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Commentary on "The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift"
Day 2: Sunday, February 22, 2009
Today’s lesson starts with a closer look at the story of King Ahab, King Jehoshaphat and Micaiah, a prophet of the Lord. (1 Kings 22: 10-18) It recounts the story of how 400 of King Ahab’s prophets presented favorable words regarding the battle, but Micaiah, a true prophet of the Lord, gave an unfavorable message. It was so unpopular that he was placed in prison.
Ellen White’s life and writings are then compared to this story, trying to show that since she faced, and still faces through her writings, attacks on her prophetic gift, she must also be a prophet. Hardship must be a sign of the prophetic gift since bible prophets faced hardship.
Some of the criticisms are then addressed at the end of the study with a quote from Herbert E. Douglass. He states how many people believe prophets should have full knowledge from the start of their ministry, that their predictions should be unaltered, and writings should be exempt from errors, discrepancies and mistakes. They should also never include uninspired sources. All of these points are okay for a prophet as long as one holds to the SDA belief regarding verbal-inspiration. The Adventist church does not assume a verbal inspiration concept either for the Bible or for Ellen White.
The teacher’s edition clarifies exactly what the reader is supposed to understand by the end of the study. They are to know that prophets are not perfect, feel generous towards the flaws and failings of prophets, and then do revisit her writings with a deeper appreciation for her humanity. The summary states “Prophets are not perfect. Our expectations of Ellen G. White should reflect the model of the biblical prophets. God is able at any time to correct and further develop the understanding of the prophets and His church.”
Problems
Verbal-Inspiration. This is, as J. Vernon McGee so often said “where the rubber meets the road.” This is the main avenue by which the SDA church can have such a different understanding from Christian doctrine and hold the writings of Ellen White as prophecy from the Lord. In fact, I believe it is the major way all false religion is propagated. The question comes down to, “Is the Bible the actual word of God?” If you say no, than you can make anything true. Even if you say that it is inspired by God, but written by human hands in human language as they saw necessary, then you can still argue for almost any truth you want.
The Bible is God’s word. (There are many Bible texts, but the main one is 2 Timothy 3:16) It is a divinely inspired book. God actively worked through the process until its full completion. It is written revelation. "Scripture is not only man's word, but also, and equally God's word, spoken through man's lips or written with man's pen" (J.I. Packer, The Origin of the Bible, p. 31).
The term “inspiration” comes from Latin and English translations of the Greek word theopneustos. The word literally means "God-breathed.” Another source describes the inspiration of the Bible as “…verbal (word-for-word) inspiration of Scripture…not only infallible (correct when it spoke on matters of faith and morals) but inerrant (correct when it spoke on any matters, including history and science).” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009)
The SDA church, as the study plainly states, does not believe in this sort of inspiration, for the Bible or for Ellen White. This is how the church can elevate her writings to prophet status, errors and all. To the Adventist these are not errors in her writings, but “progressive revelation” to the church, the continuous unfolding of prior revealed truth. Deciphered: a way of justifying contradictions in her writings that she said were from God. This is only possible if you do not believe that “…the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.” [Bethlehem Affirmation of Faith (Article One)] “The Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the Word of God written and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. God is a Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory.” (The Evangelical Theological Society)
With this view of scripture we can correctly answer the questions posed in the study. We know the prophets in the Bible are human and are not perfect, but their messages, WHEN FROM THE LORD, are perfect. Once they say “This is from the Lord,” or “God showed me” there is an entirely different set of criteria on which they are judged. It is clear from the Bible stories that not everything a prophet says is prophecy. Therefore, all their words are not held up to the prophecy test, only those which are in fact meant as prophecy.
It doesn’t matter who Ellen White was as a person, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” (Romans 3:23 ESV) What matters is that she holds all her writings up as prophecy from God. Since she places her words in this category, they must be evaluated on the prophetic basis. Just as in the story of King Ahab and King Jehosephat, one set of prophets said one thing, and the prophet of the Lord said another. The one set was wrong and the prophet of the Lord was right. It is that simple.
Summary
- The Bible is the word of God. It is God breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16) It is infallible (correct when it spoke on matters of faith and morals) and inerrant (correct when it spoke on any matters, including history and science).
- Prophets are not perfect, they are human just as we are. (Romans 3:23) But God’s word is perfect, and so is prophecy given from Him.
- Since the SDA church does not believe in the infallibility or inerrancy of scripture, the church is able to argue truth in any way possible.
Copyright 2009 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised February 21, 2009. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 9
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 9