Part of the prophetic task is to bear witness to Jesus the Messiah, including to how he fulfils Messianic predictions in Scripture.

Prediction was not the central element in Biblical prophecy. Prophets were primarily proclaimers of the principles of righteousness to the people of their own day. As is frequently noted, they were 'forthtellers' rather than 'foretellers'. But it remains true that inspired prophecy always points to a future when the great principles the prophets had seen at work in Israel would be openly developed and manifest.

But in addition, the Old Testament prophets from time to time did predict what was going to happen, and these predictions included the coming of a deliverer who would rescue from their sin and disaster his chosen people, and eventually through them the whole of mankind. This was their 'messianic hope'.

Bible prophecy centres around proclaiming God's truth more than predicting the future. However, predictions were sometimes given – including of a coming deliverer.

The Coming of 'Messiah'

On one occasion John the Baptist, who was at that time in prison, sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus this question: "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:19). 'The one who was to come', or the erkomenos (to use the Greek word), was a common way of referring to God's expected deliverer. There is hardly any reference in the Old Testament to the word 'Messiah' as a description of the 'coming one'. Such description was something that developed during the years between the end of the Old Testament period and the beginning of the New (see Dan 9:25-26).

It is significant that the word 'Messiah' was used of Cyrus, the Persian ruler: "This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus..." (Isa 45:1), and again, "I call you by name and bestow on you a title of honour, though you did not acknowledge me" (Isa 45:4). 'Messiah', from the Hebrew Mashiach meaning 'anointed', is the English equivalent of our word 'Christ'. High priests and kings were anointed with oil in order to establish them in their office (Ex 29:5-7; 1 Sam 10:1). Jesus is rightly called the Christ because God anointed him with the Holy Spirit, as Peter told the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:38).

The word 'Messiah' was not used to describe God's expected deliverer until the years between the Old Testament and the New.

How Old is the Messianic Hope?

It is as old as the story of man's sin in the Garden of Eden. For no sooner had man rebelled against God's commands than God was declaring (in a promise which is usually referred to as the 'protevangelium') the coming of a deliverer who would be "of the seed of the woman". "He (the man) will crush your (the serpent's) head and you will strike his heel" (Gen 3:15).

Another element in the messianic hope was given in Jacob's blessing to his children when he indicated that the deliverer would come from the tribe of Judah: "The sceptre will not depart from Judah...until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience [or gathering] of the nations is his" (Gen 14:10).

This promise was still being echoed many years later by Ezekiel (Ezek 21:27). An unexpected source of further information about the Messiah is to be found in the inspired words of the nevertheless unholy prophet Balaam, "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel. he will crush his enemy..." (Num 24:17-18).

No sooner had man rebelled against God's demands than God was declaring the coming of a deliverer.

The Messianic Hope - Four Pictures

1. A Prophet-Messiah Like Moses

God's promise to Moses is recorded in Deuteronomy 18:18-19: "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him". We are told towards the end of that same book that "no prophet has risen like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face" (Deut 34:10). The context of God's promise to Moses was that of the occult practices of the surrounding nations. These things were detestable in God's sight and he warned his people to have nothing to do with such practices (Deut 18:9-13).

In our day, with the rapid growth of witchcraft, magic and occultism, folk both within and outside of our churches need to be told that such things bring the anger of God upon us. Peter's speech in Solomon's Colonnade makes it clear that Jesus the Christ is the one whose words we must obey, for this is the Messiah like Moses (Acts 3:22).

2. A Priest-Messiah Like Melchizedek

There is only one appearance of Melchizedek, the mysterious king-priest of Salem (see Gen 14:18-20). He is described as the priest of God Most High. He brought with him bread and wine (though we have no guidance as to what they were used for), and he accepted tithes paid by Abraham. Had it not been for the writer of Psalm 110, no-one would have recognised the important lessons to be learned from Melchizedek. He reveals that the Messiah was to be a priest, not in the order of Levi, but in the order of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4).

Jesus claimed this psalm as speaking of himself (Mark 12:35-36) and later on the writer to the Hebrews points out that Melchizedek is a type of Christ's priesthood - for Christ's is a royal priesthood in a way that Aaron's was not.

Melchizedek is the type of an eternal priesthood, as nothing is said in Scripture about either his birth and his antecedents, and we know nothing about his death (Heb 7:1-3). In the order of Levi, relays of priests had to be ordained, because being subject to death they could not go on for ever. In such ways the writer points out the superiority of the Priest-Messiah.

The Messiah was to be a priest like Melchizedek – whose priesthood was both royal and eternal.

3. A King-Messiah from David's Family

Although they are important in our understanding of the Messianic hope brought to us in the word of God, comparatively little is written about the two categories of title we have been considering, i.e. the prophet-Messiah and the priest-Messiah. However, much more is written about the King-Messiah.

We have seen that the Messiah was to come from the line of Judah, and this was true of David. The prophet Nathan brought the word of the Lord to David and assured him that his kingdom would be established for ever: "Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me, your throne shall be established for ever" (2 Sam 7:16). That could not prove true for David himself, but pointed to the Messiah whose kingdom would last forever (Rev 11:15).

David was Israel's favourite king, and all subsequent kings were compared with him (1 Ki 11:4; 11:6, 14:8; 15:3; 15:11-14; 2 Ki 18:3 and 22:2). David is celebrated in the Psalms (see Ps 2, 18, 21, 45, 63, 72, 89, 101 and 312). These psalms indicate that the Messiah would:

• meet worldwide opposition;
• become world ruler;
• have Zion as his capital;
• enjoy a rule, both prosperous and peaceful, that would last forever;
• be the friend of the poor but the enemy of the oppressor;
• inherit God's covenant and Melchizedek's priesthood;
• be seated at God's right hand as Yahweh's son;
• possess an everlasting name
• and receive unending thanks.

As well as having the roles of prophet-Messiah and priest-Messiah, the Bible predicts the Messiah as being a King coming from the house of Judah and from David's line.

A subsidiary title to be given to the King-Messiah is shown in Jeremiah 23:5-6. "'The days are coming' declares the Lord, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely...in his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.'"

4. A Suffering Messiah Like Isaiah's Servant

The hope of a Messiah who would be at one and the same time prophet, priest and king was appreciated by those who read about him in the psalms and prophets, but the idea of someone who was going to let people trample over him and dismiss him as not worth a second look was not one that appealed to anyone in Israel (Isa 53:2, 3, 7). It was a totally new concept of messiahship that introduced the idea of vicarious suffering.

But that is the only way of salvation for sinners, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. It is not surprising that the idea of a King marching in as conqueror was more appealing than a bloodied figure carrying his cross outside the city-wall and dragging along the instruments on which he would die an agonising death.

The Messianic Hope: All Four Kinds of Messiahs in One

No one prophet gave the complete picture, and today this is still true (1 Cor 14:29). The guise in which the Messiah-Jesus came was a bitter disappointment to the Jews of his day. They had formed their conception of what the Messiah should be from their partial study of the scriptures, and he was not the kind of Messiah they wanted or were expecting. "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him" (John 1:11).

The Jews formed their conception of the Messiah from a partial study of the scriptures, failing to recognise the prophecies that he would suffer, and be humble and down-trodden.

Are we likely to fall into the same error in our day? Are our minds really open to all that is promised in the scriptures concerning our soon-to-be-returning Messiah at his Second Coming?

We can be certain that, however biblical our own understanding of eschatology might be, no one is going to get it all right. That is no reason for giving up our studies - but every reason to proceed with humility and caution. Jesus' contemporaries did not get it right either, because certain things seemed inconsistent and irreconcilable.

Yet, slowly and surely, the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit pondered on the Messianic foreshadowings of Christ in the scriptures until they discovered that the various elements found their union in him. They came to see in him King, Priest, Prophet and Suffering Servant, and at the same time they saw in him God and worshipped him in adoring love and wonder (John 14:9). "All the prophets testify about him," said Peter (Acts 10:43), and we must continue to follow their example.

The Prophets' Task: Bearing Testimony to Jesus the Messiah

The question with which we started this study was, "Are you the one who was to come or should we expect someone else?" The woman of Samaria found the answer when she said to Jesus, "I know that the Messiah (called Christ) is coming." And he replied, "I who speak to you am he!" (John 4:25-26).

Are our minds really open to all that is promised in the scriptures concerning the second coming of our Lord Jesus?

The crowd who had witnessed the feeding of the five thousand were on the right track for the correct answer when they reasoned, "Surely this is the prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14). Best of all is the personal testimony of Martha, who exclaimed, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world" (John 11:27).

Central to all true prophecy is the Lord Jesus the Messiah, and we do well to heed the words of Revelation 19:10, addressed to those who were holding to the testimony of Jesus: John says, "Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 6, No 2, March/April 1990.

Whilst the media puts us all on information overload, the church largely stays silent. How can Christians understand the nature and purposes of God - and make them known?

