Tag: minor prophet

Bible Term: Prophet

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 3, 2014

A prophet can mean the same thing as a preacher. It can also refer to someone who has insight into the future or predicts future events, which are called prophecies.

Many books in the Old Testament were written by or about prophets and contain their messages for repentance or of predictions for future events. Many of these prophetic predictions anticipated Jesus, though some had a more current focus, while a few looked at the end times.

See the list of prophetic books in the Bible.

Key verse about Prophet: If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed (Deuteronomy 18:22, NIV)

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

Tags major prophet, minor prophet, prophecy

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Minor Prophets

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date February 3, 2014

A prophet can mean the same thing as a preacher. It can also refer to someone who has insight into the future or predicts future events, which is called a prophecy.

Many books in the Old Testament were written by or about prophets and contained their messages for repentance or predictions for future events. Many of these prophetic predictions anticipated Jesus, though some had a more current focus, while a few looked at the end times.

Minor Prophets are not unimportant, but merely those who wrote shorter books! (Compare to Major Prophets.) The books of the Minor Prophets are:

(See our Bible resources page for sites with more information on this topic.)

Tags minor prophet

Bible Terms

Bible Term: Prophetic Books

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 28, 2014

Several books in the Old Testament were written by or about prophets and contain messages for repentance or of predictions for future events. Many of these prophetic predictions anticipated Jesus, though some had a more current focus, while a few looked at the end times.

The prophetic books of the Old Testament are:

Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Baruch (not found in all Bibles; see Apocrypha)
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

Tags major prophet, minor prophet, prophecy

Books of the Bible

Amos

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 27, 2014

The book of Amos is a record of the messages of the prophet Amos. As with most prophets, Amos’s message focused on current events for the people of Israel (the Northern Kingdom of Israel), but also had a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus.

Amos was a preacher, or prophet, in Israel; he lived during the reign of King Jehoash (Joash) of Israel. He spoke of a coming doom for Israel and the surrounding nations, of Israel’s disobedience and coming destruction, and of visions of the future.

Amos is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Dig into the intriguing lives and ministries of the Bible’s twelve minor prophets in Peter DeHaan’s book Dear Theophilus, Minor Prophets: 40 Prophetic Teachings about Unfaithfulness, Punishment, and Hope.

Tags Amos, minor prophet

Books of the Bible

Habakkuk

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 27, 2014

The book of Habakkuk is a record of the messages of the prophet Habakkuk. As with most prophets, Habakkuk’s message focused on current events for the people of Israel, but it also had a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus.

Habakkuk begins with questions about Israel’s foreign oppressors, including two revelations from God. Habakkuk then pronounces judgment against these oppressors and concludes with a confident prayer for God’s deliverance of Israel.

Habakkuk is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Tags Habakkuk, minor prophet

Books of the Bible

Haggai

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 27, 2014

The book of Haggai is a record of the messages of the prophet Haggai. As with most prophets, Haggai’s message focused on current events for the people of Israel.

Haggai was a contemporary of Zechariah, and his prophetic mission was to encourage the reconstruction of the temple by the returning exiles.

Haggai focused on the importance of the temple to the Jews, urging them to make it’s reconstruction a priority. He also criticized materialism and self-centeredness, advocating a timeless message of making God the people’s priority and focus.

Haggai is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter.

(Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Tags Haggai, minor prophet

Books of the Bible

Hosea

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 27, 2014

God told the prophet Hosea to do some strange and unconventional things. First, he was told to marry a prostitute. Next, their children were given bizarre symbolic names. Finally, after Hosea’s wife left him to return to her former life, he was told to go find her and take her back.

All of these events were to be used by Hosea as object lessons for the nation of Israel. Specifically, his marriage to an undeserving and unfaithful wife point to God’s unconditional love to an undeserving and unfaithful people – both then and now.

Hosea is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Tags Hosea, minor prophet

Books of the Bible

Joel

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 27, 2014

The book of Joel is a record of the messages of the prophet Joel. As with most prophets, Joel’s message focuses on current events, but it also has a secondary application towards the future, some of which has occurred and some of which is yet to happen.

Little is known about Joel. When he lived is hard to pinpoint. His message is about the sorry state of the peoples’ disregard for God, which occurred when the dual disasters of locusts and drought devastated the land, representing God’s punishment.

Joel then records the people’s response to it, with the book happily concluding with words of promise and hope.

Joel is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter.

(Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Tags Joel, minor prophet

Books of the Bible

Jonah

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 27, 2014

The prophet Jonah is perhaps the most familiar character in the Old Testament. But beyond the bit about being swallowed by a large fish, it’s largely misunderstood.

It is a story of Jonah, a wayward prophet, who in his disobedience is given a wakeup call inside a large fish. Eventually, he reluctantly does what he has been told to do – only to become angry at God’s mercy when the people believe and respond to his message.

The fact that God can accomplish things despite obstinate and uncooperative followers is a comforting conclusion to this engaging book.

Jonah is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Tags Jonah, minor prophet

Books of the Bible

Malachi

The book of Malachi is a record of the messages of the prophet Malachi, or “my messenger”. As with most prophets, Malachi’s message focuses on current events for the people of Israel, but also has a secondary meaning, anticipating the life of Jesus.

The book of Malachi addresses a people who believed God had forgotten them and let them down. Although true worship was re-established in the rebuilt temple, the associated blessings predicted by Haggai and Zechariah were yet to take place.

Malachi encouraged that the reverent worship of God continue, despite the peoples’ discouragement over not seeing God’s promised blessings.

Malachi is sometimes called a minor prophet. This doesn’t mean he wasn’t important, but merely that the book named after him is shorter. (Compare this to the major prophets, whose books are much longer.)

Tags Malachi, minor prophet