We think of prophets as fortune-tellers, those who predict the future, psychics. When the Bible refers to a “prophet,” prediction may be part of his talents, but only a small part.
In the Bible, a prophet was “God’s proclaimer,” a sort of “mouthpiece” for the words of God. A true prophet (and there were false prophets) had no message of his own and did not promote himself.
He acted under the impulse of God, taking to the people a clear message from God. Often this took the form of pointing out people’s sins and urging them to repentance. The prophet’s message was often a prediction of disaster if people did not repent.
Prophets are found throughout the Old Testament. The last section of the Old Testament is called “the Prophets,” and it includes books containing the words of some of Israel’s greatest prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, and others.
Some of the passages in the prophets’ books are among the most inspiring in the Old Testament. Other passages concern ancient political wranglings that have no meaning for modern readers.
The most famous prophet in Israel’s history was Elijah, who wrote nothing at all. Elijah (whose story is told from 1 Kings 17 through 2 Kings 2) is a sort of holy man of the wilderness, a miracle worker who dares to confront wicked King Ahab and his equally vile wife, Jezebel.
Elijah is “a man on fire for God,” and he courageously opposes Ahab and the cult of the false god Baal. Elijah—and God—triumph over the false religion, but not until after Elijah’s life has been threatened more than once.
Elijah became the symbol of the great prophets of God. The Old Testament’s last book, the writings of the prophet Malachi, predicts that Elijah will one day return: “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Mal 4:5).
The Jews believed that there were no prophets after the close of the Old Testament. In Jesus’ time, many devout Jews wondered if a new prophet might be sent—perhaps the return of Elijah promised in Malachi.
Apparently Jesus Himself believed this had occurred: “All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come” (Matt. 11:13–14). The John He is referring to is His relative, John the Baptist, who had baptized Jesus.
John, a sort of wilderness man as Elijah had been, was considered by many to be a prophet—the renewal of the prophetic tradition in the land.
Jesus shared this belief, claiming that not only was John a prophet, but John was the Elijah they had been expecting to return.