There is no shortage of news today. In fact, most people are on information overload! We are bombarded with messages through the internet, from social media, from the TV news, from newspapers and magazines and all the stuff that comes through the letterbox. The world news becomes more depressing every day. The following are a few headlines from the first week of 2016:

Starving people in besieged towns near Damascus / Islamic State beheads more victims and threatens Britain / 47 dissidents executed in Saudi Arabia / Iran and Saudi Arabia break diplomatic contact / North Korea explodes a hydrogen bomb / Stock Market crash in China threatens economy / More migrants drown in boats from Turkey to Greece / Arab and North African men assault women at New Year celebrations in German cities.

But all these headlines are about what human beings are doing in the world. The great missing factor in our news broadcasts is "What is God doing today?"

Silence from the Church

This question should be in the minds of every Christian and on the lips of every preacher in every church in the land! Why is there such silence from church leaders? Do Christians no longer believe in the sovereignty of God? The Bible teaches us that God is not simply the God of creation, who flung the stars into orbit and created the universe – God is still active, sustaining his creation, and communicating with human beings whom he made in his own image.

The media is highly active in bringing us information about what is happening in every part of the world. But why is the church not similarly active in telling the world what God is doing today? The world does not know that God is active in working out his purposes today because there is no word coming from major church leaders and ordinary Christians are so silent. Why are we so timid about being witnesses to the truth? Do we not know that nothing happens in the world that is not either the direct will of God or his allowable will?

The media is highly active bringing us information on what is happening around the world. Why is the church not similarly active in declaring what God is doing?

The Nature and Purposes of GodA lady watches the recent dip in the Chinese stock market. See Photo Credits.

The Bible is packed with information about the nature and purposes of God: how he revealed his truth to the prophets of Israel, how he sent Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, to enable us to know him as our Father, and how he both loves us and is a God of justice, requiring us to be his witnesses to the world.

But God never gives a task without also giving the ability to fulfil it. This is why the Holy Spirit was given to believers to enable them to understand what God is doing and to empower them to speak to others in his name.

God told the prophets that there would come a day when the nations would reach such a point of rebellion against the truth that he would start to shake them like gravel in a sieve. This is reported by Isaiah (2:12-21) and Haggai (2:6-7) and repeated in Hebrews (12:26f), where the purposes of God's shaking of the nations is explained.

Those who understand the truth revealed in the Bible and who also study world history will know that a new phase of history was entered in the early 20th century with the First World War, which signalled the collapse of the great modern empires. This process was accelerated by the Second World War which changed the map of the world and began great movements of population that are coming to a climax today, with vast numbers moving from east to west and south to north. The inevitable clash of cultures is only just beginning, which will intensify instability and violence in the nations.

The Holy Spirit was given to believers to empower them to understand what God is doing and to speak to others in his name.

At the same time, the rise of militant secularism in Western nations is undermining truth, deceiving people, blinding them to the significance of what is happening around them and destroying their ability to resist the power of false religions and philosophies that threaten their security. Western civilisation is beginning to crumble and this is a major reason why God is shaking the nations - to alert us to the danger of what lies ahead.

The Searchlight of Truth

Just consider what God has done in recent years. He has been turning on the searchlight of truth to reveal the corruption that is spreading like a cancer through the Western nations. In 2008 the light was turned on greed and corruption in the banking industry. In Britain this was followed by similar revelations among our politicians and revelations of sexual immorality among church leaders, followed by similar revelations among celebrities who are the idols of modern society.

A major reason why God is shaking the nations is to alert us to the danger of what lies ahead.

Now the searchlight of truth is being turned upon Islam and this is partly why there is such turmoil in the Middle East, where Islam began. God has even allowed the establishment of the Islamic State, whose atrocities have shocked many Muslims who know very little about the history of Islam, the activities of Muhammad, and the teaching of the Qur'an – all of which are reflected in the practices of Islamic State fighters, who claim to be the only true Muslims. Muslim scholars know the teaching and practices of Muhammad, but it has been hidden from the world for centuries. It is now being revealed as the searchlight of truth is turned on.

Truth Brings Freedom

At the same time, many Jews and Muslims across the Middle East - from North Africa to Iraq and Iran - are having dreams and visions of Jesus, as God reveals his truth to them. This is preparing the way of the Kingdom of God, which the writer to the Hebrews says is the purpose of the great shaking of the nations (Heb 12:26f).
So instead of being afraid of all the turmoil in the world today, we should actually be glad to see God at work in his world, shaking all the man-made systems and false teachings that have deceived and enslaved multitudes. It is the truth that sets us free!

As we enter into a new year, not knowing what we will encounter, how can we look ahead with understanding?

Looking ahead into the New Year is like driving a car in rain and thick fog with the windscreen wipers going flat out and your eyes straining to pick up familiar shapes and to distinguish signs of danger. But Christians have several weapons in their spiritual armoury enabling them to look ahead with understanding. In particular, they have the Bible and the Holy Spirit, who is the 'Counsellor' and the interpreter of the word of God.

The Promised Counsellor

Jesus promised his followers that the Holy Spirit would not only guide us into all truth but that he will even "tell you what is yet to come" (John 16:12). Obviously that does not mean some kind of soothsayer gift, or the ability to know everything that is going to happen in the future. This promise was made at the Last Supper when Jesus was preparing his disciples for the shock of his death and resurrection. He was reassuring them that they would never be separated from him once the Holy Spirit came into their lives.

Christians have several weapons in their armoury enabling them to look ahead with understanding. In particular we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit, who counsels us.

Jesus' emphasis was upon the truth being revealed to his disciples so that they could be his witnesses in the world. If, on some occasions, this meant that they needed to know what would happen in the future, then this would be revealed to them. That promise still holds good today, but only when it is essential for the furtherance of the gospel.

Of course, the broad outlines of the way God intends working out his purposes are already set out in Scripture, leading up to the day when he will draw all things together and the nations will be gathered before Jesus (Matt 25:32). But most biblical scholars believe there is quite a bit to be fulfilled before that day. Nevertheless, we clearly live in a day when momentous events are occurring, which may not only be turning points in history but actually milestones in the fulfilment of God's purposes.

The Year Past

As we noted earlier last year, 2015 was a year of anniversaries, such as the 1000^th anniversary of the Viking invasion of England, the 800^th anniversary of Magna Carta, the 750^th anniversary of our first parliament, the 200^th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and the 70^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. But what of the future? What does 2016 hold for Britain and for the nations of the world?

In the last week of 2015 the so-called Islamic State suffered its first major reversal in losing control of Ramadi, a key town in northern Iraq. But does this signal a turning point in the war against the Islamic fighters? Peace talks are scheduled for the New Year in the five year long civil war that has ravaged Syria and changed the demography of a large part of the Middle East. Is there anything in the Bible that helps us to understand what is happening in that part of the world?

We clearly live in a day when momentous events are occurring – not only turning points in history, but milestones in the fulfilment of God's purposes.

Understanding the Middle East Powers

Iraq and Iran generated some of the most violent and bloodthirsty empires that ruled the region in biblical times. Assyria, Babylon and Persia each had their capital cities in this territory. Between them they were responsible for hundreds of years of cruelty, oppression and injustice inflicted upon all the small nations around them including Israel and Judah. The ruthless atrocities committed by their armies struck terror into the hearts of their neighbours.

But the prophets foresaw a day of retribution coming upon them for the gross suffering they had inflicted upon others. Isaiah devoted two chapters (13 and 14) to the judgement that would come upon Babylon and Assyria. He foresaw Babylon being overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah. He said "She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations" (Isa 13:20) and Jeremiah also devoted two whole chapters (50 and 51) to what he foresaw coming upon Babylon. He prophesied that God would "stir up the spirit of a destroyer against Babylon" (Jer 51:1). He continued "I will send foreigners to Babylon to winnow her and devastate her land; they will oppose her on every side in the day of her disaster."

Prophecies Against Babylon

Historically that did not happen when the Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus, the Persian Ruler, in 539 BC because Babylon surrendered to him without a shot being fired and the city remained a centre of commerce and prosperity for many years. In fact, that prophecy was not fulfilled until hundreds of years later. Babylon gradually fell into decay during the Greek period and then when the Muslims conquered the land in AD 650, what remained of it was totally destroyed. Babylon has remained desolate to this day - despite Saddam Hussein's attempt to revive its ancient glory.

Prophecies about Babylon's destruction were eventually fulfilled so that it remains desolate to this day – despite Saddam Hussein's attempt to revive its ancient glory.

No-one lives in Babylon now, as both Isaiah and Jeremiah foresaw. Jeremiah wrote his long prophecy on a scroll and sent it via a messenger to Babylon in the year 593 BC with the instruction that the whole of the scroll should be read in Babylon - presumably on a bridge over the River Euphrates, because he gave the scroll to a man called Seraiah with this instruction, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. Then say, 'O Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate forever.' When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her'" (Jer 51:61-64).

Prophecies for Today

Are there any prophecies that are relevant for understanding what is happening today? The answer to this question lies in Ezekiel, Haggai, Malachi, as well as in the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels and in the Book of Revelation. Clearly we cannot review such a range of Scripture in a short article such as this. But we can note one or two salient points.

