Prophets of Christianity

Last updated November 02, 2024

In Christianity, the figures widely recognised as prophets are those mentioned as such in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is believed that prophets are chosen and called by the one God.

The first list below consists of only those individuals that have been clearly defined as prophets, either by explicit statement or strong contextual implication, (e.g. the purported authors of the books listed as the major prophets and minor prophets) along with the biblical reference to their office. The second list consists of those individuals who are recorded as having had a visionary or prophetic experience, but without a history of any major or consistent prophetic calling. The third list consists of unnamed prophets. The fourth list contains the names of those described in the Bible as prophets, but who are presented as either misusing this gift or as fraudulent. The final list consists of post-biblical individuals regarded as prophets and of post-biblical individuals who are claimed to have had visionary or prophetic experience.

Here is the revised list formatted according to your specifications:

Main list

Torah / Pentateuch

1. Lamech (father of Noah) (Genesis 5:28–29 )

2. Noah (Genesis 7:1 )

3. Eber (Genesis 16:16–17 )

4. Ishmael (Genesis 16:11 )

5. Abraham (Genesis 20:7 )

6. Lot (Genesis 11:27 )

7. Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18–24 )

8. Isaac (Genesis 26:2–7 )

9. Jacob (Genesis 28:11–16 )

10. Jethro (Exodus 2:18 )

11. Miriam (Book of Exodus 15:20)

12. Noah (Deuteronomy 34:10 ) (additional mention)

Nevi’im (Prophets)

• Former Prophets

1. Deborah (Judges 4:4 )

2. Gideon (Judges 6 through 8 )

3. Samuel (1 Samuel 3:20 )

4. Gad (1 Samuel 22:5 )

5. Nathan (2 Samuel 7:2 )

6. Jehu (1 Kings 16:7 )

7. Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29 )

8. Shemaiah (1 Kings 12:22 )

9. Elijah (1 Kings 18:36 )

10. Micaiah (1 Kings 22:9 )

11. Elisha (2 Kings 9:1 )

12. Huldah (2 Kings 22:14)

13. Jonah (Jonah 1:1 , 2 Kings 14:25 )

• Latter Prophets

1. Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2 )

2. Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:2)

3. Urijah (Jeremiah 26:20 )

4. Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:3 )

5. Hosea (Hosea 1:1 )

6. Amos (Amos 1:1 )

7. Micah (Micah 1:1 )

8. Nahum (Nahum 1:1 )

9. Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:1 )

10. Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1:1 )

11. Haggai (Haggai 1:1 )

12. Zechariah, son of Berechiah (Zechariah 1:1 )

13. Malachi (Malachi 1:1 )

Ketuvim (Writings)

1. Job (Job 1:1 )

2. Asaph (2 Chronicles 29:30 )

3. Hanani (2 Chronicles 16:7)

4. Obadiah (Obadiah 1:1 )

5. Oded (2 Chronicles 15:8 )

6. Oded (2 Chronicles 28:9 ) (additional mention)

7. Iddo (2 Chronicles 13:22 )

8. Zechariah, son of Jehoiada (2 Chronicles 24:20)

New Testament

• Gospels

1. Anna (Luke 2:36–38 )

2. John the Baptist (Luke 7:28 )

• Acts

1. Philip the Evangelist (Acts 8:26)

2. Paul the Apostle (Acts of the Apostles 9:20)

3. Agabus (Acts of the Apostles 11:27–28 )

4. Lucius of Cyrene (Acts 13:1)

5. Simeon Niger (Acts 13:1)

6. Manahen (Acts 13:1) 7. Judas Barsabbas (Acts 15:32 )

8. Silas (Acts 15:32 )

9. Phillip daughters (Acts 21:8, 9)

• Epistles and Revelation

1. Daniel (Matthew 24:15 )

2. David (Hebrews 11:32 ) (reference)

3. John of Patmos (Revelation 1:1–3 )

Unnamed prophets

A prophet (Judges 6:8–10 )
An old prophet from Bethel (1 Kings 13:11 )
A prophet (1 Kings 20:13, 22 )
A prophet (2 Chronicles 25:15–16 )
Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3)

