Chapter 1—The Prophet and His Work

Every Seventh-day Adventist must meet the issue of the Spirit of prophecy among the people of God, and decide what shall be his individual attitude regarding the instruction and the counsel that has been given to us as a people.DGRGC 9.1

Inasmuch as we think of the Spirit of prophecy as “the counsellor,” “the messenger,” “the servant of the Lord,” we should know for ourselves just what that counsel means and how we should apply the counsel to our individual lives. In order to do that we shall have to go back in our thinking and come to some conclusions, first regarding the Bible itself—even regarding God—so that all our thinking may come from the Scriptures, and thus lead us to a conclusion which will be most certainly justified.DGRGC 9.2

As God looks down upon the world, He does not see thirteen great religions or faiths by which men live. He does not see one of them, Christianity, divided into two hundred and fifty-eight sects or groups or denominations. This division among the Christian people did not originate with God. It is not recognized in the Scriptures. For, if we read correctly, in the fourteenth Psalm we must come to a conclusion that in God’s sight there are in the world but two kinds of people, or two great classes of people. Verse 2 says,DGRGC 9.3

“The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”DGRGC 9.4

That gives us the basis upon which God divides the people of the world. He does not think of them as Christians, Hindus, Mohammedans, Confucianists, or Taoists. He does not think of them in terms of belonging to any one of the thirteen great religions which are extant in the world today. He thinks of them in terms of just two groups—those who are seeking after Him and who would understand Him, and those who are not interested in Him, not seeking after Him, and who do not care to understand Him.DGRGC 9.5

In the eleventh Psalm we have the names given to these two groups. Verse 4:DGRGC 10.1

“The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try, the children of men.”DGRGC 10.2

Now what does He find? Look at verses 5 and 6:DGRGC 10.3

“The Lord trieth the righteous: [that is the name given to one group] but the wicked, [that is the name given to the other group] and him that loveth violence, His soul hateth. Upon the wicked He shall rain [and the margin says ‘quick burning coals’] and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.”DGRGC 10.4

To that group whom God calls “the wicked,” there is not a very pleasant outlook for the future. It simply means annihilation, at a given time, when the time is ripe.DGRGC 10.5

“For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright.”DGRGC 10.6

So in God’s sight there are but two classes, two groups, of people, in the world, not based upon the religious faiths of the people among whom we associate, but rather, the division is made on the basis of those who would seek to know and understand God and those who reject Him and are not interested in Him.DGRGC 10.7

That being true, we shall find these two classes of people in every country, in every city, in every town, in every village, in every street, and almost in every home. There are no national boundaries. There are no geographical areas to which the one group is confined and not the other. The two groups are found everywhere. This eliminates all competition, all conflict among the thirteen great religions of the world. Those religions are man-made divisions among the people. They are not ordained by heaven. Then we ask, “Why is Christianity divided into two hundred and fifty-eight sects, denominations, or groups of people?”DGRGC 10.8

When I talked to the Confucianists, the Buddhists, and the Taoists in China about Christianity, they would say, “But we cannot understand. The Baptists, the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Adventists, the Catholics, and the Congregationalists, and all the rest—why so many groups?”DGRGC 10.9

My first arrival in Hongkong was in the summer of 1917. To me it was exceedingly hot, and I had nothing but the usual woollen suits worn in the northern part of the United States—rather uncomfortable for hot weather. So the first thing I did was to go to a Chinese tailor. In our conversation the tailor said, “I am a Christian,” to which I replied, “That is wonderful.” Then he added, “I am a Baptist.” “Well,” I said, “that is fine. I have many very good Baptist friends.” A few minutes later in our chatter, he said, “I am, also a Presbyterian.” In my surprise I questioned, “How is that? Why are you both Baptist and Presbyterian?” He explained, “Belong Baptist, one-piece chance go topside. Belong Presbyterian, two-piece chance go topside.” You see the. Chinese are a very practical people.DGRGC 11.1

Really it is confusing and we should ask ourselves, Why the divisions? I think the reason is given in 2 Timothy, the first chapter, verse 12:DGRGC 11.2