Anti-government protesters shout slogans against Assad, 28/12/15. See Photo Credits.A number of Arab leaders, such as Ahmadinejad the former President of Iran, have made clear declarations of their intention to destroy Israel. At the moment, with the Syrian conflict still at its height, none of the nations in the Middle East are in a position to launch an attack upon Israel, so apart from the odd incident of violence involving Palestinians, Israel has largely dropped below the radar of the world's media. But we all know that it will happen sometime.

The prophet Ezekiel devotes two chapters (38 and 39) to what he foresees as a combined attack upon Israel coming from many of the surrounding nations. But his prophecy is quite specific and everyone in Israel today is aware of his warnings. He says that a combined international army will invade Israel; "In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety" (Ezek 38:8). All of this sounds very much like the history of the modern state of Israel since 1948. But the prophecy also sees the Israeli population as being "a peaceful and unsuspecting people" (38:11) which certainly is not an accurate description of Israel today, where everyone is on the alert.

Ezekiel prophesied a combined attack on Israel from surrounding nations which has not yet come to pass – which requires Israel to be 'peaceful and unsuspecting'.

False Peace

Strangely enough, the greatest danger may be coming from the so-called 'peace talks' which the United Nations are organising, when they hope to bring together the warring factions in Syria together with President Assad, plus the support of unlikely bedfellows such as Iran, Russia, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Once the Arabs have settled their disputes, Israel may be in greater danger which inevitably brings a threat to world peace.

The outcome of these talks is more likely to be a false peace based upon a patched-up agreement - rather than a true peace. Such an agreement with the backing of the United Nations could lull Israel into a false sense of security which could endanger their future.

This is the kind of scenario referred to in the prophecy given by David Noakes in Jerusalem back in 2003 that we are printing alongside this article. We cannot look ahead into 2016 without sounding a note of warning. At the same time, we express our confidence in the sovereignty of God, who is clearly working out his purposes at this point in world history.

Strangely enough, the greatest danger may be from UN peace talks, which will likely create a false peace that will lull Israel into a false sense of security – but which will not last.

Need for Committed Prayer

Perhaps the greatest need today is for a greater commitment of Christians to the study of the word of God and to specifically focused intercession. The key to the future lies not so much with the activities of churches and denominations with their synods and assemblies, but with the multitude of small groups of believers who faithfully gather in prayer and Bible study, as they did in the earliest days of the church.

Prophecy given by David Noakes at the Intercessors for Israel Conference, Jerusalem, January 2003. It was specifically addressed to the nation of Israel and was accepted by the ministers and leaders to whom it was given in 2003. We are publishing it having tested it ourselves. However, we also encourage you to weigh it thoroughly yourself too. 

Strengthen my people in the knowledge of their God and of his Word. Bring to them the whole Counsel of God that they may not be taken by surprise or deceived in the days to come.

Do not fear Islam for this principality shall not prevail. It has thrown down the gauntlet of challenge to the God of Israel and I have accepted the challenge.

This power will be put to shame and destroyed for I have taken the battlefield. Stand with me and fight for I am with you to overcome. Islam will fall, but not at once for the cup of iniquity is not yet full to the brim. There will be a lengthy struggle and it will involve many nations.

Do not fear the conflict or the hardships. There will be shaking and upheaval and turmoil but I have warned you in advance in my Word that this will be so. In the battle set your eyes on Me and remember that this is not your lasting home. Your destination and your inheritance is in the Kingdom cut out of the Rock without human hands and in the Eternal City that has unshakeable foundations whose Builder and Maker is God.

Comfort yourselves with the knowledge of this truth and let your encouragement come from Me alone. Do not fear the wars that must yet come but rather fear the peace that will finally result. It will not be My peace but a counterfeit peace inspired by the spirit of Babylon.

Prepare my people for these days with the knowledge of my revealed truth. Teach them the whole Counsel of God and pray that they and many others will not be deceived in the time before the 'lamb of peace' is revealed in its true colours as the 'dragon of destruction'.

The strategy of the adversary is to wear down by continual attrition to the point where in the weariness of conflict that desire for rest will make your people willing to accept a false peace which will prove in its working to be the deadliest weapon of all. Your nation will desire this peace and the world will desire to impose it upon you but do not be deceived. Prepare my people to watch and pray and keep alert: strong in the knowledge of the whole revelation of my Word until I come, for only then will your nation receive true security.

About the author: David Noakes was a solicitor in London until he joined Clifford Hill’s ministry in 1984. He has been part of the Prophetic Word Ministries/Prophecy Today team since that time, although he has also exercised an independent ministry speaking at conferences both in Britain and overseas. He has visited Israel many times and until recently was chairman of Hatikvah Film Trust, working with Hugh Kitson making films about Israel. He is a well-known Bible teacher with an established ministry and remains an official advisor to Issachar Ministries (Prophecy Today UK's parent charity).

We know more about Jeremiah than about any other prophet – including about his emotional response to the labours of the prophetic ministry.

We know very little about the personal lives of the majority of the prophets of the Old Testament. Beyond being told their names, details of their families and the places from which they came, we know almost nothing about them.

This is not true of Jeremiah, whose prophecies contain a considerable amount of biographical material. It is from his writings that we are able to see the emotional reaction of a prophet to the state of the nation to which he was sent and to the word of God that he was called to proclaim. We know more about him than about any other prophet, and are able to share his feelings as he tells out God's message.

Judah's Decline and Fall

Jeremiah's ministry followed on the reign of three kings: Manasseh, 696-642 BC, the two year rulership of his successor Amon, and the thirty-one year term of Josiah from 641 BC to his death on the battlefield of Megiddo around 610 BC (2 Ki 23:30).

Jeremiah began his ministry about half¬way through Josiah's reign. He continued through the three-month rule of Jehoahaz, the ten-year reign of Jehoiakim, another three-month rule, this time under Jehoiakin, finishing up under Zedekiah, whose ten-year reign ended with the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 BC.

We know more about Jeremiah than about any other prophet – including about his emotional response to the labours of the prophetic ministry.

Judah went through an all-time low during Manasseh's tenure of office, though things apparently took a turn for the better during the reign of Josiah, which included the discovery in the Temple of the Book of the Law. But taken overall, these were years that saw the decline and fall of the Judean kingdom. It was during this difficult and dangerous period that Jeremiah conducted his ministry.

Jeremiah the Man

Jeremiah was a sensitive man, capable of deep emotion, lacking self-confidence but yet courageous. He felt totally incompetent to be appointed God's prophet (Jer 1:5-10). We have a suggestion in his oft-repeated phrase 'rising up early and speaking', which occurs a number of times in his writings but nowhere else in Scripture, that he was a man with a disciplined life, able to keep his body under control (Jer 7:13, 25). The NIV translates this phrase as 'again and again'; the Hebrew word means 'to rise early'.

Jeremiah conducted his ministry during a difficult and dangerous period for Judah – and as a sensitive man, felt totally incompetent to be appointed God's prophet.

This Old Testament prophet was a loyal patriot who cared deeply about what happened to his nation. but had to face being branded as a traitor (Jer 37:13-14). He was clearly a man of the outdoors, observing almond blossom, the sirocco, the migration of storks and doves and the reproductive urge of wild asses (Jer 1:11-12; 4:11-12; 8:7; 2:23-24). How awful it must have been for him to be kept in prison or thrown into a cistern! But he was prepared to put up with all this unpleasantness rather than deny the word of God that was burning in his heart.

For his was no academic reaction to the letter of the law. He not only heard the word; he felt it (Jer 20:9). But sadly, as he records a dozen times or so, "They did not listen!" (Jer 6:19 and 13:11, for example). But despite their failure to respond to God's message, Jeremiah went on praying for them. He said to the Lord, "Remember that I stood before you and spoke on their behalf to turn your wrath away from them" (Jer 18:20). God invited Jeremiah's prayers (Jer 33:3), but the time came (Jer 7:16) when he was forbidden to pray for the people. It was too late. God said to him, "Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people!" (Jer 15:1).

We know that Jeremiah was a loyal patriot who prayed again and again for God to spare Judah his judgment.

Years later, after the fall of Jerusalem, the people asked Jeremiah to pray for them, "That the Lord will tell us where we should go and what we should do" (Jer 42:3). Jeremiah waited on the Lord for ten days before receiving an answer. But then, when he told them God's reply, they refused to do as he had said. How frustrating it must have been for this godly man to have had to prophesy to such disobedient people! It is still true today that many want to know his will, but refuse to obey when it is made known (Jer 42:7, 19-22).

By contrast Jeremiah stood firm, unmoved by either popular acclaim or princely threat. It is not surprising that he was highly critical of the false prophets, the 'windbags' (Jer 5:13) who prophesied lies and gave the people false hopes (Jer 23:16). Jeremiah quickly discerned their fatal weakness: they had not stood in the council of the Lord to 'see or hear his word' (Jer 23:18, 22). Regarding himself as a shepherd of God's people (Jer 17:6), Jeremiah was horrified at the failure of their shepherds to care for God's flock (Jer 10:21; 50:6).

