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hen many of us think of biblical prophecy we think it only applies to things to come. There is that aspect, but future things are only a small part in comparison to the rest of biblical prophecy. Prophets were divinely-appointed individuals who received God’s messages through dreams, visions, angels, and direct encounters with the Lord. They related these messages—called prophecies—in oral, visual, and written form. The majority of these prophecies are found in the Old Testament. The Major Prophets (called major because of their size) were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The last 12 books of the Old Testament were the Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi).
Biblical prophecies consist of two kinds of messages. Forth-telling Spiritual insight: exhortation, reproof, correction, and instruction. These were God’s word of judgment on the ungodly— sword, famine, disease—calling for heartfelt repentance and loving obedience to God. The prophets exhorted God’s people to remain faithful to the Covenant and reminded God’s people of the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28. Foretelling Spiritual foresight: prediction of God’s immediate and distant plans in response to human choices and events to come. These were God’s words of promise of
