Online Old Testament Course · 3 ECTS · ETS Online

Major Prophets of the Old Testament

Study Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the prophetic books surrounding exile and return in a flexible online theology course. Learn to interpret their messages within the historical, literary, and theological contexts that shaped them—and consider their continuing significance for faith and ministry today.

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Micro-Credential Online Theology Courses biblical training

ECTE Micro-Credential Framework

3 ECTS

Academically structured theological study

Real Classroom Recordings

22 Video Lectures

Guided teaching across the prophetic books

Lifelong Learning

12.7 Hours of Video

In-depth lectures available online

Key point

90-Hour Workload

Video, reading, Scripture study, and course activities

UNDERSTANDING THE PROPHETS

Read the Prophets Within the World They Addressed

The Major Prophets emerged during periods of imperial expansion, political crisis, exile, and return. Understanding their message requires more than reading isolated verses. This course examines the historical setting, literary forms, theological themes, and enduring significance of the prophetic books.

ECTE Framework

Historical Context

Understand how Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, political alliances, military campaigns, exile, and return shaped the world of the prophets.

Faculty-led

Text-Centered Interpretation

Examine prophetic oracles, visions, symbolic actions, lament, judgment, and restoration within their literary and biblical contexts.

Lifelong Learning

Theological Relevance

ETS Online qualifications are Explore themes including justice, prayer, the Holy Spirit, covenant, judgment, hope, faithfulness, and restoration. across industries, giving you a foundation you can build on throughout your career.

COURSE OVERVIEW

Explore the Major Prophets of the Old Testament

As part of ETS Online’s collection of online theology courses, this course examines Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the prophetic books surrounding exile and return. It combines academically grounded theological education with flexible online study, helping you understand Old Testament prophecy within its historical, literary, and theological context.

Foundations

Old Testament Prophecy

Begin by exploring what biblical prophecy is, how the Old Testament prophets communicated, and why historical context matters for interpretation. This foundation connects prophetic literature with the political and religious world of ancient Israel and Judah.

Read the Prophets within the Ancient Near East

  • Prophetic calling and the role of the prophet
  • Oracles, visions, and symbolic actions
  • Prophetic imagination and careful interpretation
  • Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, exile, and return

Isaiah

Isaiah Bible Study

This academically grounded Isaiah Bible study places the book within the Assyrian crisis and explores its message of holiness, justice, judgment, salvation, and restoration.

Follow a Vision of Justice, Spirit, and Restoration

  • Isaiah’s historical setting and calling
  • Justice, the six woes, and true fasting
  • Prayer, trust in God, and the Holy Spirit
  • Judgment, salvation, restoration, and Christian theology

JEREMIAH, LAMENTATIONS & HABAKKUK

Jeremiah Bible Study

Examine Jeremiah’s ministry during Judah’s final years before the fall of Jerusalem. His message brings together political crisis, divine judgment, personal lament, covenant faithfulness, and hope during one of Israel’s darkest periods.

Discover Hope in a Time of Judgment

  • Jeremiah’s calling and the Babylonian crisis
  • Judgment, wrath, and covenant unfaithfulness
  • Lamentations, complaint, and false security
  • Habakkuk, prophetic faith, and hope

EZEKIEL

Ezekiel Bible Study

Follow a prophet living among the exiles and examine how visions and symbolic actions communicate God’s holiness, human responsibility, divine presence, judgment, and the promise of restoration.

EZEKIEL

Encounter God’s Presence in Exile

  • Ezekiel’s calling and the reality of exile
  • God’s holiness and prophetic theatre
  • Responsibility, dry bones, and revival
  • Covenant, restoration, and the renewed temple

DANIEL

Book of Daniel Bible Study

Study the Book of Daniel within the Babylonian and Persian empires. This part of the course considers faithful witness under political power and God’s sovereignty over rulers, kingdoms, history, and the future.

DANIEL

Explore Faithfulness under Imperial Power

  • Faithfulness within Babylon and Persia
  • Nebuchadnezzar, power, and divine sovereignty
  • Prayer, fasting, and spiritual discipline
  • Dreams, visions, kingdoms, and hope

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH & MALACHI

Post-Exilic Prophets

Follow the Old Testament prophets into the post-exilic period. Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi address the challenges of rebuilding worship, community, and covenant life after the Babylonian exile.

HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH & MALACHI

Understand the Challenge of Rebuilding after Exile

  • Persian rule and the return to Jerusalem
  • Rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple
  • Haggai and Zechariah’s message of restoration
  • Malachi, covenant faithfulness, and future hope

LEARNING OUTCOMES

What You Will Be Able to Do

By the end of the course, you should be better equipped to read the Major Prophets with historical awareness, interpretive discipline, and theological clarity.

  • Situate the Major Prophets within the geopolitical history of the ancient Near East.

  • Explain how Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, exile, and return shaped the prophetic message.

  • Interpret prophetic oracles, visions, laments, and symbolic actions within their literary context.

  • Compare the distinctive messages of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

  • Trace themes of justice, judgment, prayer, the Holy Spirit, covenant, hope, and restoration.

  • Explain the significance of the prophets for Jewish and Christian theology.

  • Engage critically with the concept of prophetic imagination.

  • Apply prophetic principles responsibly without forcing simplistic comparisons between ancient and contemporary events.

HOW YOU WILL LEARN

Academic Depth with Flexible Online Study

The ETS Online format allows you to organize video lectures, reading, Scripture study, and course activities around your existing responsibilities. You can work through the material in sequence or arrange individual learning activities according to your study needs.

  • Video Lectures

    Work through 22 recorded lectures totaling approximately 12.7 hours of academically grounded teaching.

  • Scripture Engagement

    Examine selected prophetic texts within their historical, literary, and theological settings.

  • Guided Reading

    Engage with Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination as an influential contribution to modern prophetic interpretation.

  • Academic Reflection

    Develop your ability to evaluate arguments, compare prophetic texts, and apply responsible interpretive principles.

ETS Online • Online Theology Courses

Ready to Study the Major Prophets More Deeply?

Move beyond isolated passages and discover how history, literature, and theology bring the prophetic books into clearer focus.

Enroll in the Course

Your instructor

Meet your ETS Online instructor

Kyle Hinson

Kyle Hinson

Guest Teacher

Guest Teacher at ETS Online

Kyle Hinson holds an M.Div. from Pentecostal Theological Seminary and serves as Lead Pastor of Spring Valley Church in Reading, Pennsylvania. He brings theological training and pastoral ministry experience together in a course designed to connect careful biblical interpretation with questions of faith, ministry, and contemporary life.
  • B.A, Lee University, USA M.Div., COG Theological Seminary, USA
See all Faculty

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

Designed for Learners Who Want to Go Deeper

This intermediate-level course is designed for learners who want to move beyond a basic introduction and engage the prophetic books with greater historical, biblical, and theological depth.

  • Theology Students

    For current or prospective students seeking structured Old Testament study.

  • Pastors and Ministry Leaders

    For those preparing sermons, teaching, discipleship material, or ministry training.

  • Bible Teachers

    For small-group leaders, church educators, and others responsible for communicating Scripture.

  • Serious Bible Learners

    For Christians seeking more academically grounded online Bible courses and theological education.