Jeremiah was highly critical of false prophets and, as a shepherd of God's people, was horrified at the failure of shepherds to care for God's flock.

Jeremiah's 'Confessions'

In the so-called 'confessions' of Jeremiah we have a disclosure exposing the depths of the prophet's soul. These 'confessions' are to be found in the following verses: Jer 10:22-24; 11:18-12:6; 15:10-21; 17:9-11, 17:14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18. The use of the word 'confession' is best understood as referring to need rather than sin.

Here are some matters dealt with in the 'confessions':

• Jeremiah asks to be corrected (Jer 10:24).
• When God reveals to Jeremiah that wicked people are plotting to kill him, he cries out for vengeance (Jer 11:18-20).
• He then complains that it is the wicked who prosper (Jer 12:1).
• The prophet claims that God knows all about him (Jer 12:3).
• Then he appeals to the One who understands and cares, asking the Lord to avenge him (Jer 15:15).

Jeremiah then dares to question God's actions, saying "Your help is as uncertain as a seasonal mountain brook - sometimes a flood, sometimes as dry as a bone!" (Jer 15:18, Living Bible). To this complaint the Lord replies, "Stop this foolishness and talk some sense!" (Jer 15:19, Living Bible). He adds the stern warning, "Only if you return to trusting me will I let you continue as my spokesman". In a further warning to the prophet, God declares, "The heart is deceitful above all things...no-one can really know how bad it is" (Jer 17:9). Jeremiah then pleads with God, "Do not be a terror to me: you are my refuge in the day of disaster" (Jer 17:17).

Jeremiah dares to question God's actions and faithfulness, and the Lord rebukes him.

Jeremiah becomes really angry with his accusers and reminds the Lord that these are the very people he has prayed for (Jer 18:20). Now he demands. "Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown" (Jer 18:23). In an astonishing accusation Jeremiah claims that the Lord has deceived, overpowered and prevailed against him and that he has suffered ridicule, reproach and insults (Jer 20:7-8), and that his friends are awaiting the moment when he will slip up (Jer 20:10). All this together brings him to the point where he curses the day he was born (Jer 20:14-15).

But better thoughts enter his mind before the 'confessions' come to an end. He says, "But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior, so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked" (Jer 20:11-13).

Today's prophets can learn from Jeremiah's 'confessions'.

Jeremiah's Emotions

From his youth Jeremiah manifested the emotions associated with personal inadequacy. When he confessed, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child", the Lord replied with the reassurance, "Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you" (Jer 1:6-8). Later on came another reassurance that the Lord would be with him, and that he would make him like a bronze wall against the people (Jer 1:15-20).

Jeremiah experienced loneliness. Like Jesus, his brothers were unsupportive, and he was forbidden to marry (Jer 16:1-2). In the Jewish society of his day, to remain unmarried was almost unheard of. Jeremiah became the symbol of the message he proclaimed, for with the coming slaughter in Jerusalem this was neither the time nor the place to raise a family. He needed the sustaining comfort and sympathy of a wife and family, but they were denied him. This was the divine purpose for Jeremiah, and he had to learn how "blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him" (Jer 17:7).

Jeremiah had to face disappointment when the revival under King Josiah, which seemed so promising and in which Jeremiah had shared (2 Ki 23:19; Jer 11:6-7), gradually faded away.

Another emotional trauma that persistently dogged Jeremiah was the loss of credibility when there was no quick fulfilment of his predictions. He complained, "They keep saying to me, 'Where is the word of the Lord? Let it now be fulfilled!'" (Jer 17:15). Jeremiah had to continue predicting the fall of Jerusalem for years before it finally fell.

Jeremiah experienced personal inadequacy, loneliness, disappointment and a loss of credibility, but learned the blessings of trusting in God alone.

He could proclaim the message, "I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future", but it would be seventy years before that promise was fulfilled (Jer 29:10-11).

Jeremiah experienced extreme frustration. After the fall of Jerusalem, the army officers and the people asked him to pray that God would show them where to go and what to do (Jer 42:3). For ten days, as we noted earlier, Jeremiah waited on the Lord for an answer; when it came they were told to stay in the land and not to go to Egypt. If they did this, all would be well. Imagine Jeremiah's frustration when he saw that they were determined to go to Egypt and refused the instructions he had given them from God!

Jeremiah had been encouraged by the actions of Josiah, who "did what was just and right" (Jer 22:15), but must have been filled with dismay when Shallum his son (otherwise known as Jehoahaz) came to the throne of Judah with the intention, in his own words, that "I will build myself a great palace" (Jer 22:14). The prophet experienced an increasing sense of horror with the realisation that he could do nothing to avert the disaster he saw approaching; it is just as difficult today to cope with a revelation of impending disaster. There were numerous threats on Jeremiah's life and he must have been conscious of his vulnerability. Some sentiments from one of the Servant songs in Isaiah 53:7 and from Jeremiah 11:19 surely describe his feelings.

Priests, prophets and people agreed that he must die as the penalty for daring to claim that "This house [the Temple] will be like Shiloh" (Jer 26:7-9). During the reign of Zedekiah, Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonians would capture Jerusalem and burn it down. Zedekiah's officials, angered at such an unpleasant message, affirmed that Jeremiah should die. When threats are made against someone's life the natural reaction is to run away. So thought the captain of the guard, who arrested Jeremiah as he was leaving Jerusalem, though in fact the prophet was merely on his way to visit the Benjamites to claim his share of some property there. But the suspicion was that Jeremiah was deserting to the Babylonians, and he was beaten and imprisoned. Later he was lowered into a cistern.

Jeremiah experienced extreme frustration when people did not accept God's word, and was conscious of his vulnerability as numerous threats were made to his life.

But Jeremiah stuck with the people of Judah, even choosing to stay with them on their travels to Egypt when he could have been set free (Jer 43:7-8). But God raised up men such as Ebed-Melech and Ahikam to help the man of God when he was ill-treated; their encouragement and support must have been a welcome change from the more general hostility that surrounded him.

Jeremiah and Jesus

Jeremiah was the most Christ-like of the prophets. One of the answers to Jesus' question, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" was Jeremiah! (Matt 16:13-14). Michaelangelo portrays Jeremiah in the Sistine Chapel 'With eyes cast down', brooding in thought. As we have seen, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah is as appropriate a description of Jeremiah as it is of Jesus. Both were despised and rejected by their contemporaries.

But it would not be right to brand them as pessimists. As with Jesus, the message proclaimed by Jeremiah was one of hope (Jer 25:11-13; 29:10-11; 3:15-18; 23:5-6; 32:14-15). Jeremiah's use of the word 'perhaps' (Jer 36:7) is paralleled in Jesus' story of the barren fig-tree, in which the man who took care of the vineyard said, "Leave it alone for another year...If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down" (Luke 13:8).

This is the right emotion for all who are called to the prophetic ministry.

First Published in Prophecy Today, Vol 5 No 4, July/August 1989.

What do we learn about God from the instances in Scripture where he uses the weather as a prophetic sign?

The prophets of the Old Testament believed that Yahweh, the God they served, was in absolute control of the weather - that good weather was a sign of his approval and that unfavourable weather was his way of reproving his often disobedient children and of keeping them in check (Deut 28:15, 22-23; Amos 4:7-8).

The prophets delighted to point out Yahweh's superiority over the idols and rain-gods whose help the children of Israel were only too prone to enlist (Jer 10:11-13). Typical of this was the stinging sarcasm addressed to the prophets of Baal by Elijah on Mount Carmel after their total failure (1 Kings 18:26-29).

The prophets believed that Yahweh was in absolute control of the weather – and delighted to point out his superiority over idols and rain-gods.

God is Reliable and is to be Praised

After the flood in the days of Noah, God made a promise that he would be man's faithful provider so long as the world went on. "As long as the earth endures, seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease" (Gen 8:22). Hundreds of years later Paul addressed a crowd at Lystra and sought to turn them from their errors to the true God who had borne witness to himself by constantly supplying them with rain. crops and food. "He has not left himself without witness. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their season. he provides you with plenty of food" (Acts 14:17).

Earlier on, Joel had encouraged his hearers to rejoice in the Lord who had given them "both autumn and spring rains" (Joel 2:23). Both the 'former' and the 'latter' rains were essential to produce good crops in Israel. The autumn rain was necessary in order to facilitate sowing and the spring rain. which fell in March or April, was important to swell the grain then approaching maturity.

The prophet went on to say "You will have plenty to eat. and You will praise the name of the Lord your God" (Joel 2:26). Even during the wilderness wanderings lasting 40 years God was faithful in providing manna, in a situation in which it was impossible to grow crops. "Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed". It is characteristic of Yahweh that he provided them with plenty (Ex 16:21; Ps 78:23-25).

After the flood, God promised that he would be man's faithful provider 'as long as the earth endures'.

Yahweh is the True God and is to be Obeyed

There were many Baals (or Baalim), Canaanite storm and fertility gods, in the time of Elijah. The Baal favoured by Israel's king Ahab was Melqart, the seat of whose worship was in Tyre, the city from which Ahab's wicked wife, Jezebel, came. She had introduced Baal worship into Israel and had at least 450 prophets working to eliminate the worship of Yahweh, the true God.