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him....”DGRGC 11.3

The division among Christians did not originate with Christ, neither would we be divided if we all believed in Him, but the difficulty is that we do not think of Christianity in terms of a Person, nor as the union with a Person, but rather as a system of doctrines and teachings and beliefs subject to individual interpretation by people who have varying backgrounds and therefore different opinions.DGRGC 11.4

Christianity is divided because of the what of Christianity, and not the who of Christianity. Christ is one, and Christianity has but “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” But somehow or other Christians have gotten into a difficulty and we Seventh-day Adventist Christians are not entirely free from it. When we begin to discuss Christianity our minds seem to concentrate on the what of Christianity, and we say very little about the who—the Man Christ Jesus. Our interpretation of the messages, the doctrines set forth in the Scriptures and seen from varying viewpoints, opinions, and convictions, has resulted in the two hundred and fifty-eight kinds of Christians.DGRGC 11.5

But you say, “Does that come in among Seventh-day Adventists?” Frankly, we must admit, “Yes, to some extent.” There are now some seven “reformed” groups who call themselves Seventh-day Adventists. It is because some of us are forgetting the who of Christianity and arguing about the what of Christianity.DGRGC 12.1

The divisions among Seventh-day Adventists have come largely from difference of opinion regarding the Spirit of prophecy. We do not have any divergence of opinion regarding the Sabbath. All of these “reformed” groups, as they call themselves, observe the Seventh-day Sabbath. We do not have any difficulty over the second coming of Christ, or any of the great fundamental doctrines, but it does come over an interpretation and application of the teachings of the Spirit of prophecy, and that is a reason for my interest in trying to understand better the real significance and the meaning of the Spirit of prophecy.DGRGC 12.2

Our difficulty grows out of a tendency on the part of some to take a sentence or a paragraph out of the writings, and put our own interpretation, our own emphasis, and our own focus upon it, to the extent that we differ with our brethren. This to me is a very serious thing. I am sure God never intended that the Spirit of prophecy should become a cause for division. I believe the Spirit of prophecy was given that we might be more closely united.DGRGC 12.3

This, then, is my reason for bringing this subject to you. I am anxious that all of us think the problem through together and come to a settled conclusion with regard to the Spirit of prophecy.DGRGC 12.4

With that as a background, let us take up another aspect of the problem. Like many of you I have wondered how to present the Spirit of prophecy in such a way that it can be clearly understood, and be something that is reasonable and satisfying. So I began to think of a way to present this subject that would overcome a prejudice that is existent in the minds of Christians in general who do not understand. It is a prejudice and we must overcome that prejudice.DGRGC 12.5

In Counsels to Writers and Editors, 52, we find this paragraph:DGRGC 13.1

“Messages of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists, to take the place of the truth which, point by point, has been sought out by prayerful study, and testified to by the miracle-working power of the Lord. But the waymarks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved, as God has signified through His Word and the testimony of His Spirit. He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority.”DGRGC 13.2

Here the suggestion is that messages, the what of Christianity, of every order and kind have been urged upon Seventh-day Adventists. We have them coming in constantly.DGRGC 13.3

One brother in the United States who considers himself to be the prophet for today sends out a “testimony” about once in two weeks. Another brother in Europe, who considers himself to be a prophet, sends out a “message” about once a month. There is a lady in the central part of the United States who considers herself to be a prophetess, and she sends her visions about twice a month. So we are getting messages now from seven or eight different sources. They come to me and I read them very carefully, because I am not going to be guilty of rejecting without investigating. I dare not simply say, “It is false,” and have nothing more to do with it. Without testing and trying and proving them I cannot possibly know whether or not God has chosen to use any one of them, and I would be guilty of rejecting Him merely because of prejudice. I do not intend to be guilty of that. So today as these messages come from various quarters, and they are increasing, I say to myself, “I shall read them carefully, evaluate them, and try to come to a decision as to whether I think they are true or false.”DGRGC 13.4

