When was the last time you cracked open the Old Testament book of Nahum? (Maybe newer Bible students are thinking “Nay-whom?”) What about Jeremiah or Ezekiel, or good ol’ Obadiah? If you’ve used the same Bible for a while, do some sections show more wear from extra use? In the Bible I’ve used for a number of years, the New Testament shows more wear than the Old. This is normal because there are parts of the Bible that we frequent more than others. Even Jesus and the Apostles quoted from some Old Testament books more than others, as recorded in the New Testament.
For many of us, some of the prophetic books might be ones we don’t read so often. This might not be true for everyone, but for many, books like Proverbs, the gospels, and many of the New Testament epistles are naturally easier to read, understand, and take personal lessons from. This is especially true in comparison to writings by some of the prophets, such as Nahum, Obadiah, and Habakkuk.
But, of course, Jesus said we should live by every word of God. So, this article will give a basic overview of the Prophets, specifically what are called the Major and Minor Prophets. It will give some basic background information and context, and then explain four major themes found in these books.
The Major Prophets consist of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and the Minor Prophets, or “The Twelve,” are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. God inspired men to write these 15 hard-hitting and inspiring books that have been read by generations for more than 2,500 years.
Why Are the Prophets Important?
These books make up a large portion of the Bible, with the Major Prophets comprising about 15 percent of the Bible. The individual books in the Major Prophets include what are typically the second-, third-, and fourth-longest books in our Bibles, after the Psalms. If we add the Minor Prophets to the Major, we have almost 20 percent, or a fifth of the Bible. That’s quite a chunk!
Another reason the Prophets are important is that many of God’s servants in the Old Testament were prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, and the men who wrote the books we’re discussing in this article. God used these men not only to write some of the Holy Scriptures, but also as part of the foundation of His plan: “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19–20).
The prophets’ writings also contain many lessons, prophecies, and parallels relevant for individuals and nations today, especially the Israelite nations.
Where Are the Prophets in History?
A prophet is a person called by God in a special way and given a mission to a specific person, group of people, or nation. God often gave prophets visions and other revelations, and the ability to perform miracles and dramatic signs. They had a very close relationship with God and spoke directly on God’s behalf, as Jeremiah 1:9 says: “Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.’”
As with much of the Bible, the context of history is very important to fully understand the prophets’ messages, so the following paragraphs will briefly give some historical context. Other context is also important, such as to whom the prophets were writing.
After leaving Egypt and wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, Israel entered the Promised Land around 1400 BC. After that, the period of the judges lasted for a few centuries, followed by the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, who reigned from approximately 1050 to 930 BC. Israel largely reached its peak during Solomon’s reign, and then began declining due to increasing sins. The nation of Israel then split in about 930 BC into the Northern Kingdom (called Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (called Judah).
The Major and Minor Prophets began coming on the scene during Israel’s and Judah’s spiritual decline, about 100 to 200 years after the kingdom split. Broadly speaking, they wrote their books over a period of about four centuries: 800 to 400 BC. This relatively short period of time saw many prophets preach, warn, and write powerfully. The people in Israel and Judah were growing more and more sinful, so God was sending them many warnings to turn from their sinful ways.
The following lists the approximate centuries in which each of these prophets lived:
- 850–750 BC: Joel
- 800–700 BC: Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Amos
- 750–650 BC: Isaiah
- 700–600 BC: Nahum
- 650–550 BC: Jeremiah, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah
- 625–525 BC: Ezekiel
- 575–475 BC: Haggai, Zechariah
- 500–400 BC: Malachi
The dates for Joel, Obadiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk are less certain than the others because their writings don’t contain clear internal dating markers.
Along with knowing the general time frame, keeping some of the major contemporary events in mind is also helpful. For instance, to understand the twentieth century, it is vital to know about events such as World Wars I (1914–1918) and II (1939–1945), the formation of the state of Israel in 1948, the reunification of Germany in 1990, and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Many world-changing events occurred during the prophets’ lives. In 721 BC, the Assyrian Empire conquered Israel’s capital, Samaria, and began deporting the Israelites northward. This was the end of the ancient nation of Israel biblically and historically, with the ten northern tribes “lost” until the “last days.” In 612 BC, the Assyrian Empire fell when its capital, Nineveh, was conquered by a group of peoples that included Babylonians, Persians, Medes, and Scythians.
Then came the time known as the “Babylonian Exile,” largely between 604 and 539 BC, a period when many Jews were exiled to Babylon in stages. One of the major events of this period occurred in 586 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire conquered Judah, destroying Jerusalem. Solomon’s magnificent temple (the “First Temple”), built around 950 BC, was burned at this time. In 539 BC, the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persian Empire led by Cyrus the Great. This begins the period called “post-exilic,” the time after the Jews’ exile in Babylon. In 516 BC, the Second Temple was completed by the Jews after they returned from exile in Babylon.