Biblical people with claimed prophetic experiences

Ananias of Damascus (Acts 9:10–18 )
Eldad (Numbers 11:26 )
Eliezer (2 Chronicles 20:37 )
Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:41 )
Elihu (Job 32–35 )
Jahaziel (2 Chronicles 20:14 )
Joachim (Luke 3:23 )
Joseph (Genesis 37:5–11 )
Joseph, fosterfather of Jesus (Matthew 1:20)
Mary, mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26–28 )
Medad (Numbers 11:26 )
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (Daniel 2:1 )
Saul, the first king to unite Israel (1 Samuel 10:10 )
Simeon of Jerusalem (Luke 2:25, 26 )
Solomon (1 Kings 3:5 )
Zechariah, father of John the Baptist (Luke 1:67 )

Men of God

A man of God (1 Samuel 2:27–36 )
A man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13:1 )
A man of God (1 Kings 20:28 )
One of the sons of the prophets (1 Kings 20:35–42 )
A man of God (2 Chronicles 25:7–9 )
The seventy elders of Israel (Numbers 11:25 )

False prophets and prophets of Baal

Ahab, son of Kolaiah (Jeremiah 29:21–23 )
Antichrist (1 John 2:18–19 )
Elymas (a.k.a. Bar-Jesus) (Acts 13:6–12 )
Hananiah (Jeremiah 28:5 )
Jezebel (Revelation) (Revelation 2:20 ) (not to be confused with the Jezebel of the Old Testament)
The false prophet of the Book of Revelation (16:13 , 19:20 , 20:10 )
The false prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:13–40 )
Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14 )
Shemaiah the Nehelamite (Jeremiah 29:24 )
Simon Magus (Acts 8:9–24 )
Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah (Jeremiah 29:21 )
Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah (1 Kings 22:24 )

Claimed post-biblical prophets

The following persons are considered by some Christians to be prophets, or to have had prophetic experiences.

