Jon Gary Williams
Articles / Resources

Subscribe to this page via e-mail here - Subscribe

Article 59 - O.T. Survey: Major Prophets



I. Meaning of the name Isaiah

A. The name Isaiah means "God saves" or "God is salvation"

B. The book is so named because the prophet Isaiah is its author

II. Facts about Isaiah

A. Isaiah did his work during the reign of four kings of Judah - Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah

B. Isaiah is known as the "Messianic prophet" because he speaks so often of the coming Messiah (Christ)

C. Isaiah's basic message is his urging of Judah to be faithful to God - he denounced the sins of the time and exposed the emptiness of religious formality

D. The book emphasizes God as "Holy of Israel" - a phrase found 25 times

E. Isaiah is quoted 53 times in the New Testament

III. Outline of Isaiah

A. The corrupt condition of Judah (1 - 5)

B. Isaiah's call (6)

C. Isaiah comforts Agaz (7 - 10)

D. The coming Messiah and the nature of his kingdom (11)

E. Psalm of thanksgiving (12)

F. The ten burdens: of Babylon (13 - 14:27); of Palestine (14:28-32); of Moab (15 - 16); of Damascus (17 - 18); of Egypt (19 - 20); of "desert of the sea" (21:1-10); of Dumah (21:11,12); of Arabia (21:13-17); of "valley of vision" (22); of Tyre (23)

G. Coming judgment and the coming of God's kingdom (24 - 27)

H. Admonitions to Judah (28 -33)

I. The redemption of Israel (34 - 35)

J. Sennacherib's invasion and assurance to Hezekiah (36 - 37)

K. Sickness of Hezekiah (38)

L. Hezekiah prophecies the Babylonian captivity (39)

M. Proclamation of deliverance (40 - 41)

N. God's servant - the chosen one of God (42)

O. God's grace and omnipotence (43 - 45)

P. Babylon's fall and the call to return home (46 - 48)

Q. The mission of God's servant (49)

R. Exhortation to trust God (50)

S. Hope for the return from exile - joy in triumph (51 - 52:12)

T. The suffering and joy of God's servant (52:13 - 53)

U. Renewed promises - a call to faith (54 - 59)

V. Dawning of deliverance (60)

W. The redeemed Zion (61 - 62)

X. Triumph and prosperity (63 - 65)

Y. The majesty and greatness of God (66)

I. Meaning of the name Jeremiah

A. The name Jeremiah means "Appointed by God"

B. The book is so named because the prophet Jeremiah is its author - because of Jeremiah's deeply emotional writings he has been called the weeping prophet" - we know more about Jeremiah than any of the other prophets

II. Facts about Jeremiah

A. This is the longest of the prophetic prophets

B. The book laments the sinful condition of Judah (see 1:16 2:13 6:16,20 7:28 8:5)

C. The book also discusses the coming destruction of Judah as well as that of other nations

D. Jeremiah is quoted more then 15 times in the New Testament - the best known is 31:31-34 (see Heb. 8:8-12)

E. The book includes a combination of prophecy and history - and is not in chronological order

III. Outline of Jeremiah

A. Jeremiah commissioned (1)

B. Prophecies and denunciations

1. Israel's idolatry and repentance (2 - 6)
2. The temple sermon and more admonition (7 - 13)
3. Calamity and judgment (14 - 17)
4. The potter's vessel (18 - 20)
5. Kings, rulers and false prophets (21 - 24)

C. The Jew's sin, 70 years captivity, Babylon's fall (25)

D. Call to repent, Jeremiah apprehended but defended (26)

E. Subjection to Nebuchadnezzar, captivity foretold (27)

F. The false prophet Hananiah exposed (28)

G. Words of assurance to the captives in Babylon (29)

H. Restoration from captivity

1. The return (30)
2. Israel's restoration - Christ's kingdom foretold (31)
3. Jeremiah imprisoned - captivity and return confirmed (32)
4. Israel's wonderful return and continuation (33)
5. Zedekiah's an d Jerusalem's captivity foretold (34)
6. The Jews condemned and others commended (35)
7. Jeremiah's prophecy burned (36)

I. The captivity

1. Jeremiah's assures Babylon's conquest - is beaten and imprisoned (37)
2. Zedekiah advised not to resist Babylon (38)
3. Jerusalem defeated - Nebuchadnezzar good toe Jerusalem (39)
4. Jeremiah advises the Jews - Ishmael's wickedness (40 - 41)
5. Jeremiah's admonition not to flee to Egypt )42 - 44)
6. Jeremiah instructs and comforts Baruch (45)

J. The nations reviewed

1. The conquest of Egypt by Babylon (46)
2. Judgment on the Philistines (47)
3. Judgment on Moab (48)
4. Judgment on Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, Hazor and Elam (48)

K. Fall of Babylon and the redemption of Israel (40 - 51)

L. The captivity of the Jews (42)

I. Meaning of the name Lamentations

A. The name Lamentations means to lament or show sorrow

B. It is so named because of the severe lamenting of Jeremiah over Jerusalem and Judah

II. Facts about Lamentations

A. The book deals with the time following the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon and was penned by an eye-witness of the overthrow of that city

