The Book of Mormon makes it clear that Isaiah's message is of great importance to the modern reader. In order to facilitate modern and personal spiritual application of Isaiah's writings, spiritual "formulas" or principles may be discovered or formulated. These formulas are statements of truth based on the prophet's writings that may be applied in multiple situations and time periods. Such formulas of truth offer valuable insighst across time. These formulas may be understood by analyzing the historical setting of the chapter(s) under review, and through critical examination of the text itself. These formulas provide a solid foundation upon which can be built the framework of personal application. The burden chapters of Isaiah (chapters 13-23) each offer an important formula that can have powerful spiritual application. This work explores each burden prophecy, using historical research and critical analysis of the text to postulate a formula. Each burden chapter has its own message that can lead to spiritual insight.

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Prophecy is a major theme in Scripture and in contemporary practice in Pentecostal and charismatic settings. At its simplest, prophecy can be understood as a message from God delivered through a spokesperson to an audience, usually in the form of a revelatory experience. Despite the significance of prophecy in the history of Pentecostalism, the experiential coherence between modern-day charismatic prophets and Old Testament prophets has not been directly examined. Consideration of the literature shows conflicting messages. The application of biblical and historical studies tends to emphasize the divide between the Old Testament prophets and modern-day charismatic prophets while practical theological studies emphasize coherence. The heart of this practical theological study is a phenomenological investigation of the practice of charismatic prophecy in the Canadian context. Five textural and three structural elements are identified: Prophets recognize the presence of God, receive the prophetic impulse, discern the source and recipient of the message, release the prophetic message or act, and experience attendant physical and emotional sensations. The way that prophets experience this phenomenon is impacted by their mentoring, setting, and response to failure. This phenomenological description was then compared with the experience of Jeremiah to evaluate the level of coherence. Aside from uncertainty regarding the distinction of the first two textural components and the issue of discernment, a strong level of coherence was discovered between the Old Testament prophets and modern-day charismatic prophets. Jeremiah and modern-day Canadian prophets experience the phenomenon of prophecy in very similar ways. This high level of coherence leads to three conclusions. First, the application of biblical and historical studies that emphasize the discontinuity between the Old Testament prophets and modern-day charismatic prophets should be resisted in light of the data. This application—often based on a concern to safeguard the unique authority of Scripture from contemporary prophetic messages—is unnecessary since Canadian prophets hold a high value of Scripture that can be seen in the experience of Jeremiah himself. Second, Pentecostals should expand their narrative understanding backward in time to include the Old Testament prophetic lineage. Third, modern-day charismatic prophets should be encouraged to return to the Old Testament prophets for a deeper understanding of their practice.

This study explores the hermeneutical issues raised by critical approaches to the Book of the Twelve and their implications for the concepts of authorial intent, history, and canon. By means of a critical engagement with the Twelve’s modern reception history it seeks to demonstrate that with few exceptions, recent attempts to come to terms with the peculiar character of the prophetic intentionality at work in the Twelve reflect the continuing impact of historicism and its hermeneutical legacy upon the study of Old Testament prophecy. As a result the key roles played by theological pressures and the hermeneutical significance of canon in the Twelve’s formation history continue to be marginalized, particularly with respect to the eschatological and typological moves involved in the redactional expansion of prophecy. The study seeks to constructively address these problems by offering a theological exegesis of Hosea 1:5 and 2:23-25, arguing that the study of these ‘Day of the Lord’ texts and the larger theological significance of Hosea’s prologue for the Twelve has been virtually eclipsed by the central hermeneutical role assigned to Joel by the Twelve’s modern interpreters. The larger contribution to the hermeneutical logic of prophecy rendered by Hosea’s ‘wisdom coda’ (Hosea 14:10) has also not been given its proper due, exegetically speaking. With these concerns in mind, the study then proceeds to argue that Hosea’s prologue establishes a theological context for the logic of prophecy, eschatology, and typology in the Twelve which finds its hermeneutical ground in Exodus 32-34 and the continuing theological significance of Yahweh’s name for his providential dealings with Israel. In this way Hosea’s prologue constrains the interpretation of prophecy and the DOL in the Twelve by linking their theological function to the significance of Yahweh’s name for Israel. The wisdom coda both embraces and extends this agenda for readers of Joel through Malachi by instructing them in the proper stance toward prophecy and “the ways of Yahweh” toward Israel and the nations vis-a-vis his revealed character in Exodus 34:5-7. The book of Hosea thus ends by establishing hermeneutical guidelines for the “wise” interpretation of prophecy, a stance which is then further facilitated by the summons to wisdom in Joel’s prologue (1:1-4) and Joel’s own deployment of the DOL in Joel 1-2.

