The prophetic books fall naturally into two groups: the Major Prophets (Isaiah through Daniel) and the Minor Prophets (Hosea through Malachi). “Major” and “minor” refer to the book’s length, not its importance. “Prophets” were God’s inspired spokespersons dealing with the past, the present or the future. Their prophecies, whether spoken or written, came from God. The accuracy of predictions was one test for a true prophet (Deuteronomy 18:22 cf. 13:1-3; Isaiah 46:9-10; Jeremiah 28:15-17; Zechariah 2:9; 4:9; 6:15). Prophets addressed the people of their time and met their needs. But some future matters—such as Isaiah 53—were not understood until later, even by the prophets themselves (1 Peter 1:10-12). Some predictions had an initial fulfillment, such as God’s promise to restore Jews from exile, then the more complete fulfillment of salvation by Christ. In Old Testament times, much had yet to be revealed; the fullness of revelation would come with Jesus (John 1:17; 2 Timothy 1:10). The messages of the old prophets usually dealt with three main subjects: warnings about sin and punishment; calls to return to God’s way; promises of future blessings—including the glory of the coming Messiah. The prophets mainly addressed God’s people, but significant sections spoke to enemy nations, predicting the fate of each—which all came true.
Before Assyria destroyed Israel, God’s prophets included, in approximate order, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah. (Jonah reluctantly preached to Assyrians in Nineveh.)
From Israel’s end until Judah’s destruction, the prophets were Zephaniah, Nahum, Jeremiah (who also wrote Lamentations, mourning Judah’s destruction), Habakkuk and Obadiah (he, with Nahum, preached to foreign nations). Regarding God’s nation, 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 sums up the prophets’ work:
The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent [warnings] persistently to them by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place [the temple]. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against His people, until there was no remedy.
Prophets during the exile were Daniel and Ezekiel. Their rich imagery helps us understand the last New Testament book, Revelation. Daniel, though a captive in Babylon, rose to prominence. God gifted him with remarkable prophecies about successive empires and the Messiah. Ezekiel taught the captivity’s hard lessons, with the theme: “You shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 6:7, variously repeated over 60 times). He predicted that Jews would forever reject all idols of stone and wood—which also came true.
After the exile, the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi worked with the restorers in Judah. Through the centuries, there were other prophets, but these we have highlighted had books either written by them or about them.