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?