The Prophets

© John Stevenson, 2009

PentateuchPentateuchGenesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

Numbers, Deuteronomy

Historical Historical BooksBooks

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles,

Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

Poetic Poetic BooksBooks

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

Prophetic Prophetic BooksBooks

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel,

Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,

Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

What is a Prophet?What is a Prophet?• They functioned as Preachers

• They functioned as Predictors

• Prophet versus Priest

IsaiahIsaiah

The Old Testament Gospel

The Bible Isaiah

Old Testament: Old Testament: 39 Books39 BooksNew Testament: 27 BooksNew Testament: 27 Books

Judgment: 39 ChaptersJudgment: 39 ChaptersComfort: Comfort: 27 Chapters27 Chapters

Total Books:Total Books: 66 Books66 Books Total: Total: 66 Chapters66 Chapters

Chapters 1-35

Judgments in the Present

Chapters 36-39 Chapters 40-66

Historical Interlude

Glory in the Future

The Judgment of GodThe Comfort of

God

Messiah the JudgeMessiah the

Servant

God’s Government

A throne (6:1)

God’s Grace

A lamb (53:6)

Northern Kingdom Ends !

UzziahJotham

Ahaz Hezekiah Manassah

Nahum

740 716735 697 687

Ministry of Isaiah

Ministry of Micah

Ministry of Hosea

Amos

The World of Isaiah’s Day

Isaiah 1A Microcosm of the Entire Book of

Isaiah

Isaiah 1:1 Genesis 1:1 Deuteronomy 32:1

Listen, Oheavens, andhear, O earth

In the beginning Godcreated the heavensand the earth

Give ear, O heavens, and letme speak; and let the earthhear the words of my mouth

Isaiah 1:2-3Isaiah 1:2-32 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth;

For the LORD speaks,

“Sons I have reared and brought up,

But they have revolted against Me.

3 An ox knows its owner,

And a donkey its master's manger,

But Israel does not know,

My people do not understand.”

Isaiah 1:4Isaiah 1:4Alas, sinful nation,

People weighed down with iniquity,

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who act corruptly!

They have abandoned the Lord,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away from Him.

Literally “Seed of Evil Ones.”

Isaiah 1:10Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of the LORD,

You rulers of Sodom;

Give ear to the instruction of our God,

You people of Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:11Isaiah 1:11"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD.

"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams,

And the fat of fed cattle.

And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.

Isaiah 1:21Isaiah 1:21How the faithful city has become a harlot,

She who was full of justice!

Righteousness once lodged in her,

But now murderers.

Isaiah 1:26-27Isaiah 1:26-2726 Then I will restore your judges as at the first,

And your counselors as at the beginning;

After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city."

27 Zion will be redeemed with justice

And her repentant ones with righteousness.

Isaiah 6:1Isaiah 6:1In the year of King Uzziah’s

death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

Isaiah 6:2-4Isaiah 6:2-4Seraphim stood above Him, each

having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

Isaiah 6:5Isaiah 6:5Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am

ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Isaiah 6:6-7Isaiah 6:6-7Then one of the seraphim flew to

me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 And he touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.”

Child MotifChild Motif• Shear-jashub (Isaiah 7:3)

• Immanu-el (Isaiah 7:14; 8:8)

• Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:3)

• Isaiah’s children (Isaiah 8:18)

• The Royal Child (Isaiah 9:6-7).

TIU BI 110E Instruction Manual

JeremiahJeremiahThe Weeping Prophet

IsaiahSaw the Northern Kingdom of Israel

taken into Captivity at the hands of Assyria

JeremiahSaw the Southern Kingdom of Judah

taken into Captivity at the hands of Babylon

Foretold of the judgments that would

come in the future

Explained the reasons for the judgments

Judah was experiencing

Looks primarily to the future

Looks primarily to the present

Isaiah JeremiahBold and fearless Gentle and

compassionate

Was married to a prophetess and had

children with prophetic names

Was commanded not to take a wife or have

any children

Jerusalem

Carchemish

BabylonNebuchadnezzar

PharaohNeco

Jerusalem

Megiddo

PharaohNeco

(Josiah)

Josiah dies at Megiddo and is replaced by his son Jehoahaz

Chapter 1

Prologue

Chapters 2-20Chapters

21-45Chapters

46-51Chapter

52

From Josiah to the first year of

Nebuchadnezzar

From Josiah’s

sons to the Captivity

Oracles to the

Nations

Epilogue

Judgment against Judah Nations

Call of Jeremiah

Fall of Jerusalem

Call of Jeremiah (1)Call of Jeremiah (1)

