Bible prophecies and a brief overview of their main themes. Large Christian Library

01/16/15. AT live Radio "Radonezh" Archpriest Andrey Tkachev

We have repeatedly said that if there is a memory of some of the saints in the calendar, who left a written monument of his life in the Bible in the form of a book, or who the Bible mentions not as a writer, but as a figure, then we must honor him by reading these Bible pages. Let's say, the memory of Elijah - you need to read the corresponding book of Kings, the memory of Moses - you need to read something from the Pentateuch, the memory of Isaiah - you need to read Isaiah, the memory of Luke - you need to read the Gospel of Luke or Acts. Today we commemorate Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, from whom before Christ the King there were four hundred years of spiritual emptiness, a complete absence of spiritual writers.

Malachi. The last book of the Old Testament. “The Seal of the Prophets” is called Malachi by the Fathers. With this name, Muslims call Mohammed, meaning that the prophecies continued. They believe that there were many prophets later, and our Lord is counted among the prophets, and Moses is the last. But this name is the "Seal of the Prophets", we assimilate according to the teachings of the Church as the prophet Malachi, he is the last prophet. Then John the Baptist is not so much a prophet as a witness, i.e. who does not speak according to the ear of the ear and according to the inspiration of the heart from God, but who already sees the Lord and says what he sees: he is already a witness, from the word "see." In fact, he stands between the prophets and the apostles, not being fully either one or the other, performing a special elective service. And Malachi is indeed the "Seal of the Prophets", and today we honor his words, the small four chapters of his prophecy. About how it ends Old Testament, worth knowing. We once read Zephaniah with you, and found a lot of interesting things there. Of course, we will not read everything in a row, we will read selectively, some things that are especially significant for us. This is the prophetic word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.

First chapter.

6 The son honors his father, and the servant his master; if I am a father, where is my respect? and if I am the Lord, where is the reverence for me? says the Lord of Hosts to you, priests, dishonoring my name. You say: "what do we dishonor your name?»

7 You offer unclean bread on my altar, and say, “How do we dishonor you?” - By saying: "The table of the Lord is not worthy of respect."

Those. neglect of worship. The worship service is long, tedious, burdened with many particulars, sacred details, and they say that all this is not necessary. Thus they dishonor the Name of the Lord. In addition, they sacrificed what was not needed in the herd. Since the sacrifices were bloody - it was necessary to bring lambs, oxen - they strove to bring something that a person does not need in a herd: something lousy, blind, lame, barren.

8 And when you sacrifice the blind, is it not evil? or when you bring the lame and the sick, isn't that evil? Bring it to your prince; Will he be pleased with you and receive you favorably? says the Lord of hosts.

9 So pray to God to have mercy on us; and when such things come from your hands, can he graciously receive you? says the Lord of hosts.

There is such a proverb: "God is on you, what is not good for us." By the way, we priests know this too. Once there was such a fad - bringing things to temples. It happens that they bring normal things that can be worn both for a homeless person and for a simple poor person, such a second-hand, and sometimes they carry such rubbish, such bags of garbage, rags that the parishes turn into incinerators. A lot of humanitarian aid, the so-called merciful offerings, are, in fact, some kind of trash that needs to be disposed of. These are such strange types of almsgiving, when people give away what they themselves do not need at home. They carry it is not clear what.

Malachi prophesies that the Jews, who do not honor God well, will give up their place. As usual, if you don't keep it, if you don't appreciate it, you'll lose it. “What we have, we don’t keep; if we lose it, we cry.” He says that Israel will give up the primacy, and many will know God. Such a unique opportunity, in fact, in the singular among the peoples - to pray to the living true God - will be taken away from the Jews. He says:

11 For from the rising of the sun to the setting down my name shall be great among the nations, and in every place they shall bring incense to my name, a pure sacrifice; great shall be my name among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

This is very important words, because Jewish worship, I remind you, is tied to one place. Jews can have only one temple on the whole earth. And not anywhere you want, but only in Jerusalem. And not anywhere in Jerusalem, but only on Mount Moriah. Only there can be a temple. If it's not there, then it's not there at all. And only there in the Old Testament times were sacrifices made to the living true God, who created the heavens and the earth, the God who was sung by David, Solomon, worshiping Him through the prophets, and who revealed Himself to Israel. And here we hear a clear prophecy about the change of times, that new times of worship are coming. A completely new time, as the Lord said to the Samaritan woman: “Woman, believe me, the time is coming when neither on this mountain nor on this will they worship, but in Spirit and Truth they will worship God in every place.” This is what Malachi says four hundred years before the coming of Christ. This is a clear prophecy about the spread of the knowledge of God throughout the world, which has happened and continues to happen, and as the great prophets say: "As the sea is filled with water, so the world must be filled with the knowledge of the Lord." These verses, by the way, are sung at the meeting of the bishop: “From the rising of the sun to the west, glorious is the Name of the Lord! May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now on and forever! - the choristers sing loudly when the bishop enters the temple of God to perform the service. Since the bishop is the bearer of apostolic grace, and on his shoulders, in fact, lies the responsibility for ensuring that “from the rising of the sun to the west”, i.e. throughout the world the Name of the Lord was praised, then he is greeted with the singing of verses, a paraphrase from the prophet of God Malachi.

13 And speak(These slanderers, tired of worshiping God. - Father Andrei) : "that's how much work!"(Well, indeed, there is a lot of work during worship, with sacrifices. On any holiday, try to prepare the church for the holiday, clean the church after the holiday. Now there will be a water blessing - this is how much fuss, how many preparations with water, with this, with this. And then try distribute all this after consecration, so as not to lose the world, pour an eggplant for each harmful petitioner, and then stay to clean it all up until late at night. Every holiday is a punishment for the servants of the Church. and servant - this is another serious test, there is a lot of work. We have it: we have no blood, no sheep, no fire, no knife, no bloody sacrifices. And then? I have no idea how it was possible to cut all these animals from morning to evening, burn, shake, separate, sing, pray, blow trumpets, walk, squelching, for blood, for the altar. There is a lot of work. Well, they say that it is a lot of work. - Fr Andrei) and neglect it, says the Lord of Hosts, and bring the stolen, the lame and the sick, and bring a gift of grain of the same nature: can I accept this from your hands with good pleasure? says the Lord.

14 Cursed be the deceitful one who has an uncorrupted male in his flock, and he swore a vow, but sacrifices a damaged one to the Lord: for I am a great King, and my name is terrible among the nations.

If all this is transferred to New Testament relations, then the same thing turns out: you promised - do it, no matter what - don’t bring it to God. Sacrifice is what comes from the heart. The sacrifice is what you need yourself. What you yourself do not need, but you have brought, is not yet a sacrifice, a sacrifice is what you took away from yourself and brought to God, or to your neighbor, or to God in the person of your neighbor. What is taken away - it, in fact, has a price.

