When Manasseh came to the throne as sole ruler upon his fathers death, approximately in 686, he lost little time in removing the faithful seer. Whatever the Jews, as a nation, may do, now or in time to come, is in no way related to the former promises made to them. See on Zechariah 1:8. One column provides a list of certain special events of this periodsome of a political nature, concerning the nations surrounding Israel and Judah, others of a domestic nature. answer. Hosea. In which century B.C. Paul emphasizes the fact that the rejection of literal Israel as Gods chosen instrument for the salvation of the world does not mean that individual Jews can no longer be saved (chapters 9:6; 11:1, 2, 11, 15), for he is a Jew himself (chapters 9:3; 10:1; 11:1, 2). Daniel was taken to Babylon in 605 B.C., during the accession year of Nebuchadnezzar (see on chapter 1:1). It would become an object lesson of the results of acting in harmony with moral, as with natural, law. The material advantages that Israel enjoyed were designed to arrest the attention and catch the interest of the heathen, for whom the less obvious spiritual advantages had no natural attraction. 6566). The book makes no reference to the fall of Samaria, which took place in 723/22 B.C., and it can therefore be concluded that the prophets last message was given prior to Samarias destruction. The 9th-century view.The great empires of Assyria and Babylonia do not appear within the horizon of the prophet. The Christian church is a spiritual nation scattered all over the world, and such details obviously could not apply to it in a literal sense. When the probationary period of 490 years ended, the nation was still obdurate and impenitent, and as a result forfeited its privileged role as His representative on earth. 1-39, 40-55, 55-66. All the visions of Daniel recorded in chapters 7-12 were received during the last years of his life, the first one (chapter 7) in Belshazzars 1st year (552 or possibly later), and the last one (chapters 10-12) in the 3rd year of Cyrus, 536/35 B.C. He had told them that He would progressively diminish their strength and honor as a nation until they should all be carried away into captivity (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; 2 Chronicles 36:16, 17). This article surveys the fundamental problem of the interpretation of the prophetic portions of the Old Testament in terms of their message to Israel of old and to the church today. 1 Kings 22:28). Had Israel measured up to the noble ideal, all of the promises contingent upon obedience would long since have been fulfilled. Nabopolassar 626 B.C. Any interpretation that fails to give these matters due consideration does violence to the Scriptures. or during the early years of his reign. The voice of God through the prophets distinctly speaks to us today. At the time of Isaiahs ministry, Judah was a sinful and unjust nation. 7. The plan itself never changes because God never changes. Salvation was to be of the Jews, in that the Messiah would be a Jew (John 4:22), and by the Jews, as messengers of salvation to all men (Genesis 12:2, 3; 22:18; Isaiah 42:1, 6; 43:10; Galatians 3:8, 16, 18). When they brought forth wild grapes instead of the mature fruit of character, He inquired, What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? (Isaiah 5:1-7). The work of no other prophet can be dated so definitely as that of Haggai. 3:5). Then, two months later, the latter died, doubtless unexpectedly; it was the same month when there would have been a septennial reading of the law of Deuteronomy.11 What archaeological evidence implies Isaiah was a unified book? The Temple was apparently rebuilt, and sacrifices were regularly offered at the time of the prophets activity (chapter 1:7-10). All this leads to the conclusion that Micah prophesied from about 740 to about 700 B.C. chapter 11:18). The kings of Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia, whose dates for this period are well established, are shown in a separate column. He went to Bethel, a sanctuary city of the northern kingdom, to deliver prophecies of warning, reproof, and doom to Israel. This leads us to conclude that Malachis work may have followed Nehemiahs first term as governor, but preceded his return to Jerusalem from the Persian capital. Shortly after this event he once more rose to a high position of honor and responsibility in the newly formed Persian Empire (chapter 6). WebThis tables shows the reigns of each of the Kings of Judah and Israel, together with the dates and lengths of the reigns, and the prophets who were active at that time. As the nations of antiquity should behold Israels unprecedented progress, their attention and interest would be aroused. In one way or another each of these attempts at interpreting the messages of the Old Testament prophets neglects significant teachings of Scripture, evades fundamental principles of exegesis, and provides a distorted picture of the predictive sections of prophecy. A Anathoth 51 Q Who became king of Babylon about the same time as Jeremiah was called by God? They forgot that God abhors a multiplication of the forms of religion (Isaiah 1:11-18; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:7; Malachi 2:13), and asks of man nothing but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with his God (Micah 6:8; cf. In general, Old Testament promises and predictions were addressed to literal Israel and were to have been fulfilled to them, conditional on obedience. The earth would thus be rid of those who opposed God (Zechariah 14:12, 13). To pray by faith for God to fulfill His promises, we must be obedient to Gods difficult commands. In that day every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts (Zechariah 14:16; cf. WebJeremiah 15:1 Then the LORD said to me: "Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My heart would not go out to this people. It is possible that Hebrews 11:37 refers to this event. Dead sea scrolls. Spiritual prosperity was to prepare the way for material prosperity. The fourth school of interpretation may, at times, arrive at a valid application of the predictive portions of Old Testament prophecy to the church today and to its future experience, but neglects the primary application of these messages to their historical setting, and proceeds, quite arbitrarily, to determine that certain selected passages were written more or less exclusively for the church today. Upon His final departure from the sacred precincts of the Temple, Jesus said, Your house is left unto you desolate (Matthew 23:38). What archaeological evidence implies Isaiah was a unified book? Paul makes it clear beyond argument that when he speaks of Israel as the chosen people of God he means it in this sense. Promises not already fulfilled to literal Israel either would never be fulfilled at all or would be fulfilled to the Christian church as spiritual Israel. Nehemiahs first term lasted from 444 to 432 B.C. The prophet Jonah was a Galilean from Gath-hepher. Hence, he seems to have labored at a time before Assyria played a role in Palestinian affairs. He saw the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Beth Hamikdosh, after his warnings and prophecies fell on deaf ears. Christianity is a historical religion, and its inspired messages are anchored to the hills and valleys, the deserts and rivers, of the ancient world, and to literal men and women who once walked the earth. King James Bible At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. Mark 7:9). 