It's going to get very confusing very quick, so the chart below might help you keep the people sorted. We're going to discussing two kingdoms (each with two names) that will have their own kings and prophets, and I can confidently state I've never really considered the implications of this. Here's the chart, and I'll make some comments.
Too many names, too many vowels, too many syllables, and WAAAAAAAAAAAY too many names that start with "J," but you all signed up, so be prepared to tough it out for the next month or so. Some brief comments you may have known, but I sure never did:
1. There were no two-way prophets--they were either a prophet to Israel or Judah, but not both. As such, Elijah and Elisha, two of the best-known, were prophets to a nation that was doomed to be removed from the earth only 150 years after they prophesied, but as we'll clearly see, Israel certainly deserved everything it received.
2. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but when we begin Isaiah in a couple of weeks, it will become crystal clear that his audience at that time was not the only intended for his prophecy. Isaiah will be interesting since there will be times he will be prophesying about THREE different time periods (sometimes concurrently):
a. Babylonian exile (about 150 years in the future)
b. Christ (about 700 years in the future)
c. The end of the world (about _____ years in the future)
Don't lose the forest for the trees. Keep the main theme (falling away, eventual repentance, falling away again) in mind, and never forget that the same exact pattern is still working in the world today.
Scott
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