20 Apr '14 08:02>3 edits
Originally posted by Grampy Bobby"4. The Books of Prophecy.
"The books of the Old Testament are generally divided into four classifications:
1. The Pentateuch, or The Books of the Law.
The word “Pentateuch,” is from two Greek words that mean “Five Books”, and refers to the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, [i]which our Lord Himself ascribed to Moses.[/i e form. Parts of Ecclesiastes, (1, 3, 7) are poetic. (Part Two)
There are sixteen prophetic books in the Old Testament. They begin at Isaiah and continue, (omitting Lamentations already mentioned), to the end of the Old Testament with the book of Malachi. Some of the writers, namely, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, are known as “Major Prophets” in contrast with the others, often called the “Minor Prophets.” These terms do not have to with the importance of the events prophesied; rather, the words major and minor simply distinguish the length of the books between the longer and shorter ones. Every message of the Word of God is of major importance.
The nature of the prophecies varies, though almost without exception they have to do with the Jewish people. Sometimes they specifically refer to Judah and sometimes to Israel, but most often to the nation as a whole, and her relationships to the Gentile nations. In some cases the prophecies are purely local. In other instances they have a near and distant meaning, the former symbolic of the latter. Others make predictions that are wholly distant, not yet fulfilled. A reading of the context and knowledge of Bible history are the keys to understanding them. Also, some of the prophetic writings were future when penned and are now history, while others are still future.
As to the prophets themselves, some lived and wrote before the Babylonian captivity, some during it, and others after the remnant returned. They may be classified, then as follows:
a. Pre-exilic: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.
b. Exilic: Jeremiah, (whose prophecies extended from pre-exilic days to exilic days), Ezekiel, and Daniel.
c. Post-exilic: Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The Old Testament concludes with the words of Malachi the prophet looking forward to the coming of Israel’s, (and the entire world’s), Messiah and Deliverer, (both in His first, Mal 3:1, and second advents, Mal 4:2), our Lord Jesus Christ, the Servant – Son, and the Sun of Righteousness. Following these promises, the very Word of God, God was silent for four centuries." (Part Three/to be continued)