of the future such as is
  impossible to the unaided wisdom of man, and
  which can only come by direct inspiration of God
  J Sidlow Baxter

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Prophecy

• Just like there are types and anti types or
  types and shadows, prophecy has a near and far
  fulfillment especially when dealing with the
  phrase the day of the Lord. Look for this as we
  read the prophets where there will be an
  immediate fulfillment at that time but also a
  future expectation of it being fulfilled

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How Will You Know Them?

• Deu 1818 I will raise them up a Prophet from
  among their brethren, like unto thee, and will
  put my words in his mouth and he shall speak
  unto them all that I shall command him.
• Deu 1819 And it shall come to pass, that
  whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he
  shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
• Deu 1820 But the prophet, which shall presume
  to speak a word in my name, which I have not
  commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in
  the name of other gods, even that prophet shall
  die.
• Deu 1821 And if thou say in thine heart, How
  shall we know the word which the LORD hath not
  spoken?
• Deu 1822 When a prophet speaketh in the name of
  the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to
  pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not
  spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it
  presumptuously thou shalt not be afraid of him.

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Major VS Minor Prophets

• Minor prophets are designated as such only
  because of the length of the books.

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The Prophets

• The Minor Prophets
• Obadiah 840-830 BC
• Joel 830-750 BC
• Jonah 780-740 BC
• Hosea 765-725 BC
• Amos 760 BC
• Micah 740-700 BC
• Nahum 640-620 BC
• Zephaniah 640-609 BC
• Habakkuk 680-605 BC
• Haggai 520 BC
• Zechariah 520-480 BC
• Malachi 420-400 BC

• The Major Prophets
• Isaiah 742-687 BC
• Jeremiah 627-580 BC
• Daniel 605-536 BC
• Ezekiel 593-563 BC

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Non Writing Prophets, Or Prophets Of Whose
Writings Nothing Has Come Down To Us

• Pre Divided Kingdom
• Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ahija

• Israel
• Aijah
• Jehu
• Elijah Micaiah
• Elisha

• Judah
• Shemaiah
• Azariah
• Hanani
• Huldah

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Prophetic Periods

• Prophets of the Neo- Assyrian Period
• 934 BC and ended in 609 BC
• Fall of the Northern Kingdom 722 BC
• Prophets of the Neo Babylonian Period
• 626 BC and ended in 539 BC
• Fall of the Southern Kingdom 586 BC
• Prophets of the Persian Period
• 538 BC and ended in 334 BC

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Periods Of Prophets

• 9th Century (Early Assyrian Period)
• Obadiah
• Joel
• Jonah
• 8th Century (Assyrian Period)
• Amos
• Hosea
• Isaiah
• Micah
• 7th Century (Chaldean Period)
• Fall Of The Northern Kingdom (Israel) 722 BC
• Jeremiah
• Zephaniah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk

• 6th Century (Exilic Period)
• Fall Of The Southern Kingdom (Judah) Exile 586
  BC
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Lamentations
• 6th 5Th Century (Post Exilic Period)
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi

1st Return From Babylon 538 BC
2nd 3rd Return 457 BC and 445 BC
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Alternative Grouping Of The ProphetsBecause
Exact Dates Cannot Be Determined, Opinions Vary
On The Chronology Of Certain Prophets!

• Neo- Assyrian Period
• Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah
• Neo Babylonian Period
• Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Ezekiel,
  Obadiah, Lamentations
• The Persian Period
• Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Malachi
• Major Prophets in Red

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Different Dates For Minor Prophets

• Amos 750 BC
• Hosea 745-734 BC
• Micah 701 BC
• Zephaniah 628-626 BC
• Nahum 614-612 BC
• Habakkuk 605-600 BC
• Haggai 520 BC
• Zechariah 520-519 BC
• Malachi 460 BC
• Obadiah 400-350 BC
• Joel 350 BC
• Jonah 300 BC

• Obadiah 840-830 BC
• Joel 830-750 BC
• Jonah 780-740 BC
• Hosea 765-725 BC
• Amos 760 BC
• Micah 740-700 BC
• Nahum 640-620 BC
• Zephaniah 640-609 BC
• Habakkuk 680-605 BC
• Haggai 520 BC
• Zechariah 520-480 BC
• Malachi 420-400 BC

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Before The Assyrian Exile
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Timeline

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Ministry Location

• Southern Kingdom (JUDAH)
• IN 586 Judah fell to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,
  The temple destroyed, in 539 Babylon fell to the
  Medes and Persians, In 538 Cyrus allowed Jews to
  return to Palestine the temple was rebuilt in 516
  70 years after it was destroyed.
• ISAIAH
• (Uzziah, Jotham, (Ahaz, Jehoahaz)Hezekiah,
• Manasseh)
• JEREMIAH
• (Manasseh, Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah)
• JOEL (Governor Ezra)
• MICAH (Jotham, (Ahaz, Jehoahaz), Hezekiah)
• HABAKKUK (Josiah, Jehoiakim)
• ZEPHANIAH (Josiah)
• HAGGAI ?
• ZECHARIAH ?
• MALACHI ?

• Northern Kingdom
• (ISRAEL)
• All BAD KINGS
• ELIJAH (Ahab-Joram)
• ELISHA (Joram-Jehoahaz)
• HOSEA (Jeroboam II-Hoshea)
• AMOS (Jeroboam II)
• The 10 Northern Tribes fell to the Assyrian
  ruler Sargon II in 722 BC and the people were
  scattered and assimilated.

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Ministry Location

• Other
• EZEKIEL Exiles in Babylonia (Josiah,
  Jehoiakim, Zedekiah)
• DANIEL In Babylon (Josiah,
  Jehoiakim, Zedekiah)
• OBADIAH Concerning Edom (Zedekiah)
• JONAH In Nineveh (Jeroboam
  II)
• NAHUM Concerning Nineveh
• 
  (Manasseh, Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah)