When God chooses to speak, He chooses
the methods means and logistics
The Church is to come behind in no gift, and the presence of the gift of the spirit of prophecy started in Eden and continues till the Second Coming. That gift of prophecy is to be one of the identifying marks of the Remnant Church. ( Jude 1:14 - God testified through prophecy in Enoch’s day - before any flood; Genesis 6:13; Genesis 6:22 ; Genesis 7:1, 5; Genesis 8:15; Genesis 9:8, 17; Hebrews 11:7-12:15 (the prophetic gift lead and disciplined and chastened all along the centuries with each person and group listed )
God prophetically warned Noah and spoke to him; Exodus 25:22 - God testified in Moses’s day ; God’s ancient covenant of His Spirit’s bestowal remains today among His ancient faith developed into present truth and prophetic fulfillment -
Haggai 2:5; Psalms 19:7 & Psalms 119:88 - God gave testimony that David speaks of in his day; Joel couldn't prophecy about it & Peter couldn't apply it unless it was so - { Joel 2:23-32 - Acts 2:1-41 };
The Wise Men from the East & Joseph & Mary were communicated to prophetically by God- Matthew 2:1-23;
God’s testimony in Paul’s day- 1 Corinthians 1:6 & 1 Corinthians 2:1 [ Paul & Timothy & John couldn't declare it if they didn't already have it ; 2 Timothy 1:8 ; Hebrews 3:5; Revelation 1:2; Revelation 1:9 ]; 1st Corinthians 1:5-7; 1st Corinthians 12:1-28; Amos 3:7; Hosea 12:10, 13; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 19:10 ) Seventh Day Adventists recognize that this gift was manifested in the life and ministry of Ellen G. White .
Read the study done on this subject by A.G. Daniels - “The abiding Gift of Prophecy” http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/eBooks/EGWhite/Abidinggift-of-prophecy.pdf
Sermon of Perpetuity of Gifts - James White
http://centrowhite.org.br/files/ebooks/apl/all/JamesWhite/Perpetuity%20of%20Spiritual%20Gifts.pdf
EGW was not the first nor will she be the last.
Even though it is not known that one of her Apostolic stature as was Moses and those like him, will be raised up again or not - God chooses.
The Inuit Eskimos had a prophet, the African Bushmen had a prophet, the Chinese had a prophet or prophets, in every generation in every land God chooses and speaks to rebuild and lead the ancient faith began in Eden to keep it alive till the Second Coming.
Calling major or minor spokes people the Spirit of God testifies severally as He will till Jesus Christ returns. Prophecy abides from Eden lost till that which is perfect has come, which is the Second Coming of Christ, and has no more reason to exist then.
When God chooses to speak, He chooses the methods means and logistics
The Church is to come behind in no gift, and the presence of the gift of the spirit of prophecy started in Eden and continues till the Second Coming. That gift of prophecy is to be one of the identifying marks of the Remnant Church. ( Jude 1:14 - God testified through prophecy in Enoch’s day - before any flood; Genesis 6:13; Genesis 6:22 ; Genesis 7:1, 5; Genesis 8:15; Genesis 9:8, 17; Hebrews 11:7-12:15 (the prophetic gift lead and disciplined and chastened all along the centuries with each person and group listed )
God prophetically warned Noah and spoke to him; Exodus 25:22 - God testified in Moses’s day ; God’s ancient covenant of His Spirit’s bestowal remains today among His ancient faith developed into present truth and prophetic fulfillment -
Haggai 2:5; Psalms 19:7 & Psalms 119:88 - God gave testimony that David speaks of in his day; Joel couldn't prophecy about it & Peter couldn't apply it unless it was so - { Joel 2:23-32 - Acts 2:1-41 };
The Wise Men from the East & Joseph & Mary were communicated to prophetically by God- Matthew 2:1-23;
God’s testimony in Paul’s day- 1 Corinthians 1:6 & 1 Corinthians 2:1 [ Paul & Timothy & John couldn't declare it if they didn't already have it ; 2 Timothy 1:8 ; Hebrews 3:5; Revelation 1:2; Revelation 1:9 ]; 1st Corinthians 1:5-7; 1st Corinthians 12:1-28; Amos 3:7; Hosea 12:10, 13; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 19:10 ) Seventh Day Adventists recognize that this gift was manifested in the life and ministry of Ellen G. White .
Read the study done on this subject by A.G. Daniels - “The abiding Gift of Prophecy” http://pdf.amazingdiscoveries.org/eBooks/EGWhite/Abidinggift-of-prophecy.pdf
Sermon of Perpetuity of Gifts - James White
http://centrowhite.org.br/files/ebooks/apl/all/JamesWhite/Perpetuity%20of%20Spiritual%20Gifts.pdf
EGW was not the first nor will she be the last.
Even though it is not known that one of her Apostolic stature as was Moses and those like him, will be raised up again or not - God chooses.
The Inuit Eskimos had a prophet, the African Bushmen had a prophet, the Chinese had a prophet or prophets, in every generation in every land God chooses and speaks to rebuild and lead the ancient faith began in Eden to keep it alive till the Second Coming.
Calling major or minor spokes people the Spirit of God testifies severally as He will till Jesus Christ returns. Prophecy abides from Eden lost till that which is perfect has come, which is the Second Coming of Christ, and has no more reason to exist then.
When God chooses to speak, He chooses the methods means and logistics
Exodus 31:18 And he gave unto Moses,
when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two
tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger
of God.
Deuteronomy 9:10 And the LORD
delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger
of God; and on them was written according to all the words,
which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the
fire in the day of the assembly.
Revelation 5:1 And I saw in the
right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written
within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
Revelation 5:7 And he came and took
the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
Hebrews 1:
1 God, who at sundry
times and in divers<4187> manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days
spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3 Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things
by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
4 ¶ Being made so much better than
the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said
he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?
And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a
Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels
of God worship him.
7 And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy
throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is
the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and
hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with
the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the
works of thine hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou
remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a vesture shalt
thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same,
and thy years shall not fail.
13 But to which of the angels said
he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine
enemies thy footstool?
4187. πολυτρο/πως polutropos
pol-oot-rop’-oce; adverb from a compound of 4183 and 5158; in many
ways, i.e. variously as to method or form: — in divers
manners.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not
in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they
were moved<5342> (5746) by the Holy Ghost.
<5342> (5746)
5342. φε/ρω phero fer’-o; a
primary verb (for which other and apparently not cognate ones are
used in certain tenses only; namely, οιω oio oy’-o; and ενεγκω
enegko en-eng’-ko; to "bear" or carry (in a very wide
application, literally and figuratively, as follows): —
be, bear, bring (forth), carry, come, + let her drive, be driven,
endure, go on, lay, lead, move, reach, rushing, uphold.
- God Himself speaks, and writes with His own finger- The Ten Commandments and the Book with The Seven Seals.
- God dictates and human prophets write quoting what He says in His language and visions into human language – frequently in Scripture, God said = 46 Bible Texts, The Lord said = 219 Bible Texts, Thus saith the Lord = 413 Bible Texts, see A****, see B##
- God inspires human prophets to translate His Divine sentiments into human language within the limits of a human mind moved by the Holy Ghost. A partnership of human and Divine, like the two natures of Christ, the union of blue and red in the Mosaic Sanctuary showing the purple, and the brass the union of two different metals becoming the stronger application in both the typology and the New Testament fulfillment. Even borrowing from other writers across the ages because the truths they touched and faintly spoke and wrote of, are truths He created and has owned from eternity.
- God uses layered messages beyond just words, to include structure not seen by all, flow, arrangement, content, syntax, the revealing of hidden and lost truths, and the revealing of the yet unknown, and explaining the misunderstood.
From the layered messages of wording, language structure, and revealed knowledge the ancient Jews, given prophetically in the EGW book of Patriarchs and Prophets, Rabbi Joe Kagan accepts Christ as his personal Messiah and Saviour.
