Friendly Guide to the Prophets

This Friendly Guide introduces the reader to the fascinating prophetic movement in ancient Israel. It looks at prophecy as a charismatic phenomenon often in conflict with monarchy and established religion. The prophets were the messengers of the Lord, commissioned to take a word of judgement, often enough, to their communities but always with an eye to hope.A Friendly Guide to the Prophets explores in detail some of the key questions surrounding the prophetic movement: who were the prophets? Why did prophecy emerge in ancient Israel at this particular time and why did it have such an enduring impact on Judeo-Christian faith? What did the prophets preach about? The Friendly Guide looks at the teaching and preaching of some of the great prophets as a way of exploring these questions: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. One of the reasons why prophecy has such an enduring appeal is because there is a disturbing similarity between the world of the prophets and our own. The Friendly Guide finally asks the question: are there prophets among us today?