Bible Study Guides – The Gift of Prophecy

March 13, 2004 – March 19, 2004

Memory Verse

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” Acts 2:17.

Suggested Reading: Testimonies, vol. 5, 654–691.

Introduction

“During the ages while the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament were being given, the Holy Spirit did not cease to communicate light to individual minds, apart from the revelations to be embodied in the Sacred Canon. . . . And mention is made of prophets in different ages, of whose utterances nothing is recorded. In like manner, after the close of the canon of Scripture, the Holy Spirit was still to continue its work, to enlighten, warn, and comfort the children of God.

“God has . . . promised to give visions in the ‘last days’; not for a new rule of faith, but for the comfort of His people, and to correct those who err from Bible truth.” The Faith I Live By, 293.

1 By what means has the Lord communicated with man since the fall? Acts 3:22; Hebrews 1:1, 2.

note: “Through nature, through types and symbols, through patriarchs and prophets, God had spoken to the world. Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity.” The Desire of Ages, 34.

“As an educating power, the Bible is without a rival. This sacred word is the will of God revealed to men, and its study will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration. Here we learn what God requires of the creatures formed in his image. Here we learn how to improve the present life so as to secure the future, immortal life. Here we may hold communion with patriarchs and prophets, and listen to the voice of the Eternal as he speaks with men.” The Signs of the Times, August 12, 1886.

2 How is the instrument chosen through whom the prophetic gift is to be exercised? Romans 12:6; Deuteronomy 18:15. Compare 1 Corinthians 12:11; Acts 7:37.

note: “No one can of himself choose to be a prophet, teacher, worker of miracles, or any other office bestowed by the Holy Spirit. God, through the Spirit, selects the instrument. We may decline the holy calling, and fail to fill the place to which the Lord has called us; but the gifts of the Spirit, whether of prophecy or some other gift, are distributed as the Spirit Himself wills.” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, CA, 1912, 36. [Emphasis supplied.]

3 How does the Lord reveal Himself to those whom He has chosen to exercise the prophetic gift? Numbers 12:6. Compare Daniel 2:19; 7:1.

note: “The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all ‘given by inspiration of God’ (11 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed, have themselves embodied the thought in human language.” The Faith I Live By, 10.

4 Against what are we cautioned? Matthew 24:24.

note: “We shall encounter false claims; false prophets will arise; there will be false dreams and false visions; but preach the Word, be not drawn away from the voice of God in His Word. Let nothing divert the mind. The wonderful, the marvelous, will be represented and presented. Through satanic delusions, wonderful miracles, the claims of human agents will be urged. Beware of all this.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 49.

5 How can we distinguish the true from the false? Deuteronomy 13:1–3.

note: “There will be false dreams and false visions, which have some truth, but lead away from the original faith. The Lord has given men a rule by which to detect them: ‘To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ [Isaiah 8:20.] If they belittle the law of God, if they pay no heed to his will as revealed in the testimonies of his Spirit, they are deceivers. They are controlled by impulse and impressions, which they believe to be from the Holy Spirit, and consider more reliable than the inspired word. They claim that every thought and feeling is an impression of the Spirit; and when they are reasoned with out of the Scriptures, they declare that they have something more reliable. But while they think that they are led by the Spirit of God, they are in reality following an imagination wrought upon by Satan.” The Signs of the Times, March 27, 1884.

6 How did the prophets of old speak? 11 Peter 1:20, 21; 1 Peter 1:10–12.

note: “God is its Author; but the Scriptures were written by human hands, and they bear marks of the individuality of the different writers. In every book of the Bible, the stamp of the mind and character of the writer is manifest. . . .

“Christ . . . uses human instrumentalities, and He does not destroy the individuality of His servants. He puts the Holy Spirit upon them, and shuts them in with Himself, and they have the mind of Christ, and become co-workers with him. He presents before their minds figures and illustrations with which they are familiar, to make plain the truth He wishes them to communicate, and the Holy Spirit assists them in the use of these figures and illustrations.” The Bible Echo, August 19, 1895.

7 How did the prophets communicate to the people that which was revealed to them? Jeremiah 51:60, 61; 11 Chronicles 20:14, 15.

note: “There was Mount Moriah . . . . There, for ages, holy prophets had uttered their messages of warning.” The Great Controversy, 18, 19. [Emphasis supplied.]

“[Ezra applied] himself diligently to a study of the history of God’s people, as recorded in the writings of prophets and kings.” Conflict and Courage, 259. [Emphasis supplied.]

