GENRES: PROPHECY &

APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

BIB 121 HERMENEUTICS LESSON

OT PROPHETS

Prophets fulfilled various roles –not just foretelling the future:

1. Prophets as preachers: Our lesson uses the book of

Zechariah as this section’s example to examine. Oracles =

Sermons written poetically, easier for the listeners to

memorize and causes them to read the message slower in

order to understand and interpret the message correctly

Historical background: Jeremiah 7, the backslidden

Nation of Israel said God would not let the Temple be

destroyed because it was His ‘home’

Jeremiah stated that God required and lived in a repentant

•70 years after Jeremiah’s prophecy, Zechariah was

rebuilding the 2nd Temple Examine the

Historical Parallel:

•Obadiah, Joel, and Jonah—were not prophesied during one

of these four times of crisis.

Crisis

Prophet

Parallel Context:

The Assyrian

Invasion

Hosea, Amos,

Isaiah, & Micah

2 Kings 14:23

20:20

2 Chron 26

-32

The Babylonian

Invasion

Nahum,

Zephaniah,

Habakkuk, &

Jeremiah

2 Kings 21

-24

2 Chron 33

-36:20

The Captivity

Daniel &

Ezekiel

2 Kings 25

2 Chron 36:21

-23

The Deportees

Return

Haggai, Zechariah,

& Malachi

Ezra, Nehemiah, &

Ester

THE PROPHET AS PROTECTORS OF THE

COVENANT

•The prophets’ theme called the people to remember their

covenant with God. Deuteronomy 4:25–31 summarizes that

covenant relationship and reflects the essence of the

prophets’ messages.

1. If God’s people reject Him and turn to idols and sin (v. 25)

“After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived

in the land a

long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of

idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and provoking

him to anger . . .”

2. God will punish them by taking them out of the land (vv. 26–28)

3. If God’s people repent (vv. 29–30)

THE PROPHETS AS PREDICTORS

The prophets clearly reveal Christ and the plans of God

that center around Him. There are approximately 127

messianic predictions in the Ol 1:d Testament. Here are a

few - complete the chart:

Messianic Prophecy:

OT Prediction:

NT Fulfillment:

His virgin birth

Isaiah 7: 14

Matt 1: 23

His birthplace

Matt 2: 1, 6

His triumphal entry

Matt 21: 9

His agony

John 18: 22; 19: 3

His side pierced

John 19: 34

-37

His suffering for us

1 Peter 2: 21

-25

His second coming

Luke 21: 27

THE PROPHET’S INTENTION AND THE NEW

TESTAMENT FULFILLMENT

•Direct prophecies: clear NT fulfillment; Micah 5:2 =

Messiah born in Bethlehem; Messiah would be called

‘Immanuel’ = Is 7: 14; His reign will be forever = Is 9: 6-7

•Typological prophecy: As a shadow reveals a person’s

form, these prophecies reveal a truth that will one day be

applied at a deeper level in the NT. The imagery of the High

Priest on the Day of Atonement is an example of the truth

that we need an Intercessor to reach God and a death that

is necessary to atone for our sin. When Hebrews 9: 23 -28

is examined, Christ is the High Priest interceding and pays

our debt with His own blood.

•Principle/application = the New Testament writer draws

applications from the principles in the prophet’s writings and

applies them to Christ.

•Matthew 2:15: Matthew cites “out of Egypt I have called my

son” (Hosea 11:1) as a prophecy referring to Christ. The

principle has not changed; it is just applied at a much higher

level –Israel would be protected in Egypt so was the

Messiah/Jesus protected in Egypt

•Matthew 2:23: Matthew claims that Jesus’ living in Nazareth

fulfilled the prophecy that “he will be called a Nazarene.” The

only passage this could refer to is Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot (

nezer

)

will come up from the stump of Jesse.” Some descendants in

David’s line returned from captivity and settled in Galilee.

THE PROPHET’S PERSPECTIVE AND THE

FINAL FULFILLMENT

•Most of the prophecies in the Old Testament Prophets were fulfilled

at a specific time. There are three types, however, that do not have

one specific time to point to as the date of the fulfillment: (1)

telescope fulfillment,

(

2) double fulfillment, (3) and developmental

fulfillment.

•Telescope fulfillment = think of looking from one mountain top to

the mountain range. The prophet often views the first and second

comings of Christ as one event, but the fulfillment is in stages.

