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An Introduction to Themes in the Old Testament

True and false prophecy

  • 3 things to know
  • AS

Overview

The tests the Old Testament offers for a genuine prophet, the clashes between rival prophets, and the problem of discernment in any age.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What role does vision play in prophecy?

Key term

What role does the spirit play in prophecy?

Key term

What does the Micaiah episode add to the question of discernment?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What test of a prophet does Deuteronomy 18:21-22 give?

    Model answer

    If a word spoken by a prophet in the name of the LORD does not take place, then the LORD did not speak it. The prophet has spoken presumptuously and need not be feared.

  2. 2

    What further test does Deuteronomy 13:1-5 add?

    Model answer

    Even when a sign or wonder comes true, a prophet who calls the people to follow other gods must be rejected. Content therefore matters as well as fulfilment.

  3. 3

    What charges does Jeremiah bring against the prophets of his day?

    Model answer

    Jeremiah accuses them of prophesying by Baal, of running when they were not sent, of stealing oracles from one another, and of saying peace, peace when there is no peace.

  4. 4

    What is meant by the prophetic focus on the word of God?

    Model answer

    The classical prophets present their message as the word that came to them and that they are compelled to deliver. Prophecy is therefore not the prophet's own opinion, nor a technique that the prophet controls.

  5. 5

    What role does vision play in prophecy?

    Model answer

    Prophets are also called seers, and visions such as the plumb line of Amos or the throne room of Isaiah give the message a definite form. The prophet reports the vision and then interprets its meaning for the people.

  6. 6

    What role does the spirit play in prophecy?

    Model answer

    Earlier narratives attribute prophecy to the spirit of the LORD seizing a person, sometimes producing ecstatic behaviour in groups. Ezekiel and later writers again ascribe prophecy to the spirit, while the eighth-century prophets speak more often of the word of the LORD.

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Atheism asserts that there is no God.
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