Isaiah, "
because he saw his glory"Lesson 1 - The Prophets
TEXT
: Rom. 3:21-22; John 12:41These things said Isaiah, because he saw his glory; and he spake of him..
INTRODUCTION
:A. AS THE LAW BORE WITNESS TO THE NEW COVENANT SO DO THE PROPHETS.
1. The law in "types" as a schoolmaster ( Gal. 3:23:25 ).
2. The prophets in proclamations about Jesus ( Acts 3:18, 24 ).
B. WE WANT TO DEAL WITH SOME QUESTIONS CONCERNING PROPHETS.
I.
FACTS ABOUT THE PROPHETS.A. THERE ARE THREE BASIC DIVISIONS IN OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECIES
1. Historic - vindicates God's justice & proves his existence.
2. Jesus, the Messiah, identifying & describing his role.
3. Kingdom giving hope and revealing God's plan.
B. 16 PROPHETS WROTE 17 BOOKS.
1. Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
2. Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
3. This classification is based on the size of each book.
C. THE PROPHETS AND THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL.
1. 13 of the prophets were connected with the coming fall of their nation Israel. The last three wrote to Restored Israel.
2. The Northern Kingdom fell 734 – 721 BC. Joel, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Isaiah prophesied preceding and during this period.
3. The Southern Kingdom fell 606 –586 BC. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah prophesied preceding and during this time.
4. The Restoration ( 536-444 BC ) prophets were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
D. THE HISTORICAL CIRCUMSTANCE THAT OCCASIONED THE SENDING OF
PROPHETS WAS THE DIVISION OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH, AND THE ADOPTION OF IDOLATRY BY THE KINGS OF ISRAEL. IDOLATRY SPREAD INTO JUDAH SEDUCING THE MINDS OF GOD’S PEOPLE, SO THE PROPHETS
WERE SENT TO COUNTER THAT.
E. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROPHETS AND PRIESTS.
1. Priests were the descendents of Levi who inherited their job. Their work was to administer the sacrifices of the law as intermediaries for the people.
2. Prophets were individuals called forth by God when the occasion called for it. They were God’s spokesmen, and did not inherit their work.
F. THE MISSION AND MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS.
1. To combat the fall of the nation to idolatry, and failing that, to announce its fall.
2. There is the promise of a redeemed Remnant, and out of this remnant will arise a man who will bring All Nations to God – The Messiah.
3. The period of the prophets lasted about 400 years. Its central event was the destruction of Jerusalem, which happened about halfway through the period.
G. THE MIRACLE OF PROPHECY.
"Modern scholarship is inclined to minimize the Predictive Element in the Bible. But the predictive element is there. The most persistent thought in the entire Old Testament is this: Jehovah, the God of the Hebrew nation, eventually is going to become the God of All Nations. The successive generations of Old Testament writers pass from the general to the particular in describing the detail and manner of that accomplishment. And in the Prophets, though they themselves may not have understood the full import of some of their words, and thought some of their predictions are cloudily blurred with historic events of their own day, yet the whole Story of Christ and the Spread of Christianity over the earth is pictured beforehand, in outline and detail, in language that cannot refer to anything else in history." - Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook, page 282
II.
WHAT IS A PROPHET? ( Deut. 18:15-22 ).MY WORDS IN HIS MOUTH
.A. JESUS IS GOD'S PROPHET...GOD SPEAKS THRU HIM ( Heb. 1:1-2 ).
B. WHO WILL GO AND SPEAK FOR US ( Isa. 6:5-9 ).
III.
THE ESSENCE OF PROPHECY IS PREDICTIVE.A. OFTEN CONNECTED WITH A THREAT OR A PROMISE ( Isa. 1:18-20 ).
B. A SIGN OF WHAT IS COMING ( Isa. 7:14 ).
C. CONTRASTED WITH PREDICTIONS OF FALSE GODS ( Isa. 41:21-26 )
IV.
TESTS OR CRITERIA FOR PROPHECIES:A. THE EVENT MUST BE BEYOND THE POWER OF MAN TO SEE.
B. MUST DEMONSTRATE PROPHECY WAS MADE BEFORE THE EVENT.
C. PREDICTION MUST BE APPLICABLE TO THE EVENT.
D. PREDICTION MUST BE UNAMBIGUOUS AND UNMISTAKABLE – ENOUGH DETAILS TO EXCLUDE ACCIDENT OR GUESSWORK.
E. PREDICTION MUST HAVE A CLEAR AN UNMISTAKABLE FULFILLMENT.
V.
TESTS OF THE PROPHETS:A. Deut. 18:15-21. DOES THE PROPHECY COME TRUE?
B. Deut. 13:1-5; 1 John 4:1, 6. DOES HIS DOCTRINE CONFORM?
C. Jer. 23:9-32. DOES TEACHING LEAD TO IMMORALITY OR IDOLATRY?
VI.
WILL THERE ALWAYS BE PROPHETS? ( Zech. 13:1-6 ).A. "THE PROPHETS WILL PASS OUT OF THE LAND."
B. PROPHETIC KEYS FULFILLED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SET THE TIME.
1. 12:10 fulfilled in John 19:37.
2. 13:7 fulfilled in Mat. 26:3.
C. "FOUNTAIN OPENED FOR SIN AND UNCLEANNESS"( vs. 1 ).
CONCLUSION
:A. THE NEW TESTAMENT CONTAINS PROPHECIES FOR OUR DAY.
B. GOD'S WORD WAS IN THEIR PEN.
C. WHAT IS REQUIRED OF ME?