How does God communicate to a prophet? Numbers 12:6
When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
NOTE: A dream occurs while the prophet sleeps.
A vision occurs while he is awake. These do not arise out of ordinary
experiences of life, but are inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Did Daniel have dreams and visions? Daniel 7:1 ; 8:1 Describe some of the physical phenomena that
accompanied Daniel while in vision. Daniel 10:8, 9, 10, 17, 18
I had no I fell into a deep A hand My he
NOTE: Certain physical phenomena accompany the
prophets while in vision, demonstrating to those around them that they
are receiving something that came from a supernatural source.
THE GIFT OF
PROPHECY Who is the source of the messages that the
prophets received in vision? 2 Peter 1:21 Will God do anything on the earth without
first telling His prophets? Amos 3:7
Surely the Sovereign Lord does
NOTE: Before God does anything of significance
involving His people on the earth, He first of all reveals it to the
prophets through dreams and visions. Throughout Biblical history, God
spoke through a variety of individuals. Daniel was not unique in
receiving the prophetic gift. God chose women too, such as Miriam ( Exodus 15:20 ), Huldah ( 2 Chronicles 34:22 ) and Anna ( Luke 2:36 ). God chose to give the
prophetic gift to those individuals who could best serve Him at the
time.
As one examines the prophetic gift in
Scripture, it becomes clear that there were two basic groups of
prophets:
Those whose written revelations are recorded
in the Bible, such as Moses, Daniel, and John the Revelator; Those whose writings did not form part of
sacred Scripture or who only gave oral presentations, such as Enoch,
Elijah, and John the Baptist, and yet these prophets were just as
inspired as the other Bible prophets.
Thus people can be regarded as prophets and not
have their writings regarded as a part of sacred Scripture.
What is one of the gifts that God has given
to His new Testament church? Ephesians 4:11
Who gave some to be apostles, some to be
NOTE: The gift to be a prophet is one of the
spiritual gifts that God has given the New Testament church. Do we
still have evangelists, pastors, and teachers today? Then why not
prophets?
How long were these gifts, including the gift
of being a prophet, to remain in the church? Ephesians 4:13
Until we all reach
NOTE: This text makes it very clear that these
spiritual gifts, including the gift of prophecy, are to remain in the
church until the church reaches perfection, which will not be until the
second coming of Jesus. Paul's point is very clear: as long as we are
on this earth we will need all the gifts of the Spirit, including the
gift of prophecy.
What is the purpose of the gift of Prophecy? 1 Corinthians 14:3
, encouragement, and
NOTE: The gift of prophecy is not primarily the
ability to predict the future. Some Bible prophets, such as Daniel, did
predict the future, but many others did not. Their work was to
strengthen, encourage, and comfort the church. Thus one can be a
prophet without necessarily predicting the future.
THE GIFT OF
PROPHECY What counsel did the apostle Paul give the
Thessalonians concerning the gift of prophecy? 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21
Do not treat prophecies with
NOTE: If God did not plan to send prophets
after Bible times, Paul would have cautioned the Thessalonians to
disregard anyone in the future who could claim to have the prophetic
gift. Instead, Paul tells them not to treat them with contempt, but to
test them, and if they prove true, to hold on to their teachings.
What kind of prophets did Jesus warn against?
Matthew 7:15
prophets.
NOTE: If there were not going to be any genuine
prophets, Jesus would have warned against all prophets. The fact that
He warned against false prophets indicates the presence of the genuine.
Who does Malachi suggest will appear before
the coming of the Lord? Malachi 4:5
I will send you the prophet
NOTE: Connected with the coming of Elijah is
the gift of prophecy. It is not simply Elijah, but Elijah the prophet
who is to come before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
Lord.
What great revival of the prophetic gift did
the prophet Joel foresee? Joel 2:28-30 At what time will this great prophetic
outpouring take place? Joel 2:31
The sun will be turned into
NOTE: Joel predicted that sometime after the
darkening of the sun, which was fulfilled on May 19, 1780, and before
the coming of the Lord, this great prophetic gift would be restored to
the church.
In what group of people would the prophetic
gift appears at this time? Joel 2:28-32
Among the
NOTE: The survivors are the last of God people
in the last days -- the remnant.
What are two key Bible identification points
of the remnant? Revelation 12:17
Those who obey God's And hold to the
NOTE: Joel predicted that the remnant church
would have the gift of prophecy. One of the identifying marks of the
remnant church, according to Revelation 12:17 is that they not only
keep the commandments of God, but they also hold to the testimony of
Jesus.
What is the testimony of Jesus? Revelation 19:10 Is the spirit of prophecy and prophets the
same thing? Compare Revelation 19:10 ; and 22:8, 9 . I am a fellow servant with you and your
brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus... 19:10
NOTE: Revelation 19:10 and 22:9 are identical,
except that Revelation 19:10 refers to the spirit of prophecy and
Revelation 22:9 calls them prophets. Thus one of the marks that
identifies the remnant church is that they will have the gift of
prophecy.