When Joel 2:28–32 is quoted on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16–

21), the fulfillment on that day included only the outpouring of the

Holy Spirit. Many of the other events mentioned in Joel’s prophecy

(for example, the sun turning to darkness and the moon turning to

•

Double fulfillment

refers to prophecies where the fulfillment

of a short-range prediction validates the longer-range

prediction. Deuteronomy 18:15–18, Moses mentions God’s

raising up “a prophet like me.” The short-range prediction

referred to Joshua, but the long-range application is to Christ

(John 1:21; 6:14; Acts 3:22).

•

Developmental fulfillment

refers to a fulfillment that comes

progressively. This kind of prophecy is not fulfilled in one or

two events but through a series of events. The promise that

the “seed of a woman” would crush “the serpent’s head” and

“bruise his heel” is an example of this type of prophecy. This

prophecy is partially fulfilled with every victory of Christ over

Satan. Its ultimate fulfillment will occur with Christ’s second

THE APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE

•From the word

apocalipsis

in Greek, which means “to

unveil.” The future until the consummation (blooming) of

history is unveiled in symbolic visions and dreams. Biblical

apocalyptic literature is primarily found in the following

passages:

Isaiah 24 –27 Daniel 7 –12

Ezekiel 1, 8 –10 Zechariah 9 –14

Matthew 24 Book of Revelation

Characteristics of Apocalyptic Literature

1. Symbols of the future delivered in dreams or visions: The

images of Ezekiel’s dry bones, Daniel’s beasts, and

Revelation’s plagues have permeated our art, cinema,

and popular literature. Most people do not understand

what the images symbolize, but they are fascinated by

them.

2. Conflict on a Cosmic Level with a Hope of Final

Victory: The prophets who recorded apocalyptic

prophecy lived during times of extreme crisis. Isaiah’s

generation faced the threat of Assyria; Ezekiel and

Daniel were slaves in Babylon, Zechariah faced

imminent danger from Persia, and John wrote to

Christians enduring persecution from Rome.

•God’s people seem to be traveling through a dark tunnel,

and the enemy is winning. But there is a purpose to their

suffering. At the end of the darkness, the prophet sees a

bright light of hope. He sees Christ coming to take back

control of the earth and restoring a kingdom of peace.

•Notice these references to the conflict that is carried out

simultaneously in heaven and on earth:

Dragon (Revelation 12:7–17) Beast (Revelation

13:1–10)

Kings (Revelation 19:12–21) Satan’s host (Rev.

20:7–9)

Time Orientation, the Day of the Lord, and the

Consummation of History:

•The New Testament writers regarded the entire era

from the incarnation of Christ to the end of the age as

the latter times. In the apocalyptic writings, the

prophets focus on the final events in that period: the

Day of the Lord and the reign of Christ.

•The messages of the apocalyptic prophecies are often

pessimistic, but they always end with hope. In the

Revelation, John sees the seemingly all-powerful

Antichrist, and the Great Tribulation. The latter part of

Principles for Interpreting the Symbols in Apocalyptic

Literature:

1. Look for a meaning in the context

2. Look for a meaning in the history/culture of the writer

3. Look for a meaning in previous apocalyptic literature:

•Rainbow Ezekiel 1:28 parallels Revelation 4:3

•Living creatures Ezekiel 1:5–14 parallels Revelation

4:7–9

•Son of Man Daniel 3:25; 7:13 parallels Revelation

1:13

•Beasts Daniel 7:1–7 parallels Revelation 13:1–

4. Look for a parallel in the great events of the salvation story:

•Creation—The final chapter of salvation history reveals the creation of a new

heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1).

•Paradise lost and the serpent—The final chapter shows paradise restored

and the dragon defeated. The tree of life in the Garden of Eden is replaced

with the tree of life in the new paradise (Revelation 2:7; 12:9; 22:1, 2).

•The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—The wicked are again judged and

the fire and brimstone imagery is found in the lake of fire and the smoke of

their torment (Revelation 11:18; 19:20).

•The plagues of Egypt and the Exodus—God again comes to judge those who

persecute His people. The plagues of Egypt become symbols of this final

judgment. Note the parallels between the plagues and the events associated

with the seven trumpet blasts (Revelation 8–9) and the seven bowls of wrath

(Revelation 16).

•The Babylonian captivity—The bondage and deliverance from ancient

Babylon is a symbolic picture that predicts the judgment on a modern

oppressor (Revelation 18).