Lesson 1: The Prophets

In this series, I plan to examine the teachings of individual prophets, paying special attention to what they say about our present political situation.

I think it’s safe to say that few of us know much about the prophets. I often even forget the names of all the minor ones.

Yet 16 of the 39 Old Testament books are prophets. The four major ones are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. The 12 minor prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The Bible arranges them by size. The longest, Isaiah, appears first and the shortest, Malachi, last.

There is also one prophetic book in the New Testament, Revelation, by the prophet John. The difficulty people have understanding it gives us a clue about what to expect in the Old Testament. To get the real feel of prophecy, it is often best to read it out loud.

Prophets are charismatics through whom God speaks. They offer oral visions. Those who appear in the Bible are special for writing down their messages. One of the reasons most of them did this was because the political and religious authorities had prohibited them from speaking publicly.

The Bible writes about traveling bands of prophets who engaged in exotic dancing to induce trances from which they spoke. The kings employed some to evaluate their plans. Often, the biblical ones denounced them for crying “ Peace, peace when there is no peace,” as this ingratiated them to their employers.

The 16 in the Bible were, for the most part, but not all, independent. God called them to speak for him when nobody else told the truth. Their inclusion in the Bible indicates they are genuine, unlike the many false prophets always present among us.

Prophets are not really fortunetellers or predictors of the future. They proclaim what God is up to in the present time,

Obviously, it is easy to fake a prophecy. You simply have to say that you have a message directly from God and that pretty much silences anybody wanting to enter into a discussion. Because charismatics are always a problem, the church has relied more on educated clergy and canonical scripture to check what God is doing in this world.

Today we speak about prophets in various ways. The Pentecostal churches still grant them an office. They are charismatics who speak in the vernacular rather than tongues. Other people regard prophets as those who predict the future. It is more biblical to see them as speaking for God’s truth to power. We certainly need this kind at the present time.

Tags: Biblical Prophets and Political Administration, Biblical Prophets Wrote Down Messages, Pentecostal Church Prophets, Prophets Are Charismatics Through Whom God Speaks, Prophets Speak Truth to Power