And the Lord took me when I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me: Go, prophesy to my people Israel " vii, 14 sq. Again "the lion shall roar, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who shall not prophesy? Isaias saw Yahweh seated on a throne of glory, and when a seraph had purified his lips he heard the command "Go! God made known to Jeremias that he had consecrated him from his mother's womb and appointed him the Prophet of nations; He touched his lips to show that He made them His instrument for proclaiming His just and merciful judgments i, 10 , a duty so painful, that the Prophet endeavoured to be excused and to conceal the oracles entrusted to him.
Impossible; his heart was consumed by a flame, which forced from him that touching complaint: Ezechiel sees the glory of God borne on a fiery chariot drawn by celestial beings. He hears a voice commanding him to go and find the children of Israel, that rebellious nation, with hardened heart and brazen face, and without prevarication deliver to them the warnings he was to receive.
The other Prophets are silent on the subject of their vocation ; doubtless they also received it as clearly and irresistibly. To the preaching and predictions of the false Prophets uttering the fancies of their hearts and saying "the word of Yahweh " when Yahweh spoke to them not, they fearlessly oppose their own oracles as coming from heaven and compelling under penalty of revolt against God.
And the manifest sanctity of their lives, the miracles wrought, the prophecies accomplished demonstrate to their contemporaries the truth of their claims. We also separated from them by thousands of years should be convinced by two irrefragable proofs among others: Among the truths he preaches, there are some which he knows naturally by the light of reason or experience. It is not necessary for him to learn them from God, just as if he had been entirely ignorant of them. It suffices if the Divine illumination places them in a new light, strengthens his judgment and preserves it from error concerning these facts, and if a supernatural impulse determines his will to make them the object of his message.
This oral inspiration of the Prophets bears an analogy to the Scriptural inspiration, in virtue of which the Prophets and hagiographers composed our canonical books.
Get Updates!
The entire contents of the prophetic message is not, therefore, within the compass of the natural faculties of the divine messenger. The object of all strictly so-called prediction requires a new manifestation and illumination; unaided the Prophet would remain in more or less absolute obscurity.
This, then, is revelation in the full sense of the term. John of The Cross -- and the doctors of mysticism have a special right to be heard in this matter -- " God multiplies the means of transmitting these revelations; at one time he makes use of words, at another of signs, figures, images, similitudes; and again, of both words and symbols together" The Ascent of Carmel, II, xxvii: To grasp accurately the meaning of the Prophets and judge of the fulfilment of their predictions, these words must be remembered and completed: The material element perceived in the vision may have a strictly literal meaning and simply signify itself.
When Micheas, the son of Jemla, beholds "all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd", and hears Yahweh say "These have no master; let every man of them return to his house in peace" 1 Kings Again, the meaning may be entirely symbolic. The almond branch shown to Jeremias i, 11 sq. Between these two extremes there exists a whole series of intermediary possibilities, of significations imbued with varying degrees of reality or symbolism.
In the last verse of Aggeus Zorobabel signifies himself and also the Messias. Neither the Prophets nor their clear-sighted, sensible hearers were ever misled. It is wronging Isaias to say he believed that at the end of time the hill of Sion would physically surpass all the mountains and hills on the earth ii, 2. Examples might be multiplied indefinitely.
Yet we are not forced to believe that the Prophets were always able to distinguish between the literal and the symbolical significations of their visions. It was sufficient for them not to give, and to be unable to give, in the name of God any erroneous interpretation. It has likewise been long known that the vision very frequently disregards distances of time and place, and that the Messias or the Messianic era almost always appears on the immediate horizon of contemporary history.
If to this we add the frequently conditional character of the oracles cf.
Jeremiah 18 ; Dreams, of which the false Prophets made ill use, are scarcely ever mentioned in the case of true Prophets. Much has been said about the ecstatic state of the latter. Possibly the soul of the Prophet may have been at times, as happened to the mystics, so absorbed by the activity of the spiritual faculties that the activity of the senses was suspended, though no definite instance can be cited. In any case, we must remember what St. Jerome In Isaiam, Prolog.