Prophecies of Judah & Jerusalem (2-35)Prophecies of Judah & Jerusalem (2-35)

Historical Historical NarrativeNarrative

Prior to the fall of Jerusalem (36-38)Prior to the fall of Jerusalem (36-38)

The fall of Jerusalem (39)The fall of Jerusalem (39)

After the fall of Jerusalem (40-45)After the fall of Jerusalem (40-45)

Prophecies of other nations (46-51)Prophecies of other nations (46-51)

Fall of Jerusalem (52)Fall of Jerusalem (52)

Jeremiah 31:31-32Jeremiah 31:31-32“Behold, days are coming,”

declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:33Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the covenant which I

will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Jeremiah 31:34Jeremiah 31:34And they shall not teach again,

each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Old Old CovenantCovenant

Let us go up to the house of the

Lord

New New CovenantCovenant

Go unto all the world and make disciples of the

nations

Jerusalem Church

LamentationsLamentations

The Song of Sorrow

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

3rd person plural (“they”)

1st person singular (“I”)

1st person plural (“we”)

Each verse begins with an acrostic

Each line begins with an acrostic

Each verse begins with an acrostic

No acrostic

Writer addresses himself to his readers Writer prays to God

LamentationsLamentations

Lamentations 3:40-42Lamentations 3:40-42Let us examine and probe our ways,

And let us return to the LORD.

We lift up our heart and hands

Toward God in heaven;

We have transgressed and rebelled, Thou hast not pardoned.

Lessons from LamentationsLessons from Lamentations

• God is Sovereign over the affairs of God is Sovereign over the affairs of

menmen

• Sin brings forth tragic consequencesSin brings forth tragic consequences

• There is hope in the darknessThere is hope in the darkness

EzekielEzekiel

The Prophet-Priest

25 - 32 33 - 48

• Ezekiel’s call (1-2)• Judgment (3-7)• Temple (8-11) • Judgment (12-14)• Pictures (15-19)• Judgment (20-23)• Pictures (24)

• Amon• Moab• Edom• Philistia• Tyre• Sidon• Egypt

• Watchman (33)

• Restoration (34-37)

• Gog & Magog (38-39)

• New Temple (40-48)

Oracles against Judah

Oracles against Nations

Oracles of Salvation

1 - 24

Amos

620 610 600 590 580 570 560

Josiah

Jehoahaz

Jeh

oiak

im

Jehoiachin

Zedekiah

Obadiah?

Jeremiah

Daniel

EzekielHabakkuk

Joel?Jerusalem & Temple Destroyed

Fall ofNineveh

Babylonian Captivity

Ezekiel’s Chariot VisionEzekiel’s Chariot Vision

• Something like glowing metal in Something like glowing metal in

the midst of the fire (1:4).the midst of the fire (1:4).

• Four living beingsFour living beings

• Wheels within wheelsWheels within wheels

1 Chronicles 28:181 Chronicles 28:18...the altar of incense refined

gold by weight; and gold for the model of the chariot, even the cherubim, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD

Daniel 7:9

I kept looking Until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire

Meaning of the VisionMeaning of the Vision

• God is the God over all life, whether wild animals or domesticated animals or birds of men

• The wheels are a picture of the mighty power of God.

And each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle (Ezekiel 10:14).

The Glory of the LordThe Glory of the Lord• Ezekiel sees the glory of the

presence of the Lord within His temple (8:4).

• The glory of God is seen at the doorway to the temple (9:3).

• It next leaves the doorway and moves out to the Eastern Gate (10:18)

The Glory of the LordThe Glory of the Lord• It moves completely out of the

city of Jerusalem: And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood over the mountain which is east of the city (Ezekiel 11:23).

Ezekiel’s Vision John’s RevelationEzekiel’s Vision John’s Revelation

A Temple within the City The New Jerusalem

• Ezekiel is taken in this vision to a very high mountain (40:2)

• John is carried in the Spirit to a great and high mountain (21:10)

• A man uses a rod to measure the dimensions of the temple (40:5-ff)

• An angel measures the city with a rod (21:15-17)

• The entire temple area is a perfect square (42:15-20)

• The entire city is a perfect cube (21:16)

Ezekiel’s Vision John’s RevelationEzekiel’s Vision John’s Revelation

A Temple within the City The New Jerusalem

• The presence of the glory of the Lord enters the temple (43:3-4)

• No need of sun or moon because the Lord illumines His city (22:5)

• No foreigner is admitted into the temple (44:9)

• Nothing unclean and no unbeliever is allowed into the city (21:8, 27)

• A river of water flows out of the temple (47:1)

• A river of the water of life comes from the throne of God (22:1)

Ezekiel’s Vision John’s RevelationEzekiel’s Vision John’s Revelation

A Temple within the City The New Jerusalem

• There are a total of 12 gates around the city (48:30-34)

• There are 12 gates to the city (21:21)

• The name of the city shall be: “The Lord is there” (48:35).