In order to bring the people back to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the prophet Elijah was to inform King Ahab that for the next few years there would be neither dew nor rain (1 Kings 17:1). It is significant that the prophet had to bring about this drought through prayer (James 5:17).

At the conclusion of a three-year period during which there had been no dew nor rain, Elijah arranged with the king a confrontation on Mount Carmel as the result of which the prophets of Baal were disgraced and the Israelites were obliged to acknowledge that Yahweh was the real God. Once the forces of Baalim were overthrown the land could again enjoy the rain from heaven, but not before Elijah had prayed persistently until "a small cloud the size of a man's hand" provided him with evidence that rain was on its way (1 Kings 18:19. 38, 41-46).

It is significant that the drought inflicted upon Ahab was brought about by prayer and ended by prayer.

The prophet Moses had previously explained to God's people that the gift to them of good weather was conditional upon their obedience:

If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands...all these blessings will come upon you...The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season...However, if you do not obey the Lord your God...the sky over your head will be bronze. the ground beneath you iron (Deut 28:1-2, 12, 15, 23).

God is Sovereign and Claims the Right to Control the Weather

God's people have always had to come to terms with the fact that Yahweh exercises absolute authority over the weather. The position is made clear in the words of Psalm 135:6-7: "The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth...he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses".

In the interview Nicodemus had with Jesus, he was told "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going" (John 3:8). Clearly Jesus is saying that the wind blows where God pleases, and that God is in sovereign control, whether he is referring to the weather in the natural world or the work of regeneration in the human spirit.

There is an element of mystery in the weather even to today's scientifically trained weather-forecasters, as was evident in the hurricane which unexpectedly hit the south of England in October 1987. We must not grumble at the weather God sends nor be like the wife of Job, who suggested that he should curse God. Rather we should follow Job's advice, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10 NASV). After all is said and done, he does know best.

God's people have always had to come to terms with the fact that Yahweh exercises absolute sovereignty over the weather.

God is the Source of 'Natural Disasters'

On the day when David had been delivered from all his enemies he was inspired to sing about the weapons in God's armoury that had been used to bring about his deliverance, weapons we call 'natural disasters':

The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook: they trembled because he was angry...Out of the brightness of his presence bolts of lightning blazed forth. The Lord thundered from heaven. He shot arrows and scattered the enemies, bolts of lightning and routed them. (2 Sam 22:1, 8, 13, 14, 15)

Earlier in their history Yahweh had made use of hailstones in softening up the hearts of Pharaoh and his princes to let the children of Israel leave Egypt. Exodus 9:24 records that they accompanied the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.

The last-but-one plague was that of darkness. God said to Moses: "Stretch out your hand towards the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt - darkness that can be felt. So...total darkness covered all Egypt for three days" (Ex 10:21-22). This was a particularly disconcerting event for the Egyptians because their god - the sun god Ra - was seen to be powerless to dispel the darkness. God's selectivity and special care for his children is seen in the fact that. although all Egypt was in darkness, "Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived" (Ex 10:23).

Jeremiah was commanded to announce that disaster was coming to Jerusalem as well as to the nations surrounding her:

See. I am beginning to bring disaster on the city that bears my name, and will you indeed go unpunished?...The Lord will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling...Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation: a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth. (Jer 25:29-32)

The prophets believed that God used the weapons in his arsenal to express his anger. This is not a popular idea in our day when so many seem to have exchanged the Almighty for the 'all¬matey'! Nahum expresses his understanding of God in these words:

His way is in the whirlwind and storm...the mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him. (Nah 1:3.5,6)

It is against such a background that the prophet's message becomes so appropriate when he goes on to say. "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him" (Nah 1:7).

The prophets believed that God used the weapons in his arsenal to express his anger – not a popular idea today, when so many have exchanged the Almighty for the 'allmatey'!

God Uses the Weather and 'Natural Disasters' to Test His People

Job had to face a succession of disasters when marauding troops carried off his oxen and donkeys. Then his flocks and the shepherds with them were struck by lightning. Finally, the house where his children were feasting was demolished by a whirlwind, killing them all. Scripture records that "In all this. Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing" (Job 1:13-22).

As the story proceeds and the testing becomes increasingly painful and unpleasant, his friends tried to convince him that he must have sinned against God to suffer such a catalogue of disasters. But he had not sinned. God had allowed these terrible disasters in order to test his servant and to demonstrate Job's utter innocence to satan, the accuser. Prophets today need to be very careful when they so quickly point the accusing finger at those who are passing through severe testing.

Any study of God's power in creation quickly exposes our abysmal ignorance of natural forces and our virtual powerlessness:

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?...Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, 'Here we are...?' do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his? (Job 38:22-24; 34-35; 40:9).

God's Use of the Phenomena is Not Restricted to the Old Testament

When we study the great gospel events we find that they were marked by extraordinary happenings. While Jesus was dying on the cross between twelve noon and three in the afternoon "darkness came over the land...for the sun stopped shining" (Luke 23:44-45); again, "When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit...the earth shook and the rocks split...when the centurion and those with him...saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed. 'Surely he was the son of God!'" (Matt 27:50-54).

When Jesus had been placed in a tomb "there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it" (Matt 28:2).

God's use of nature is not restricted to the Old Testament – in fact, the great gospel events are marked by extraordinary 'natural' happenings.

The Last Days Will Be Marked by Unusual Phenomena

Jesus revealed that before his second coming there would be "great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places and fearful events and great signs from heaven" (Luke 21:11). He said also that "the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken" (Matt 24:29). After these things (as Jesus told the high priest Caiaphas), "You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matt 26:64).

These prophetic revelations help today's prophets to impress upon this generation the need to prepare, "For the coming of the Lord is drawing near" (James 5:8). In the book of the Revelation, the final prophetic word of scripture, there are warnings that must be passed on to our society; warnings of "flashes of lightning...peals of thunder and a severe earthquake, no earthquake like it had ever occurred since man had been on earth...from the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible" (Rev 16:18, 21).

True prophets believe in a God who in his sovereign power controls the weather, 'natural disasters' and the coming judgment, a God of absolute purity and unquestioned authority who is to be feared. "They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!'" (Rev 6:16).

True prophets believe in a God who controls the weather, natural disasters and the coming judgment – a God of absolute authority who is to be feared, but who will one day dwell with his people.

True prophets proclaim a time when God will be with his people: "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain" (Rev 21:4). What a message prophets have to proclaim!

Last week we looked at the difficult task given to prophets to teach people to fear the Lord. This week, we explore another side to the prophetic ministry - the precious ministry of comfort.

Part of the prophets' ministry is to reveal a God to be feared and to warn his people of their danger if they persist in their wrongdoing. Using abrasive speech, they may castigate the people for their disobedience to God's laws and spell out the consequences of continuing rebellion.

But there is another side to the prophetic ministry. "Comfort, comfort my people" (Isa 40:1) is a commission not to Isaiah only but to all who are anointed by the Spirit for the prophetic ministry. We shall not have a complete picture of what a prophet is unless we include his ministry of bringing God's comfort to his people in distress.

We do not have a complete picture of the prophet unless we include the ministry of bringing God's comfort to his people in distress.

Words of Comfort

The Hebrew word for 'comfort' most frequently used in the Old Testament comes from a root meaning 'to sigh or to breathe deeply', and indicates the sympathy in the heart of God. The word for 'compassion' comes from a root meaning 'to fondle' and stresses the intimacy existing between God and his people. It is from this same root that the symbolic name given by God to Hosea's daughter (Lo-Ruhamah, meaning 'not loved') is taken (Hos 1:6).

In the New Testament the words which are translated 'comfort' mostly begin with the prefix 'para' which we have in our English word 'parallel', indicating a 'running alongside'. This gives us the verb parakaleo, meaning to call alongside, and parakletos, the noun which we know in English as 'Paraclete', Jesus' name for the Holy Spirit. These words stress the fact that God draws near and enters into our situation.

Jesus' promise translated in the older versions as "I will not leave you comfortless" is really "I will not leave you as orphans" (Greek: orphanous, John 14:18). These words in both Testaments reveal the heart of the God, whose total character prophets are called to proclaim.

Both Old and New Testaments reveal that God's heart is full of sympathy towards his people and that he desires intimacy and closeness with them.

The God of Comfort and 'Compassion'

God describes himself as the One who comforts his people. "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men?" (Isa 51:12). There is no reason to be afraid of men and of what they might do to us, when we have such a God caring for us.

David was under attack by ruthless men who were seeking his life. Mercifully there was a 'but' to be taken into consideration, for he goes on to say, "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God" (Ps 86:15). We must always remember the God-factor in assessing the situation in which we find ourselves.

The writers of other psalms unite in declaring that "The Lord is gracious and compassionate" (Ps 111:4 and 145:8), and assure us that "The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made" (Ps 145:9). What a privilege prophets enjoy in being responsible for proclaiming God's goodness!