B. The book expresses grief, sorrow and anguish over the destruction of the temple, the ceasing of the worship of Hod and the pitiful condition of the people in Jerusalem

C. The Jews saw this book as a set of five poems or songs devoted to mourning of God's people

III. Outline of Lamentations

A. The state of Jerusalem and Judah because of sin

1. Prophetic predictions fulfilled (1:1-11)
2. The cry for sympathy (1:12-17)
3. Carried by adversaries into exile (1:18-22)

B. Lament over Jerusalem

1. Zion's judgment is of God (2:1-19)
2. A cry to God (2:20-22)

C. The suffering prophet and the God who is faithful

1. The reproof of God (3:1-21)
2. God who never fails (3:22-36)
3. God's wrath justified (3:37-54)
4. The great appeal of the prophet (3:55-66)

D. The need for help

1. A horrible scene of Zion described by Jeremiah (4:1-12)
2. Evils of the leaders and certain despair (4:13-20)
3. Edom is threatened and Zion comforted (4:21,22)

E. A prayer of pity and complaint (5)

I. Meaning of the name Ezekiel

A. The name Ezekiel means "God will strengthen"

B. The book of Ezekiel deals with the time during which the Jewish nation was still under siege by Babylon

II. Facts about Ezekiel

A. The prophet Ezekiel (contemporary with Jeremiah ) was taken captive in the second wave of war against the Jews and did his work while in exile in Babylon

B. Ezekiel exposed the sins of his people and prophesied the overthrow of their nation and the city of Jerusalem - as well as the eventual restoration of the Jews to their land

C. He also prophesied about God's vengeance on heathen nations

D. Ezekiel used parables, allegories, symbols and visions to illustrate and dramatize his messages

III. Outline of Ezekiel

A. The call and commission of Ezekiel

1. Heavenly visions (1)
2. Ezekiel's commission (2)
3. The work of a prophet (3)

B. The destruction of Jerusalem

1. Depiction of judgment to come upon Jerusalem (4 - 7)
2. Their sins and visions depicting God's wrath (8 - 10)
3. Presumptuous sins and coming judgment (11 - 12)
4. Lying prophets and hypocritical idolatry (13 - 14)
5. Jerusalem's rejection of God's judgment (15 - 16)
6. The reason for God's just judgment (17 - 18)
7. The lion's whelps and the wasted vine (19)
8. Their rebellion and restoration (20)
9. Ezekiel sighs in his prophesy against his people (21)
10. Their abominations and projected dispersion (22)
11. The whoredoms of Aholah (Samaria) and Aholibah (Jerusalem) (23)
12. Parable of the boiling pot (24)

C. Just judgments against heathen nations

1. Ammon, Moab, Philistia, Tyre, Sidon (25 - 28)
2. Egypt (29 - 32)

D. A message of admonition, comfort and hope

1. Ezekiel's duty as a watchman (33)
2. The shepherds of the Jews reproved and God's care for his flock (34)
3. God's judgments against Mount Seir (35)
4. Restoration and the vision of dry bones (36 - 37)

E. The sins of Gog and God's judgment on him (38 - 39)

F. A prophetic look at the furure

1. The time and manner of Ezekiel's vision (40)
2. Various parts and ornaments of the temple (41)
3. Priestly chambers and the outward court (42)
4. The return of God's glory to the temple (43)
5. Priestly ordinances (44)
6. The land necessary for the sanctuary - the city and various ordinances (45)
7. Public worship ordinances (46)
8. The vision of holy waters and instructions about the boundaries of the restoration (47)
9. The geographical portions for each tribe (48)

I. Meaning of the name Daniel

A. The name Daniel means "God is my judge"

B. The book is so named because Daniel is its author and it deals with his work as a prophet

II. Facts about Daniel

A. The book of Daniel coincides with the period of captivity of the Jews in Babylon

B. Daniel was carried into exile in the firstwve of war against the Jewish nation and lived through the entire period in captivity

C. Daniel gives some of the most specific prophetic messages of the Old Testament - pertaining to world empires, the coming of Christ and of his coming spiritual kingdom

III. Outline of Daniel

A. The period of Nebuchadnezzar

1. Daniel's personal history and his three friends (1)
2. The king's forgotten dream (2)
3. The king's image and decree (3)
4. The king's second dream (4)

B. The period of Belshazzar (5)

C. The period of Darius (6)

D. Vision of the four beasts

1. The beasts and their judgment (7:1-12)
2. The kingdom of the son of man (7:13,14)
3. The interpretation of the vision (7:15-28)

E. Vision of the ram and goat

1. The vision (1 - 4)
2. The interpretation (15 - 27)

F. Daniel's confession of Israel's sin - his prayer for Israel and the vision of the 70 weeks

G. Final visions of Daniel

1. Vision and message of the angel (10 - 12)
2. Vision of coming conflicts between heathen nations and assurance to Daniel (11)
3. Vision of deliverance (12)

        


Print