Testing the Prophets

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope

http://ssclassnotes.blogspot.com 

February 7, 2009
Larry R Evans 

Introduction 

I must have been eight or nine years old when I got out of bed, saw the light on in the dining room and tip-toed and looked around the corner.  What I saw would stay with me for the rest of my life. It made a big difference during a rebellious time when I was a teenager.  What I saw was my mother wiping the tears from her cheeks as she read a book.  The book? The book goes by the name The Desire of Ages and was written by Ellen White.  It is a book about the life of Jesus. Our family was having a difficult time in many ways. There were reasons for tears but that is not why they had come.  I knew what my mother was reading and her tears came not from sorrow but from appreciation for what Jesus went through for her.  Years later that image of my mother reading the book about Jesus would flash into my mind.  It provided the brakes I needed from going along with some things my peers were doing. I remember shaking my fists at God  but that picture kept coming back.  It was more than an image of my mother; it was the picture of Jesus that made all the difference.  Years later, after that rebellious period, I came under the strong conviction that I should be baptized.  My pastor, Elder Leroy Moore, used a unique approach in our one-on-one baptismal class.  I met weekly in his home and together we studied the little book Steps to Christ by Ellen  White. I met Jesus anew and the image of my mother reading from The Desire of Ages remained with me.  We studied other things to be sure but what I remember was our study about Jesus. The pastor’s teachings coincided with the Jesus I saw in my mother and what I knew she was reading. Years later when Carolyn and I were engaged to be married we each bought a copy of a devotional book called “My Life Today.” Weekly and often it was daily, we shared what had impressed us with that day’s reading.  That little book was also written by Ellen White.  Once again her word pictures of Jesus were insightful, penetrating and spiritually awakening and provided a foundation for our new home.  Why do I mention these experiences?  For me it is relevant.  This week we are studying about “Testing the Prophets” and one whom I have grown to believe is a true prophetess--Ellen White.  I am fully aware that some have grown up seeing her writings used as a club and as a means of manipulating to bring about “good behavior.”  Such scars are not easily erased.  Tactics like these normally speak more about those who misused the counsels and prophecies than the writings themselves.  I’ve never felt that way about Ellen White. I am fortunate.  While in Seminary we would study Scripture first and then on occasions some sections of Ellen White’s writings were referenced, discussed and carefully considered. As a result Scripture came alive and to this day I attribute my deep appreciation of Scripture to the way Ellen White in her writings upheld the Bible.  The spirit and attitude of those who ridicule her and her writings are hurtful but they are not strong enough to take away the Jesus I was introduced to by Ellen White and those who presented her ministry in a well-balanced way.  There is much truth when the Bible says, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire, do not treat prophecies with contempt.” (1 Thess 5:19,20--NIV)  While we test we must not put out the fires of conviction created by God’s true prophets.  Thank God for the gift of prophecy! 

Having said this, the Bible itself counsels all of us to “test the spirits” (1 Jn 4:1) which does suggest that there will be both true and false prophets. As we established in earlier studies (see the lesson for January 24 on the blog), if God has an effective means of reaching his people we can be assured that Satan will do his best to create a counterfeit so as to deceive and lead away from the message God wishes us to hear.  The very fact that there is a “test” suggests that there is also a genuine gift and we must be careful not to discard the true because there are false prophets.

Reflective Quiz

1.    When Ellen White announced she was a prophetess the news was not well received.  False

At the outset of this week’s study we need to underscore one important fact – Ellen White never proclaimed herself as a prophetess.  She never set out to establish a following.  A following did occur and when others pronounced that she was a prophetess because of the gift they saw at work she did not deny it. Then as well as today, such claims could be very misleading.  Tests are needed.

“To claim to be a prophetess is something that I have never done.  If others call me by that name, I have no controversy with them.” . . . “My work includes much more than this name signifies.  I regard myself as a messenger, entrusted by the Lord with messages for His people.” (1SM 34,36)    

2.    In Scripture we learn that God primarily used dreams and visions to communicate with His messengers.  True   [Num 12:6; Matt. 1:20; Isa 1:1; Acts 9:10]

Num 12:6

"When a prophet of the LORD is among you,

I reveal myself to him in visions,

I speak to him in dreams. (NIV) 

Matt 1:20

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  (NIV)

 

3.    Hananiah is an example of how true prophets do not contradict what other prophets have said.  False  [Jer 25:11 and 28:15-17]

The Bible gives many examples of true prophets. Unfortunately their instruction was not always welcomed.  The messages which they conveyed were not always filled with good news.  At times it was tempting for the people to listen to other voices—voices which were more in line with conventional wisdom. Being popular was often not a trait of those who bore messages from God.       The story of Hananiah is and example and it is full of lessons for us today.

