Profits of the Prophets: A Biblical Reference

By Joe F. Nations

Profits of the Prophets is a Bible reference book containing proof of each prophets called to be a prophet, the prophetic period of their existence, the prophetic service each rendered to the peoples and nations, Bible accounts of their existence and a brief summation of their lives and prophesies. The book does not include Bible prophetesses or false prophets. The prophets are listed in Alphabetical order, Categorical order and Chronological order.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477102039

Joe F. Nations

Joe F. Nations was born on December 3, 1939, in Mount Airy, North Carolina, in the county of Surry. He graduated from Dobson High School in Dobson, North Carolina, before entering the US Army, where he served in Korea. He returned to Mount Airy in 1965 and married Mary Ida Jarvis, a registered nurse at the local hospital. After his marriage to Ms. Jarvis, Mr. Nations was accepted into the School of Inhalation Therapy, where he received his diploma from Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University and the North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mr. Nations obtained his associate degree in respiratory care from Central Piedmont Community in Charlotte, North Carolina, and immediately began his pursuit of a degree in Bachelor of Science in technical service in the field of respiratory care via an external college degree program offered through New Jersey State College located in Trenton, New Jersey. Mr. Nations and his wife, Mary Ida, currently reside in the area of Surry County near where they were born. They have no children.

Book preview

Contents

Preface

Introduction to Outline

Alphabetical Order of Bible Prophets

Categorical Order of Bible Prophets

Chronological Order of Bible Prophets

Prophets, Kings, and Kingdoms of the Prophetical Periods

Part 1 Patriarchal Prophets

Part 2 Major Prophets

Part 3Minor Prophets

Part 4 Other Prophets

Part 5 Unnamed Prophets

Part 6 New Testament

Prophets

References

To the terrestrial salvation of my being,

Mary Ida Jarvis Nations,

who has always been a never-ending

encouragement and support,

and to those individuals

who seek daily the

profits of the prophets.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and many ways,

In these last days has spoken to us in His son. Whom He Appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

—Hebrews 1:1–2

Preface

Countless hours of research have been devoted in research to find all the true prophets of the Bible. It has been an interesting and enjoyable adventure to unfold interesting information about each prophet and watch their lives come to reality to present a greater insight into the life of each prophet. The greatest realization of this research has been the revelation that Bible prophets really were no different from ministers of today. Both are commissioned by God to present his messages to the world, and true seekers of God will find the Profits of the Prophets will greatly enhance their lives as they journey along God’s highway of life he has road-mapped for their travels.

Profits are positive returns from an investment. They are anything gained over and above the expenses accumulated from the investment. They are benefits received as the reward for the investment.

Prophets are divinely inspired individuals chosen by God to communicate his messages to other individuals. They are the voice of God as he reveals truths, revelations, rebuttals, and reprimands at times that require any given message. They also reveal visions of the future as well as answers for today. They are God’s profit sharers.

Let it be understood here, now, and forevermore that God is the author of all true prophecies and not mere man:

1. "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,

2. "For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God" (2 Pet. 1:20–21, NASB).

3. When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come true that is a thing which the Lord did not speak. The prophet has spoken presumptuously; you should not be afraid of him (Deut. 18:22).

4. First John 4:1–3a states:

A. "Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

B. "By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

C. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

5. For the lips of a prophet should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of God (Mal. 2:7).

The profits one gains from prophets depend on the seeking individual. As beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so do profits of the prophets lie in the eyes of true seekers of God. It all comes down, basically, to what you see is what you get. If you see real profits to be gained from God’s prophets (ministers), you will receive those profits and then apply them to the enhancement of your spiritual growth if you ask.

Prophets of old were no different from ministers of today. If the two were really ordained by God to proclaim his message, that message will be the oracle God intended and it will be proclaimed where and when God desires. Prophets of old proclaimed God’s message where God sent them, just as do ministers of today. Some prophets of old proclaimed God’s message where God sent them. Some stayed in the area where they were born and lived. Others were sent to foreign areas. Ministers of today live where they feel God has led them to live, and sometimes that does mean having to move to new locations—even to foreign fields of service.

Except in rare cases, prophets dressed according to the customs of their times and areas where they lived. Exceptions were Elijah and John the Baptist, who dressed in hairy skins. Only John the Baptist maintained a diet different from others’. He lived on locusts and wild honey. Others ate whatever was normal for the diet of their time and area. The same is true for the ministers of today. Also, the style of living for prophets of old appears to have had no uniform and rigid law. The prophets seemed to adjust their mode of living to the surroundings in which they lived. History indicates there was little opposition to any prophet of old than there is to ministers of today. Only those individuals receiving pronouncements of judgment upon themselves for their conduct unpleasing to God took any offense to any prophet.

Like ministers of today, prophets of old attended seminaries for formal training in the work they were to perform for God. The seminaries of old were referred to as sons of the prophets. The prophet Samuel began the sons of the prophets schools in Ramah (1 Sam. 19:19–20), and others are mentioned throughout the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Kings 4:38 and 2 Kings 6:1).

From the beginning of time, nothing has really changed regarding human nature. Humans are humans—selfish by nature, self-centered, and rebellious. Prophets proclaimed God’s warnings, pleas, and admonitions, but few people ever truly sought to grasp the profits offered by the prophets. Preachers today proclaim God’s warnings, pleas, and admonitions, but people still do not seed God’s profits.

Men of God continue to preach and proclaim his truths, and men of the world continue to reject those truths, which only lead to destruction of the world and those who live in it. In 2 Chronicles 7:13–14 (NASB), we read the following:

v. 13: "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,

v. 14: "And My people who are