Second chapter. Dedicated to priests.

1 So for you, priests, this commandment:

2 If you do not obey and if you do not take it to heart to give glory to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send a curse on you and curse your blessings(There is probably nothing more serious and terrible than such words, because the priest blesses, and if God curses his blessings, then what is the use of the priest if instead of blessing he sends curses around him. - Father Andrei) , and I'm already cursing because you don't want to put your heart into it.

We didn't read this carefully in seminary, I don't remember it. Here Malachi speaks of how God's covenant with men, through Levi, through the Old Testament priesthood, was a covenant of life and peace:

5 My covenant was with him covenant life and peace, and I gave it to him for fear, and he feared me and revered my name.

6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and no iniquity was found in his tongue; in peace and righteousness he walked with me and turned many away from sin.

This is the task of the priesthood: to have the law of truth on the lips, not to wear falsehood in the tongue, to walk in peace and truth before God, and to turn many away from sin. In fact, the main tasks of the priesthood are formulated. Next comes praise to the priesthood, high praise.

7 For the mouth of the priest must keep knowledge, and they seek the law from his mouth, because he is a messenger(Vestnik is an angel, in Slavonic. - Father Andrey) Lord of hosts.

Leading is deep knowledge. When Isaiah lists the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he also lists knowledge: “The Spirit of knowledge and godliness,” where the gifts of the Holy Spirit come in pairs, and here is the spirit of knowledge and the spirit of godliness. Piety is the right way of life, and knowledge is deep knowledge. There is a spirit of knowledge, but this is the spirit of primary learning, and there is a spirit of knowledge - deep knowledge, from the word "know". “For the lack of knowledge,” says the prophet Hosea, “my people will be rejected from the priesthood.” Where there is no striving for deep knowledge, where knowledge is abhorred, they move away from knowledge, run away from it, are not interested in it, direct their thoughts wherever they want, if only not into depth - there the sacred service ceases, there comes abomination and desolation. . And the lips of the priest should keep knowledge, "... they seek the law from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." That is how it should be.

8 But you have strayed from this path, you have served as a stumbling block in the law to many, you have destroyed the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts.

9 Therefore I will also make you contemptible and humiliated before all the people, because you do not keep my ways, you show favoritism in the works of the law.

Hard. Ezekiel and other great prophets also have similar harsh language about the priesthood. Ezekiel says (from memory): “If you do not tell a sinner that he is sinning, so that he stops, then he will die for his sins. But I will ask his soul from you. If you tell a sinner to stop, and he does not stop, then he will die for his sins. But you saved your soul because you told him. If you told him and he obeyed, then both of you have saved your souls.” The priest must be a preacher of the truth, even for the sake of personal safety: if he does not say anything, then he who perishes from ignorance, perishes from ignorance (ignorant of the truth), risks shifting the responsibility for his blood onto the shoulders and head of the one who did not teach him. All the prophets talk about it, it's a kind of common place, in fact, and it's strange that it still sounds like something new, like we're hearing it for the first time every time. The prophet enumerates the sins of the people. The prophets look at the life of the people with the stern look of an unearthly person, so to speak, i.e. a person who looks at the world not from the point of view of the layman, but from the point of view of God. And the first thing that catches your eye is various lawlessness. And here is what Malachi notes, interesting:

13 And here's another thing you do(From your sins. - Father Andrei) : you make the altar of the Lord shed tears with weeping and wailing, so that he no longer regards the offering and does not accept a propitiatory sacrifice from your hands.

It means that you are doing something so that the Lord no longer listens to you, He does not listen to your prayers.

14 You will say: “For what?” Because the Lord was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you acted treacherously, while she is your friend and your lawful wife.

These words denounce the violation of marital fidelity. Here's another thing you do: you offend your wife, make her weep at the altar, shed tears on the altar, and her tears become a wall between you, who is praying, and her, offended. And God no longer wants to listen to you, because He was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, and you acted treacherously. But the Jews are cunning people, and we are all cunning too: precept upon precept, law upon law, rule upon rule. They say that Abraham also had several wives: he had Sarah, he had Hagar, he had Hitura. You never know the righteous had many women ... And so the thought of Malachi goes further to Abraham:

15 But did not one do the same, and an excellent spirit dwelt in him?(He hints at Abraham, who had several wives. However, other Old Testament righteous people also had many wives. - Father Andrei) what did this one do? he wanted to receive offspring from God(i.e. Abraham lived in a state of expectation of a seed from the Lord, and he did not live with wives out of lust, did not jump on them like a frantic one, but looked at the union with his wife precisely as an expectation of offspring. Therefore, the possibilities of leaving or looping are indirectly discussed here "cunning mind". Mind - it winds like a kite. The fallen mind winds on the ground like a kite on the sand. - Fr. Andrey). So take care of your spirit, and no one act treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Such is the loud truth sounded. I think this is a very relevant thing, because standing in confession, reading books as a kind of chronicle modern life When you delve into newspapers, into sociological studies, talking with psychologists, you see that this is the scourge of our time. Infidelity corrodes life. And where infidelity has corroded life, there gradually, into this crack that rot has eaten away, everything in the world wakes up: health, and happiness, and peace, and wealth - everything disappears from fornication and everything that goes along with it. Therefore, "... take care of your spirit, and no one act treacherously against the wife of his youth."

17 You anger the Lord with your words, and say, How do we anger him? By saying: "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He favors such," or: "Where is the God of justice?"

This is a matter of today, right today we see how people say: “The Lord is merciful to sinners. They are doing villainy after villainy. Where is the Lord, what is He doing? This is how we anger God. (further verses from the third chapter)

16 But those who fear God say to one another, “The Lord listens and hears this, and a book of remembrance is written before him for those who fear the Lord and honor his name.”

So say those who fear God.

17 And they will be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own in the day that I make, and I will have mercy on them, as a man has mercy on his son who serves him.

18 And then again you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not serve Him.

This is an encouragement to us so that we do not think and hastily repeat evil words. evil person.

14 You say: “In vain is the service of God(Many say so, they say, what's the point: pray, pray - don't pray ... - Father Andrei) and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances and walked in mournful clothes before the Lord of hosts?

15 And now we count the haughty happy(Insolent, rich, thieves, swindlers, where there is nowhere to put stigma. We consider them happy: they are shown on TV, they are printed in newspapers, we see their faces on posters, their faces are everywhere ... - Fr Andrei) : Those who do iniquity are better off(This is what lawless people say. Listen carefully, check your thoughts. Lawless people believe that those who do lawlessness best suit themselves in life. - Fr Andrei) , and though they tempt God, they remain unharmed."

