• “Prophets” in the ancient world were individuals said to possess an

intimate association with God or the gods, and conducted the

business of transmitting messages between the divine and earthly
realms.

• They spoke on behalf of God or the gods, and on occasion solicited

requests from the deity or brought to the deity requests of others.
• Major Prophets
• Isaiah.
• Jeremiah.
• Lamentations.
• Ezekiel.
• Daniel.
• The "major prophets" is a grouping of books in the Christian Old
Testament that does not occur in the Hebrew Bible.

• All of these books are traditionally regarded as authored by a prophet

such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel.
Who are the 12 prophets in the Old Testament?

• The Twelve, also called The Twelve Prophets, or The Minor Prophets,
book of the Hebrew Bible that contains the books of 12 minor
prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
 What is the main function of prophets?

• In religion, a prophet is an individual who is regarded as being in

contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that
being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering
messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people.
Who is a prophet according to the Bible?

• a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration. (in

the Old Testament) a person chosen to speak for God and to guide the
people of Israel:

• Moses was the greatest of Old Testament prophets. (often initial

capital letter) one of the Major or Minor Prophets.
Who was the first prophet in the Old Testament?

• Enoch
• Answer and Explanation: The first prophet mentioned in the Bible is
Enoch, who was seventh in line from Adam.

• Not a lot is said about Enoch in Genesis other than his lineage, but
what is said is telling.
Who are the 5 major prophets?

• The five books of The Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah,

Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel) cover a significant time span and
present a wide array of messages.

• Isaiah spoke to the nation of Judah about 150 years before their exile
into Babylonia and called them to be faithful to God.
Who is the last prophet in the Bible New Testament?

• Judaism considers Malachi to be the last of the biblical prophets, but

believes that the Messiah will be a prophet and that there will
possibly be other prophets alongside him.

• In Mandaeanism, John the Baptist is considered the last prophet.

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Prophet Isaiah

• Isaiah was a prophet living in the 8th century BC. He wrote one of the
largest prophetic books of the Bible (see this article for a summary of
its content).

• Additionally, he wrote some historical books that are lost (see 2

Chronicles 26:22, 32:32).

• Who was this prophet and what can we learn from his life story?
• Isaiah lived “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of
Judah” (Isaiah 1:1). In these days, the kingdom of Judah was threatened by
the rising power of the Assyrians and so they tried to form alliances with
other kingdoms (which God did not approve of and which did not turn out
well). It was a time of great political unrest.

• The Bible tells us that Isaiah was the son of Amoz, but that is about all the
personal information we know about this prophet.

• A Jewish tradition (that is not in the Bible) says that Isaiah’s father was the
brother of King Amaziah of Judah, which would imply that Isaiah was from
the royal family. Isaiah’s book does make clear that he was married and had
children with very strange, prophetic names (see Isaiah 7:3, 8:3).
• Isaiah’s calling as a prophet

• In Isaiah six, we read about a vision that Isaiah had. In this vision, he saw
the Lord in His splendor and holiness surrounded by seraphim. Isaiah was
deeply impressed and said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of
unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my
eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).

• But God appointed him as a prophet. He received a strange commission,

“Go, and say to this people, Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and
be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)
• Isaiah preached to the people, but God told him beforehand that they
would not hear, and that the people would be exiled and their land
become a desolate waste.

• Isaiah’s book is full of prophecies, not only about God’s coming

judgment but also about the future hope beyond the exile when God
would restore Israel’s hopeless situation. Besides preaching, Isaiah
also enacted God’s warnings.
• In Isaiah 20:2-4 for example, we read how he “walked naked and
barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and
Cush.”
Isaiah and the Judean kings

• Multiple times, God sent Isaiah as His messenger to the Judean kings. Sometimes his
messages were comforting and assuring, but he also announced God’s coming
judgment.

• 2 Kings 18-19 records how King Hezekiah was in a very difficult situation since the city
of Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrians. Besides crying out his despair before
God, the king sent some high officials to the prophet Isaiah and asked him to, “lift up
your prayer for the remnant that is left”. Isaiah assured the king that God “will make
[the Assyrian king] fall by the sword in his own land” (2 Kings 19:4-7, Isaiah 37:4-7).
And his words came true. King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah had a friendly
relationship since they both loved and feared God. But Isaiah did not hesitate to
speak the truth when King Hezekiah sinned (see 2 Kings 20:14-19, Isaiah 39:3-7).
Isaiah keeps trusting God
• The messages of the prophet Isaiah were not always pleasant. He had to announce that
God would destroy His beloved people for their continued sinfulness. But he also spoke
about a future Messiah and the restoration of Israel. Isaiah himself died long before any of
these future blessings came true.

• He trusted God completely even though he did not see the fulfillment of many of the
prophecies he gave. “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob,
and I will hope in Him” (Isaiah 3:17).

• The apostle John comments that, “Isaiah said these things [particular prophecies] because
he saw His [the Messiah’s] glory and spoke of Him” (John 12:41). Although Isaiah lived
hundreds of years before the Messiah was born, he “saw His glory” by faith and rejoiced in
God’s promises of restoration and blessing.
Some lessons for us
• Isaiah was a faithful servant of God, although his commission was not
easy! May his example inspire us to faithfully carry out the tasks God
wants us to do.
• Isaiah believed in God’s promises, even though did not see their
fulfillment. He “walked by faith, not by sight”.