Bible Truths - Prophecy of Daniel and Revelation - Proving the Prophets #22

Editor's Notes

• #4: Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, wanted to recapture the town of Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians. But he needed help, so he asked good King Jehoshaphat of Judah to join his campaign against their common enemy. Jehoshaphat said he was willing to join forces with Ahab, but that they should first seek God's counsel.Ahab had forsaken the Lord years earlier to worship the pagan god Baal, so he called in 400 hired prophets to come before the two monarchs. With dramatic display, these false prophets said, "Go and fight the Syrians, and you will be victorious!" But King Jehoshaphat requested to hear from a true prophet of the Lord. Ahab said that there was one prophet of Jehovah left whose name was Micaiah, but he added, "I hate him for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." Verse 8.At Jehoshaphat's insistence, Ahab reluctantly sent a servant to fetch Micaiah. The brave prophet came and made a very unpopular prediction. He told Ahab that he would die in the battle with Syria. Now Ahab faced a tough decision. Should he believe 400 prophets who say nice things, or one lone prophet of the Lord?
• #5: Stubborn King Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to disregard the warnings of the prophet Micaiah and join him in the war. He thought he could outsmart the Lord by dressing in full armor and avoiding the front lines of battle. But Ahab learned too late that you can never escape the Word of God. During the battle, a stray arrow flying through the air struck Ahab in the joints of his armor, and he bled to death in his chariot.
• #6: Jesus warned that there will be many false prophets in the last days (Matthew 24:11). That is why we must know how to distinguish the true from the counterfeit. It may be a matter of life or death!
• #15: NOTE: Yes, there will be both true and false prophets in the end time. The Scriptures also teach that prophets can be either men or women.
• #24: NOTE: Deuteronomy 18:9-12 says that all who do these things are an "abomination" to the Lord. For this reason, Christians should have nothing to do with them.
• #30: NOTE: God's end-time remnant church has "the testimony of Jesus," which is "the spirit of prophecy." By comparing Revelation 19:10 and 22:9, we see that the angel defines John's "brethren" that have the spirit of prophecy as "the prophets" and "them which keep the sayings of this book." In 1 Corinthians 1:5-8, Paul writes that the church will have "the testimony of Christ" and will "come behind in no gift" until Jesus' second coming. So God's last-day church will indeed still have the gift of prophecy.
• #33: NOTE: The Lord speaks to His prophets by visions, in dreams, face to face, and through angels. Crystal balls, palm readings, tea leaf deciphering, star gazing, and claiming to talk with the dead are not God's methods of communicating with a prophet.
• #34: 33
• #35: Ellen White In Vision 1. Immediately preceding a vision, both Mrs. White and others in the room experienced a deep sense of the presence of God . 2. As the vision began, Ellen White would exclaim "Glory!" or "Glory to God!", at times repeated. 3. She experienced a loss of physical strength. 4. Subsequently, she often manifested supernatural strength. 5. She did not breathe, but her heartbeat continued normally, and the color in her cheeks was natural. 6. Occasionally she gave exclamations indicative of the scene being presented to her. 7. Her eyes were open, not with vacant stare, but as if she were intently watching something. 8. Her position might vary. At times she was seated; at times reclining; at times she walked about the room and made graceful gestures as she spoke of matters presented. 9. She was absolutely unconscious of what was occurring about her. She neither saw, heard, felt, nor perceived in any way her immediate surroundings or happenings. 10. The close of the vision was indicated by a deep inhalation, followed in about a minute by another, and very soon her natural breathing resumed. 11. Immediately after the vision all seemed very dark to her. 12. Within a short time she regained her natural strength and abilities.
• #37: NOTE: No, miracles are not proof that someone is a true prophet. They prove only one thing--supernatural power. But supernatural power may come either from God or from Satan. That is why the Lord tells us: "Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." 1 John 4:1.
• #39: NOTE: The "law and the testimony" was an Old Testament expression for "Bible." In other words, a message from someone who claims to have a prophetic utterance from God must be compared with the Bible. We must test the prophet by the Bible, and not the Bible by the prophet. Any true prophet of God will always agree 100 percent with Scripture. This is the true test.
• #43: NOTE: A prophet of God must acknowledge and teach the truth about Jesus Christ--that He was God in human form. True prophets must also exalt Jesus, not themselves. Most false prophets seek to draw attention away from God's Word and to their own ideas.
• #46: NOTE: This does not mean that the prophet will be perfect. God's prophets have always had faults. However, there must be consistency between what true prophets teach and the lives they live.
• #57: In December 1844, God gave Ellen the first of an estimated 2,000 visions and dreams. In August, 1846, she married James White, a 25-year-old Adventist minister who shared her conviction that God had called her to do the work of a prophet. Soon after their marriage James and Ellen began to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, according to the fourth commandment. The mother of four boys, Ellen experienced the pain of losing by death two of her sons. Herbert died when he was an infant of few weeks, and Henry died when he was 16. Her other two sons, Edson and William, both became Adventist ministers. Ellen White died July 16, 1915. For seventy years she faithfully delivered the messages God gave her for His people. She never was elected to an office in the church, yet her advice was constantly sought by denominational leaders.
• #60: NOTE: A true prophet will not make false predictions. If a prophet is of God, the things he or she says will come to pass. However, accuracy alone does not automatically qualify a person as a true prophet. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 warns that false prophets can give signs that will come to pass and then use their influence to lead people to follow other gods. A true prophet must lead people to worship God according to the Bible.
• #62: Just two days later, on April 18, 1906, a massive earthquake shook San Francisco and Oakland. More than 490 city blocks were destroyed, 800 people were killed, more than 1,500 were injured and between 225,000 and 256,000 people were left homeless. Prop­erty was destroyed at the rate of one million dollars every ten minutes by the fire which swept through the city following the earthquake.
• #68: NOTE: Paul says that we are not to despise, or reject, the gift of prophecy. Rather, we must test a prophet's messages by Scripture and follow what is good and true.
• #71: NOTE: When we reject the words of a true prophet, we reject the counsel of God. A solemn thought! The Bible tells us to listen to God's prophets and promises that all who follow the counsel of a true prophet will prosper.