Several major empires played a prominent role during these times. The Assyrian Empire dominated from 912 to 612 BC. The Babylonian Empire (the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of Daniel 2) reigned from 625 to 539 BC, and then the Medo-Persian Empire took center stage from 558 to 330 BC. To ponder the magnitude of these historical events during the lives of the prophets, consider how utterly monumental the fall of Berlin, Beijing, Moscow, or Washington D.C. would be today. Please see our booklets The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy and The Middle East in Prophecy, which cover these dates and events in detail.
Often, God inspired the prophets to issue warnings and predictions leading up to the fall of the prominent cities and nations of their day. These dates, events, and overall historical background are helpful when reading the Prophets because the messages of the prophets are communicated in the context of real people, events, cities, dates, and empires.
Now that we have in mind some basic information and historical context, let’s examine four major themes in the Prophets. These aren’t the only themes, but they are some of the most prominent.
First Theme: God Is in Charge
Mr. Richard Ames often reminds us that one of life’s most fundamental truths can be simply stated as “God reigns supreme.” This means that God is in total control of everything from electrons to galaxies—including nations and their leaders, weather, and individual lives—and from the newest newborn to the most powerful leader on earth.
Many examples throughout the Prophets make this point strongly. Sometimes, God states it directly, as when we read, “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’” (Isaiah 46:9–10).
Elsewhere, God shows how He has used nations and their leaders: “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hand is My indignation…. Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood!” (Isaiah 10:5, 15). God used Assyria as a tool, just as a craftsman would use an axe or a saw. Similarly, God uses nations today, even the most powerful ones, as He sculpts the masterpiece that is His ultimate plan for every human being.
And God hasn’t just used nations and empires to guide history; He often leads individuals very closely, as with kings Cyrus of Persia (Isaiah 45:1) and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Jeremiah 25:9), as well as the prophets Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:5), Hosea (Hosea 1:1–9), and Jonah (Jonah 1:1–2).
Second Theme: God Abhors Sin
God abhors sin—which, if it is not repented of, brings His wrath and judgment. This is a theme throughout the Bible, and one that the prophets communicated forcefully and frequently. Page after page of the prophets’ writings explains God’s great displeasure at sin—often by His people in Israel and Judah, but sometimes by nations like Assyria (in Nahum and Jonah) and Edom (in Obadiah)—and explains the punishment that would come if the people didn’t repent.
Notice these references to iniquity, wickedness, evil, abominations, and sin: “Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed, who establishes a city by iniquity” (Habakkuk 2:12). “You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way, in the multitude of your mighty men” (Hosea 10:13). “O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?” (Jeremiah 4:14). “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die” (Ezekiel 18:24).
As the prophets warn against sin, they also describe the repercussions of failing to repent. Amos 3:13–15 is one example of the prophets’ descriptions of God’s coming punishment for sins: “‘Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,’ says the Lord God, the God of hosts, “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions… I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end,’ says the Lord.”
Nahum 3:3–7 is part of God’s message to the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, explaining that one of the dominant empires at that time would soon be utterly destroyed because of the people’s sins:
There is a multitude of slain, a great number of bodies, countless corpses—they stumble over the corpses—because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, the mistress of sorceries, who sells nations through her harlotries, and families through her sorceries. “Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts; “I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle. It shall come to pass that all who look upon you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste!’”
As these examples show, the prophets cried out to many peoples of their day to repent of their wickedness, lest the consequences of their sins be severe. This is one of the loudest and most vital messages in the Prophets that nations today, especially modern Israelite nations, should pore over and learn from—because they are following the same path.
Third Theme: God Desires Obedience
The prophets described the main problem as sin, and then gave the main solution: repentance and ongoing obedience to God.
Notice one of God’s messages through the prophet Ezekiel: “I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways…. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.… I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:30; 33:11).
Another example was given by the prophet Jonah, called by God to preach a powerful message of repentance to Nineveh—which, as previously mentioned, was the capital city of perhaps the most powerful empire on earth at the time. It would have been like asking someone to go preach repentance to Berlin in 1940!
God said to Jonah, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me” (Jonah 1:2). Amazingly, this is one of the few examples of an entire city responding to a prophet’s warning with sincere repentance, thereby avoiding God’s wrath. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.... Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it” (Jonah 3:5, 10).
The story doesn’t remain so positive for Nineveh and Assyria, though; the repentance didn’t last, and several decades later, Nahum predicted Nineveh’s destruction and Assyria’s fall. Assyria fell in 612 BC.
Israel and Judah failed to respond to repeated messages of warning and repentance that God sent through His prophets. “Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it on a scroll… that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord; who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits’” (Isaiah 30:8–10). Because Israel and Judah didn’t heed the prophets’ messages, they endured God’s punishment and were conquered by their enemies, never fully reaching the potential and outpouring of blessings that He would have granted if they had sincerely obeyed Him (Deuteronomy 28:1–14).