These are literally today's speeches. I have already said that reading the prophets is reading the morning paper. What Malachi, Zechariah, Zephaniah, Haggai, Micah, Amos say is all today. This is so relevant, although it was said more than two thousand years ago, that it is simply amazing. We must check our inner way of thinking by the tuning fork of prophetic words, sayings, in order to accurately determine - here is falsehood: here there is a knock on wood, and here on metal, here there is a knock on gold, and here on concrete. Those. where concrete sounds inside us, where is wood, where is gold, where is silver.

Third chapter. Prophetic. Great head.

1 Behold, I am sending my angel, and he will prepare the way before me(Hear? The Baptism of the Lord will be soon, we will soon read these words that Mark quotes, the beginning of the Gospel of Christ the Son of God: "Behold, I send My Angel before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." "My Angel" is the Forerunner "Is the forerunner an Angel? No, he is a man. Why is he called an Angel? Because he is a messenger, the word "angel" is translated as a messenger. So earlier, in the second chapter, all the priests were called the Angels of the Lord of Hosts. They seek the law from the mouth of the priest, and he is the Angel of the Lord Sabaoth. The forerunner is a man of flesh and blood, his mother gave birth, his father conceived, and lived in the desert and ate locusts and wild honey. - Father Andrei) and suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to the temple(This is Christ. They were looking for Christ, eagerly waiting for Him, stubbornly begging for Him to come faster. And now He will suddenly come to His temple - the Lord Whom you are looking for will come. - Father Andrew) and the angel of the covenant that you desire(The angel of the covenant is already about the Lord. Why is He called an Angel? Because He is also a messenger. His Father sent into the world. Everyone sent is a messenger, and the messenger is in Greek “angel”. Christ is the Angel of the New Testament - He is the Angel of the Father , the Angel of the face of God, the face of the Father, the Angel of God whom you desire - Fr Andrew) ; behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts.

2 And who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?(Malachi sees further than the First Coming. He sees the First Coming, with the Forerunner, with Christ, and then immediately sees the Second Coming. He sees the purifying fire, the fire of the Second Coming, the fire Doomsday when all evil spirits will be cleansed like dirt in alkali. - about. Andrew) For He is like a melting fire and like a lye that cleanses,

3 And he will sit down to refine and refine silver, and refine the sons of Levi and refine them.......

5 And I will come to you for judgment(The following is a list of the seven main sins that Malachi sees in the surrounding people. All these sins concern us directly. - Father Andrei) and I will be a quick accuser of sorcerers(Grandmothers, fortune-tellers, fortune-tellers, the “battle of psychics”, horoscopes, fortune-telling, knowing the future. We are not talking about all sorts of Satanists, love spells, summoners of the dead, charmers, whisperers, etc. - Fr Andrei) and adulterers, and those who swear falsely and withhold wages from a hired hand(They agree to work and withhold money: they don’t pay on time, they don’t pay everything, they find flaws in the work done, they don’t give back the money they earn in full. - Fr Andrei), oppress the widow and the orphan(They offend the most defenseless. - Father Andrei) , and repel the stranger, and they are not afraid of me, says the Lord of hosts.

6 For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you sons of Jacob were not destroyed.

The coming of God will be a denunciation of sin, and Malachi enumerates the most flagrant sins. In addition, he says that the people are robbing God:

8 Can a person rob God? And you are robbing me. You will say, “How do we rob you?” Tithes and offerings.

9 You are cursed with a curse, because you - all the people - rob me.

The Lord bound Israel with the commandments of tithing. Everything that you earned, everything that turned out, everything that brought profit, everything that you collected from your field - be kind, divide by ten and take the tenth to God. Through the given tenth, the remaining nine-tenths are sanctified. As we have already said: give one-tenth - nine-tenths of the rest will be sanctified, it will be holy. Feel free to use it, it's sacred. Only you give one tenth - a drop sanctifies the sea. Give a piece, and the whole remains holy. This applies to everything: time, effort, words. For example, out of ten words, one should be about the Lord, out of ten thoughts, one should be to God. Learn to dedicate everything you have to the one who lives forever - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Well, then there is already money, and things, and products of the earth, and so on. If a person does not do this, then, in fact, he does not give God what belongs to God. “You are robbing me,” says the Lord. Are we robbing the Lord? We do not have a tithing order in the New Testament Church. We do not have such a firm discipline that everyone is obliged to bring a tithe of what he has acquired, or earned, or received. There's no such thing. If you want - bring everything, if you want - half, if you want - five, at least nine, at least ten. But many use this freedom to their own detriment and wear nothing. In fact, God does not need anything from us, He just knows that - you bring, give, and the rest will be good for you. And if you use everything on yourself, then it will go down your throat. It will not do you any good if you use it alone in proud and selfish solitude. Giving is a sacred thing, for giving is more blessed than receiving. Therefore, Christians, consider this for yourself and learn to give. Give a little, give a little. It is not required to give half - just a tithe. To give a little, not only from things and monetary gains, but also thoughts, words, time, deeds, heart efforts, all that, in fact, constitutes the inner treasury of a person. Giving is more blessed than receiving. If everything is spent on oneself, then it will be sadness, misfortune and loss of living space. Thus, we rob the Lord of Hosts.

Fourth chapter. The last chapter of the Old Testament.

1 For, behold, the day will come, burning like an oven; then all the arrogant and wicked will be like stubble, and the coming day will burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will not leave them root or branch.

2 But for you who revere my name, the Sun of righteousness will rise, and healing in its rays, and you will go out and leap like fat calves;

"The Sun of Truth" - remember, we, recently celebrating Christmas, sang: " Your Christmas, Christ our God, ascend the world the light of reason, in it, for the stars serving as a star, I learn to bow to You, the Sun of truth, and lead You from the height of the East. Lord, glory to You! » There is the word “lead”, i.e. know deeply. Here about knowledge, it is precisely said that knowledge is sought from the mouth of the priest. And the Sun of Truth. Those. two words used by the prophet Malachi are in the troparion of the Nativity of Christ. Now look, "...for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise" - that's Christ. This is spoken to people who lived four hundred years before the Lord Jesus Christ, before His Coming. What is four hundred years? This is one thousand six hundredth years, if we count four hundred years ago from us now. What happened four hundred years ago, in 1600? It was embarrassment. 1612: the Polish-Lithuanian invasion, the siege of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, False Dmitry I, False Dmitry II, Marina Mnishek, and a whole bunch of different outrages, when it was not clear what would happen next, to live or not to live on the Russian land. The interregnum, the death of the Rurikids, the rise of the Romanovs... Saints appeared to Hermogenes, who was dying of hunger in the Chudov Monastery, and Sergius of Radonezh told him that, through the prayers of the Mother of God, the judgment of the Fatherland was changed to mercy. Was it a long time ago or not? It was a very long time ago, four hundred years, the seventeenth century. Imagine that from Malachi to the Lord there are four hundred years. And here is Malachi - the last prophetic word, encouraging the Jews who need to wait for the Mission. After all, at least sixteen generations of Jews died without waiting. “And for you who revere my name, the Sun of righteousness will rise and healing in its rays ...” - this is how they repeated these words to each other from year to year, from generation to generation, with fading hope, but not completely disappearing . Trust in the Lord, trust in Him, and you will see the mercy of God. And one generation dies, and the second tries to keep the faith. And then, this faith is so weak, it tries to hold on like a small trembling wick. Another generation... - we did not wait for the Mission. And the baton of faith is passed on to the next generation. They say you believe, believe, believe, because the Sun of righteousness will rise, and healing is in its rays. Imagine, such a feat of faith, which has been borne for centuries. And generations die, one after another, without waiting, and without seeing with their own eyes the fulfillment of the promised. However, faith does not go out, and the righteous, as Scripture tells us, will live by faith. An arrogant person, like wandering wine, will not rest, but a righteous person will live by faith.

