Raynette K. Archer Weiss Ministries run by Our Lord and on earth by Rev. Raynette K. Archer Weiss and Assistant Minister Jessie K. Weiss. Written by Raynette K. Archer Weiss and Jessie K. Weiss. Invite you to a series on the biblical prophets. Tuesday, January 23, 2024.
The paradigm of the prophet
The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice
sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not
permitted you to do so. The Lord your God will raise up for you a
prophe t like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You
must listen to him … But a prophe t who presumes to speak in my
name anything I have not commanded, or a prophe t who speaks
in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.
” You may say to
yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been
spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophe t proclaims in the name of
the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the
Lord has not spoken. That prophe t has spoken presumptuously,
so do not be alarmed. (Deut. 18:14-15, 20-22)
The vocation of the prophet
I will stand at my watch-post, and station myself on the rampart; I
will keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what he will
answer concerning my complaint.
2 Then the LORD answered me
and said: Write the vision; make it plain on table ts, so that a
runner may read it.
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed
time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry,
wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look at the
proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by
their faith.
5 Moreover, wealth is treacherous; the arrogant do not
endure. They open their throats wide as Sheol; like Death they
never have enough. They gather all nations for themselves, and
collect all peoples as their own.
• The Written Torah
What is in the Hebrew Bible?
• The contents of the Hebrew Bible
are often referred to as the
“canon”.
• From the Greek kanōn(κανών) =
measuring stick
• The Biblical canon is the closed
list of authoritative books that
are considered Holy Scriptures
by a certain community.
- God’s will was known as.
- Discerning God’s Will
- • In ancient Israel it was assumed that God’s will was knowable and
- indisputable.
- • But God’s will was not always self-evident. God communicated through
- cryptic signs that needed to be properly interpreted. A prophet was an inspired individual who received divine visions and
- communicated the will of God to the people.
- • A prophet was God’s instrument for communicating this will.
- • A prophet was an intermediary between God and Israel.
- What did Biblical Prophets do?
- • Biblical prophets were not psychics or fortunetellers.
- • They dealt primarily with the present, not the future.
- • They were messengers who received God’s word through visions and
- transmitted these messages to the people.
- • They were preachers who delivered public sermons.
- • They were political observers who critiqued the ruling powers.
- • They were healers who performed supernatural actions.
- How did the words of the prophets become Scripture?
- • The prophets proclaimed oracles in public.
- • Although they sometimes wrote, the majority of the prophetic words were
- initially oral.
- • Disciples of the prophets wrote down their words.
- • Later, scribes copied these words down and assembled oracle
- collections. To these they added narrative information about the prophet.
- • Eventually these prophetic anthologies came to be accepted as sacred
- scripture and were canonized as part of the Tanakh as we know it today.
- What was the Prophet’s message?
- • The Prophets were moral guides, urging people to transform their
- behavior vis-à-vis God as well as fellow human beings.
- • The Prophets were “gadflies” who challenged the people, going against
- mainstream opinion.
- • In times of tranquility, message of warning about coming disasters as
- punishment for evil.
- • In times of turmoil, message of comfort about future restoration as
- vindication of covenant.
- Speaking in the Name of God
- Often prophets began and ended their speeches with phrases to indicate that
- what they proclaimed is God’s word, not their own:
- “The word of the LORD
- “The word of the LORD came to me, saying…”
- “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel”
- • How does God communicate his will through a human messenger in each
- prophetic book?
- • What does each prophetic book tell us about the relationship between God
- and Israel?
- • How does reading the prophets in the original Hebrew enhance our
- understanding of their message?
- • How do each of the Hebrew prophets relate to messianism and how do their
- words point the way to Jesus?
Closing Prayer; Heavenly Father we thank you for providing us this material. We thank you for allowing us to put it all over the world so people can learn about these subjects. We praise you for helping all over the world to become children of yours if they wish to. We thank you in the name of Our lord and savior.
Prayer of Salvation: Lord Jesus, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Please come into my heart as my Lord and Savior.Take complete control of my life and help me to walk in Your footsteps daily by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord for saving me and I know you will answer my prayers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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