Biblical messengers

People who communicate the messages of God feature in both the Old and the New Testament of the Bible. In the Old Testament, prophets mediate between people and God, speaking in his name and making prophecies. Of the prophets, only Jeremiah and Elijah are regularly depicted in art.

In the New Testament the life and suffering of Christ is described by the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The accounts in these ‘Gospels’ have been illustrated extensively in art since the Middle Ages. The evangelists themselves are less frequently portrayed, and basically just as ‘writers’ in Gospel Books. Only John the Evangelist, author of the last book of the Bible about the Apocalypse, appears in independent depictions.
Finally, there are the apostles (literally: ‘people who give a message on someone’s behalf’), who were initially Christ’s disciples. After his ascension, Christ sent them out to spread his teachings throughout the world.