3 And you will trample the wicked, for they will be dust under your feet on the day that I will make, says the Lord of hosts.

4 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel, as well as the rules and ordinances.

There is a law, there are rules, there are charters - these are different things. The law speaks of the main commandments. Then there are the rules: the rules of life, of worship. And the statutes defining different sides liturgical and private civil life. That's all a person needs: law, rules and statutes.

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

And when John the Baptist came, in the spirit of Elijah (and he came, as Scripture says, in the spirit and strength of Elijah), and was dressed like Elijah - in a sackcloth, girded around his hips with a leather belt, they asked him: “Are you Elijah?” He says no. - "Are you the Mission?" - "Not". - “And what are you baptizing? (everyone was waiting for Elijah, and John came)” Elijah will come, but Elijah will be the prophet of the Second Coming of Christ. It's for the court. When the Lord will go to judgment before the great and terrible day comes, just as it is written. Elijah will come and will denounce the Antichrist, will invigorate the last remnants of Israel. He will amuse everyone, those who believe in God will say "Do not be afraid."

6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that when I come, I will not strike the earth with a curse.

These are the last words of the Old Testament. Then comes a period of silence for four hundred years, as if we had not a single saint in Russia from Patriarch Hermogenes, even to this day. Can you imagine this? Hardly. And here it was.

We have read the book of Malachi with you, because today, which has passed, was dedicated to the memory of this holy man of God.

The memory of Your prophet Malachi, Lord, is celebrating, so we pray to Thee: save our souls. Amen.

— Glory to Jesus Christ, father, bless, this is Sergey from Nikolaev. Father Andrey, in the last program you said that Russia is the last light of this world. I absolutely agree with you, but I would like to hear from you in detail: there are Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and finally Greece, Orthodox Athos. What is the indispensable role of Russia in the fight against the advancing kingdom of Antichrist?

— We have a lot of God's people scattered all over the world. In Greece, in Bulgaria, in Georgia, and in the same Hungary, there are certainly some servants of God, secret or explicit. As Scripture says: "In every nation, he who fears God and does what is right is pleasing to Him." There is no doubt that there are holy people on all continents, at least righteous people of God. What is the unique service to Russia? A huge geographic space, in contact with the entire universe, in fact. As Rainer Maria Rilke said: "Russia borders on God." The physical strength of the state, which favorable conditions can guard external force and external support, that small flock of Christians, which is the salt of the earth - this is what we can have, in contrast, for example, to those countries that today refuse Christian morality, and Christians are gradually turning into a persecuted community, not yet killed or driven out, but no longer having any rights. At the end of time, Russia can show a certain approach to a symphony, to a certain harmonic coherence of the state machine and the church organism, so that the state guards the outer boundaries of people's life, and the Church fills inner space folk life with correct meanings. Russia has such an opportunity. There is no end to the work here. But there is such a possibility. No one else has this opportunity. Everything else, one way or another, lies under the roller of globalism. We ourselves suffer under this ice rink, but we do not lie to the extent that our enemies would like. But keep in mind that there are very few countries in the world that are truly sovereign. The sovereignty of countries has become ephemeral. Take Germany, for example: gold reserves in America. Sovereignty, then, is already zero. Although this is a very strong country, and very hard-working people, and big story. Or the same Japan... All those countries that are in the wake of the United States are, in principle, countries that have lost sovereignty, retained formal sovereignty: as they are ordered, they will do it. There are only a few countries in the world that are truly sovereign: this is Russia, this is China, this is a number of other countries Latin America, this, of course, is the States - the locomotive of globalism and all the complex processes taking place in the world. Of the Orthodox countries, only one is Russia, a truly sovereign country that has the right to pursue a more or less independent policy in the outside world, and in the event of a favorable alignment for us, believers, this country is able to preserve traditional values ​​in a vast world space, to defend them and let no one trample the soul common man. Here it is completely unique properties Russian Federation, to date. That's not all. Even if we imagine that from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad, divine liturgy, on the vast expanse of the Russian land - this is already enough. Much can be said about this in detail, but something has already been said. Thanks for the question.

— Hello. Father Andrew, what is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit in our time? Here, many of us are baptized, they will now go for some water, but they do not need the sacraments. Is this not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?

I have a very big request to pray for our daughter Natalya, she has cerebral palsy, for her husband Andrey and me, Galina. Thanks a lot.

- With regard to these people whom you named - there is no blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a conscious rejection of the truth. This is the contemplation of truth, standing before it and conscious rejection of it. Where there was no knowledge of the truth, there can be no question of blasphemy. There may be talk of stupidity, of madness, of delusion, of something said involuntarily, or without understanding what is said. But blasphemy is a conscious opposition to the truth, it is a demonic state. Demons believe and tremble. They hate God with all their being, despite the fact that they perfectly understand with their angelic mind the absurdity of their condition and the hopelessness of their situation. Well, the same goes for the human race. By the way, this lot, fortunately, a small number of people. deep knowledge truth and open opposition to it - this is the property of blasphemy.

— Father Andrew, good evening. Now you were talking about tithing, and in general, sacrifice to God. Tell me, is tithe, a sacrifice to God, giving to the poor?