Quadratus of Athens (2nd century, sometimes considered one of the seventy apostles)
Montanus, Prisca, and Maximilla (2nd century, founders of Montanism)
Quintilla (3rd century, founder of an offshoot movement from Montanism)
Iarlaithe mac Loga (6th century, founder of the School of Tuam)
Merlin (6th century, likely invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth from older legends, first appears in the Prophetiae Merlini )
Palladius of Embrun (6th century, Bishop of Embrun)
Columba (521–597, credited with spreading Christianity in Scotland)
Saint Malachy (1094–1148, Archbishop of Armagh and author of Prophecy of the Popes)
James Salomoni (1231–1314)
Joan of Arc (1412–1431)
Nostradamus (1503–1566)
Justus Velsius (1510–1571, Dutch faith healer who debated against John Calvin)
Eleanor Davies (poet) (1590–1652)
Ann Bathurst (17th century, member of the Philadelphians)
Martha Hatfield (17th century, Puritan)
John Bull (prophet) and Richard Farnham (17th century, claimed to be the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation)
Margareta i Kumla (17th century, claimed to have seen angels and demons fight over her soul)
John Robins (prophet) (17th century, Ranter rescued from Roundhead recourse by recanting his revelations)
Anne Wentworth (prophetess) (17th century, persecuted by Baptists)
John Reeve (religious leader) (1608–1658, co-founder of Muggletonianism)
Lodowicke Muggleton (1609–1698, co-founder of Muggletonianism)
Mary Cary (prophetess) (1621–1653, supporter of the Fifth Monarchists)
Eva Margareta Frölich (1650–1692) (Millennialist, pietist author and critic of the Church of Sweden)
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772, founder of Swedenborgianism)
Joanna Southcott (1750–1814, author of prophecies kept in a box to be opened in times of national crisis, claimed judgement day would happen in 2004)
Public Universal Friend (1752–1819, preacher who claims to have died and been reborn without gender)
George Rapp (1757–1847, founder of the Harmony Society)
John Ward (prophet) (1781–1837, claimed successor of Joanna Southcott)
William Miller (preacher) (1782–1849, founder of Adventism)
John Wroe (1782–1863, founder of the Christian Israelite Church)
Bernhard Müller (1788–1834, founder of an offshoot from the Harmony Society, that would later start the Germantown Colony)
Helena Ekblom (1790–1859, Swedish preacher who was put in an asylum for refusing to comply with the Church of Sweden's doctrines)
Joseph Smith (1805–1844, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement)
Hong Xiuquan (1814–1864, founder of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom)
John Bosco (1815–1888, founder of the Salesians of Don Bosco)
Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910, founder of Christian Science)
Ellen G. White (1827–1915, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church)
John Alexander Dowie (1847–1907, founder of the Christ Community Church)
Nona L. Brooks (1861–1945, founder of the Church of Divine Science)
Siener van Rensburg (1864–1926, advisor to Koos de la Rey, influenced the Suidlanders)
E. W. Kenyon ^[1] (1867–1948, possible line of transmission between the New Thought and Word of Faith movements)
Helena Konttinen (1871–1916, a "Sleeping preacher" who started a revivalist movement)
Felix Manalo (1886–1963, founder of the Iglesia ni Cristo)
Padre Pio (1887–1968, Catholic saint, purportedly predicted the papacy of John Paul II)
William M. Branham (1909–1965, influence on televangelism)
A. A. Allen ^[2] (1911–1970, Pentecostal evangelist and faith healer)
Kenneth Hagin ^[3] (1917–2003, pioneer of the Word of Faith movement)
Oral Roberts ^[4] (1918–2009, considered the godfather of the charismatic movement, founder of the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University)
T. L. Osborn ^[5] (1923–2013, Pentecostal evangelist and musician)
Pat Robertson (1930–2023, chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, host of The 700 Club, noted for controversial statements)
David Wilkerson (1931–2011, author of The Cross and the Switchblade and founder of the Teen Challenge)
Reverend Ike ^[6] (1935–2009, noted for his slogan "You can't lose with the stuff I use!")
Kenneth Copeland ^[7] (born 1936, televangelist noted advocate of prosperity theology, and for claiming to have ended the COVID-19 pandemic)
Robert Tilton ^[8] (born 1946, televangelist noted for his prosperity theology infomercials and questionable fundraising practices).
Roch Thériault (1947–2011, founder of a polygamous doomsday cult called the Ant Hill Kids)
John Paul Jackson (1950–2015, author noted for dream interpretation)
Benny Hinn (born 1952, televangelist noted for faith healing and prosperity theology)
David Koresh (1959–1993, leader of the Branch Davidians during the Waco siege)
Creflo Dollar (born 1962, televangelist noted for prosperity theology)
T. B. Joshua (1963–2021, televangelist and founder of Synagogue, Church of All Nations)
Joshua Iginla (born 1969, televangelist, prosperity theology preacher, and megachurch pastor)
Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin (born 1972, founder of the Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministry, criticized for flamboyant ministry)
Daniel Obinim (born 1977, minister noted for controversial actions and statements)

Related Research Articles

The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah". Of all the prophets, Jeremiah comes through most clearly as a person, ruminating to his scribe Baruch about his role as a servant of God with little good news for his audience.

The Book of Obadiah is a book of the Bible whose authorship is attributed to Obadiah. Obadiah is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the final section of Nevi'im, the second main division of the Hebrew Bible. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses with 440 Hebrew words, making it the shortest book in the Tanakh, though there are three shorter New Testament epistles in Greek. The Book of Obadiah is a prophecy concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel.

In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.

Zephaniah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible; the most prominent being the prophet who prophesied in the days of Josiah, king of Judah and is attributed a book bearing his name among the Twelve Minor Prophets. His name is commonly transliterated Sophonias in Bibles translated from the Vulgate or Septuagint. The name might mean "Yahweh has hidden/protected," or "Yah lies in wait". The church father Jerome interpreted the name to mean "the watchman of the Lord".