Bible prophecy
John Chrysostom In I Cor. To this they often added symbolical acts which accorded with Oriental tastes and caught the attention of their hearers. Jeremias, for instance, wandered through Jerusalem under a wooden yoke, symbolizing the approaching subjugation of the nations by the King of Babylon. The false Prophet Hananias, having taken this yoke and broken it on the ground, receives this answer, in the name of Yahweh "Thou hast broken chains of wood, and thou shalt make for them chains of iron" xxviii, Jeremias and Ezechiel make frequent use of this method of instruction.
Amos was probably the first who was inspired to unite the written to the spoken word. His example was followed. The Prophets thus exercised wider and more lasting influence, and left moreover an indisputable proof that God had spoken by them cf. Some prophecies seem to have been made exclusively in writing, for instance, probably the second part of Isaias and all Daniel. The greater part of the prophetic books is couched in rhythmic language perfectly adapted to the popular and, at the same time, sublime character of the oracles. Hardly any kind of Hebrew poesy is absent; epithalamia and lamentations; little satirical songs; odes of wonderful lyrism etc.
The fundamental law of Hebrew poetry, the parallelism of the stichs, is usually observed. The metric seems to be based essentially on the number of accents marking a raised intonation. Most exhaustive researches upon the construction of the strophes have been made, but without many definitely accepted conclusions.
Samuel teaches that the idols are vanity and nothingness 1 Samuel For Elias also Yahweh alone is God, Baal is nothing. Yahweh chastises all iniquity and punishes the injustices of the powerful for the feeble. These are the fundamental points emphasized more and more by the prophetic writers. Their doctrine is based on the existence of one God alone, possessing all the attributes of the true Divinity -- sanctity and justice, mercy and fidelity, supreme dominion over the material and moral world, the control of the cosmic phenomena and of the course of history. The worship desired by God does not consist in the profusion of sacrifices and offerings.
They are nauseous to Yahweh unless accompanied by adoration in spirit and in truth. With what greater indignation and disgust will He not turn away from the cruel and unclean practice of human sacrifice and the prostitution of sacred things so common among the neighbouring nations. On being asked with what one should approach and kneel before the Most High God, He replies by the mouth of Micheas: So religion joins morality, and formulates and imposes its dictates. Yahweh will call the nations to account for violating the natural law, and Israel, in addition, for not observing the Mosaic legislation cf.
Amos , etc. And He will do this, so as to conciliate in a Divine manner the rights of justice with the realization of the promises made to Israel and mankind. The Day of Yahweh ; the Saved; Messianism; Eschatology -- The constant subjects of the great prophetic predictions of Israel, the punishment of the guilty nations, and the realization for all of the ancient promises.
- The Book of Nutrition.
- Up a Rutted Road.
- Moral Flux;
- Prophetic witness in the Hebrew Bible: from prophetic word to prophetic books!
- Lesson Prophets Foretold the Birth of Jesus Christ (Christmas).
Directly or indirectly all the prophecies are concerned with the obstacles to be removed before the coming of the new kingdom or with the preparation of the New and final Covenant. From the days of Amos, and clearly it was not even then a new expectation, Israel was awaiting a great day of Yahweh, a day, which it deemed one of extraordinary triumph for it and its God. The Prophets do not deny, but rather declare with absolute certainty that the day must come. They dispel the illusions concerning its nature.
For Israel, faithless and burdened with crimes, the day of Yahweh will be "darkness and not light" Amos 5: The bulk will perish. A remnant alone will be saved, a holy germ from which the Messianic kingdom will arise. The pagan nations will serve as sievers for Israel.
Prophet - Wikipedia
But as they have wandered still further from the right path, the day of Yahweh will come for them in turn; finally the remnant of Israel and the converts of the nations will unite to form a single people under the great king, the Son of David. The remnant of Ephraem or of Juda remaining in Palestine at the time of the Exile, the remnant returning from the Captivity to form the post-Exilic community, the Messianic kingdom in its militant state and its final consummation- all these stages of the history of salvation are mingled here and there in one prophetic view.