La sibylle fut un vrai prophète. Le présent travail s’interroge sur cette idée amplement diffusée à la fin du Moyen Âge, en l’analysant sous trois rapports : un rapport à l’Antiquité, d’abord, parce que les textes présentent la prophétesse comme une voix émanant des temps les plus lointains ; à l’oracle, ensuite, car le Moyen Âge utilise la parole de la sibylle pour lui faire proférer des prophéties relatives à l’histoire du Salut ou à l’histoire des hommes ; au genre (au sens de gender), enfin, puisque l’accès de la sibylle au savoir et au sacré est configuré par les différents systèmes de représentations de la femme médiévale. En s’appuyant sur des textes manuscrits inédits et des œuvres littéraires connues, cette recherche s’attache à montrer que la sibylle, oscillant entre fable et prophétie, a été conçue de manière continue comme une prophétesse du Christ, et a pu permettre aux auteurs de mettre en jeu son autorité de manière diverse. / The Sibyl was a true prophet. This study questions that commonplace idea from the Late Middle Ages, following three axes. First, it examines how the Sibyl’s speech related to Ancient times – the texts depict the prophetess’s voice as one originating in olden times. Second, it details how her words have been linked to oracles, because the Middle Ages have used her speech to deliver prophecies foretelling the history of salvation and the history of mankind. Third, it considers the relation between her voice and gender, since the Sibyl’s ability to access knowledge and reach the sacred has been determined by the various representations of the mediaeval woman. This work is based on unpublished manuscripts as well as better-known literary works. It shows that the Sibyl, oscillating between myth and prophecy, has been consistently regarded as prophetess of Christ and has enabled writers to stage her authority in different ways.

This thesis examines John Napier of Merchiston’s 1593 commentary on the Book of Revelation within the context of sixteenth century apocalyptic thought in Scotland and England. Napier is usually remembered as a mathematician and this study aims to contribute to a more complete understanding of the man. Its most important contribution to scholarship is its discussion of Napier’s identification of himself as a conduit for divine revelation, chosen by God to expose the mysteries of scripture in the final age of human history. This placed him in the tradition of reformers like Knox but he differed from them in two crucial ways. Firstly, he broke from the texts that had influenced him by controversially predicting the approximate date of the apocalypse. Some of these works, and responses to Napier’s conclusions, are considered. Secondly, he did not regard a call to ministry as a facet of his prophetic status. Instead, he saw his biblical commentary as the expression of an intellectual gift from God. He employed grandiose eschatological themes to appeal to the highest echelons of society in an attempt to affect religious change. His dedicatory epistle to James VI was a direct correspondence that revealed shared knowledge and experiences. Napier’s approaches to the apocalypse and alchemy stemmed from a worldview that presented him as belonging to an intellectual and moral elite, preordained by God to receive and disseminate hidden knowledge at appointed times. The impact of historical events on the content of his work, including the Spanish Armada, Scottish Reformation and resulting sense of unity between Scotland and England, are assessed. The current biographical understanding of Napier is critiqued. The unique aspects of the Plaine Discovery, including the explicit chronology of salvation history that framed its conclusions, are discussed in detail.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is colored with religious overtones. His play incorporates elements of religious beliefs of Renaissance England. Aside from its historical basis, Shakespeare’s Macbeth alludes to stories from Scripture as well as Renaissance religious practices and beliefs, particularly regarding witchcraft, prophecy, and the dangers of sin. Through this myriad of sources, Shakespeare offers a vivid and grotesque depiction of a man demise due to his involvement with sin, offering a profound caution to his audience of the dangers of temptation and sin.

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Esta tese analisa as narrativas de sonhos proféticos no Portugal Moderno, entre 1600 e 1750. Investigou-se como se constituíram os principais temas oníricos, os corpos de sonhos mais citados e recorrentes, as interpretações e leituras de sonhos bíblicos e/ou de divulgação ampla. Procurou-se perceber quais os entendimentos e percepções de sonho (e profecia) que embasavam e estavam presentes nas narrativas oníricas portuguesas, observando o repertório de referências e textos oníricos e a circulação desses. Partindo da constatação que as narrativas oníricas participaram de modo capital na fundamentação do Sebastianismo e depois do Messianismo Brigantino, observou-se os imbricamentos dos sonhos com esses movimentos e crenças messiânico-proféticas, buscando entender os diversos projetos político-proféticos em e para Portugal durante esse período. / This thesis analises the prophetic dreams narratives in Modern Porugal between 1600 and 1750. Its goal was to investigate how the main onirical themes, the most recurrent dreams, the interpretations and readings of biblical dreams were constituted. It was sought to perceive what were the perceptions of dreams (and prophecies) which sustained and were present in the portuguese narratives, observing the repertory of onirical references and texts and its circulation. Assuming that dream narratives had a capital role in the formulation of Sebastianism and after that, Brigantine Messianism, the links between the dreams and these movements and prophetic messianic beliefs were observed, aiming to understand the diferent political projecs in and for Portugal during this period.