- Of course, a sacrifice for a needy person can be safely included in the number of what you give to the Lord. Of course, we should not narrow all this down to temple use, they say, only bring it to the temple, just give it to me - no, by no means. Let's put it this way, if we take it scrupulously... Here you have earned, relatively speaking, fifty thousand rubles. Divide by ten to get five. Here you set aside these five, and to whom you give them is your business. Let's say you found a family in need, and you directly brought these five thousand, and gave them to them. That's it, you've already given away ten percent of yours. Basically, everything. The rest is sacred. The rest of your forty-five are already holy. You can divide these five thousand by two, for example, and buy candles, notes and prosphora for two five hundred, and distribute the other two five hundred to all the beggars who catch your eye. And so good. You can give two thousand to the priest, and use three thousand in your own way, for some good deeds. As you wish. I think it is very dangerous here to try to create some kind of formal scheme that is the same for all people. Because people live differently, earn differently, spend differently, and everyone’s heart desires to spend are also different. One will buy books and give them to someone, the other will do something else, for example, go to the hospital, buy bandages or tablets with ointments. It is important that we separate something equal to a tenth or more from what we earn, if we like, and spend it for the glory of Christ on those who need it. You can donate to the temple, especially to poor ones under construction, or to dying rural parishes. Note that the city parishes should not be forgotten either, but things are somehow easier for them. And there are also priests with many children ... I saw such a booklet in one church, about the dead, deceased priests who left behind wives with three, seven children, there is a whole site, it turns out, about helping widowed mothers. Usually, if the father has seven children, and the father serves, then the mother does not go to work, she is busy with the children from morning until evening. The breadwinner is dead, that's all. Need to find correct application earned, and be quite free in the field of formal expression of their alms. I think so. And may the Lord enlighten every good soul in order to correctly spend the money earned to help a person in need. This is a very important thing. If we learn to use these things, we will wipe away thousands of tears and straighten many paths. The crooked will be straightened, and the sinful will be corrected.

— Good evening, Father Andrew. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, says that when the Savior and the disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane, He departed from them at the distance of a thrown stone, and an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. Here the emphasis on the word strengthened. And in the Gospel of Mark, the first chapter, the thirteenth verse, we read that at the very beginning of His ministry, the Lord was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the beasts, and the angels served Him. In what ways can angels serve or strengthen the Lord? Thank you.

How can an angel serve a person? How can man serve man? He can support him, he can talk to him, he can console him in some way, he can pray near him, for him, next to him. Can amuse him with his presence. AT empty places, in deserts where there is not a single person, the Lord fasts, and the angels of God can brighten up His fasting work with their prayerful presence. You never know how an angel of God can serve his Lord, who became a man. As for the Gethsemane prayer, here, in full measure, Christ, like a lamb on which human sins have been weighed down, gave His humanity the opportunity to wear out, to be exhausted from all the sins that He came to take upon Himself. And here He, as a man, as a servant of Jehovah, as a lamb of God, suffered, and someone from the highest, certainly not just angels, but someone from those standing before the face of the Lord in heaven, came to Him in order to support It's like it was with Daniel, like it was with Moses, like it was with Jeremiah, or other of the prophets. Those. to serve Him according to the suffering humanity of Christ. Angels, as those who do not know how to suffer, do not know what pain in a tooth is, for example, or pain in a broken finger, or pain in a twisted cheekbone. This is completely unfamiliar to them. But they can support, strengthen that person who is suffering, and they served the suffering humanity of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who decided to take upon Himself the sins of the world. Strengthening and serving, here, these are some synonyms, with the difference that in the wilderness the Lord fasted and suffered from fasting, and the angels served Him, strengthening Him and sharing prayer work with Him. He didn't just fast, He prayed. And in Gethsemane there was a cross without a cross - there was suffering: no one had beaten Him yet, but He was already exhausted and tormented in this invisible spiritual struggle. And one of the archangels stood before Him in this, serving Him and strengthening His humanity in this struggle. There is nothing surprising here, although here everything is higher than the mind, here everything is higher than words - these things are higher than words. You read all this again, quietly only, and stop your mind on these words. Ask God to let your heart feel the meaning of what you read. I think it will be more useful than talking about it on the air. Because the sufferings of Christ - they are not adequately expressed in words, it is difficult to express them in words. The experience of the suffering of Christ is given to man in Great Lent. Some kind of more or less approximation to the understanding of the suffering of Christ, as well as the angelic participation in it - it is given to a person in great post. At this time, a person can understand what it is about. What, in fact, is waiting for us soon, and I think we will feel it more deeply.

— Christ is born! Father Andrew, why didn't the Lord destroy evil before the creation of man?

— Such a global question... If it is fast, then evil must be trampled upon by man and not let out of the underworld. Man must not let the “genie out of the bottle” with the help of God. God does not have to do everything for man. As in that joke - a man who asked God for money heard from heaven: "At least buy a lottery ticket." Those. I'll give you money, but you yourself should at least do something. It is impossible to do everything for a person, and it is impossible to destroy evil by God, Himself, without a person. A person must himself be an active fighter against evil. God is ready to give him help in this, but it would be quite rude to demand that God do everything without us. And then who are we? Then we wouldn't be human. Human dignity, human nature is. Man himself is such in his bodily-soul free volitional composition and his intelligent being that he is obliged to be a participant in cosmological processes, everything depends on him. And what's the point ... "Buy me a ticket to the Maldives, pay for the way there and back, make me happy, and don't bother me to live" - ​​such a position is of course fun, I understand it, because I myself lawless person. But I understand perfectly well that all this is nonsense, and as long as a person does nothing himself, the Lord will stand by and also will not do anything. Therefore, He does not destroy evil without our personal effort.

— Father, bless, servant of God Sergei from Moscow. I have a question about last words Christ on the cross: “Lord, Lord, why did you leave me?” What was it?

- It was something that exceeded the measure of natural suffering - Christ tasted unnatural pain. Having incarnated, He took upon Himself human limitations, for Him it would already be unnatural, for example, a feeling of fatigue, hunger, suffering from heat or cold, or sleeping on the ground, or kicking a stone, etc. He became a man out of love and took upon Himself all our limitations. But He was not separated from the Father. And all human troubles come from the fact that we have lost God. After all, we have not just lost paradise in the fall, we have lost God. And Christ this, just, and did not lose. He took upon Himself all our sinful conventions. In fact, he retained complete unity with the Father. He was never alone, He said: "I and My Father are One." Those. I am not alone, everything that I say to you, I do not say from Myself, I say from the Father who sent Me - complete Unity. And on the cross He plunged into what humanity plunged into. It was the unnatural suffering of Christ, He felt God-forsaken. What happened in this case, we can hardly speak in human language, but Christ took upon Himself everything, and therefore, took upon Himself the complete loss of God, the meaning, the meaning of life. He lost his Father, for a few seconds, maybe a fraction of a second. He plunged into a real hell. When there is no Father, when there is no meaning, when a person is alone, when the whole burden of this godless world falls on him alone. This is what He also experienced. Hence the cry: "My God, My God, why did You leave Me." He fully drank the whole cup of human suffering.

Love Scripture, Christians, read it, beg God to have mercy on you and look for opportunities to propitiate God good deeds. This, in fact, is the whole secret of our life. Talk to the One who created us, praise the One who created us, try to please the One who created us, and bring Him humble repentance for our sins, because He loves us and is ready to forgive us everything, not only up to seven times seven , but up to seventy times seven, and even more.

To Him be glory and power, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.

