Conclusion.

With  the moral  hardening  of  people  in  the Old Testament era and in the absence of spiritual

leaders, the prophets carried out the difficult task of teaching people to believe in God, abstain

from vice and live righteously. Naturally, reproof dominated in the discourses of the prophets. In

order to stir up the conscience of the listeners, the reproof was often very strong and even harsh,

which makes the prophetic books look somewhat severe in the eyes of a modern reader. The Sav-

ior expressed it in an image: the ancient prophets had been digging up the earth of the hardened

human  hearts  to  make it ready to receive the seeds of the Apostolic preaching in future (John

4:37-38). Had any of today's preachers or authors addressed the Jews with the adjectives that are

scattered everywhere throughout the books of the prophets, he would have been accused of ex-

treme anti-Semitism without any doubt.

  True, the prophets also spoke about the glory of Israel, Hebrews being God.s chosen people,

and defeat of the Gentiles, but this language should not be viewed as chauvinism. The prophets

understood Israel, Zion, the chosen people and other like names as spiritual, not national concepts

. In other words, the prophets used these words  as  symbols  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  of

which many nations would become a part. Of course, the Jews were the first to be called into this

Kingdom, but the prophets also foresaw that the majority of the Jews would break away from the

faith, and the Gentiles would be called to the Church (see the Index above for the list of prophe-

cies about the calling of the Gentiles to the Kingdom of God). By the way, the names Zion, Jeru-

salem, Israel are used in the divine services our Church with the same spiritual meaning, as syno-

nyms of the word Church.

  In the New Testament times, the predictions of the prophets  about  calling  the  Gentiles  to

faith inspired the Apostles' bold preaching among pagans. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote,

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach

among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

  Being  the  spiritual leaders of their people, the prophets often stepped forward as the only

protectors of all the weak and hapless in their nation. Often this mission required them to expose

the venality of judges, avarice and brutality of princes, negligence and hypocrisy of priests, false-

hood of self-appointed prophets. For the word of truth the prophets were always persecuted; very

few of them died the natural death. Yet ordinary people valued and  loved  them  and  followed

their teachings.

  In the years of great disasters and national catastrophes the prophets were the only comfort-

ers of the woeful. The prophets also revealed the great qualities of the One God: omnipotence,

omniscience, justice to non-repentant and infinite mercy to the humble. In their prophecies they

displayed the unsearchable ways of God's providence, by which He guided the  destiny  of  the

mankind toward the better part. The prophets also loved to tell about the forthcoming time of the

New  Testament,  the  spiritual  renovation  and the final triumph of truth and justice. Here their

prophetic vision was always focused on the coming Messiah the Savior. The prophets predomi-

nantly heralded Him and His acts (see the  brochure  .The  Old  Testament Regarding  the  Mes-

siah.).

  Calling to virtue, the prophets taught people to sincerely believe in God and serve  Him

without hypocrisy, recognize the sinfulness and repent, be meek,  just  and  merciful  to  those  in

need.

  God revealed to His elect the events of the near and distant future of their nation, neighbors

and the whole mankind. Their predictions were always accurately fulfilled, and this is the proof

that they were the chosen people inspired by God. At the same time, the prophets explained the

moral causes of all events: nothing good or bad would happen by chance. Good things are the

reward for virtues, suffering is the punishment for sins, though not as vengeance but as correction

to persuade the sinners. Only from the standpoint of morality it becomes clear why the predic-

tions of prophets may combine elements of different times. For example, the ancient Babylon is

associated with the kingdom of the evil of the latter times; persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes

with the persecutions of antichrist; hostile hordes of ancient pagan tribes with the persecutors of

the Church in its historical way; judgment over the people of the Old Testament times with the

Judgment over the universe; spiritual renovation in  the New Testament  Church  with  complete

renovation of the world after the general resurrection. These parallel events in the life of human-

kind are spiritually akin, and the prophets placed them together in a single prophetic picture. Any

faithful who knows, which elements of a certain prophetic vision have already fulfilled, may bet-

ter comprehend what is still to come. Without doubt the Revelation of John the Theologian de-

picted the last events of the world by the imagery borrowed from the prophetic books of the Old

Testament.

  So, getting familiar with the Old Testament prophetic books helps a Christian to understand

the essence of modern religious and moral processes and see where they lead. The  books  of

prophecies are to be read with prayer and humility, remembering that “no prophecy of the scripture

is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:

but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21).