The future life looms up but little, the oracles being addressed principally to the body of the nation, for which there is no future life. However, Ezechiel xxxvii alludes to the resurrection of the dead ; the apocalypse of Isaias xxvi, 19 sqq. The broad daylight of the Christian Revelation is coming. When this dawn is about to break, prophecy then long silent finds voices anew to tell the good tidings.
Soon the Precursor appears, filled with the spirit and power of Elias.
Bible Prophecies
He finds anew the accents of olden prophecy to preach penance and announce the coming of the kingdom. Then it is the Messias in person who, long foretold and awaited as a Prophet Deuteronomy His preaching and His predictions are much closer to the prophetic models than are the teachings of the rabbis. His great predecessors are as far below Him as the servants are below the only Son. Unlike them He does not receive from without the truth which He preaches. Its source is within Him. He promulgates it with an authority thereunto unknown. His revelation is the definite message of the Father.
To understand its meaning more and more clearly the Church which He is about to establish will have throughout all ages the infallible assistance of the Holy Ghost. However, during the Apostolic times, God continues to select certain instruments like unto the Prophets of the Old Law to make known His will in an extraordinary manner and to foretell coming events: And among the charismata cf. It is granted "unto edification, and exhortation, and comfort" 1 Corinthians The writer of the "Didache" informs us that in his day it was fairly frequent and widespread, and he indicates the signs by which it may be recognized xi, Finally the Canon of the Scriptures closes with a prophetic book, the Apocalypse of St.
John, which describes the struggles and the victories of the new kingdom while awaiting the return of its Chief at the consummation of all things. Reading 1, Jeremiah Rufus and Zosimus were citizens of Antioch or Who did Isaiah prophesy would be the mother of Jesus Christ? Explain that virgin means a pure, unmarried woman. How did Isaiah say Jesus would come?
What other names did Isaiah use to describe Christ?
- Tiny Titans Vol. 4: The First Rule of Pet Club.
- The Dictionary of Rock and Pop Names: Why Were They Called That? From Aaliyah to ZZ Top: Why Were They Called That? From Aaliyah to ZZ Top.
- The Creator Connection!
- Buenos Aires Made Easy! (Kindle Edition)!
- CANCELLED BY BLOOD.
- Hot Confidence Workbook.
- Die Welt der 1000 Abenteuer, Band 04: Verrat an der Zauberschule (German Edition).
What do these names tell us about Jesus Christ? See enrichment activity 6. Where was Jesus to be born? When King Herod asked the priests and scribes where Jesus would be born, how did they know it would be in Bethlehem? Whom did Nephi see in a vision? Help the children understand that the Nephites had the brass plates, which contained many of the ancient prophecies.
But they also had their own prophets who foretold the birth of Jesus Christ. Whom did Alma prophesy would be the mother of the Son of God? What signs did Samuel the Lamanite prophesy would come at the birth of Jesus? When Nephi prayed in behalf of the righteous people, what comfort was he given? How do we know a new star appeared in Israel also? You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge. Display the chart located at the end of the lesson, which shows the ancient prophets Isaiah, Micah, Nephi, Alma, and Samuel the Lamanite.
The children could take turns reading the prophecies that foretold the birth of Jesus Christ. The children could write these references on a note card to take home, or you could prepare a handout with the references for each child. Have the children listen for these words as you read or retell the Christmas story from Luke 1: Help the children understand and memorize the ninth article of faith.
During the discussion point out that we are living in a time when prophecies and revelations are being fulfilled, and invite the children to name some of these prophecies. Share your feelings about being part of a church with continuing revelation and being a witness to the fulfillment of prophecies in your own lifetime.
What gift can we give Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ at this special season of the year? Challenge the children to give the gift of love to others. You may want to tell the following story as an example of how one young boy gave his father a gift of love. These simple words made Rob fully realize something for the first time: The family was poor.
With growing excitement he decided on a better gift.