Can we believe Bible prophecy? Through the examples of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, God gave unmistakable proof that His prophecies are sure.
What is a prophet? What is he sent to do? Peter describes prophets as "holy
men of God [who] spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). But is that the whole story?
"The Hebrew word for prophet, nabi, means 'one who announces
or brings a message from God.' Our word 'prophet' has essentially the same
meaning, one who speaks by divine inspiration as the interpreter or spokesman
of God, whether it be a message of duty, a warning or a prediction of future
events. The twofold meaning is due to the two senses of the preposition pro (in
the Greek from which our word prophet is derived), 'for' and 'before';
so a prophet is one who speaks for God, and one who tells before hand
what is to take place" (Peloubet's Bible Dictionary, 1971, "Prophet,
Prophecy").
It is important that we understand the role of these prophets. Daniel
refers to prophets as "Your [God's] servants…who spoke in Your name
to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the
land" (Daniel 9:6). They were messengers whose role went far beyond revealing
the future. They also gave instruction, pointed to lessons from history,
reminded the people of their covenant with God, showed kings and nations
their sins and proclaimed God's call to repentance. As God's spokesman,
the Bible sometimes referred to a prophet simply as "a man of God" (1 Samuel 2:27).