The Nevi'im is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible, lying between the Torah and Ketuvim. The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; while the Latter Prophets include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets.

The Twelve Minor Prophets, or the Book of the Twelve, is a collection of prophetic books, written between about the 8th and 4th centuries BCE, which are in both the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament.

Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. Apocalypse is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling".

Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy comprises the passages of the Bible that are claimed to reflect communications from God to humans through prophets. Christians usually consider the biblical prophets to have received revelations from God.

The protocanonical books are those books of the Old Testament that are also included in the Hebrew Bible and that came to be considered canonical during the formational period of orthodox Christianity. The Old Testament is entirely rejected by some forms of Gnosticism, but the Hebrew Bible was adhered to even more tightly by Jewish Christians than Gentile Christians. The term protocanonical is often used to contrast these books to the deuterocanonical books or apocrypha, which "were sometimes doubted" by some in the early church, and are considered non-canonical by most Protestants.

The books of the New Testament frequently cite Jewish scripture to support the claim of the Early Christians that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah. Scholars have observed that few of these citations are actual predictions in context; the majority of these quotations and references are taken from the prophetic Book of Isaiah, but they range over the entire corpus of Jewish writings.

In the Abrahamic religions, the voice of God is a communication from God to human beings through sound with no known physical source.

Matthew 27:9-10 are the ninth and tenth verses of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. These verses end the final story of Judas Iscariot, with a quotation from scripture showing how the events around his final days were predicted.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Bible:

Zechariah 12 is the twelfth of the 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter is a part of a section consisting of Zechariah 9–14. This chapter and chapter 13 verses 1–6 are a section, forming a three-section "entity" with 13:7–9 and 14:1-21.

Isaiah 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. It records the calling of Isaiah to be the messenger of God to the people of Israel.

Zechariah 3 is the third of the 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. The chapter contains the vision of Joshua, the high priest, being cleansed before God. It is a part of a section consisting of Zechariah 1–8.

Zechariah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. As the first of the 14 chapters in the book, this chapter is a part of a section consisting of Zechariah 1-8. It records an introduction and the first two of eight visions received by the prophet.

Zechariah 7 is the seventh of the 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter is a part of a section consisting of Zechariah 1–8. The Jews having sent to inquire concerning the set fasts, Zechariah 7:1-3, Zechariah reproves the hypocrisy of their fasts, Zechariah 7:4-7, and they are exhorted by repentance to remove the cause of their calamity, Zechariah 7:8-14.

Zechariah 8 is the eighth of the 14 chapters in the Book of Zechariah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Zechariah, and is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. This chapter is a part of a section consisting of Zechariah 1–8. This chapter contains a continuation of the subject in the seventh chapter.

Ezekiel 34 is the thirty-fourth chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet/priest Ezekiel, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. In this chapter, Ezekiel prophesies against the "irresponsible shepherds" of Israel and states that God will instead seek out God's sheep and become their "true shepherd". The Jerusalem Bible notes the continuity of this theme, occurring in Jeremiah 23:1–6, here in Ezekiel, and later resumed in Zechariah 11:4–17, as well as in the New Testament.

References

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[FOOTNOTEBowler201314–16-1] Bowler 2013, pp. 14–16.

[FOOTNOTERobins201085-2] Robins 2010, p. 85.

[FOOTNOTEBrown2011152-3] Brown 2011, p. 152.

[FOOTNOTEColeman200041-4] Coleman 2000, p. 41.

[FOOTNOTEHarrell1975171-5] Harrell 1975, p. 171.

[FOOTNOTEHarrell1975234–235-6] Harrell 1975, pp. 234–235.

[FOOTNOTEColeman200030-7] Coleman 2000, p. 30.

[FOOTNOTERobins2010129-8] Robins 2010, p. 129.

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