I wish everyone to meet the feast of Theophany in an uplifted spirit and understand that on the day of Theophany God revealed himself as the Trinity, and Jesus of Nazareth revealed Himself as Christ. He did not become the Christ, He revealed Himself as the Christ—He is the Christ from birth. But He revealed Himself as Christ on the waters of Jordan, as witnessed by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Heavenly Father said: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Let's bow to that.

The historical books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Esther, tell of the Restoration and the Fall Jewish people.

Books of poetry, from Job to Song of Songs, roughly speaking, describe the golden age of the Jewish people.

The prophetic books, from Isaiah to Malachi, refer to the fall of the Jewish people.

There are 17 prophetic books and 16 prophets, since the prophet Jeremiah wrote two books: one is named after him, and the other is named after Jeremiah.

Prophetic books are further subdivided into books of "major" and "minor" prophets.

Great prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel.

Minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

These divisions are based on the size of the books. Each of the books of the three prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel individually is larger than all 12 books of the minor prophets combined. The book of Daniel is almost the same size as the two major books of the minor prophets, Hosea and Zechariah. All bible readers should memorize the names of the prophets in order to find their books soon.

Divisions of prophets by time: 13 of them were associated with the destruction of the Jewish kingdom, and three prophets contributed to its restoration.

The destruction of the nation occurred in two periods:

The northern kingdom fell in 734-721 BC. Before this age and during this age, the prophets were: Joel, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah.

The southern kingdom fell in 606 - 586 BC. At that time, the prophets were: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.

The restoration of the kingdom took place in 535-444 BC. The prophets Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi participated in this. Their prophecies were mainly directed as follows:

Prophet Amos and Hosea to Israel.

Prophet Jonah and Nahum to Nineveh.

Prophet Daniel to Babylon.

Prophet Ezekiel - to the Babylonian captives.

Prophet Obadiah to Edom.

Prophet Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi - to Judah.

Historical Events The ministry of the prophets was caused by the apostasy of the ten tribes from God at the end of Solomon's reign (see 3 Kings 12). For political reasons, in order to keep the two kingdoms separated, the northern kingdom introduced the Egyptian religion of calf worship into its midst. To this they soon added the worship of Baal, which later spread to the southern kingdom. At this critical time, when the name of God was no longer mentioned and falling away from God threatened God's plans for the salvation of the human race, God began to send his prophets.

Prophets and Priests. Priests were usually appointed to be teachers among the people. They were a hereditary class and at times the most perverse of the people. Yet they were considered religious teachers. Instead of keeping the people from sinning, they sinned with them and were leaders of iniquity. Prophets were not a hereditary class. Each of them had their own calling from God. They came from every rank.

Jeremiah and Ezekiel were priests, and perhaps Zechariah and Isaiah. Daniel and Zephaniah were from the royal family Amos was a shepherd. Who the rest were, we do not know.

Ministry and word of the prophets:

1. Save the people from idolatry and lawlessness.

2. Not having reached this goal, to announce to the people their death.

3. But not complete destruction. The rest will be saved.

4. From this remnant will come one who will turn all nations to God.

5. This person will be a great man who will come from the house of David. The prophets called it "branch". The lineage of David, at one time very strong, in the days of the prophets became very weak and needed to be restored, so that a “branch” would come from this family to be the king of kings.

The Period of the Prophets The period of the prophets roughly spanned about 400 years (800-400 BC). The main event of this time was the destruction of Jerusalem, chronologically, in half of this period. In connection with this event, one way or another, seven prophets served the people. Here are their names: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. The fall of Jerusalem was the strongest time of the activity of the prophets, who tried to explain and prevent its fall. Speaking humanly, God himself allowed its fall, but did everything possible to prevent its destruction. Sometimes the Lord allows the existence of some institution that testifies to God, even if this institution is full of wickedness and apostasy. It is possible that on this basis God allowed the existence of the papacy in the Middle Ages. During this time, God sent a number of eminent prophets to save Jerusalem. Having failed to save the retreating holy city, the prophets made it very clear divine explanation and the assurance that the fall God's people does not end God's intentions and that after punishment there will be restoration and a brighter future for God's people.

Public Sermons of the Prophets contemporary literature about the prophets, much attention is paid to the public sermons of the prophets, their condemnation of political corruption, oppression and moral decay among the people. Most of all the prophets were concerned about idolatry among the people. One has to be surprised that many modern students of prophetic speeches do not attach any importance to this.

The predictive value of speeches

Some critical scholars downplay the predictive and prophetic content of the bible. But it is in the books of the bible. The most dominant thought in the Old Testament is that Jehovah, the God of the Jews, will in due time become the God of all the peoples of the world. Sequential generation of Old Testament authors, from general to detailed descriptions tells how it will happen. And although the prophets themselves did not always understand full value their words, and even if some of the predictions are clouded in historical events of their time—yet the full picture of the teaching of Christ and the spread of Christianity throughout the world is very clearly foretold in detail, in a language that cannot be attributed to anything else.

The ideas of each prophet, expressed in one line:

Joel: the vision of the gospel age, the gathering of the nations.

Jonah: The interest of the God of Israel in the enemies of Israel.

Amos: The house of David will rule the world.

Hosea: Jehovah will in due time be the God of all nations.

Isaiah: God will have a remnant for a glorious future.

Micah: the coming king from Bethlehem and his world power.

Nahum: The approaching punishment of Nineveh.

Zephaniah: A new revelation called by a new name.

Jeremiah: Jerusalem's sin, its fall and future glory.

Ezekiel: the fall and restoration of Jerusalem and its future.

Obadiah: Edom will be completely destroyed.

Daniel: Four Kingdoms and God's Eternal Kingdom.

Habakkuk: The Complete Triumph of Jehovah's People.

Haggai: the second temple and the most glorious temple to come.

Zechariah: the coming king, his house and kingdom.

Malachi: The Final Prophecy of the Messianic People.

History and Approximate Times of the Prophets

The Old Testament is part of the Christian Bible, the first of 2 parts. This is an ancient Jewish Holy Bible, which combines the sacred text of Christianity and Judaism.

To date, among the monotheistic religions, the dominant place belongs to Judaism. In turn, the term monotheistic is understood as a religion, the doctrine of which recognizes the existence of only the One God and the denial of the existence of any other deities. One God Yahweh is represented here, existing both in the visible and invisible worlds. So that there was a realization of communication between God and people, there were prophets.

The prophets of the Old Testament had to sacrifice something in order to hear the voice of God and be able to convey instructions to the people, the king or the one to whom they were intended. The prophets admonished the people, denounced, taught. So, it was the prophet Samuel (asked from God) who announced that David was chosen as the Anointed of God, that is, the king.

The radical difference between the prophets of the Old and New Testaments must be taken into account. And this is, first of all, the absence of animal sacrifice among the prophets of the New Testament. Sacrifice in ancient times essential role, because it meant the symbol of the Savior of the World Christ. In fact, the great prophets of the Old Testament predicted the coming of the Messiah born of the Virgin. The anointed of God - David, and later his son - Solomon (the son of the world), were also prophets who foreshadowed that the Messiah would come from their kind.