What's inside

Course curriculum

1 Course Orientation
  1. Before You Begin FREE PREVIEW
  2. How Your Course Works FREE PREVIEW
  3. Academic integrity
  4. Style Guide FREE PREVIEW
2 Introduction to the Prophets
  1. Lesson 1: The Preliminary question: Who Are the Major Prophets? FREE PREVIEW
  2. Lesson 2: An Overview of Prophets and Prophecy FREE PREVIEW
  3. Glory of God or the Glory of Men? FREE PREVIEW
  4. Reading Assignment 1 FREE PREVIEW
3 The Geopolitical Background
  1. Lesson 3: The Geopolitical Background
  2. Reading Assignment 2
  3. Prophetic Office and Genre Map
4 Introduction to Isaiah
  1. Lesson 4: Isaiah
  2. Lesson 5: The Multigenerational Call of the Prophet
  3. Lesson 6: Centrality of Prayer and the Holy Spirit
  4. Lesson 7: True Fasting and the 5th Gospel
  5. Reading Assignment 3
  6. Prayer and the Spirit in Isaiah
5 Introduction to Jeremiah
  1. Lesson 8: Introduction to Jeremiah
  2. Lesson 9: Jeremiah and Lamentations
  3. Reading Assignment 4
6 Introduction to Ezekiel
  1. Lesson 11: Ezekiels Background and the Otherness of God
  2. Lesson 12: Introduction to Ezekiel
  3. Lesson 13: Examples of prophetic Theater and Visions
  4. Lesson 14: Visions of Revival in the Book of Ezekiel
  5. Lesson 15: Hermeneutical Questions regarding Ezekiels Vision of the Temple
  6. Lesson 16: Covenant Theology and Reformed View
  7. Lesson 17: Principlizing
  8. Reading Assignment 5
7 Introduction to Daniel
  1. Lesson 18: Introduction to Daniel I
  2. Lesson 19: Introduction to Daniel II
  3. Reading Assignment 6
8 Conclusion and Takeaways
  1. Lesson 20: Concluding Thought I
  2. Lesson 21: Concluding Thought II
  3. Lesson 22: Concluding Thoughts III
  4. Reading Assignment 7
9 Research Chapter: Prophets and Power
  1. Prophets and Power
  2. Your Paper's Focus
  3. Initial Research Notes and Bibliography
  4. Extended Draft
  5. Final Research Paper
10 Final Steps
  1. The Excellence Commitment
  2. Before Finishing...

Course Information

Plan Your Study

A structured ETS Online theology course offering an academically grounded study of the Major Prophets, their historical settings, theological message, and continuing significance.

Course
Major Prophets of the Old Testament
Instructor
Kyle Hinson
Course level
Intermediate
Credits
3 ECTS
Total workload
90 hours
Video content
22 video lectures · 762 minutes
Format
Online through ETS Online · English
Required reading
Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions About the ETS Online Major Prophets Course

Who are the Major Prophets in the Bible?

In the traditional Christian arrangement of the Old Testament, the Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Lamentations is traditionally associated with Jeremiah. The classification refers to the books and their length, not to the relative importance of the prophets. This ETS Online Course will teach more about this.

Why are they called the Major Prophets?

They are called “Major” primarily because their books are longer and cover a broader range of material than the books known as the Minor Prophets. The designation does not mean that their message is more important.

Which prophetic books are covered in this ETS Online course?

The primary focus is Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The ETS Online course also engages Lamentations, Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to place the Major Prophets within the wider story of exile, return, and restoration.

Is this a Bible study or an academic theology course?

This ETS Online course combines direct engagement with the biblical text and academically grounded theological study. It is designed to deepen biblical understanding while developing historical, literary, and interpretive skills.

Does this ETS Online course focus on end-times prophecy?

The primary focus is the historical, literary, and theological interpretation of Old Testament prophecy. Daniel’s visions and other prophetic passages are studied within their biblical and historical contexts rather than being reduced to speculative prediction.

How much time should I plan for the course?

This ETS Online course carries 3 ECTS and represents approximately 90 hours of total study. This includes 22 video lectures totaling approximately 12.7 hours, together with reading, Scripture engagement, and course activities.

Can I complete the course flexibly?

Yes. The ETS Online format allows you to organize video lectures, reading, and learning activities around your schedule. You may work sequentially or arrange individual components according to your study needs. This is what sets it apart from other online theology courses.

What reading is required?

This ETS Online course engages Walter Brueggemann’s The Prophetic Imagination. This book must be purchased separately.

How does this ETS Online course differ from general online Bible courses?

This ETS Online course focuses specifically on the Major Prophets and the prophetic books surrounding exile and return. It combines flexible online learning with the historical depth, structured interpretation, and academic expectations of theological education.

Does the course award 3 ECTS?

The course is structured as a 3 ECTS course. Students must complete the specified learning activities and assessment requirements to receive the associated academic credit for the Micro-credential certificate.

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BEGIN YOUR STUDY

Study the Major Prophets with Context, Clarity, and Purpose

Enroll now and take the next step in your theological training.

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3 ECTS 22 Video Lectures Flexible study with ETS Online