8 When there is no prophetic instruction, how are the people affected? Proverbs 29:18; Lamentations 2:9.

note: “The reproofs, the cautions, the corrections of the Lord, have been given to His church in all ages of the world. These warnings were despised and rejected in Christ’s day by the self-righteous Pharisees, who claimed that they needed no such reproof and were unjustly dealt with. They would not receive the word of the Lord through His servants because it did not please their inclinations. Should the Lord give a vision right before this class of people in our day, pointing out their mistakes, rebuking their self-righteousness and condemning their sins, they would rise up in rebellion, like the inhabitants of Nazareth when Christ showed them their true condition.

“If these persons do not humble their hearts before God, if they harbor the suggestions of Satan, doubt and infidelity will take possession of the soul, and they will see everything in a false light. . . .

“Has God ever revealed to these self-deceived ones that no reproofs or corrections from Him are to have any weight with them unless they come through direct vision? I dwell upon this point because the position that many are now taking upon it is a delusion of Satan to ruin souls. When he has ensnared and weakened them through his sophistry, so that when they are reproved they persist in making of none effect the workings of God’s Spirit, his triumph over them will be complete.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 689, 690.

9 What exercise of the prophetic gift was seen in the early church? Acts 11:27, 28; 13:1; 21:8, 9.

note: “In the history of the early church, when in various parts of the world many groups of believers had been formed into churches, the organization of the church was further perfected, so that order and harmonious action might be maintained. Every member was exhorted to act well his part. Each was to make a wise use of the talents entrusted to him. Some were endowed by the Holy Spirit with special gifts—‘first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.’ 1 Corinthians 12:28. But all these classes of workers were to labor in harmony.” The Acts of the Apostles, 91, 92.

10 What exercise of spiritual gifts is promised for the church? Acts 2:17, 18, 38, 39. Compare Joel 2:28, 29.

note: “If this prophecy of Joel met a partial fulfillment in the days of the apostles, we are living in a time when it is to be even more evidently manifest to the people of God. He will so bestow His Spirit upon His people that they will become a light amid the moral darkness; and great light will be reflected in all parts of the world. O that our faith might be increased, that the Lord might work mightily with His people.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1175.

11 What is said concerning the prophetic gift in the church of the last days? Revelation 12:17; 19:10.

note: “That the Testimonies were not given to take the place of the Bible, the following extract from a testimony published in 1876 will show:

“ ‘Brother J would confuse the mind by seeking to make it appear that the light God has given through the Testimonies is an addition to the word of God, but in this he presents the matter in a false light. God has seen fit in this manner to bring the minds of His people to His word, to give them a clearer understanding of it. The word of God is sufficient to enlighten the most beclouded mind and may be understood by those who have any desire to understand it. But notwithstanding all this, some who profess to make the word of God their study are found living in direct opposition to its plainest teachings. Then, to leave men and women without excuse, God gives plain and pointed testimonies, bringing them back to the word that they have neglected to follow.’ ” Testimonies, vol. 5, 663.

“Let the Testimonies be judged by their fruits. What is the spirit of their teaching? What has been the result of their influence? ‘All who desire to do so can acquaint themselves with the fruits of these visions. For seventeen years God has seen fit to let them survive and strengthen against the opposition of Satan’s forces and the influence of human agencies that have aided Satan in his work.’

“ ‘God is either teaching His church, reproving their wrongs and strengthening their faith, or He is not. This work is of God, or it is not. God does nothing in partnership with Satan. My [Ellen G. White’s] work . . . bears the stamp of God or the stamp of the enemy. There is no halfway work in the matter. The Testimonies are of the Spirit of God, or of the devil.’ ” Ibid., 671.

12 What encouraging promise is made to those who believe the Lord’s prophets? 11 Chronicles 20:20.

note: “The light of prophecy still burns for the guidance of souls, saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’ [Isaiah 30:21.] It shines on the pathway of the just to commend, and on the way of the unjust to lead to repentance and conversion. Through its agency sin will be rebuked and iniquity unmasked. It is progressive in the performance of its duty to reflect light on the past, the present, and the future.

“If those who have received the light will appreciate and respect the testimonies of the Lord, they will see the religious life in a new light. They will be convicted. They will see the key that unlocks the mysteries that they have never understood. They will lay hold of the precious things that God has given them to profit withal and will be translated from the kingdom of darkness into God’s marvelous light. . . .

“He [God] has made provision that all may be holy and happy if they choose. Sufficient light has been given to this generation, that we may learn what our duties and privileges are and enjoy the precious and solemn truths in their simplicity and power.

“We are accountable only for the light that shines upon us. The commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus are testing us. If we are faithful and obedient, God will delight in us, and bless us as His own chosen, peculiar people.” My Life Today, 42.