The prophet Isaiah instructs God's people to sing for joy as they are assured by the Lord that in his compassion he will bring his exiled people back to their homeland: "See, they will come from afar...shout for joy...for the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones" (Isa 49:12-13). God did not cease to care for his people because they had sinned against him, and that concern is still true today.

God did not cease to care for his people when they sinned against him – and that is still true today.

Isaiah also foretold that Yahweh would comfort Zion and rebuild her: "The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, and her wastelands like the garden of the Lord" (Is 51:3). Surely this is a promise to claim on behalf of some of the devastated churches of our day.

Jeremiah pictures God's people returning from exile with weeping but goes on to say, "Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow" (Jer 31:13). How good when all ages can share together in the wonderful things that a God of comfort loves to do for his people.

Towards the end of Old Testament history when the seventy years' captivity in Babylon was nearly over, the question was addressed to the Lord, "How long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem?" In reply, "The Lord spoke kind and comforting words" (Zech 1:13). What a privilege the prophets of today enjoy when they speak 'comforting words' in the name of the Lord!

What a privilege today's prophets enjoy when they proclaim God's goodness and speak his comforting words!

God's Promised Comfort Delayed

The Old Testament makes it clear that God's comfort may be delayed, as the writer of the longest psalm discovered: "My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, when will you comfort me?" It is not long before we discover that we are in a hurry, but the Lord is not! God, from time to time, and for reasons best known to himself, does hide his face from his people and allow them to experience the 'dark night of the soul'. "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (Ps 30:5). "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will have compassion on you, says the Lord your Redeemer" (Is 54:7-8).

The prophet Jeremiah, with all the sad experiences described and wept over in his book of Lamentations, nevertheless comes to the conclusion that "It is because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithful¬ness" (3:22-23). God and his promises will not let us down and we can confidently pray, "May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant" (Ps 119:76).

For reasons best known to himself, God sometimes hides his face and allows his people to experience the 'dark night of the soul'. But this does not last forever - God's promises never fail.

God's Compassionate Comfort Described

God's care for his people is said to be like that of a mother for her child. "As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you" (Isa 66:13), but in another passage the same prophet affirms that God is more reliable in his caring than even the most devoted mother: "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" (Isa 49:15).

The prophet Moses complained that God was expecting him to mother the children of Israel and he exclaimed, "Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land of promise?" (Nums 11:12). Moses is not the first leader, nor the last, who has found leading the Lord's people a heavier responsibility than he can discharge. Only the Lord's own compassion distilled into the prophets' hearts can keep them going.

God's caring for his people is also likened to that of a shepherd, as we see from many references. One of the most familiar descriptions of God's caring love is that which compares him to a shepherd. Isaiah says, "He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young" (Isa 40:11). God's caring includes children, nursing mothers and all who have special need of the Good Shepherd's care.

Stories of Comfort in the Old Testament

According to Genesis 5:28-29, Lamech (son of Methuselah, the oldest man that ever lived), when a son was born to him, decided to call him Noah. He did this because the Hebrew name Noah sounds like the word for 'comfort' and he believed that his baby son would help him and his wife to cope with the problems of hard work on unrewarding soil, after God had cursed the ground. True prophets are 'comforters' of those who find life hard, and the earth is a better place for their ministry.

When Jacob was shown the torn, blood-stained coat he had given to Joseph he cried out, "It is my son's coat! Some ferocious beast has devoured him..." (Gen 37:33). But when his sons and daughters assembled in their concern for him, he refused to be comforted. Like forgiveness, comfort needs to be accepted before it can effect its healing work.

He refused to be comforted and yet the truth of the matter was that his favourite son was alive and God's good purposes were one day to be revealed. The plans made by men and demons may have all the appearance of unmitigated disaster but in the end we shall be able to repeat Jacob's words, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good" (Gen 50:20).

The plans made by men and demons may have all the appearance of unmitigated disaster, but in the end we shall be able to repeat Jacob's words that what others intended for harm, God intended for good.

Ruth had had a sad life and both she and her mother-in-law had lost their husbands. When the question was raised of their returning to Bethlehem, her sister-in-law Orpah went back to Moab, but Ruth insisted on returning with Naomi. When Ruth went into the field of Boaz to glean she found comfort in this upright man and she expressed her appreciation in these words: "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant" (Ruth 2:13). In these days when so many marriages neither work out nor last, what compassion prophetic counsellors need to comfort single parents and their families and to attempt to sort out the complex problems brought about by child ¬abuse and homosexuality.

The God of All Comfort

When Jesus returned from his temptation by Satan in the wilderness he went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and in the synagogue on the Sabbath day he read from the scroll of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me..." He claimed in the presence of his audience that that Scripture had been fulfilled in their hearing. The passage in Isaiah, continuing from where he left off, reads "To comfort all who mourn" (Isa 61:2), so we can see that Messiah's ministry included that of bringing comfort.

Before Jesus left his disciples he introduced them to the One who was to come in his place. He explained that he was the Spirit of truth and the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13), but he gave him a special name when he called him the paraclete, one who would come alongside his disciples after he had returned to his Father. The older versions of the Bible render this name the 'comforter'.

Jesus gave the Holy Spirit a special name when he called him the 'paraclete', one who would come alongside the disciples after he had returned to the Father.

As well as seeing in the coming of the Spirit the beginning of a new experience for the disciples as the paraclete comforted them at the return of Jesus to his Father, the New Testament shows that the coming of the Spirit makes possible a ministry of comfort to be conferred on Jesus' disciples as they receive the promised power from on high.

As Peter pointed out on the day of Pentecost, the result of the advent of the Spirit was that all Jesus' disciples would prophesy: "And they will prophesy" (Acts 2:18). This prophesying would take place in two main areas. First, in their world-wide prophetic witness (Acts 1:8), and secondly, in the assembly of God's people, where they would prophesy for the strengthening, encouragement and comfort of their fellow-believers (1 Cor 14:3).

Father, Son and Holy Spirit are thus seen to be each involved in a ministry of comfort and compassion, from which we have all benefited and in which we may all take part.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit are each involved in a ministry of comfort and compassion, from which we all benefit and in which we may all take part.

Let Paul have the last word: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we have ourselves received from God" (2 Cor 1:3-4).

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 6, No 1, January/February 1989.

'Almost Midnight' by Richard Thompson (New Wine Press, 2008, 255 pages, available from Amazon for £9.99)

The Times of the Gentiles

The basis of this book is an extensive examination of Luke 21:24 and the "much-misunderstood period which Jesus called 'the times of the Gentiles', and the main issues associated with it" (p9). Its chief message is how this period of punishment for the Jewish people (trampled on by the Gentiles) should be measured and how it is being implemented by God. Its underlying theme is therefore the role of Israel within God's end time scenario. Here is a fascinating study into the relationship between God's ancient people and the events still to come in 'the last days'.

This is not a book for the novice and is best seen as a more detailed analysis for those already well-informed about the basics of end time ideas and who are prepared to look again at Biblical chronology within Old Testament prophecies and the end time portions of the New Testament. It is a fairly complex book, at times rather crowded, with plenty to think about and work through.

However, the author is clear that his aim is not to "unravel these issues for the sake of intellectual argument, but to reveal more clearly how God views Israel, Europe and the Middle East in the run up to the return of Jesus" (p247). Furthermore, he discusses what our response should be - namely to turn to God for greater discernment and plead with him in prayer and petition, as Daniel did in his time (see Dan 9).

This fascinating, complex book is concerned with Israel's role in God's end time scenario.

Three Decades of Study

This is the author's first book and the result of thirty years' study in the scriptures on the subjects of Israel and the end times. Clearly this is his speciality and comes across as such. He also emphasises his own personal calling, explaining how several prophetic words and visions from 1977 onwards have spurred him on to be 'a watchman of His word' on these issues.

Approach

The book falls into three parts. The first examines Israel's place in history and the future, while the second explains how Israel functions as 'God's clock' to world events. His final section takes up the theme of the Roman Empire as an ancient kingdom and its modern equivalent, the EU.

The author provides lots of scriptures, usually quoted in full and often more than once. He repeats them whenever he feels the need to back up his argument. Clearly he is playing safe here but it can make the book a little tedious, even over-crowded; some sections are nothing more than Biblical quotes with little extra to connect them as though the essence of the book is to keep stringing the scriptures together.

Times and Dates

His main objective remains to "calculate the times", with details of how we are to understand the 'years' from the Biblical evidence. Clearly there is something in this, and others have done it before, so perhaps the main value of the book is as a useful comparison. What makes his contribution distinctive, however, is that he comes up with the notion that 2018 will be a significant year; this is where many of the chronological clues in end time prophecies come to a head.

He is keen to stress that this is not a prophetic statement from him, but he believes it is worth considering from the Biblical data whether 2018 will be "marked with a major event" (p133), if not the return of Christ then something else significant. So, for him, it is almost midnight, and for us, we have a couple of years left to investigate and decide for ourselves!

