AY Honors/Prophets & Prophecy/Answer Key
1. Define the term prophet and their role in God’s church.
Webster's dictionary defines prophet as "one who utters divinely inspired revelations."
The role of the prophet is laid out in the Bible: "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him" (Deuteronomy 18:18-19, NKJV).
2. List the four major and 12 minor prophets in the Old Testament.
Major prophets:
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Ezekiel
- Daniel
Minor prophets:
- Hosea
- Joel
- Amos
- Obadiah
- Jonah
- Micah
- Nahum
- Habakkuk
- Zephaniah
- Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
3. Differentiate between major and minor prophets.
These books are centred on a prophet, traditionally regarded as the author of the respective book. The term "major" refers to their length, in distinction to the twelve minor prophets, whose books are much shorter and grouped together as a single book in the Hebrew Bible.
4. Name two New Testament prophets and their role.
As was true in the Old Testament period, the main role of New Testament prophets was to speak forth the Word of God. The writings of the New Testament prophets carried the same authority as writings of the Old Testament prophets. They were among the distinctive leaders of the early church (Ephesians 4:11). The prophets spoke for edification, exhortation, and comfort.
Some New Testament prophets:
- John the Baptist - Like all prophets before him, he prophesied of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and prepared the way for Him.
- Agabus - We know little of him other than that he was a prophet and he foretold of Paul's imprisonment (Acts 21:10).
- Silas - He is named a prophet in Acts 15:32. He accompanied Paul on many of his missionary journeys.
- John the Revelator
- Jesus Christ - Jesus spent His entire mortal ministry witnessing the mind and will of Heavenly Father and His own divine mission. He preached righteousness, spoke against sin and went about doing good. He is a model prophet. He is the model prophet.
5. Name three female prophets in the Old Testament and their role.
- Miriam (Micah 6:4) Miriam, sister of Aaron and Moses. As a young girl, she guarded the basket her brother Moses was in until the daughter of Pharaoh found it. She later, as a prophet, led the women of Israel in public celebration after crossing the Red Sea.
- Deborah (Judges 4:4) Deborah was a well respect individual. Her tenure as a judge of Israel was not shrouded by controversy or scandals as most of the judges were in the book of Judges. She prophesied victory over the Sisera and his vast army of men and chariots by Israel’s 10,000 men. Due to Barak’s unwillingness to go to battle without Deborah, she again prophesied that the victory would be at the hand of a woman. So, it was. Victory was credited to Jael who took the life of General Sisera. Because of Deborah’s faithfulness, Israel enjoyed peace for forty years.
- Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) Huldah was sought after by King Josiah after the book of the law was found during the renovations to repair the temple of the Lord. He desired her to verify the book for its authenticity, which turned out to be valid. She told the truth, causing King Josiah to destroy any remnants of idol worship with the boundaries of his kingdom.
- Isaiah's wife (Isaiah 8:3)
- Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14)
6. Define the term prophecy and its role in God’s church.
Prophecy is the foretelling or prediction of what is to come or something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely-inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation.
God uses prophecy to send a divine message to His church. Sometimes the message is for the church when it is given; other times the message is to be opened to the understanding of a people at a later time.
"To accept the existence of God is to accept His statement as to how He has chosen to communicate with man. It is neither reasonable nor sensible to accept God and then deny or reject what He says regarding the prophets through whom He has chosen to speak to man here on earth. The Bible offers neither scientific proof nor a well-reasoned argument for or against prophets. It simply declares that there are prophets through whom God spoke:
'God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son' (Heb. 1:1, 2)." -- Believe His Prophets, p. 30,by Denton E. Rebok.
7. Read Revelation 14:12 and 19:10 and discuss how prophecy points to the testimony of Jesus and salvation.
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
8. Do the following:
a. Read Deuteronomy 18:22, 1 John 4:1-3, and Jeremiah 23:18-32.
when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
For who has stood in the counsel of the Lord, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord has gone forth in fury—a violent whirlwind! It will fall violently on the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart. In the latter days you will understand it perfectly. “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord,“and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord. “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies? Indeed they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart, who try to make My people forget My name by their dreams which everyone tells his neighbor, as their fathers forgot My name for Baal. The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord. “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the Lord.
b. Discuss the tests of a true prophet.
A true prophet’s predictions will “come to pass”
"As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent."
He will glorify God rather than himself
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."
He does not give his own private interpretation
"...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,[a] 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God[b] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
He points out sin
"Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets
Who make my people stray; Who chant “Peace” While they chew with their teeth, But who prepare war against him Who puts nothing into their mouths: 'Therefore you shall have night without vision, And you shall have darkness without divination; The sun shall go down on the prophets, And the day shall be dark for them. So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God.' But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression
And to Israel his sin."
He warns of coming judgment
The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard,
And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again. It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones,
And on the earth the kings of the earth.
He edifies the church
But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
His message harmonizes with the Bible
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
He teaches that Jesus came in the flesh
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
He has a Christian character
You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
He is obedient to the will of God
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.
9. Find examples in the Bible where the Spirit of the Lord brought prophecy to non-prophets.
10. Study the following biblical accounts and determine if the character qualifies as a prophet. Create a media experience explaining why you came to your conclusion.
NOTE: This is an application requirement. Pathfinders need to take their knowledge and apply it to the characters in the passages, then they need to create some type of presentation explaining their conclusion about whether each character is a prophet.
a. Joseph, Genesis 40 & 41
Joseph would qualify as a prophet because he brought a divine message to Egypt of future events which came true, showing Egypt the message was from God.
b. Jonah, the book of Jonah
Jonah qualifies as a prophet, even though his prediction does not come true. His message was conditional, depending on if it was accepted, and the people of Ninevah did change their ways. They accepted the message and changed so their destruction was not delivered. But Jonah still qualified as a divine messenger.
