Commentary on "Testing the Prophets"

PHIL HARRIS

 

Day 4: Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The recommended reading for today includes Jeremiah 18:6-10 which we have already looked at on Sunday. From this passage, we learn that some prophecies are conditional. If we turn from God and seek after sin, there is a curse. However, if we repent and turn from our sinful ways, God will bless us. In either case, the prophecy was fulfilled by the choice made. The prophecy of Jonah (Jonah 3:4) to the City of Nineveh is a classic case of where the people repented of their sins and God relented of the curse.

The intended purpose of introducing an understanding of conditional prophecies is to offer an explanation of why some of Ellen G. White's prophecies are known to have failed.

 

Problems

All God-given prophecies, including those that are conditional, are fulfilled—to the letter. In reference to the City of Nineveh of Jonah's time, it later reverted into sin, and God's curse was fulfilled. Interestingly, as it was in Jonah's day, it still takes a person two days to walk across the ruins of Nineveh, showing that every detail in the book of Jonah is true, not just the prophecy itself.

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (II Tim. 3:13-17 KJV).

In order for this passage to be true, all prophecies given in Scripture from God must be true. In order for a prophecy to be true it must, by the very nature of a God-given prophecy, be totally true in every detail.

In the following verses Balaam is speaking to Balak the king of Moab. Balak wishes Balaam to change the blessing…the prophecy…he had just pronounced over Israel.

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it (Num. 23:19,20 KJV).

Even Balaam, who we know was not the best of prophets, knew that God would not lie and that what came from God could not be repented of. Repent means to confess that what you did or said was wrong and to change your mind. God does not error or make mistakes, and therefore, does not need to correct what he has said.

Now, we turn to the case of Ellen G. White, the point of today's lesson and her prophecy:

“I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: ‘Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.’” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pp. 131, 132).

These words were spoken in 1856. Originally, this prophecy was given as proof that return of the Lord was very near. No one thought to consider that it might be a conditional prophecy. Since then, all who were there at that conference have died. There are none left to suffer through the "seven last plagues".

In 1909, she wrote,

"If every soldier of Christ had done his duty, if every watchman on the walls of Zion had given the trumpet a certain sound, the world might ere this have heard the message of warning. But the work is years behind. While men have slept, Satan has stolen a march upon us.” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 29).

So, the question is: If God can not repent of what he says and admit that a previous blessing or prophecy was wrong or totally correct, how can Ellen G. White change what she said? There is no room for thinking that the 1856 prophecy was “conditional”. Her words given in 1909 cannot undo what was said in 1856. The fact that the prophecies do not agree does not make her first prophecy “conditional”. Their disagreement means that at least one (or both) of those prophecies was not from God, because God cannot lie or deceive.

Ultimately, Ellen's prophecies reflect on the timing and conditions of the return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, lets look at the Gospel of Matthew which has much to say about 'end time' events in Chapter Twenty-Four. While the whole chapter is worthy of study, we will only look at one short passage:

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matt. 24:36-39 KJV).

The indication from these verses is that neither Satan, mankind or an angel could determine or affect the return of our Savior. According to Jesus, only the Father knows, and it is His sole authority as to when his return will be. It makes no mention of any 'work' we do or fail to do that controls the timing of his return. These verses indicate that Ellen's statement of 1909 is also false.

Paraphrasing John the Baptist in John 3:27, he says that a man can receive nothing of God unless it comes from God, and in verse 34 he says that he whom God sends speaks the words of God. In John 5:39 we find the words of Jesus concerning "eternal life" where he states that all Scripture speaks of him. In Isaiah 8:20, we need to back up to verse 19 to understand who it is that is being condemned. Wizards and their ilk need to preach from Scripture or there is no truth in them. In modern terms, that means to not turn to Nostradamus or Jean Dixon if you are seeking eternal truth….or any other person who adds to or takes away from Scripture.

Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thess. 5:20-22 KJV).

 

Summary

• If the conclusion is that the prophetic statements of Ellen G. White, who claimed to be a messenger of God, have failed, what then does Scripture instruct you to do?
   

 

Copyright 2009 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised January 26, 2009. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com. Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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