The greatest prophet of the Old Testament is Moses, called the God-seer. Moses was able to see God on Mount Sinai, and following his instructions, he wrote the laws of the 10 commandments. The birth of Moses took place during the oppression of the Jewish people by the Egyptian pharaoh. The then-existing decree of throwing all Jewish male babies into the river would have affected Moses, but he was saved by God's Providence and later raised in the royal court. Seeing all the groaning of the Jewish people, Moses preferred to stay with them, and not rule with the Gentiles. And later led his people away from the oppression of the pharaoh.

The names of other prophets are also named in the Bible, whose predictions were recorded and published in a separate book called "Prophets", subdivided into large and small depending on the size of the text. Large ones are attributed to the prophecies prescribed by Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah. Minor prophets are Micah, Joel, Nahum, Obadiah and others. You can find out more about these prophets by typing “prophets of the Old Testament names” in the Internet search engine. In the books of the prophets of the Old Testament, one can trace, basically, the idea that everything is the will of God. That is, all the events that take place are sent down by the command of God. The book of the prophet Zephaniah describes that one day cataclysms will come that can be compared with the scale of the global flood, salvation will be prepared only for true believers. True believers will receive salvation from God and life in the Kingdom of Eternal Peace, Joy, Happiness. In the New Testament, the prophets convey messages to the Church of Christ, which are called to edify the people in faith.

Although the books of the prophets in the Old Testament take up little space in terms of text size, they are practically the most important in terms of content. The prophets who spoke about the presence of God in human life and its history were chosen by God himself, but not in his own name. The Bible represents a whole galaxy of God's messengers, replacing each other for 300 years. At the same time, the prophets belong to different classes - and the shepherd, and the king, and the priest, and the singer. The messengers of God appear as fighters against the delusions of society and their era. The first prophets made rather high demands on the people, believing that Israel should unite into a society completely subordinate to the will of the Lord. At the same time, while preaching, the prophets constantly emphasized that the truths they voiced are not new - these are truths that have long been known.

In Old Testament times, the position of the prophet was the position of divine leadership. God sent a prophet to lead the people of Israel. At that time, the prophet was called the "seer":

“Formerly among Israel, when someone went to inquire of God, they said this: “Let's go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer” (1 Sam. 9:9).

The Hebrew word ra-ah, meaning "to see" or "to discern," makes it clear what the prophet's office was like. And another word "khazen" - "one who sees visions" - was also used to refer to a prophet or seer.

In total, seventy-eight different prophets and prophetesses are mentioned in the Bible. If we would study deeply and in detail everything that is said about them from Genesis to Revelation, we would be able to obtain exhaustive information about everything connected with the prophets.

“The Lord God formed from the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air, and brought them to man to see what he would call them, and that whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name” (Gen. 2:19) .

In this situation, Adam was operating in the spiritual realm. He somehow foresaw the way of life and habits of each of the animals and gave them the appropriate names. It was a prophetic definition.

Enoch

Enoch is one of the most remarkable prophets of the Old Testament. Genesis 5:21 says, "Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begat Methuselah." One of possible transfers Methuselah's name sounds like this: "After his death, water will be sent." God took Enoch when he was 365 years old, and his son Methuselah lived 969 years. Comparing the dates of Methuselah's life and the date of the great flood, you will find that he really died in the year when the flood came to this earth. I believe that the flood began at the same hour that Methuselah died, since his name meant: "After his death, water will be sent."

Additional information about the prophecies of Enoch we find in the Epistle of Jude, in verses 14 and 15:

“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them, saying: “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints (Angels) - to execute judgment on all and reprove all the ungodly among them in all the deeds that their wickedness has produced, and in all cruel words which ungodly sinners spoke against him."

This has not happened yet and must happen in the future. So, we see that Enoch not only prophesied about his son and the judgment of God that came to this world after his death - after 969 years - but he also predicted that God (in Christ Jesus) would come one day "with thousands of saints ( Angels) His. Enoch was only the seventh generation from Adam, how could he have known that Jesus would have to return to earth with an army of saints? From what source did he get the ability to see the future and predict what he could not even imagine in his own mind? It certainly was a prophetic vision.

So, the office of the prophet is not something new: since the dawn of mankind, the prophets predicted the dramatic events of history. There was no natural way for them to know what they prophesied. Enoch did not make astrological calculations and did not go to fortunetellers. He spoke what God revealed to him. Enoch was such a pious man that he did not see death - he was miraculously taken to heaven at the age of 365 years.

The next prophet as great as Enoch was Noah. Genesis 6:8,9 says:

“But Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord. Here is the life of Noah: Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation: Noah walked with God.

For about a hundred years, Noah proclaimed that a great flood would come and cover the whole earth. Noah was a true prophet, but he had to wait over a hundred years before his prophecy came true.

Imagine that you are a prophet (or prophetess) and your prediction has not been fulfilled for about a hundred years - enough long term, is not it? They will mock you and say that all this is empty fiction. Naturally, in such a situation it is easy to become discouraged.

However, Noah walked with God. For a hundred years he did not lose faith in the words spoken by the Lord. (Some believe that this went on even longer - one hundred and twenty years). And then one day clouds began to thicken in the sky, lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and a great flood hit the earth. The prophet of God said it would happen, and it did. This is what it means to be a biblical prophet.

Everything that a true prophet predicts must happen, because the Holy Spirit, who revealed it to him, cannot lie. The Bible says that God never lies. “God is not a man to lie to Him, and not a son of man to change Himself. Will he speak and you will not do, will he speak and will not do?” (Num. 23:19). Therefore, when one of God's prophets - a man anointed by God - predicts something, it will certainly come true.

Abraham

Another great prophet of God was Abraham. In Genesis 24:6,7 we read how Abraham sent his servant into the country of his fathers to find a wife for Isaac:

“Abraham said to him [servant]: beware, do not bring my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying: "I will give this land to your offspring" - He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife to your son mine from there."

Abraham said of God, "He will do it." And his words were prophetic. Abraham gave instructions to his servant: “Go to the land of my father - because God wants to keep the purity of our kind - and there you will find a girl who will become a wife for my son. She will be there and you will bring her here.”

This was real prophecy. And when the servant brought back the charming young girl, Isaac went out into the field: he was waiting for her arrival. From this we can conclude that Isaac believed in the prophecy spoken by his father. He knew that the events foretold by Abraham would surely come to pass.

Jacob

Now it's Jacob's turn. Genesis 49:1 says, "And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come." And then he told them what kind of tribes (tribes of Israel) they would become and what way of life they would lead. These words remain true to this day.

Jacob foretold that his sons would leave the country they were then in and take possession of the land that had been promised to them. He also predicted how they would treat each other and get along with each other. There is no doubt that Jacob was a prophet.