THE GIFT OF
PROPHECY The Bible foretells that in the last days
before the coming of the Lord, God will raise up a remnant, a church
that will keep all the commandments of God, and that will also have the
gift of prophecy. In order to qualify as the remnant church, the church
must have the gift of prophecy. It is one of the special marks of
identification of the last-day church. The same gift that inspired the
prophet Daniel will be duplicated in the end time by a restoration of
the gift of prophecy to the church. Did God fulfill this prediction?
Did He send the gift of prophecy to the remnant church after` the
darkening of the sun in 1780?
In December of 1844, a 17-year-old girl named
Ellen Harmon, in frail health, possessing only a third-grade education,
received a vision while kneeling in prayer with a group of young women
in Portland, Maine. She shrank from the prospect of being a prophet,
yet she wish to be obedient to the heavenly vision, and so she related
what God had shown her. For 69 years she continued to receive visions
and dreams from the Lord. Ellen (Harmon) White became one of the most
prolific female writers in history. Many of her books are still in
publication today. Was this a genuine or counterfeit manifestation? Was
it a fulfillment of the Biblical promise that the prophetic gift would
be restored to the church at the end time?
What physical phenomena accompanied Ellen's
visions? Ellen White's experience was very similar to
that of the prophet Daniel (see question 3).
She did not breath during many visions.
Sometimes her visions lasted for as long as four hours. Physicians who
examined her in vision marveled that she did not breathe, yet still
lived. At times, like Daniel, she experienced a
loss of physical strength, which was then replaced by supernatural
strength. During one vision she held a seventeen-pound family Bible
outstretched in her hand for thirty minutes. At that time she weighed
97 pounds and was in frail health. Obviously here was supernatural
strength.
The physical phenomena accompanying the
prophets indicate that there is something supernatural about their
experience; however, the physical phenomena don't tell us whether the
experience is from God or Satan. We must examine the Biblical tests of
a prophet to determine whether the prophet is from God or Satan.
What is the first Biblical test of a prophet?
Isaiah 8:20
To the
NOTE: The expression "the law and the
testimony" is an Old Testament expression for the Bible. "The Law"
referred to the first five books of Moses, and "the testimony" referred
to the testimony of the prophets and the rest of the Old Testament. The
basic meaning of the text is that the prophet must agree with
Scripture, or he is not a genuine prophet. This point must be very
clear. Any person today who claims to be a prophet must be tested by
Scripture. What God reveals to His prophets today will not disagree
with what he has previously revealed in the Bible. The Bible is the
supreme revelation. If a prophet disagrees with Scripture, that person
is a false prophet. You are invited to take any book written by Ellen
and examine what she says with what the Bible says. You will find that
Ellen agrees with the Bible.
What is the second test of a prophet? 1 John 4:2
Every spirit that acknowledges that
NOTE: True prophets will attest to the humanity
and divinity of Jesus. They will elevate and exalt Jesus Christ. To
test Ellen in this area, one has only to read her books such as "Steps
to Christ" , "Desire
of Ages" , "Christ's
Object lessons" or "Thoughts
from the Mount of Blessing" and one very
quickly sees that she beautifully fulfills this test of a prophet.
Another example of Ellen's constant uplifting of Jesus is seen in this passage
that gives counsel to pastors on how they should preach.
What is the third Bible test of a prophet? Matthew 7:20
By their
NOTE: The Bible prophets were not perfect, nor
is any prophet perfect; they were human. But the general tendency of
the life must be in harmony with the Word of God.
What is the fourth Bible test of a prophet? Jeremiah 28:9
But the prophet....will be recognized as one
truly sent by the Lord
NOTE: The final Biblical test of the prophet is
fulfilled predictions. Bible prophets gave predictions that dealt with
main themes of the great controversy and salvation, not mundane things
such as winning elections, astrology, etc.. If the prophet predicts the
future, it will come to pass. If the prophecy fails, the prophet would
not be genuine. Like most Bible prophets, Ellen did not give a lot of
predictions. Her work was to strengthen, encourage, and comfort the
church. Yet there were times when she did give predictions, and on
these she can be tested. Like Bible prophets, her predictions were
sometimes conditional upon obedience, but her insights clearly reveal the prophetic voice speaking through her.
As one examines the life and ministry of Ellen
White in relationship to four Bible tests of a prophet, it becomes very
clear that she meets every one of the tests. The physical phenomena
indicated that we are dealing with a supernatural force from the Lord.
What is the relationship of Ellen to the
Bible? She
NOTE: Perhaps the most important point of
Ellen's ministry is the fact that she consistently pointed people to the Bible . She always uplifted the Bible. The Bible predicted this
gift would come in the last days to be a tremendous blessing to the
church. The evidence points out that it has come.
