The beginning of the Babylonian exile marks a turning point in both Hebrew prophecy and history. The changed conditions and the new point of view gradually developed a new type of prophet. Although the distinctions between the earlier or preexilic and the later of exilic and postexilic prophets must be interpreted broadly, they are clearly defined. The aims of the two groups of teachers were the same, but the earlier spoke to a nation and dealt with the problems of an independent state, while the latter addressed the scattered, discouraged, often oppressed remnants of their people.
This volume completes the arrangement and analytical paraphrase of the prophetic writings of the Old Testament begun in The Messages of the Earlier Prophets. The Messages of the Later Prophets contains an analysis and paraphrase of the following prophetic writings in the order of their original appearance:
- Ezekiel, the Priest-Prophet of the Exiles
- Predictions of Ezekiel Concerning the Certain Fate of Jerusalem and Judah
- Prophecies of Obadiah and Ezekiel against Foreign Nations
- Jeremiah’s Message to the Jewish Fugitives in Egypt
- Ezekiel’s Messages of Comfort to the Exiles in Babylonia
- Ezekiel’s Vision of the Restored Hebrew State
- Songs of Exultation over Babylon’s Approaching Fall
- The Message of the Great Prophet of the Exile
- The Messages of Haggai and Zechariah to the Temple Builders
- Prophetic Messages of Encouragement in Connection with the Work of Nehemiah and Ezra
- The Message of Joel
- Messages of Promise to the Jews in the Greek Period
