Elijah (est.875-848 B.C.)

Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead, he went to Ahab in Samaria and declared a drought in the name of God.  He lived in a creek where birds brough him food, until he was instructed to go to Zarephath.  A widow gave him food but her son died, and Elijah brought him back to life. (similar story to that of Elisha?).

Elijah is sent back to Ahab after three years to say that it will once again rain, but Ahab has been searching for him, many prophets had been chased or killed (this is where Obadiah had saved over a hundred)

Elijah tells Ahab to call all his prophets of Baal to a meeting on Mount Carmel where he challenges them to call their god to light a fire to cook a bull.  They failed and he didn't so they were all killed as false prophets. Then the rain returned.

Ahab's wife sent Elijah a death threat so he fleed to Beersheba in Judah, angels provided him with food and water and he went to Mount Sinai to speak with God.  There God revealed himself with fire wind and earthquakes, and he is instructed to appoint a new King and a new prophet to replace him(Elisha)

Elijah later foretells the death of Ahab.  Elijah and Elisha travel from Gilgal to Bethel, then to Jericho, then to Jordan.  Elisha asks Elijah for "double portion of thy spirit", and is told it will be given if he watches him ascend to heaven.

Prophet Obadiah (est605-585BC)

Prophet Information:

Obadiah, which means “servant of the Lord”, according to the Book of the Bee he was from the country of Shechem and was a captain over fifty soldiers until he became a disciple of Elijah and became worthy of prophecy, later he died in peace

Mission/Message:

Obadiah’s message was to announce the coming destruction of Edom, the Edomites were related to the Israelites yet they had not helped when Israel was being destroyed, and they gloated over their own security.

Documentation:

The authors name is given as Obadiah however the date and place of the book is still debated. There are some parallels between the book of Jeremiah and this book, which some have suggested points to either a common source for their material. It is possible that they lived at the same time and were in some way interdependent on each other, but there are no records of this.

Best known for:

-Announcement of the coming destruction of Edom

Attributes of his personality:

Very little can be found due the shortness of the book, however it is recorded that he was possibly sent out to destroy Elijah and the prophets, but instead helped them and as a reward received the gift of prophecy.

Supernatural Aspects:

The book mentions a vision, and also the author speaks as if God had spoken directly to him

Examples of prophecies:

-The destruction of Edom

-The notion of the Deliverer

End Times Prophecies:

The establishment of the ‘Lord’s kingdom’ or the Israel state.