• The throne of God shall be there (22:3)

Ezekiel 43:4-5 And the glory of the LORD

came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. 5 And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

DanielDanielStatesman-Prophet

1:1 8:1

Written in the Third PersonWritten in the First

Person

Seven Historical Seven Historical NarrativesNarratives

Four Prophetic Four Prophetic VisionsVisions

Written in Aramaic

Written in HebrewHebrew

Prophetic History relating to the Gentiles

Prophetic History relating to the Jews

Prologue

Dream of the image of the four kingdoms (2)

Rescue of Daniel’s friends from the fiery furnace (3)

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the tree Daniel’s interpretation Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation (4)

Belshazzar’s feast and handwriting on wall Daniel’s interpretation Belshazzar’s death (5)

Rescue of Daniel from the lion’s den (6)

Night vision of four beasts (7)

Daniel 2Daniel 2Vision of a great

statue

Daniel 7Daniel 7Meaning

Kings & Kingdoms

Vision of beasts from the sea

Head of fine gold Babylon Lion with wingsBreast & arms of

silverMedes &

PersiaBear with three ribs in its teeth

Belly & thighs of bronze

Greek Empire

Leopard with 4 wings & 4 heads

Legs of iron & clay; ten toes

Antiochus?

Rome?

Beast with iron teeth & ten horns

Daniel 2Daniel 2 Daniel 7Daniel 7MeaningAll previous kingdoms

destroyed by the stone cut without

hands

Coming of the Lord and His Kingdom

Ancient of Days takes his seat and passes judgment

A new kingdom that will never be destroyed (2:44)

His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom (7:27)

Daniel 7Dream comes in the

first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon

Daniel 8Vision given in the third

year of the reign of Belshazzar the king

Successive beasts rise up out of the ocean

• Babylon• Medes & Persia• Greece• Other Kingdom

A ram standing by a canal is attacked by a goat coming from the

west • Medes & Persia• Greece

Terrible beast has ten horns

Large horn broken; gives way to ten horns

Out comes a smallhorn that…

Out comes a smallhorn that…

Daniel 7 Daniel 8

Pulls up three previous horns

Utters great boasts

Alterations in times and law

Wages war against saints and wins against them

Grows exceedingly

Magnifies itself against heaven

Removes regular sacrifice & throws down the temple

Flings truth to the ground

Daniel 7 Daniel 8Saints are given into his hand for a time,

times, and half a time

Endures for 2300 mornings and evenings

Then sovereignty, dominion, and

greatness are given to the saints of the Most

High

Then the holy place will be properly restored

• Alexander the Great

• “To the strongest”

Antiochus EpiphanesAntiochus Epiphanes• Comes on the heels of Alexander’s Comes on the heels of Alexander’s

generalsgenerals

• Magnifies itself against the Jews and Magnifies itself against the Jews and against their Godagainst their God

• He puts a stop to the sacrificial system He puts a stop to the sacrificial system and makes alterations to the Lawand makes alterations to the Law

• He attempts to overturn the truth of the He attempts to overturn the truth of the ScripturesScriptures

• He has power over the nation of IsraelHe has power over the nation of Israel

• His sway over the Temple endures for His sway over the Temple endures for approximately 3 and a half years (2300 approximately 3 and a half years (2300 mornings and evenings).mornings and evenings).

• Then the holy place is ultimately properly Then the holy place is ultimately properly restoredrestored

Antiochus EpiphanesAntiochus Epiphanes

Daniel 11:31Daniel 11:31And forces from him will arise,

desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they

will set up the abomination of desolation.

Daniel 12:1Daniel 12:1Now at that time Michael, the great

prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.

Daniel 12:2Daniel 12:2And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

““A time of distress…”A time of distress…”

• Abomination of Desolation brought by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C.

• Destruction of the Temple brought by Titus in A.D. 70

• The Final Judgment

Daniel 12:4Daniel 12:4But as for you, Daniel, conceal

these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and

forth, and knowledge will increase.

Excel Instructor & Course Excel Instructor & Course EvaluationEvaluation

Course: Old Testament Survey

Instructor: Dr. John Stevenson