FACT: God used a great variety of people, methods and literary styles to communicate His Prophetic Word.

Key Scripture:  "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world"  (Hebrews 1:1-2).



God Loves Variety

God created over 10,000 species of birds, over 31,500 species of fish, over 287,600 species of plants and more than 1,250,000 species of animals. He also created many different races, nations, languages, cultures, land forms, chemical elements, etc. His love of variety is reflected in both the types of people and the forms of communication He used to express His Prophetic Word.



The Prophets

They ranged from an uneducated farmer, Amos, to sophisticated poets like Isaiah; from reluctant spokesmen like Jonah to men of great courage like Daniel; and from little known Joel to famous personalities like King David. Some, like Zechariah, were very young, while others, like Haggai, were elderly. 



The Sources 

Most of the prophets relied on direct revelations - "Thus says the Lord." Others received their insights through dreams and visions. Some, like Hosea and Jonah, simply recorded their experiences. 



The Styles 

The writing prophets resorted to a great variety of written forms. Some, like Ezekiel, Daniel, Haggai and the New Testament prophets, primarily used a prose style. Others, like David, Isaiah, Joel and Micah, expressed their ideas in poetic form. And then there are the preachers whose books are mainly collections of sermons - prophets like Jeremiah, Amos, and Zechariah. 



Other Forms of Expression 

In addition to the writing prophets, there were oral prophets who wrote nothing at all. We know about them because others wrote about their revelations, pronouncements and exploits. Elijah and his successor, Elisha, fall into this category. 



Sometimes, God would speak to an oral prophet or a writing prophet and tell them to stop speaking and writing and to concentrate instead on communicating through acting. 



And then there is what is called "symbolic prophecy" or "prophecy in type." This occurs when a person's life or a historical event or even an inanimate object is symbolic of something that is going to happen in the future. 



Oral Prophets 

Generally speaking the oral prophets are less well known than those who wrote the prophetic books of the Bible. And yet, the greatest prophet who ever lived was an oral prophet - Jesus of Nazareth. The only writings of Jesus that exist are His seven letters to the seven churches of Asia, recorded by John in Revelation 2 and 3. The bulk of Jesus' prophecies, like His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21), were recorded in written form by His disciples. 



Only a few oral prophets are mentioned in the New Testament - like the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8-9) and Agabus, the prophet who counseled Paul (Acts 21:10-11). 



But the Old Testament is full of oral prophets. There is Nathan, who confronted David (2 Samuel 12); Micaiah, who saw the Lord sitting on His throne (1 Kings 22); Ahijah, who condemned Jeroboam (1 Kings 14); Hananiah, the false prophet who spoke against Jeremiah (Jeremiah 28); and many nameless prophets like the "man of God from Judah" who prophesied the birth of Josiah (1 Kings 13).



Acting Prophets 

 God often used drama to get people's attention. For example, He told Isaiah to go barefoot and naked for three years (Isaiah 20:2-3). Yes, Isaiah was the original streaker! The message was graphic and clear: Repent or be stripped naked like Isaiah.



Jeremiah was told to wear an oxen yoke on his neck to emphasize God's message that King Zedekiah should submit to Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27).



Ezekiel was called on to act many times. On one occasion the Lord told him to pack all his bags and carry them around Jerusalem in the sight of the people as a sign that if they did not repent, God would send them into exile (Ezekiel 12:1-6). 



On another occasion God ordered Ezekiel to play in a sand pile! God told him to label a brick, "Jerusalem," and to build dirt ramps around the brick to illustrate the coming siege of the city, if the people did not repent (Ezekiel 4:1-3).



The greatest actor of all, the one who will undoubtedly win the prophetic Oscar for best performance, was the prophet Hosea.



God told this righteous preacher to find a prostitute and marry her. Hosea did what God said. Later she abandoned him and went back to her sinful ways. God told Hosea to find her and pay whatever it took to redeem her from prostitution.



The message was that Israel was like that prostitute when God selected the nation as His Chosen People. They were not selected for their beauty or wisdom or righteousness. They had no merit of their own. They were selected by grace. Further, the message was that - like Hosea's wife - Israel had been unfaithful to God, chasing after foreign gods. And like Hosea, God's heart was broken.



Yet, like Hosea, God was willing to forgive and forget and pay the price of redemption in Israel's behalf, just as He is willing to do for us today. And thus the story of Hosea is the story of the Gospel.



Symbolic Prophecy 

An understanding of prophetic types is essential to understanding the Old Testament. Jesus can be found on almost every page of the Old Testament, if you know how to look for Him. He is there symbolically in types. Looking for Him and finding Him in these types causes the Old Testament to come alive. This is most likely the kind of special teaching that Jesus gave His disciples during the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension (Luke 24:45).



There are three kinds of prophetic types: 1) individual lives, 2) historical events and 3) inanimate objects. 



1) Symbolic Persons 

Almost all the major persons in the Old Testament are types of Christ in the sense that some events in their lives prophesied things that would happen to Jesus.



Take Joseph for example. He was rejected by his brothers. He was left for dead but was "resurrected" from the pit into which he had been cast. He took a Gentile bride and then redeemed his brothers from their famine.



Likewise, Jesus was rejected by his brethren (the Jews), experienced death and resurrection, is now taking a Gentile Bride (the Church), and will soon return to save a remnant of His brethren from their spiritual famine.



2) Symbolic Events 

The history of the Jewish nation is the story of Jesus in prophetic type. The Children of Israel were born in Canaan, migrated to Egypt, came through the Red Sea (the baptism of Moses), endured testing in the wilderness, and then entered the Promised Land.



Likewise, Jesus was born in Canaan, was taken to Egypt, emerged publicly at His baptism, endured the wilderness temptations, and led the way to Heaven.



3) Symbolic Objects 

Even inanimate objects like the Tabernacle of Moses and the robe of the High Priest are prophetic types pointing to Jesus.



Consider the ark of the Covenant. Everything about it was symbolic of the Messiah. It was made of wood, indicating the Messiah would be human. It was overlaid with gold, signifying the Messiah would be divine,. It contained three objects - the tablets of stone, a pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. The tablets signified that the Messiah would have the law of God in His heart. The manna meant that Messiah would be the Bread of Life. The rod with blooms was a prophecy that the Messiah would arise from the dead.



The lid of the Ark was called the Mercy Seat. It had a golden angel at each end. The angels faced each other and their wings hovered over the lid. Once a year the High Priest sprinkled blood on the Mercy Seat and communed with the Shekinah glory of God which hovered above the angels.



The Mercy Seat pointed to the fact that through the work of the Messiah the mercy of God would cover the Law. The blood foreshadowed the fact that the Messiah would have to shed His own blood to atone for our sins.



Jesus fulfilled every prophetic type of the Ark. He was God in the flesh (John 10:30). He had the Law in His heart (Matthew 5:17). He declared Himself to be the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35). He shed His blood on the Cross and was resurrected in power, atoning for our sins and covering the Law with Grace (Romans 3:21-26). 



An Exhortation 

Read the Bible with an attitude of always looking for Jesus. He is there on almost every page, waiting for you to discover Him in the symbols and types.



Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you read, and remember Revelation 19:10 - "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."



Lamb & Lion Ministries  www.lamblion.com