Prophets, Messengers of Jesus |
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Before sin – Adam talked to God face to face. Genesis 3:8 God spoke through prophets Definition:
The prophets came at strategic times in history- Noah A time of global decision. Called people to salvation Abraham Establishment of nation of Israel Genesis 20:7 – Kept knowledge of God going in family Moses Deliverance from Egyptian bondage – Called Israel to obedience Deborah Time of Crisis Guide the nation Judges 4:4 Samuel Time of Crisis – Sacrificial system perverted 1 Samuel 2:12 – Israel surrounded by enemies Elijah / Elisha Time of national apostasy – following Ba’al 1 Kings 17- – call people back to God (Elijah) Prophets of warning Isaiah, Jeremiah … Conditional on peoples acceptance or rejection of God Prophets of the exile Time of national calamity Ezekiel, Daniel – This is why you are here Prophets of restoration Get / keep the nation back on track with God Haggai, Zechariah John the Baptist Prepared the nation for an important event – Called people to repentance Prophets in Practise – mostly no one listened to prophets in the past Jeremiah 36:23 Promises What about today?
The gifts of the Spirit are given as our pilot through perilous times.
Checking out a Prophet Characteristics of a prophetic ministry
Seventh-day Adventists recognise this gift in the ministry of Ellen. G. White (1827-1915) . They believe Ellen White to be a prophetess, like Deborah, Huldah and Anna. Not only did she foretell the future, but she also gave wise counsel in the present. Certainly she was a spokesman for God. Like the prophets of old, her life was marked by humility, simplicity, austerity, divine learning and devotion. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. Seventh-day Adventists accept Ellen White’s writings as representing the work of the prophetic gift, but not as taking the place of the Bible or as constituting an addition to it. Her writings make it clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. Health Principles Professor of Nutrition, Dr. Clive McCay of Cornell said, “How much better health the average American might enjoy if he but followed the teachings of Mrs. White.” Perhaps we should reread what she has taught:
We have come to accept the wisdom of such advice so completely that it is difficult for us to realize how revolutionary her theories were almost a century ago. (Seventh-day Adventists consider her knowledge divinely inspired.)
“Divinely inspired” or not, Ellen White was, indeed, ahead of her time.
Do you suppose we’ll discover she was right about these things, too? Her writings include The Adventist Home. A wide range of counsels topically arranged on home, marriage, and the care and rearing of the family.
Counsels on Diet and Foods. A topically arranged reference book embodying the full range of counsels on diet drawn from both published and unpublished sources.
Link to Ellen White Estate Back to Bible Study Index |
2017-06-29