We have a folder in the General Conference Secretarial Department into which all such messages go. I can assure you it is one of the most interesting folders in the files of the General Conference. Some of them, of course, are a bit wild; some of them are really very sincere; and it is my duty to read and study them so that I may know for myself. That puts a responsibility upon me which I want to discharge in all fairness to each one who thinks that he or she is to be used by God in these days. This perhaps gives you a clearer background as to why I am interested in the subject of the Spirit of prophecy. It is time for everyone of us to study it very carefully.DGRGC 13.5

First of all, Seventh-day Adventists have the Bible. This becomes the most precious book to each Adventist wherever he may live around the world. There is no book that can take the place of this one. In fact, in many countries they have nothing other than this book, and this is all they need to see them through to the kingdom of heaven provided they read it, study it, and live by it.DGRGC 14.1

In addition to the Bible, Seventh-day Adventists as a people have an abundance of wonderfully fine material—some twenty-five million words written by one who said she was “the messenger of the Lord.” We now have the messages those words represent in forty-three bound volumes and in four thousand articles which have appeared in the church papers over these many years. God has given us an abundance of material that should throw light on our paths and cause us to live better lives than any other Christian group in the world. “To whom much is given, of them much shall be required.” And so we should know our messages and we should be able to live by them.DGRGC 14.2

Let me turn to a verse of Scripture which was one of Mrs. White’s favourite passages found in the sixth chapter of Hosea and the fifth verse. I am told that in her home as the family of workers would gather together for morning or evening worship, when some one of the secretaries would hand the Bible to her, she would often open to that book and read from verse 1 to verse 5. I shall read only the fifth verse:DGRGC 14.3

“Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets....”DGRGC 14.4

The word “hewed” means to fashion, to mould, to cut, to carve, to hew. It simply means “to make.” The verse then means,DGRGC 14.5

“Therefore have I made them, or moulded them, or fashioned them by the prophets.”DGRGC 15.1

This, then, is a brief, very concise statement, as to the business, or the purpose, of prophets. Through their messages God wants to make me what He would have me to be in order that I may have a place in His kingdom. In other words, God has in mind a pattern, a mould, a certain ideal of the kind of people He wants to have with Him throughout eternity. He wants you and me to know what He has in mind, and then make ourselves into that kind of a people. It will be done by means of the messages of the prophets. These messages can and will mould me and fashion me and make me into the kind of a person that God wants me to be.DGRGC 15.2

I did not have any choice when I came into this world; neither did you. We just came and what we are, we are; but not so in God’s everlasting kingdom. You and I will be in that kingdom solely by our own choice, and by our own individual decision. If I do not want to be there, God is not going to force me into His kingdom. If you do not choose to be moulded after God’s pattern, then you will not be there either. The prophets are given by God to mould and to help make us into the kind of individuals that will reach God’s standard—the standard which He has set for the people who will occupy His kingdom throughout eternity. Does not that put a great responsibility upon the prophets? The messages of the prophets must then be from God, and He has His design, He has His ideal, He knows what He wants of the people who will be with Him throughout eternity.DGRGC 15.3

When we think of it in that way, the prophets really become very important people. They transmit from God to the people of the world God’s ideas, God’s ideals, God’s standards, God’s pattern. The more I study the Bible, and the writings of the Servant of God, I am constrained to think of them as instruments by which I am to be moulded and fashioned, and made into the kind of a person that God wants me to be. If I submit, if I subject myself to that moulding process, if I allow God to transform me by His messages, by His prophets, then I have a hope of being in His kingdom. But if I refuse to submit, if I refuse to go along, if I say, “Well, this is not important and that is not important, I shall do this but I will not do that,” then God will not have me in His kingdom, because I would manifest that same disposition over there, and that has been the cause of most of our trouble here in this world.DGRGC 15.4

It is my individual idea in conflict with God’s idea; and when I have not agreed with God I have separated myself from Him. Reconciliation is the only means by which I can come back to Him. The work of reconciliation is the work of the prophets. As a part of God’s plan you and I have a work to do in calling the attention of the people everywhere to the messages of these prophets. This is our part in this work of reconciliation.DGRGC 16.1