Second Book

Having published this book in 2008, the author clearly felt another on similar lines was needed a few years later, and so produced The Two Israels of God in the Last Days, (New Wine Press, 175 pages, 2012, £9.99). This may be a useful companion volume but there is a huge overlap and some parts are virtual repeats. Again the main purpose is to examine the prophetic timetable found in Biblical chronology and, as before, a lot of work is required by the reader to follow him through all this.

Thompson continues to show up the error of replacement theology but equally warns that being too pro-Israel can also lead to error. However, his main point is that far from abandoning the nation of Israel, God has a special place for her in fulfilling prophecy at the end of this age. Yes, she is in a time of judgement but this will end. It is all part of the preparation for the coming of her Messiah, at which point there will be restoration and a re-grafting into the cultivated olive tree.

Thompson's main point is that far from abandoning the nation of Israel, God has a special place for her in fulfilling prophecy at the end of this age.

Perhaps this book should be subtitled, Are we nearer midnight? It is left to the reader to decide.

What is the 'fear of the Lord' and what connection does it have to the prophetic ministry? Edmund Heddle unpacks this important topic.

People in every age need to be reminded that the God revealed in the Bible is "a great and awesome God" (Deut 7:21; Neh 1:5; Dan 9:4). He is God of unlimited power and inexplicable mystery; frightening to face and of 'awful purity'. He holds the keys of life and death, and exercises absolute authority over the destiny and life-span of every one of us.

No wonder John fell at his feet as dead when he was confronted by such majesty (Rev 1:17-18). While it is true that the Bible reveals God as a loving father who cares for his children, he has a name which must be hallowed (Matt 6:9).

The Fear of God

It is part of the prophet's task to tell God's people that they must respond to such a God with respect and reverence; in Bible language they must 'fear God'. But what does this mean? As in English so in both Hebrew and Greek the same word for 'fear' has to express widely different emotions.

At one end of the scale it expresses worship and is often qualified by such adjectives as godly, reverential and filial (the fear appropriate to describe a son's respect for and obedience to his father). At the other end it creates an impression of despair, and is qualified by words like servile, craven, or morbid.

The fear spoken of by the prophets and other writers of the Bible is of the former type. It is a reverence for God's holy character and a dread of offending him and his command¬ments which expresses itself in watchfulness, obedience and constant prayer. This is the fear which the prophets seek to encourage in God's people.

The fear of the Lord is a reverence for God's holy character and a dread of offending him, expressing itself in watchfulness, obedience and constant prayer.

Godly Fear is a Divine Gift

On the day Jerusalem was surrounded by an invading army, Jeremiah bought a piece of land as a testimony to his belief that it would one day come back into the possession of God's people (Jer 32:1-41). Following the prophet's obedience, the Lord made this promise: "I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them" (Jer 32:39).

Godly fear that is a gift from God results in all kinds of goodness being received, and should prompt us to use the prayer in Psalm 86:11 "Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name".

Two Kinds of Fear Contrasted

Isaiah distinguishes two kinds of fear as he warns God's people at a time of national anxiety: "Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread" (Is 8:12-13).

The nation was scared at the approach and power of the enemy, but the prophet told the Lord's people they were not to share that fear. Instead, he tells them to fear the Lord Almighty, who would himself be their sanctuary. One fear is full of anxiety and dread, whereas the other is trustful, peaceful and certain of deliverance. In the words of a well-known hymn, "Fear him, ye saints, and you will then have nothing else to fear".

Worldly fear involves anxiety and dread, but the right fear of God is trustful, peaceful and certain of deliverance.

Learning to Fear from the Scriptures

Each king of Israel was instructed, upon his accession to the throne, "to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law...He is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God" (Deut 17:18-19). The sacred writings can help us to gain a right understanding of the God we worship and of the reverence which must ever be at the heart of that worship.

In his last words David declares what a blessing it is when rulers do rule in the fear of God. "The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me, 'When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning'" (2 Sam 23:3-4).

All Israel, without exception, were required to attend the public reading of the law at the end of every seven¬ year period so that the ordinary people, like their king, might adopt a similar attitude to God:

At the end of every seven years...when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God...you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns, so that they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God...Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God. (Deut 31:10-13)

When today's children seem to lack any sense of respect for God and his name, is it because they do not hear what God's law has to say nor understand the disastrous penalties of failing to observe it?

When today's children seem to lack any sense of respect for God and his name, is it because they do not hear what God's law has to say nor understand the disastrous penalties of failing to observe it?

In the time of Samuel, when he reproved the people for wanting to have a king, God sent thunder and rain with the result that all the people stood in awe of the Lord (1 Sam 12:17-18). The New Testament also provides us with examples in which mighty works of Jesus caused the people of his time to manifest awe and fear. When Jesus told a paralysed man to get up, take up his mat and go home, the crowd were amazed. "They were filled with awe" (Luke 5:24-26). When Jesus brought back to life the son of the widow of Nain the gospel sums up the reaction of the crowd thus: "They were all filled with awe and praised God" (Luke 7:16).

Similar things are still happening today, as the PWM Team discovered in Indonesia and China. In those countries God is revered and worshipped in a way that is often sadly absent in the West.

Fearing God is Qualification for Service

When Jehoshaphat king of Judah appointed judges in each of the fortified cities of his kingdom, he gave them instructions to judge each man carefully. His injunction reveals that it would be their fear of God that would save them from injustice, partiality and bribery (2 Chron 19:6-7).

In the early days of Israel's history Moses' father-in-law reproved him for overwork, and recommended that a number of assistants be appointed. His words reveal the essential qualification of office-holding to be the fear of God: "Select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them" (Ex 18:21).

In the Old Testament, fear of the Lord was considered a key qualification for leadership.

When Nehemiah discovered that certain men were charging their fellow countrymen interest, he reproved them with these words: "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?" (Neh 5:9). Nehemiah went on to explain that former governors had levied heavy burdens on the people, but that his fear of God prevented him from doing as they had done. "Out of reverence for God I did not act like that" (Neh 5:15).

A Different Attitude to Others

The fear of God prevents our being thoughtless or unkind to the less fortunate. "Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God" (Lev 19:14). The fear of God will prompt us to respect our elders. "Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly, and revere your God" (Lev 19:32).

In their purchase of land they were required to obey this instruction: "Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God" (Lev 25:43) and "Do not take advantage of each other, but fear your God" (Lev 25:17).

Old Testament Prophets and the Fear of God

• Moses in a Psalm attributed to him asks God the question, "Which of us can fear you as he should?" (Ps 90:11, Living Bible).
• Through Jeremiah, God reproved the people for failing to fear him as they ought to have done: "'Should you not fear me?' declares the Lord. 'Should you not tremble in my presence?'" (Jer 5:22).
• Isaiah shows the tremendous blessings that are available, to which the fear of God is the key: "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure" (Is 33:6).
• Zephaniah speaks in God's name to Jerusalem saying, "Surely you will fear me and accept correction", but is saddened that "they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did" (Zeph 3:7).
• In contrast Haggai is able to report that the people of his time "obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet" and "feared the Lord" (Hagg 1:12).
• Malachi warns that judgment is near for those who persist in evil-doing and who "do not fear me" (Mal 3:5), but in contrast promises that "for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings" (Mal 4:2).

The Old Testament prophets ranging over many centuries agree that it is those who fear and reverence the Lord who will receive his blessings both in this life and in the glorious future to which they bear testimony.

The Old Testament prophets agree that it is those who fear and reverence the Lord who will receive his blessings, both in this life and in heaven.

People who Feared the Lord

Scripture contains the stories of a number of men who 'feared the Lord'. Obadiah, who hid a hundred of the Lord's prophets during a time of great persecution, is said to have "revered the Lord greatly" (1 Kings 18:3 RSV). Job "was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). Hezekiah is referred to as one who feared the Lord and sought his favour (Jer 26:19). Nehemiah put his brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem "because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most men do" (Neh 7:2). The Lord himself commended Levi and said of him, "He revered me and stood in awe of my name" (Mal 2:5).

There are 'God-fearers' in the New Testament, but they were a special class of people, attending the synagogues and worshipping God but not accepting all the demands of the Jewish law, for example circumcision. Among these was the Roman centurion Cornelius, who became a Christian disciple as the result of Peter's ministry in Caesarea (Acts 10:1-2). The Messiah as foretold by Isaiah would receive the sevenfold blessing of the Spirit, the culminating clause of which states that "he will delight in the fear of the Lord" (Is 11:3).

God's Desire – a People Who Fear Him

"Oh that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children for ever" (Deut 5:29). "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut 10:12). This desire became gloriously possible after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. "The church...was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord" (Acts 9:31).

One of the rare names of God in the Old Testament is the 'Fear of Isaac' (Gen 31:42). Could we substitute our name for that of Isaac and honestly claim that we at all times deeply reverence our God and tremble to grieve him, that we do fear him as the prophets of the Scripture say we should?

Can we honestly claim that we at all times deeply reverence our God and tremble to grieve him, that we do fear him as the prophets of the Scripture say we should?

