Prophets have been around for centuries originating in ancient Israel, they are also referenced many times in the bible some prophets even have their own book in the bible. Prophets are someone that receives message from God, whether the messages are good or bad the prophet must spread the news of God. Prophecy’s messages reveal the qualities God wants to see in our lives. Prophets are split up into two groups major and minor prophets. A major prophets is “major” because their books are longer and the content has broad, even global implications. The major prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The Minor Prophets are described as “minor” because their books are shorter and the content is more narrowly focused. The minor prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The Minor Prophets are also sometimes called The Twelve. The first mention of a prophet in the bible is in Genesis 20:7 when God spoke to Abimelech, king of Gerar, in a dream, warning him by saying the woman he had taken as his wife Sarai was actually married to a “prophet” named Abram. Arguably the most famous prophet that ever lived was Jesus. Although prophets are heavily influenced in the bible and ancient times, they still exist in recent times. Most notably Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Without prophets, there would be no Old Testament. Military leaders, kings, priests and sages all have their place in the Old Testament narrative, but it is the prophets who move the story forward from Moses through the conquest of Canaan into the age of kings, and then into the exile and eventual return to the land of promise.
The story of Israelite prophecy begins with Moses and the famous 10 Commandments. After Moses freed the Jews from the Egyptians, the Israelites had been traveling aimlessly in the desert for about 3 months until they came to Mount Sinai. The Jews agreed to stay there for a while since they had excellent shelter from the mountain. Moses decided to walk up the mountain to talk to God. Remember that this wasn’t very easy for Moses, he was already over 80 years old. Eventually Moses was greeted by God and he proceed to tell Moses to the Israelites to get ready. Moses came down to tell the people to have a bath and to clean all their clothes. After a while God wanted to instruct the Jewish people on how to live. By following his rules they would have less sadness in their lives. It’s there that God wanted Moses to spread the word of God and the 10 Commandments.
In modern times Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, who both have sadly passed away. Helped fight racism all across the world. But I’m going to be focusing on Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King was a pastor the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was the leader of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 until April 4, 1968, in this time African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced. Dr. King is widely regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history. Martin Luther King led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to achieve legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. Martin Luther Kings “I Have a Dream” speech, Nobel Peace Prize lecture and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” has played a massive role in curing the plague of racism. Many of his accomplishments are still talked about today in the 21st century are also being taught to American children of all races, and his teachings are studied by students worldwide. He is the only non-president to have a national holiday dedicated in his honour. Throughout America he is memorialised in hundreds of statues, parks, streets, squares, churches and other public facilities. Sadly he was assassinated 4 April 1968, Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
Some similarities that ancient prophets and modern day prophets share is that they both are trying to spread a message. If that may be equality or following Gods laws. They both also show similar dedication for their message. Examples being that Moses listen to God and he freed the Jews from the Egyptians and he also spread Gods word throughout ancient Israel. And Martin Luther King tried to eradicate racism from the world, which ended in his death. Although there are some differences between ancient prophets and modern day prophets. Ancient prophets were more about spreading the word of God. And modern day prophets are more about fixing modern day issues.