2. Pests and diseases, flood and drought, crop failureall these would eventually disappear. It was last of all that God sent unto them his son, according to Christs own words (Matthew 21:37), but they caught him and slew him (verse 39). The importance of their books cannot be overestimated, as many of these prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. Again and again God warned Israel that blessing goes hand in hand with obedience and that a curse accompanies disobedience (see Deuteronomy 4:9; 8:19; 28:1, 2, 13, 14; Jeremiah 18:6-10; 26:2-6; Zechariah 6:15; etc.). Unparalleled prosperity. This would make Isaiah first cousin to King Uzziah and grandson to A closer dating is impossible in spite of the statement that his first divine message came to him two years before the earthquake (chapter 1:1), because the date of this event is unknown. Another reason to trust God is there is nothing too complicated for Him. WebFrom the time of King Josiah, Jeremiah was the Lords prophet in Jerusalem. Following this line of interpretation, some have gone to the extreme of proposing a Christian migration to Palestine. Henceforth, he says, there is no difference between Jew and Greek (chapter 10:12, 13). Ambassadors from one foreign country after another would come to discover, if they might, the great secret of Israels success as a nation, and its leaders would have the opportunity of directing the minds of their visitors to the Source of all good things. Hosea was from the Northern Kingdom, Micah and Jeremiah were from the Southern kingdom. Amos presents himself to his readers as a herdsman and a gatherer of sycomore fruit (chapters 1:1; 7:14). 1. In contrast to Isaiah and others, Jeremiah provided more detail about himself in his book than any of the other prophets. All who turned from idolatry to the worship of the true God, were to unite themselves with His chosen people. The glorious era of David and Solomon marked what might have been the beginning of Israels golden age). He will listen to the prophet speaking to Israel of old and endeavor to understand what his words meant to the people who originally heard them. Hence, Jonah was probably the earliest of the prophets under discussion. According to tradition, how was Isaiah killed? Seventy weeks490 years of literal timewere determined upon the Jews, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness (Daniel 9:24). WebThe major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and the other twelve (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi) are minor. Theoretically, the word minor signifies not lesser moral or religious or literary stature but only lesser length. All rights reserved. Jeremiah 32:17 highlights this point by stating, "O Sovereign Lord! The establishment of the Hebrew monarchy did not affect the basic principles of the theocracy (Deuteronomy 17:14-20; 1 Samuel 8:7). What is fascinating is that the prophets Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and Micah were all contemporaries. The close of his ministry is tentatively set by some scholars at 510. Isaiah 3:12; 9:16) meant the permanent, irrevocable cancellation of their special standing before God as a nation (cf. Discover what application later inspired writers make of the prophecy, and on this basis determine its possible significance for Gods people in this time. Nevertheless, Isaiah believed that Judah was Gods chosen nation and they would be vindicated by God. After the murder of Gedaliah, the new governor of Judea, the Jews of Mizpah, fearing the revenge of Nebuchadnezzar, went to Egypt and took with them Jeremiah as well as his secretary Baruch (chapter 43:6). chapter 11:9, 10). After the great final call to the world to acknowledge the true God, those who persisted in refusing allegiance to Him would unite together with the evil thought of laying siege to the city of Jerusalem and taking it by force of arms, in order to appropriate to themselves the material advantages with which God had blessed His people (Ezekiel 38:8-12; Jeremiah 25:32; Joel 3:1, 12; Zechariah 12:2-9; 14:2; cf. Copyright 2008 - http://www.BibleChronologyTimeline.com. It ran from the last year Judah's King Uzziah ruled (740 B.C. Thus Israel was to blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit (Isaiah 27:6). His early ministry seems to have coincided with the last years of King Uzziahs reign (see Introduction to Isaiah), but his official call to the office of a prophet came in 740/39, the last year of King Uzziah (chapter 6:1). The day, before, He had called it my house (chapter 21:13), but henceforth He no longer owned it as His. A Nebuchadnezzar 59 Q His call came to him sometime in October/November, 520 B.C., in the same year as Haggais first appearance (chapter 1:1). In spite of Israels ultimate failure, a limited knowledge of the true God and of the Messianic hope was widespread when the Saviour was born (see on Matthew 2:1). He would be king over all the earth verses (3, 8, 9), and His dominion from sea even to sea, even to the ends of the earth (chapter 9:9, 10). If the nation had been faithful to its trust and had appreciated the high destiny reserved for it by God, the whole earth would have awaited the coming of the Messiah with eager expectancy. They were to become a nation of intellectual geniuses, and feebleness of mind would eventually have been unknown among them. WebIsaiah lived about 100 years before Jeremiah. Many messages and prophecies can be understood correctly only if seen against the background of the time in which the prophets ministered and in the light of the events that happened during their lives.