In thinking about Christianity, and the basis for prophetism, or the doctrine, or teaching concerning prophets, I have come to a conclusion that we must begin in terms of five basic concepts. The first and most important, is a belief in the existence of God. How do I know that God is? Can I go into the laboratory, take a test tube, and by manipulating certain chemicals and things like that prove that God is? No. How would you go about to prove that God is?DGRGC 16.2

The fact is that most of us as Christians do not ask for proof. We just say, “Well, God is.” And that is a manifestation of our faith. To us it is so simple, but to the non-Christian, to the unbeliever, it is difficult; it is at times a stumbling-block. Many of my Chinese friends had great difficulty in establishing the fact that God is. To me it is a fact, but a fact of faith. To them it is pure foolishness. They demanded proof. They demanded evidence. Of course, I could use such evidence as the beautiful sunset, the planting of the seed, the growing of the trees, and the bearing of the fruit—all of that. I could easily prove that everything that exists must have a maker, and by inference come to the conclusion that God is the Maker of the world and the universe.DGRGC 16.3

But the eleventh chapter of Hebrews makes a very definite statement that the only way that I can accept God is by faith. We just have to believe that He is, and if we believe that we have no difficulty; “but without faith it is impossible to please Him for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” So to me as a Christian, and to all Christians generally, there is no difficulty at all about this first great fact upon which Christianity is based—the fact that God is.DGRGC 16.4

Is it important that I know that God is? The importance is this—only as I know that God exists, that God is in His heaven, that God is looking down upon the earth, that God sees me and hears me, do I become careful as to what I do, and what I say. My faith that God is causes me to live in such a way, that before Him, in His presence, I shall walk and talk in a manner pleasing to Him.DGRGC 17.1

May I use a very homely illustration? When I was a very small boy, my father had a store, a big store. Four or five ladies worked in that store as clerks, and a man who delivered the goods. He drove a two-horse team, and a big wagon. That was before the days of auto trucks. My chief delight was to ride with him high up on the seat above the horses, and as a small boy that was a thrill to me.DGRGC 17.2

One day going back to the store, he said, “Do you want to have some fun?” Without a moment’s hesitation, I shouted, “Why, sure!” “All right,” he chuckled, “when we get back to the store we shall have some fun.” As soon as we tied up the horses, he went into the warehouse where he knew of a nest of little white mice. He took one of them, tied a string to its tail, tied the other end of the string to my finger and then put the little mouse in my pocket.DGRGC 17.3

“Now,” he said, “when you get into the store and see those ladies visiting over there, you just walk over and let the little mouse loose.” As I walked into the store I looked around to make sure that a certain individual was not there. Fortunately he was not. So I walked over to where those ladies were having a little visit and let the little mouse loose. Immediately they climbed up on the shelves and on top of the counter. They were afraid of that little mouse.DGRGC 17.4

Just as I had them up on the counter and up on the shelves, who should come into the store but my father. Of course he took in the situation in one swift glance. He said, “My boy, come with me.” Those were very serious words. We went back into the go-down, or warehouse, as some call it, and had a little session there, a session which I have never forgotten.DGRGC 17.5

You see, had my father been in the store, I would never have done such a thing, but in his absence I was ready to have some fun. It is just that way with us in our everyday living, in our conversation, in our conduct. If we sense that God is there, we shall be very circumspect in all that we do.DGRGC 18.1

So I say that this is the first great fundamental truth upon which Christianity is based—the existence of God—the fact that God sees—that God hears—that God knows of everything that you and I do. Only as our individual sense of the existence and the presence of God is keen and sure, will we conduct ourselves carefully and with due caution.DGRGC 18.2

