Prophetic Books - records the lives and messages of God’s courageous messengers Isaiah was sent primarily to Judah,

marily to Judah, although his message concerns the

to Israel and Judah northern kingdom of Israel as well. He lived through the awful days of the civil
war between Israel and Judah in 734 - 732BC.
The Prophets - Called by God to speak His message
Isaiah is considered by some to be the greatest of all Old Testament
MAJOR PROPHETS prophets, his disciples continued to transmit his teachings long after he died.
Isaiah also looked beyond his own time to the coming exile of Judah and the
 Isaiah deliverance that God would provide. Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah
 Jeremiah often, which is not surprising, considering that salvation is a central theme in
 Ezekiel the book of Isaiah. Isaiah’s book is the first of the Major Prophets, and the
 Daniel longest of all the Prophets.
MINOR PROPHETS Jeremiah
 Hosea  son of Hilkiah
 Joel  During his time, the Babylonian empire had taken control of Jerusalem
 Amos  Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem that they would be punished
 Obadiah harshly for their sins. He pleaded with the people to turn away from sin
 Jonah and to turn back to God, but to little avail.
 Micah
 Nahum Jeremiah (Jeremy)
 Habakkuk Jeremiah lived about 2600 years ago. He was the son of Hilkiah and lived in
 Zephaniah the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin in Judah.
 Haggai Jeremiah, according to the Bible book that bears his name, preached from about
 Zechariah 628 BC to 586 BC in Jerusalem. During that time, the Babylonian Empire had taken
 Malachi control of Jerusalem. The Babylonians took Jews as captives to Babylon as early as
605 BC and 597 BC. Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC..
ISIAH

