modeled after the ministry of Moses In Deuteronomy

先知的職份: modeled after the ministry of Moses In Deuteronomy 18: 17 -18, the Lord promises to raise up a prophet like Moses for the people of Israel. Refers to the succession of prophets who will speak for God to each generation of Israelites (see 18: 2022)

Prophetic Office: modeled after the ministry of Moses establishes the tests for a true prophet in Deuteronomy 13: 1 -5 and 18: 2122: 1) must be an Israelite 2) must speak in the Lord’s name 3) must not encourage worship of false gods 4) must give prophecies which come to pass 5) must speak truth consistent with previous revelation

Prophetic Office: modeled after the ministry of Moses is recognized as the greatest of the OT prophets Deut 34: 10 states that there has been no prophet like Moses Leaves anticipation of the coming of this greater prophet (Jesus)

Pre-Classical Prophets 1050 -760 BC

Pre-Classical Prophets Israel’s desire to have a king results in the division of civil and spiritual authority in Israel. God establishes the office of prophet (with Samuel) as a means of keeping the power of the king under the authority of the word of the Lord.

Prophets and Kings in Israel GOD IS KING “We want a king like the nations” “Thus saith the Lord” KING Civil Authority PROPHET Spiritual Authority

Pre-Classical Prophets The pre-classical prophets minister primarily to the kings of Israel: * anointing kings chosen by God * confronting kings over disobedience to God’s will

Pre-Classical Prophets Samuel anoints Saul confronts Saul’s disobedience anoints David

Pre-Classical Prophets Nathan promises establishment of Davidic dynasty confronts David’s sin with Bathsheba indicates Solomon as the divinely appointed successor to David

Pre-Classical Prophets Elijah and Elisha confront Ahab and his house for Baal worship and unfaithfulness to the Lord

Classical Prophets 750 -430 BC

Classical Prophets The classical prophets appear on the scene in the 8 th century BC. Their ministry begins at the same time as Assyria is rising as a dominant power in the ancient Near East and the Lord is preparing to use Assyria (and later Babylon) to bring judgment against his sinful people

Classical Prophets n Ministry large is primarily to the nation at n Call the people to repent in the light of impending judgment and exile n Writing prophets whose oracles are written down

Classical Prophets While the oracles of the classical prophets were written down, it is important to remember that these prophets were primarily preachers rather than writers. Often, a scribe or disciples of the prophet were responsible for recording the prophet’s words for later generations

Classical Prophets Read the following two examples of how a prophet’s message came to be written down: Isaiah 8: 16 -17 Jeremiah 36: 1 -7, 15 -32

Classical Prophets The classical prophets are generally divided into three groups (based on the time of their ministry)

Classical Prophets The Assyrian Prophets to Israel Jonah (785 -775 BC) Amos (760 -750 BC) Hosea (755 -723 BC) to Judah Isaiah (740 -681 BC) Micah (735 -690 BC)

Classical Prophets The Babylonian Prophets Nahum (630 BC) Habakkuk (620 BC) Jeremiah (627 -580 BC) Daniel (605 -530 BC) Obadiah (600 BC? ) Ezekiel (593 -570 BC)

Classical Prophets The Post-Exilic (Persian) Prophets Haggai (520 BC) Zechariah (520 -518 BC) Joel (500 BC? —some date earlier) Malachi (430 BC)

In the Hebrew Bible… We have different arrangement and classifications for the OT Books. The Hebrew Bible is arranged in three sections: Law Prophets Writings

In the Hebrew Bible… The Prophets consist of: The Former Prophets—the historical books where the ministry of the prophets plays a key role in shaping Israel’s history The Latter Prophets—the books of the classical prophets that we have just discussed

In the Hebrew Bible… Daniel is not in the prophetic books but appears instead in the Writings, because while Daniel contains much prophetic material, Daniel himself did not hold the office of prophet

The End of Prophecy The Jews were in basic agreement that the office of prophet ceased with Malachi. 1 Maccabbees (one of the OT apocryphal books) laments the end of the prophetic office: So there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time that the prophets ceased to appear among them (1 Macc 9: 27)