I thought of it the other day as we were driving through the country. My friend had a new car. He wanted to show me how good that car was. I noticed that he looked ahead and then he looked into the mirror to see if a particular person might be coming from the rear. He looked all around and then said, “Now, let’s try it.” When we got up to over eighty miles an hour I said, “Brother, you have got a good car, now let us slow down.” I noticed that he looked again. Can you guess for whom he was looking? Why of course, the traffic officer. Had the traffic officer been behind, do you think he would have let loose at almost ninety miles an hour? No indeed!DGRGC 18.3

We are all just like that. Human nature is that way, and so you and I as Christians must first believe that God is and that we are living every moment in His presence. I call this the first great fact of Christianity—that God exists, that God sees, and hears, records, and judges everything I do, every word I say. Do you understand now? The first great fact of Christianity is a fact of faith, God is.DGRGC 18.4

The second great fact of faith is something like it. I must believe that this Bible is God’s book. How do I know? How can I prove it? Oh, we have several simple little proofs, or evidences, that we try to apply to it. But as for me, I am not asking for the proof. I simply believe that it is God’s book. This is the second great fact of faith upon which Christianity is based. This Bible, my friends, is God’s book. How do I know? How else could you know?DGRGC 18.5

One answer is that you could go over to Palestine, to some of those old, old places, and find there some stones with inscriptions on them which tell about the Hebrews, and mention the Israelites. Some of those ancient stones tell of the Egyptians, the flood, and many other things. We have them as an external evidence of the internal correctness, validity, genuineness of this Book. I do not need to go to Palestine or to Egypt or to any other place to find those things to cause me to believe that this is God’s Book. I just believe it, and so it is with every other Christian.DGRGC 19.1

The third great fact of faith is simply this, that God spoke through His prophets and gave us this Book—the Bible. How do I know that? How can I prove it? I was not back there when Samuel lived, nor when Daniel had his dreams and visions, but on Tuesday, November 24, 1954, it was my good fortune to go out from the city of Baghdad about sixty miles to the site of the ancient city of Babylon, where are now only piles of sand and dirt and rubbish, and as I looked at the piles of rubbish there I said to myself, “How can I know that this is where Daniel lived?” Then when we came a little closer to the place where the German archaeologist had excavated great piles of dirt, Brother Jacobson said, “This is the very road on which Daniel walked.” I said to myself, “How do they know that?”DGRGC 19.2

As I walked about that place, looked around and saw the inscriptions on the bricks, I remembered my history books, and other books describing those places. I said, “Well, Brother, this is really a fulfilment of prophecy.” Just then in the midst of all that stillness where not a man was seen nor a sign of life was found, an animal suddenly jumped from one place to another, and scampered over the mound. I said, “That, too, is a fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah.”DGRGC 19.3

You see, we have such evidences that will help me to some extent to believe the Book. However, I do not need those evidences. I simply believe that this is God’s Book, and the more firmly I believe in it, the more careful I shall be to observe what it tells me to do. But if I say that Book is just like any other book, I am not apt to pay any particular attention to it. If, however, I firmly believe that this is God’s Book, given to me by the prophets, then I shall certainly walk according to the instructions given in it.DGRGC 19.4

In Hebrews, the first chapter and the first verse, I read,DGRGC 20.1

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.”DGRGC 20.2

Here is all the evidence I need. God says so; therefore, it is so. That is the way I see it, because that is the way God states it. Since I believe in God, and know that He cannot lie, I take Him at His word in this as in all other matters. Peter says of those prophets that they were “holy men ... moved by the Holy Ghost.” Now how do I know that all of this is true? What evidence have I that this is indeed God’s Book? and that God spoke the words of the Book through His prophets? The honest answer is that we have only faith, and by this act of faith I believe it is a fact—the third great foundation upon which my Christianity is based.DGRGC 20.3

The fourth great fact of faith is that man is a sinner in need of a Saviour. And the fifth great fact is that Jesus Christ is that Saviour. I will not take time to discuss these, but on these five great facts of faith which we have before us is Christianity based. Take away faith and what have you left? No God. No Bible. No prophets. No recognition of man’s sinfulness. No need of the Saviour. No Saviour Jesus Christ. And what is left of Christianity when you take away all of that? Nothing.DGRGC 20.4