Modern Israelite nations are sadly making the same sinful mistakes, and the results will be even worse than what befell ancient Israel (Jeremiah 30:7).
Fourth Theme: There is Magnificent Hope
The Prophets contain a lot of “bad news.” Much of their messages warned people—especially Israel and Judah—of very real and severe consequences if they continued down a sinful path. But, within the prophets’ many dire warnings, they also vividly prophesied about a magnificent and glorious hope that would come at various steps in God’s plan, especially at the end. Eerdmans’ Handbook to the Bible says that a key element of the prophets’ messages was a “blend of judgement and hope” (p. 373). Multiple articles could cover the various aspects of hope the Prophets described, but here are a few.
The prophets prophesied about the magnificent hope of the coming of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. The Old Testament contains more than 300 prophecies about His coming, and many of those prophecies are found in the Prophets. At the time when the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth wouldn’t be born for several hundred years; however, that Being was alive at the time of the prophets and was the One who inspired them to write about His future as a human being (cf. Luke 24:27; John 1:1–3, 14; 5:46; 8:58).
Isaiah prophesied about 700 years before Jesus’ birth that He would be born of a virgin, called Immanuel (“God with us”), live in Galilee, bring light to the world, suffer greatly, take on sicknesses to allow for our healing, and die for the sins of many (Isaiah 7:14; 9:1–2; 53:1–12). About 200 years after Isaiah, the Logos inspired the prophet Zechariah to predict that He would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, enter Jerusalem on a donkey, and have His side pierced (Zechariah 11:12–13; 9:9; 12:10). Scores of other examples could be mentioned, such as prophecies about Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, by Micah (Micah 5:2); His sojourn in Egypt, by Hosea (Hosea 11:1); and Jonah’s foreshadowing of His three days and three nights in the tomb (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:39–40).
A second aspect of hope the prophets foresaw was the glorious restoration that will take place when Jesus Christ establishes the Kingdom of God to reign on earth during what we refer to as “the Millennium.” As you may have noticed, we often read many passages from the Prophets during the Feast of Tabernacles, such as Micah’s description of all nations going up to be taught by God, turning their weapons into useful tools, and sitting under their own fig tree (Micah 4:1–4). Other prominent prophecies about the Millennium are in Zechariah 14:16–19 and Isaiah 2:2–4; 35:1–10.
Isaiah was inspired to record beautiful and vivid descriptions of the great restoration that will occur on earth when Christ establishes the Kingdom of God, with Isaiah 9:6–7 being one of the most inspiring:
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Several centuries later, Jesus Christ would continue the marvelous message of hope, which He preached in city after city, declaring passionately the coming of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33; Mark 1:14; Luke 4:43). Interestingly, Isaiah, Malachi, and others also prophesied that Christ would come as a Messenger of good news (Isaiah 61:1; Malachi 3:1).
Though there are others, we’ll focus on just one more aspect of hope the prophets “saw” far in advance as God inspired them—the resurrection from the dead and eternal life. In the July–August 2021 Living Church News article “Life After Death: What Does the Old Testament Teach?,” Mr. Gerald Weston wrote, “And there are more direct proofs that the Old Testament scriptures offer hope of eternal life. All three major prophets [referring to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel] attest to this fact.”
Isaiah prophesied that God would one day “swallow up death forever” (Isaiah 25:8). Jeremiah described that King David will be resurrected (Jeremiah 30:9). Ezekiel was inspired to record his breathtaking glimpse of the second resurrection, watching as dry bones in a large valley joined back together and were given flesh, their physical lungs taking in breath for the first time in centuries or even millennia. This pictured the time after the Millennium when most of mankind will be raised to physical life and given the opportunity to obtain eternal life (Ezekiel 37:1–14). Mr. Weston’s article also explains the prophet Malachi describing the Book of Life, calling it a “book of remembrance” containing the names of those who obtain the gift and blessing of living forever in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 20:12, 15; 21:27). Again, these are just a few examples from the prophets’ God-inspired writings that paint a splendid illustration of the hope that God allowed the prophets to glimpse far in advance, and which they wrote down more than two millennia ago.
In the period of approximately 800 to 400 BC, God inspired 15 men to preach, prophesy, and write vital messages not just for those living at those times, but also for many others who would come and go over the following millennia. In our current sliver of history, you and I can be inspired by, learn from, and nourish a soul-anchoring hope from the prophets’ messages. These ancient writings form about a fifth of the Bible, containing vital warnings, prophecies, lessons, and hope—more relevant than ever for individuals and nations as time advances further toward the end of the age.
So, as a friendly reminder, don’t forget to occasionally dust off Isaiah, Haggai, Micah, Hosea, and the rest of the Major and Minor Prophets to read and learn from the inspired words recorded by God’s chosen messengers.