Jeremiah, sometimes called the weeping prophet, spoke strongly against the sin of the people and his reward was that he was blamed for their troubles. “The lightest punishment that a merciful God could inflict upon so rebellious a people was submission to the rule of Babylon, but if they warred against this decree of servitude they were to feel the full rigor of His chastisement.” (PK 444)

Through Jeremiah God’s rebuke was clear:  Jer 25:11

11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (NIV)

Hananiah, knowing that the people rebelled at such a notion, counseled the people not to submit to the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. 

Jer 28:10-11  Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he said before all the people, "This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'" At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way. (NIV)

Hananiah helped turn the people from their belief in Jeremiah.  False prophets can do that.  They do untold harm to those who are influenced by them.

4.    If a prophet prophesies something and it does not come to pass, then he or she is a false prophet.  True and False  [Jer 18:6-10; 28:9]

Consider the following passage.  Do you agree with the answer that it could be true or false? 

Jer 18:7-10

7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. (NIV)

But consider the following as well:

Jer 28:99 But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true." (NIV)

How, then, do we determine if a “prophet” is true or false?

5.    What one thinks about Jesus can be a test of his authenticity as a prophet of God.  True   [1 Jn 4:12; Acts 4:12; Testimony to Ministers, p.367]

1 John 4:13-16

13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. (NIV)

If a person is a “Christian” and claims to be a prophet does that make him a true prophet?  How important is it to understand the context of what John was writing? 

[In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek δοκέω [dokeō], "to seem") is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief treats the sentence "the Word was made Flesh" (John1:14) as merely figurative. Docetism has historically been regarded as heretical by most Christian theologians]

6.    The “orchard tests” of the Bible indicates that what one eats can determine if a prophet is true or false?  True and False  [Matt 7:18-20]

The “orchard tests” is not specifically about what one eats but rather what are the evidences or results of his or her life and ministry.

Matt 7:18-21

 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (NIV)

The orchard test takes time and there are instances when the wheat and the tares must be allowed time to reveal what they are.

7.    A known character flaw disqualifies one from being a true prophet for God.  False—but with some truth  [Gen 12:12,13; Jonah 1:1-3; Gal 2:11-14]

Prophets are humans and humans do make mistakes.  Abraham lied about Sarah, Jonah ran from God and David had a problem with Bathsheba.  This isn’t meant to say that sin in the lives of these individuals didn’t matter or that it was treated lightly. In each case it was shown to be a weighty matter.  “Mrs. White made mistakes and had character weaknesses, as did other people,  but the trend of her life was such that at he death a local non-Adventist newspaper reported, ‘The life  of Mrs. White is an example of worthy emulation by all. . . . She was a humble, devoted disciple of Christ and ever went about doing good. . . . Her death marks the calling of another noted leader of religious thought and one whose almost ninety years were full to overflowing with good deeds, kind words and earnest prayers for all mankind.’”—Called to Her Reward,” St Helena Star  (Calif.), July 23, 1915

Conclusion

Perhaps with this lesson it would be good to summarize the tests of a true prophet.

1.    “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”  God’s Spirit will not contradict what God has said beforehand.

2.    “Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”  (Matt 7:20)  Their influence upon individuals and the church as a whole must be good.

3.    “But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true."  (Jer 28:9)  The principle of conditional prophecy but also be taken into consideration.

4.    “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. (1 John 4:1-3)

5.    Other evidences could also be mentioned such as: physical manifestations, timeliness—given a just the right time, a sense of certainty and fearlessness by which the prophet delivers his or her testimonies, a high spiritual plane and the practical nature of the messages.

We began this lesson by sharing some personal experiences with the influence of Ellen White.  It has had a profound positive influence in my life.  Unfortunately many have read very little of what she has written and therefore they simply reflect what others have said whether it be good or bad.  We challenge you to read and reflect.  God is still speaking today.