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 4 No 6, November/December 1988.

Edmund Heddle unpacks an inevitable part of the prophetic ministry - persecution.

Bringing God's prophetic word to the people to whom it is sent has always been a costly business. The conclusion reached by the New Testament writers as they looked back over Old Testament history is that prophets have always been persecuted. Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount refers to this fact when he ends his final beatitude with the words, "In the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt 5:12).

Stephen brought his speech to the Jewish Sanhedrin to a smarting conclusion with the challenge, "Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?" (Acts 7:52) This is the kind of reception the prophets have had to face.

Looking into the future, Jesus indicates that there is not likely to be any change in the way prophets are treated: "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill, and others they will persecute" (Luke 11:49). No-one can answer the question 'What is a prophet?' adequately until he comes to terms with the inevitable persecution that being a faithful prophet involves.

Bringing God's word to the people to whom it is sent has always been a costly business: prophets have always been persecuted, and this is unlikely to change in the future.

How Were Prophets Persecuted?

As we investigate the numerous ways in which prophets were persecuted we shall find that they divide into (1) rejection of themselves and their message, and (2) physical violence to their persons.

They were persecuted through ridicule (2 Kings 2:23, Luke 22:64, Jer 20:7); by being told to be quiet (Amos 2:12, 7:13); by unpleasant looks (Jer 1:8,17, 5:3); through accusations and having their message reported back to the authorities (Jer 18:19, 37:13, Amos 7:10, Jer 20:10); by being debarred from attending God's house (Jer 36:5); and by having their prophetic words, both spoken and written, rejected (Isa 30:10, Micah 2:6, Amos 7:12,16, Jer 36:23).

Physical violence to their persons took various forms: they were placed in the stocks (Jer 20:2); they were kept in chains (Jer 40:1); they were slapped in the face (1 Kings 22:24); they were imprisoned in cells, dungeons and cisterns (Jer 37:15-16 & 38:6) in some cases just on bread and water (1 Kings 22:27); they were threatened with death (1 Kings 19:1) while others were actually put to death (2 Chron 24:21, Jer 26:20-23).

Others were killed whose names are not recorded. Jesus gives us reason to believe there were many who made the ultimate sacrifice (Luke 11:50-51).

Prophets are persecuted in two main ways: through rejection of them and their message, and through physical violence.

Examples of Persecuted Prophets

The Bible does not give us extensive biographical details of the prophets we meet in its pages. In fact, we have little information about how they were persecuted or about how they lived and died. For example, with the exception of Amos and Jonah, Scripture says hardly anything about the personal circumstances of the minor prophets. The same is true of Isaiah and Ezekiel, though we have a little more to go on for the latter.

It is the prophet Jeremiah that we know most about and it is from his experience that we can perhaps best discover how prophets were persecuted in his day. He goes so far as to refer to himself as 'a gentle lamb led to the slaughter' (Jer 11:19), using the same words that Isaiah used to describe Yahweh's 'suffering servant' (Isaiah 53:7).

There are a number of examples of non-writing prophets who were cruelly persecuted.

• Elijah was threatened by the wicked queen Jezebel after his confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and ran for his life (1 Kings 19:1-4).
• Amos was insulted by the chief priest at the sanctuary in Bethel and told never to prophesy there again (Amos 7:10-15).
• Micaiah had the courage to contradict the prophetic announcement of four hundred false prophets (1 Kings 22: 5-6) when they declared that Ramoth Gilead would be defeated by the combined forces of Kings Ahab and Jehoshaphat. He discerned that it was a lying spirit that was deluding these prophets – for this he was slapped in the face by Zedekiah and put in prison under the order of King Ahab (1 Kings 22:23-27).
• Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, was stoned to death for rebuking the people who turned aside to Asherah poles and idols, and for forsaking the Temple. This was an especially heinous crime, as Zechariah's father had helped King Joash and had been honoured at his death for "the good he had done in Israel for God and his Temple" (2 Chron 24:16-22). As this persecuted prophet lay dying, he felt that King Joash had been particularly unkind and exclaimed "May the Lord see this and call you to account" (2 Chron 24:22).
• Hanani the seer reproved King Asa for relying on the king of Aram, instead of on the Lord, saying that from that time onward he would be at war. The king was so enraged that he put Hanani in prison (2 Chron 16:7-9).
• Uriah from Kiriath Jearim is described as "another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, he prophesied the same things...as Jeremiah did" (Jer 26:20-23). When King Jehoiakim heard what he said, he sought ways of putting Uriah to death. In fear for his life, the prophet escaped to Egypt. Thereupon the king dispatched a party of men to find and arrest him. When they brought him back to the king, he had Uriah struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the common burial place.

New Testament Prophets Persecuted

John the Baptist was referred to by Jesus as "a prophet and more than a prophet" (Matt 11:9). He was persecuted, especially by King Herod. John the Baptist had the courage publicly to rebuke Herod for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife. For this, Herod had John put in prison (Luke 3:19-20), where he lay bound (Matt 14:3).

On Herod's birthday the celebrations included a sensual dance performed by Herodias' daughter. Herod was foolish enough to promise her anything she asked for. Prompted by her mother, she asked for the head of John the Baptist. The king was distressed but felt he had to keep his promise, and he had John beheaded.

Jesus Christ was greeted with the words of the crowd, "A great prophet has appeared among us" (Luke 7:16). The two disciples walking to Emmaus, bewildered by what had been happening, summed up their conclusions in the words, "He was a prophet powerful in word and deed before God and all the people" (Luke 24:19), and like all true prophets Jesus was persecuted. He was ridiculed, opposed in his teaching, had his miracles attributed to the devil, was handed over to the authorities and suffered at the hands of violent men. Finally, he was crucified and demonstrated (as men thought) to be a false messiah.

What Particular Difficulties Do Prophets Face?

These problem areas may be divided up into (1) difficulties with other people, (2) difficulties in handling of God's word, and (3) difficulties in their own thoughts.

(1) Difficulties with other people. Prophets have to face being despised by priests and other 'professionals', as Amos was by Amaziah (Amos 7:12-13) and Jeremiah by Pashur (Jer 20: 1-2); being opposed by false prophets (Jer 29:1-17); being rejected by familiar friends (Jer 20:10) and by one's own family (Matt 13:57).

(2) Difficulties in handling God's prophetic word. Prophets must: speak only what God has really given (Jer 1:7); not water down God's word to make it more acceptable (Isa 30:10); uphold the authority of the scriptures (Jer 17:19-27); and be prepared to bring the same message over and over again (Jer 7:25, 29:19, 35:15).

(3) Difficulties in their own thoughts. Prophets must (a) be patient and wait confidently for the fulfilment of God's prophetic word (James 5:10-11; Matt 13:17); (b) allow critics to call them 'traitors' to their country or a particular viewpoint, trusting God to vindicate them (Jer 37:11-14) and (c) accept the fact that they will be called 'troublemakers' (1 Kings 18:17) and must continue proclaiming God's word even though it is a torment to the hearers (Rev 11:10).

We must follow Paul's teaching to "bless those who persecute us" (Rom 12:14). We can know that Christ is with us, for persecution is one of those things which cannot separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39). We can be comforted by the assurance that persecution can only scatter the church, it cannot destroy it, as was the case in the early church (Acts 8:1).

Persecution cannot separate us from the love of God (Romans 8), nor can it destroy the church – it can only scatter it.

Finally, we can be sure that all faithful prophets will have their reward in heaven, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Luke 13:28). They will then know that Jesus was right when he said that the prophets who were persecuted were the truly 'blessed' people (Matt 5:11-12).

Help for Persecuted Prophets

At times God's true prophets have lived in danger of their lives and God has raised up men and women to protect them.

• Obadiah who was in charge of King Ahab's palace was able to hide a hundred prophets in two caves and supply them with food and water every day (1 Kings 18:13).
• A wealthy woman in Shunem was able to build a 'prophet-flat' onto her house for Elisha's use whenever he was in that district (the original prophet's chamber!) (2 Kings 4:8-10).
• Ebedmelech. a coloured man, took a gang of men with him to pull Jeremiah out of the cistern in which he had been incarcerated (Jer 38:7-13) and Ahikam son of Shaphan intervened to prevent Jeremiah being put to death.

Jesus said that everyone who assisted a prophet in need would receive the same reward as the prophet: even a cup of cold water would be rewarded (Matt 10:41-42).

How Should Prophets React to Persecution?

We must look beyond the Old Testament to discover how persecuted prophets ought to react to their persecutors. We must not copy Jeremiah as he asks God to bring down disaster on them and their families and calls down wrath upon them, praying "do not forgive their crimes, or blot out their sins from your sight" (Jer 18:21-23). Rather, we are to "love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us" (Matt 5:44), as Jesus has taught us.

It was Jesus who said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also" (John 15:20), so today's prophets must expect the same treatment their predecessors have always received. The Lord himself confirms that this will be a continuing experience down to the present day, for "I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute" (Luke 11 :49), and these words still apply.

First published in Prophecy Today, Vol 4 No 5, September/October 1988.