 son of Amoz
 means “the Lord has saved”
 Served in Judah
 attacks the situation before the exile
 Sent primarily to Judah, although his message concerns the northern
kingdom of Israel as well. He lived through the awful days of the civil war
between Israel and Judah.
 Salvation is a central theme of the prophet Isaiah
Isaiah (sometimes spelled as: Esaias)
Isaiah, the son of Amoz, was married and had two children. He was called in the
year King Uzziah died (740 BC). His ministry was a long one, during the reign of four
kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Isaiah, means "Yah is salvation".
Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem that they would be punished
harshly for their sins. He pleaded with the people to turn away from sin and to turn
back to God, but to little avail. In return, Jeremiah was targeted with scorn
and persecution.
When the people of Jerusalem were being deported, Jeremiah was given a
choice of either staying in Judah or going to Babylon. He chose to stay in Judah, but
was compelled later to flee to Egypt after a group of fanatics
killed the Babylonian who had been appointed governor of Judah. It is
believed that Jeremiah died in Egypt. The book of Jeremiah is the second of the four
Major Prophets.
OFTEN USED PICTURES AND DRAMATIC ACTIONS
Jer. 1 - The almond branch and the boiling pot
Jer. 18 - The potter at work
Jer. 24 - Good figs and bad figs
Jer 27-28 - The wooden and iron yokes
Ezekiel
 was called as prophet to a group of exiles living in Babylonia
 means "God strengthens."
Ezekiel
Ezekiel lived about 2600 years ago, during the time that the Babylonian
Empire had subdued the nation of Judah and had destroyed Jerusalem and the
Temple. He was the son of Buzi, a Zadokite priest. He received his call as a prophet
during the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. Ezekiel's ministry lasted about
22 years.
Ezekiel's prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem caused friction
among the Jews who were with him in Babylon. But, when his prophecies came
true, people began to listen to him more intently. Ezekiel's wife died during the day
that the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem. This siege
began in about 586 BC, after Ezekiel and others had been taken as captives to
Babylon. The siege ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple in
Jerusalem.
Ezekiel was very much a shepherd and a watchman for the nation of Israel.
As a shepherd, he protected the people. And as a watchman, he warned of
dangers ahead.Ezekiel's name means "God strengthens." The Bible's book of Ezekiel
is thethird of the four Major Prophets.
Ezekiel's prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem caused friction
among the Jews who were with him in Babylon. But, when his prophecies came
true, people began to listen to him more intently.
Daniel
 Daniel means "God is my judge."
 Found to be smarter than all of the skilled magicians and wise astrologers
in Babylon
 Stayed true to God and prayed many times a day.
 He refused to bow to idols, and would not eat the food or drink the wine
furnished by the King.
The Bible's book of Daniel deals with many historical events of that era. His
book also contains prophecies concerning the future. Daniel saw and described
the great world empires that were to come. He also saw the power of God and
of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) who was to come and undo the evil of this world.
The book of Daniel is divided into two parts. The first part is a collection of
narratives about Daniel and his friends (Chapters 1 - 6). The second part is a
collection of apocalyptic visions foreseeing the course of world history
(Chapters 7 - 12) After a three-year training period in Babylon, Daniel was found
to be smarter than all of the skilled magicians and wise astrologers in Babylon, and
was appointed as a counselor to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel stayed true to God and prayed three times a day. He refused to bow to
idols, and would not eat the food or drink the wine furnished by the King. He ate
only vegetables and drank water. Through his faithfulness, God gave him the power
to interpret dreams, see into the future, and God gave him a long life. The name
Daniel means "God is my judge." His book is the fourth book of the four Major
Prophets.
HOSEA
 Was chosen by God to be a example to the people of Israel. His wife was
unfaithful, but just like God he never stopped loving her and always looked
for her whenever she left her
 Hosea parallels his own tragic marriage to his unfaithful wife Gomer to that
of the covenant between God and Israel. Israel has been unfaithful through
idolatry and oppression of the poor
Hosea is the first of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve.
The Book of Hosea was written in the Northern Kingdom in the eighth century BC,
during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC). The Book reveals the personality of
the prophet, an emotional man who in a moment could swing from violent anger to
the deepest tenderness.
Hosea parallels his own tragic marriage to his unfaithful wife Gomer to that
of the covenant between God and Israel. Israel has been unfaithful through idolatry
and oppression of the poor. Hoseas refers to Israel under the names of "Ephraim,"
its largest tribe, and "Samaria," its capital. God promises chastisement, which would
make Israel seek God once again. The prophecy of Hosea was realized when the
Northern Kingdom was crushed by the Assyrians in 722 BC.
JOEL
 Prophesied during a time when the land of Israel had suffered from a great
plague of locust. He prophesied this as a sign from God as a precursor to
the coming of the Lord
Joel is the second of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve.
Joel was a prophet in the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the period of the
Divided Kingdom (930-722 BC). Joel identified himself as the son of Pethuel,
preached to the people of Judah, and expressed a great deal of interest in
Jerusalem. Joel also made several comments on the priests and the temple,
indicating a familiarity with the center of worship in Judah (Joel 1:13–14; 2:14, 17).
 Joel often drew upon natural imagery—the sun and the moon, the grass
and the locusts—and in general seemed to understand the reality that truth must
have an impact on us in the real world.
The Book of Joel is apocalyptic in nature, referring to the "Day of the
Lord.“ Joel’s book gives some of the most striking and specific details in all of
Scripture about the day of the Lord—days cloaked in darkness, armies that conquer
like consuming fire, and the moon turning to blood.
AMOS
 Was a sheep breeder and a tender of fig trees by trades, but God used him
to bring a powerful word of correction to Israel and the surrounding
nations.
 Contains a series of stern judgments directed toward Israel, Judah and her
neighbors for permitting idolatry and other sins of the world
HAGGAI
 Make his chief concern restoring the temple of the Lord. Despite the
Hebrew’s return from captivity, the temple had not yet been rebuilt.
MALACHI
 A reformer who directs his message toward corrupt priests and those who
withhold their offerings from the Lord.

Amos is the third of the twelve prophets in the Book of the

Twelve. Amos was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam Joash (Jeroboam II),
ruler of Israel from 793 BCE to 753 BCE, and the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, at a
time when both kingdoms (Israel in the North and Judah in the South) were peaking
in prosperity. He was a contemporary of the prophet Hosea, but likely preceded
him. Amos also made it a point that before his calling he was a simple husbandman
and that he was not a "professional" prophet of the prophetic guild.
The Prophet Amos lived in the Eighth Century BC in the Northern Kingdom
of Israel, during the peaceful reign of Jeroboam, and is the first Prophet to have a -
Book of the Bible named after him.

OBADIAH
 Proclaimed judgment against Edom for aiding the Babylonians in their siege
against Jerusalem
JONAH
 Most famous of the minor prophets because a giant sea animal. His mission
was to tell the people of Nineveh to repent of their wrongdoings.
MICAH
 Lamented without wearing clothes inorder to illustrate the severity of the
destitution and captivity that was coming.
NAHUM
 Predicted the destruction of Nineveh has great capital of the Assyrian
empire. Evidently the reforms introduced by Jonah did not last long
HABAKKUK
 Identified himself as a psalmist and musician by ending his book with a
hymn of redemption and grace to be played on stringed instruments by the
temple worship leaders
ZECHARIAH
 Like Ezekiel received vivid prophesies in the form of highly symbolic visions.
Some of the imagery includes flying scrolls, olive trees, and angels.
ZEPHANIAH