In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus Christ -Yeshua]
was in the beginning with God.
THE MAJOR PROPHETS
Following the five books of poetry and wisdom are the five books of
the Major Prophets. The word major is in reference to the length of the
books rather than importance when compared to the twelve books of the
Minor Prophets. The five books were written by four prophets who
prophesied from the time prior to the fall of Judah to the end of the
Babylonian captivity c. 760-536 BC.
The themes of the four prophets are condemnation, warning, judgment
and redemption. The nation of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722
BC because of idolatry and apostasy. God also warned the people of
Judah that he would bring judgment upon them if they did not repent. God
showed His love and patience by allowing the prophet
Jeremiah to warn
them for forty years before bringing judgment for their unrepentant
sins. Hope in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would bring ultimate
salvation
and restoration.
The prophecies of the four prophets were for the
intermediate and distant futures. Ancient secular history is
witness to the intermediate future prophecies that were
fulfilled between 605 BC and 60 BC with the rise
of the Babylonian, Persian, Grecian and Roman empires. More
important is Daniel’s accurate timing in his prophecy of
the crucifixion of Christ. The
restoration of Israel as a nation in 1948 is the latest
prophecy to be fulfilled. The remaining prophecies will
begin with the seven-year tribulation, which will usher in
the second advent of Christ.
Isaiah
– Warnings of Babylonian captivity; prophecy of the Messiah’s
eternal restoration of Israel
Jeremiah
– Prophecy of Babylonian captivity; the New Covenant through
Jesus Christ, the Messiah
Lamentation
– Jeremiah’s sorrows over Jerusalem’s destruction; his
prayer for Israel’s restoration
Ezekiel
– Visions and prophecy of judgments; rebirth of
Israel;
Russia’s destruction; the new temple
Daniel
– Daniel’s seventy-week prophecy: Gentile nations, Christ’s
crucifixion, the tribulation