As I think about it today, it is not necessary for me to prove that God used prophets in the past. He merely declares that He did, and if I believe God then I must believe what He says concerning the prophets.DGRGC 20.5

If our reasoning is correct there were prophets in ancient times, and there might be prophets in modern times. The important fact is that God said there were prophets through whom He spoke in the past, and that there would be prophets in this our day. If I believe God, then I must accept His prophets. Many a good friend to whom I have told all of this has said, “I can follow you in your reasoning, but it is very difficult to think that there were prophets after John who wrote the Revelation.” To which I reply, “Brother, all you need to do is to look at the Mormons. They had a prophet. And look at the great Moslem world with their several hundred million people who say that their religion is based upon the words and the work of a prophet. Can you deny it?”DGRGC 20.6

Furthermore, we have had many movements in the history of the Christian church which have grown out of the leadership of some individual who claimed to be a prophet. There have been prophets, and we all admit the fact. But you say, “How can you tell whether they are true or false?” To which I must reply, “That is indeed our only problem now.” How may I know that any one who steps forth and claims to be a prophet is indeed a true or a false prophet?DGRGC 21.1

Thus far I think we have made it clear that Christianity is based upon these five great facts of faith. There are other facts in the foundation of Christianity which for lack of space we cannot include in this study. Christians everywhere are willing to accept the first fact, that God is. They are all willing to accept the second fact, that the Bible is God’s Book. Likewise they are willing to accept the fourth fact, that man is a sinner in need of a Saviour.DGRGC 21.2

All Christians will accept the fifth great fact, that Jesus Christ is that Saviour. Thus Christians accept the fifth, the fourth, the second and the first great facts of their faith, but the only one in question is the third. Even this fact is partially accepted, for they do believe that God spoke through prophets, so far as Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi, and John, who wrote the Revelation, are concerned. They will accept all of that. Why do they stop there? They stop only on the last part of this third great fact of faith, namely, that God plans to speak through His servants in modern times. There is the problem. There is where Christians part company.DGRGC 21.3

This makes it clear that Seventh-day Adventists do not have much to prove. All we have to prove is that God spoke through prophets in the past and that He has spoken through at least one in our own times. Why do some Christians refuse to go along with God all the way? It is purely a prejudice, something that builds up in the mind a sort of opposition to the thought of having some person now called a prophet whose business it is to help mould and fashion us today.DGRGC 21.4

Dear brethren and sisters, what we need above all else is to come to a conclusion in our own thinking with regard to the Word of God. We find it in 1 Thessalonians, the second chapter, verses 11 to 13.DGRGC 22.1

“As ye know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children, that ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory. For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”DGRGC 22.2

What is the business of the prophets who wrote that Word? Hosea says, “Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets.” Paul says, “The word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” What then is the purpose of the message of the prophets contained in this book, the Word of God? The Bible declares God’s purpose to be that these messages might effectually work within us to make us the kind of men and women God wants us to be, and whom He would have in His kingdom.DGRGC 22.3

You see now that I am leading you to a conclusion; and you have almost reached that conclusion in your thinking today, because you believe the great facts of Christianity. I do not need to bring all the proofs and evidences to you, but I shall briefly review some of the evidences in this series of studies so there will be no question in any mind as to whether God chose to speak His word to the remnant church through one whom we know as Ellen G. White.DGRGC 22.4

Perhaps we should close this study with this thought found in Revelation, the first chapter, verses one to three. In these three verses there are set forth the steps by which God chose to make His revelation known to the people:DGRGC 22.5

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”DGRGC 22.6

What are the steps by which God’s ideas and standards come to us as a people? (1) God gave the revelation to Christ, (2) Christ gave it to the angel, (3) the angel gave it to the prophet, and (4) the prophet gave it to the people. These are the steps by which God has chosen to make known His will to the children of men. Somehow as I think through it again, with the Thessalonians I am constrained to say, “Thank God for His word.” Not the word of men, but the word of God which came through His Son, through the angel, through the prophets to you and me.DGRGC 23.1