Joseph

About Joseph in Genesis 41:15,15 it says the following:

“Pharaoh said to Joseph: I had a dream, and there is no one to interpret it, but I heard about you that you know how to interpret dreams. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, This is not mine; God will give an answer for the benefit of Pharaoh."

Through this dream, the Lord wanted to tell Pharaoh about His intentions: that there would be seven years of abundance in that country, followed by seven years of famine; and if the people do not prepare, they will perish. And it happened exactly as Joseph predicted.

Moses

If we examine the Scriptures, we will find that Moses wrote 475 prophetic verses, not that few compared to other prophets. In Exodus 11:4,5 Moses said:

“Thus says the Lord: At midnight I will pass through the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the handmaid who is with the millstones, and all the firstborn of cattle.”

It took great courage for Moses to proclaim such words. Moreover, he not only predicted that this would happen, but also indicated the specific time when this would happen. And if all the firstborn in Egypt had not died the next morning, Moses would have been a false prophet.

“And there will be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as never was, and no more. But among all the children of Israel, a dog will not move its tongue against man or livestock, so that you may know what a difference the Lord makes between the Egyptians and between the Israelites. And all these servants of yours will come to me and worship me, saying, "Come out, you and all the people that you lead." After that, I'll go out. And Moses went out from Pharaoh in anger” (Ex. 11:6-8).

Moses was not a superman, he was just like you and me. But he submitted himself to God and let those words come out of his mouth.

In Exodus 12:29-51, all the events foretold came to pass in a mighty, miraculous, and glorious way, and we cannot help but acknowledge that Moses was one of the greatest prophets of all time.

Or me

In the days of his life, Elijah was known as a prophet of God. He was a seer - he saw the future and predicted in advance the events that were yet to happen.

In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah said to King Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand! in these years there will be neither dew nor rain, except at my word. In essence, Elijah said, "It won't rain until I give permission."

Would you dare to say such a thing today?

In 1 Kings 18:41 we read: “And Elijah said to Ahab, Go eat and drink; for the sound of rain is heard. By that time, not a single drop of water had fallen on the ground for three years, but Elijah heard the sound of rain. Not a cloud was visible in the sky. Where did this noise come from? He sounded like Elijah. Verse 45 says, "Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind, and it began to rain heavily."

Isaiah

In his book, Isaiah reveals to us one of the greatest prophecies that has ever come from the heart and from the mouth of a man: "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin, she shall conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel" ( Isaiah 7:14).

“He was despised and humbled before men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with sickness, and we turned our faces away from him; He was despised, and we regarded Him as nothing. But He took upon Himself our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses; but we thought that He was smitten, punished, and humiliated by God. But He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities; the punishment of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we were healed. We all wandered like sheep, each one turned to his own way; and the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was tormented, but suffered voluntarily, and did not open His mouth; He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. From bondage and judgment He was taken; but who will explain his generation? for he is cut off from the land of the living; for the crimes of my people suffered execution. He was assigned a tomb with villains, but He was buried with a rich man, because He did not commit a sin, and there was no lie in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased to strike him, and he gave him over to torment; when His soul offers a sacrifice of propitiation, He will see a long-lived offspring, and the will of the Lord will be successfully carried out by His hand. Ha, the feat of His soul He will look with contentment; through the knowledge of Him, He, the Righteous, My Servant, will justify many and bear their sins on Himself. Therefore I will give him a share among the great, and he will share the booty with the mighty, because he gave his soul to death, and was numbered among the wicked, while he bore the sin of many and became an intercessor for transgressors ”(Is. 53: 3-12).

The prophet Isaiah spoke about ministry and expiatory sacrifice Jesus seven hundred years before His birth, and every word of that prophecy was fulfilled exactly.

David

Although we often think of David as a shepherd boy, or a warrior, or a poet or a king, he is called a prophet in the New Testament (Acts 1:16). David is the author of 385 prophetic verses - verses relating to the future.

In Psalm 21:19 we read, "They divide my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my garment." David saw Calvary and knew what events would take place there, how the soldiers would divide the clothes of Christ and cast lots for them. Yes, he saw this scene in his spirit and knew that it would take place in the distant future.

Jeremiah

To finish talking about the prophets, let's look at Jeremiah. In his book, he wrote down 985 prophetic verses that foretell future events. And some of his prophecies were by no means good news. Jeremiah predicted the Babylonian captivity of Judah. What will happen to the Jews during their stay in Babylon, and how the remnant of God's people will one day return to their land. He told the whole story before it happened. Jeremiah's words made the people so angry that they threw him into a well to die there. (Before you pray for the office of a prophet, you should probably consider the price you might have to pay. You may not be thrown into the well like Jeremiah, but persecution and persecution can manifest itself in many ways.)

Here is one of the prophecies recorded by Jeremiah in chapter 8, verse 11: "They heal the wound of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace!' but there is no peace." These words are in full agreement with what was said in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 regarding the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Most of Jeremiah's prophecies were addressed to the people of Israel, because they constantly forgot God, turned away and retreated from Him, they themselves went into slavery. And so it happened - exactly as the prophet foretold.

From Jeremiah to Malachi, the Bible presents the books of fifteen more prophets who wrote down their prophecies, and their words also came true. It's really wonderful.

Groups of prophets

Having considered some of the prophets, let's now talk about the groups of prophets that are mentioned in the Bible.

Seventy Elders of Israel:

“And the Lord descended in a cloud, and spoke to him (to Moses), and took from the Spirit that was on him, and gave it to seventy men of the elders (those who surrounded Moses and supported him). And when the Spirit rested on them, they began to prophesy, but then they stopped” (Numbers 11:25).

God used the great prophet Moses and through him - perhaps by the laying on of hands - commissioned seventy other men to be prophets.

Host of prophets

“After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistine guard is; and when you enter the city there, you will meet a host of prophets descending from on high, and before them is a psalter and a tympanum, and a flute and a harp, and they (all this group) prophesy; and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will become another man. When these signs come to pass with you, then do what your hand can, for God is with you. And you go before me to Gilgal, where I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings; wait seven days until I come to you, and then I will tell you what to do. As soon as Saul turned to go from Samuel, God gave him a different heart, and all those signs came true on the same day. When they came to the hill, behold, they met a host of prophets, and the Spirit of God descended on him, and he prophesied among them ”(1 Sam. 10:5-10).

Here we see a whole host of prophets who, as a group, prophesied about the future. He told this young man who should become king over Israel and what will happen in the future - it all happened.

sons of the prophets

“And Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, for the Lord is sending me to Bethel. But Elisha said: As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives! I won't leave you. And they went to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha...” (2 Kings 2:2,3).

This group is called the "sons of the prophets." My guess is that they left their job (some other occupation) and came to Bethel to become disciples of the prophets.