There are many examples from the prophetic books which illustrate the personal and immediate way in which revelation was received.

(a) The word of God was heard through the mind of the prophet, and was received in the form of a very compelling and powerful message, as the following illustrations show:

'When a lion roars, who can avoid being afraid? When the Sovereign Lord speaks, who can avoid proclaiming his message?' (Amos 3: 8) 'But when I say, "I will forget the Lord and no longer speak in his name", then your message is like fire burning deep within me. I try my best to hold it in but can no longer keep it back' (Jeremiah 20:9).

Then the LORD stretched out his hand, touched my lips, and said to me, "Listen, I am giving you words that you must speak" , (Jeremiah, 1 :9).

In the record of Moses, we find that he was described as the man with whom the Lord used to speak, face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33: 11 and Numbers 12: 6-8).

(b) Visions were seen, as the following illustrations show:

'I had a vision from the Sovereign LORD. In it 1 saw him create a swarm of locusts just after the king's share of the hay had been cut and the grass was starting to grow again. In my vision I saw the locusts eat up every green thing in the land... .' (Amos 7:1-2). 'I had another vision from the Sovereign LORD. In it I saw a basket of fruit. The Lord asked, "Amos, what do you see?" "A basket of fruit," I answered' (Amos 8: 1-2).

'In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord He was sitting on his throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole Temple. Round him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings.. .' (Isaiah 6:1-2).

'I looked at the earth-it was a barren waste; at the sky-there was no light. I looked at the mountains-they were shaking, and the hills were rocking to and fro' (Jeremiah 4: 23-24).

'Suddenly the power of the Sovereign Lord came on me. I looked up and saw a vision of a fiery human form. From the waist down his body looked like fire, and from the waist up he was shining like polished bronze' (Ezekiel 8: 1-2).

(c) A common object became significant as the sign of God's power and activity. Jeremiah saw hidden meaning in the sign of a branch of an almond tree, and a pot of boiling food about to tip over (Jeremiah 1). Isaiah saw significance in the birth of a son to a young woman who would name the child Immanuel (Isaiah 7: 14).

(d) Event, both national and international, revealed God's will and activity to the prophets. Amos interpreted contemporary events in the nations around and in Judah and Israel (Amos 1 and 2) as revealing God's judgement on inhuman behaviour, injustice and exploitation. Isaiah received revelation through the war situation between Judah, Syria and Israel, and Assyria (Isaiah 7-8). Jeremiah saw God's judgement on Judah being carried out by the armies of Babylon.