Major Themes of the Writing Prophets

Note: The following is a chapter from my unpublished original manuscript, “Great and Mighty Things,” which traces the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

The prophet, Joel, is believed to be the earliest of the writing prophets, prophesying as early as the eighth or ninth century BC. He predicted a future where God would chastise his chosen people, pour out His spirit on all flesh, restore the nation Israel, judge the Gentile nations, and bring about the promised blessings of a new kingdom.

Almost seventy-five years later, just before the Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom into captivity, the prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah began to speak. Amos and Hosea, prophets to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, prophesied the impending captivity. Yet, they also instilled hope by foreseeing the day when Israel would be restored to their land and God’s fellowship. Hosea even foresaw a national spiritual revival.

Prophet Isaiah, perhaps the most detailed in his prophecies of the promised Messiah and His Messianic Kingdom, foresaw the Messiah in two distinct roles: one as a suffering Messiah who would make the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind and the other as a king who would rule the world with righteousness and justice. He also foresaw the temporary rejection of the Messiah by the Jewish people due to their spiritual blindness and their eventual salvation. Isaiah’s contemporary, Micah, specifically foresaw their future deliverer and ruler coming from the city of Bethlehem.

About one hundred years later, the prophets Habakkuk and Zephaniah added two new dimensions to their messages. Habakkuk stated that “the just shall live by faith” in the coming kingdom. Zephaniah foresaw the day when Israel would be cleansed of her sins and return to a pure language. God would reverse the confusion of languages placed upon the people at the Tower of Babel.

A short time later, Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians, and three of the four Major prophets began to speak. Jeremiah foresaw the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the land becoming desolate and polluted. He also foresaw the day God would enter into a new covenant relationship with His chosen people. Unlike the Mosaic Covenant, the New Covenant would be unconditional, and God would write His laws upon the hearts of his chosen people.

When Ezekiel was in Babylonian captivity, God began to show him visions and speak through him. Through a vision, God took him back to Jerusalem to see the departing Shekinah glory of God as it departed from the temple. Then, in another vision, Ezekiel foresaw the dry bones of Israel come alive and walk as a united nation under a new king.

However, it was to Daniel, living in captivity in Babylon, to whom God revealed the age known as “The Times of the Gentiles.” He was also given a timetable for the coming of the Messiah. Daniel was told to close the book because the people did not understand many of the details of the last days. During the final days of Jesus’ ministry, He confirmed the prophecy of Daniel and gave us more details of the “End Times.” Years later, under the direction of the risen Christ, the Apostle John began writing where Daniel left off and wrote “The Revelation,” the only book of prophecy in the New Testament.

After about seventy years in Babylonian captivity, a small remnant returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple and city walls. During this time, the last three Old Testament prophets spoke.

Haggai foresaw a vision of a future temple that would be far more glorious than Solomon’s Temple. He also closes with a vision of the final overthrow of the Gentile world power.

Zechariah, a contemporary of Haggai, was given many details of the coming of the promised Messiah. Many of Zechariah’s prophecies were fulfilled with the first coming of Christ; however, many remain unfulfilled. Zechariah foresaw the final battle of Jerusalem when the Gentile nations would march against God’s chosen nation. He foresaw the promised Messiah defending the city and God’s Holy Spirit being poured out on His chosen people. The chosen nation will accept their Messiah and mourn for him then. Zechariah was shown the Messianic Kingdom being established on earth in his last vision.

Malachi was the last prophet to speak, and he foresaw individual Jews being judged. Many hardened their hearts and refused God’s directive will over their lives. Therefore, God will reject them, and they will not enter the promised kingdom of justice and righteousness.

We sometimes find it challenging to understand the prophets’ message because of the fragmentation of Scripture. The fragments seem unrelated and incomplete, like the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle. Yet, like the jigsaw puzzle, the fragments begin to form a picture with a lot of patience and study. That picture the prophets painted is the key to our understanding of God’s absolute sovereignty and His program for the ages.The purpose of this book is to help us understand the incomplete picture that the anointed Old Testament Prophets painted.  The prophet’s primary messages included condemnation, judgment, chastisement, redemption, restoration, and promises.

When we place the pieces of the Old Testament together, we will find that some still need to be added. Later, we will find many pieces that must be added when studying the New Testament. However, without the picture given to us by the Old Testament prophets, it would be impossible to put the New Testament pieces in place. The great Bible teacher, the late Dr.  J. Vernon McGee, used to say, “The Revelation is like a train station where all the trunk lines come together.” All “End Times” roads of prophecy terminate in the book of Revelation.

We must also understand that most prophets did not foresee the two advents of their Messiah with the Church age placed in between. In the first advent, He is presented as a suffering Messiah paying the sin debt for all humanity. In the second advent, He is presented as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, ruling forever with justice and righteousness. Most of the prophets foresaw details of what they thought was one vision. It appeared the same way multiple mountain ranges seem to us as we view them from a far distance. We do not see the hidden valleys – only the mountains. The tremendous unseen valley called the “Church Age” was a mystery hidden from view in the Old Testament.

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