The Gift of Prophecy
Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
Go reveals Himself through His prophets.
Numbers 12:6
The He said, “Hear now My words: if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.
Visions and dreams are one way God communicates His will.
Revelation 12:17
And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The dragon makes war with the remnant who keep God’s commandments and have the testimony of Jesus.
Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The testimony of Jesus is the gift of prophecy.
Revelation 22:6,9
Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place….Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
The angel appearing to John was the angel of prophecy. That same angel appears in the last days.
Ephesians 4:8,11-15
Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.
One of Jesus’ gifts is the gift of prophecy. This gift remains in the church until the end.
1 Corinthians 1:4-7
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The church waiting for Jesus’ coming will not lack any of the gifts.
1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The Bible invites us to “test the spirits.” Each prophetic manifestation must meet the Bible tests of a true prophet (Matthew 24:5,11,24)
Deuteronomy 13:1-4
If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “let us go after other gods”—which you have not known—“and let us serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.
True prophets always lead to obedience to God’s will.
Jeremiah 28:8,9
The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms—of war and disaster and pestilence. As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”
The prophecies of true prophets, when they are not conditional, always come to pass.
Isaiah 8:19,20
And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of he living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
To the law and the testimony (the Bible), if they do not speak according to this word, there is no light in them.
Ezekiel 7:26
Disaster will come upon disaster, and rumor will be upon rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet; but the law will perish from the priest, and counsel from the elders.
When they disobey the law, God removes the vision.
1 John 4:1-3
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
True prophets place emphasis on the centrality of Jesus Christ.
Daniel 10:17
For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”
In vision, a true prophet does not breathe.
Matthew 7:15,16
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
The fruits of prophets’ lives reveal their divine credentials.
2 Chronicles 20:20
So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshephat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.
Believe His prophets, and you will prosper.
1 Corinthians 12:27,28
Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
Got places true prophets in His church keeping His commandments to guide it through crises. Just as He sent John the Baptist to His people to prepare them for the first coming of Jesus, He promises that His last-day commandment-keeping church would be blessed by the Gift of prophecy.
Seventh-Day Adventists believe that the genuine gift of prophecy was manifest in the church through the writings of Ellen G. White. Her writings do not in any way take the place of the Bible. They are a fulfillment of Revelation 12:17 which declares the Gift of Prophecy will be manifest in God’s last-day church. Her writings pass the critical Biblical tests of a true prophet.