A****
The lives recorded in the Bible are authentic histories of actual individuals. From Adam down through successive generations to the time of the apostles, we have a plain, unvarnished account of what actually occurred, and the genuine experience of real characters. It is a subject of wonder to many, that inspired history should narrate facts in the lives of good men that tarnish their moral characters. Infidels seize upon these sins with great satisfaction, and hold their perpetrators up to ridicule. The inspired writers did not testify to falsehoods, through fear that the pages of Sacred History would be clouded by the record of human frailties and faults. The scribes of God wrote as they were dictated by the Holy Spirit, having no control of the work themselves. They penned the literal truth, and stern, forbidding facts are revealed, for reasons that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend. It is one of the best evidences of the authenticity of the Scriptures, that the truth is not glossed over, nor the sins of its chief characters suppressed. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 1}
Many will urge that it is an easy matter to relate what has occurred in an ordinary life. But it is a proven fact that it is a human impossibility to give an impartial history of a contemporary; and it is almost as difficult to narrate, without deviating from the exact truth, the story of any person or people with whose career we have become acquainted. The human mind is so liable to prejudice that it is almost impossible for it to treat the subject impartially. Either the faults of the person under review stand out in glaring relief, or the virtues shine with undimmed luster, just as the writer is prejudiced for or against him. However impartial the historian may design to be, all critics will agree that it is a very difficult matter to be truly so. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 2}
But Inspiration, lifted above the weaknesses of humanity, tells the simple, naked truth. How many biographies have been written of faultless Christians, who, in their ordinary home life and church relations, shone as examples of immaculate piety. No blemish marred the beauty of their holiness, no fault is recorded to remind us that they were of common clay, and subject to the ordinary temptations of humanity. Yet had the pen of Inspiration written their histories, how different would they have appeared. There would have been revealed human weaknesses, struggles with selfishness, bigotry and pride, hidden sins perhaps, and the continual warfare between the spirit and the flesh. Even private journals do not reveal on their pages the writer's sinful deeds. Sometimes the conflicts with evil are recorded, but usually only when the right has gained the victory; but they may contain a faithful account of praiseworthy acts and noble endeavors, when the writer honestly intends to keep a faithful journal of his life. It is next to a human impossibility to lay open our faults for the possible inspection of our friends. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 3}
Had our good Bible been written by uninspired persons, it would have presented quite a different appearance, and would have been a discouraging study to erring mortals, contending with natural frailties and the temptations of a wily foe. But, as it is, we have a correct record of the religious experiences of marked characters in Bible history. Men whom God favored, and intrusted with great responsibilities, were sometimes overcome by temptation and committed sins, even as we of the present day strive, waver, and frequently fall into error. But it is encouraging to our desponding hearts to know that through God's grace they could gain fresh vigor to rise again above their evil natures, and, remembering this, we are ready to renew the conflict ourselves. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 4}
The record of the murmurings of ancient Israel and of their rebellious discontent, is given for our benefit, as well as that of the mighty miracles wrought in their favor and the punishment of their idolatry and ingratitude. Their example is given as a warning to the people of God, that they may avoid unbelief and escape his wrath. If the iniquities of the Hebrews had been omitted from the Sacred Record, and only their virtues recounted, their history would fail to teach us the lesson that it does. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 5}
Infidels and lovers of sin excuse their crimes by citing the wickedness of men to whom God gave authority in olden times. They argue that since these holy men yielded to temptation and committed sins, it should excite no wonder that they too are guilty of wrong-doing. More than this, they even intimate that they are not so bad, after all, since such illustrious examples of iniquity are placed before them. The principles of justice require a faithful narration of facts for the benefit of all who read the Sacred Record. In this we discern the evidences of divine wisdom. We are required to obey the law of God and are not only instructed as to the penalty of disobedience, but we have, narrated for our benefit and warning, the history of Adam and Eve in Paradise, and the sad results of their disobedience of God's commands. The account is full and explicit. The law given to man in Eden is recorded, together with the penalty incurred because of its transgression. The record of our first parents is given as a warning to the children of men, that they may understand how strictly God requires his creatures to conform to all his requirements, and how surely his retributive justice follows disobedience. When the law of Sinai was proclaimed, how definite was the penalty annexed! how sure the punishment that followed its transgression! and how plain are the cases recorded in evidence of that fact! {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 6}
The pen of Inspiration, true to its task, tells us of the sins that overcame Noah, Lot, Moses, Abraham, David, and Solomon, and how Elijah's strong spirit sunk under temptation during his fearful trial. Jonah's disobedience and Israel's idolatry are faithfully recorded. Peter's denial of Christ, the sharp contention of Paul and Barnabas, the failings and infirmities of the prophets and apostles, are all laid bare to the gaze of succeeding generations, that they may profit by the experience of those who preceded them. If no faults had marked their lives, they certainly would have been more than human, and we, with our sinful natures, would despair of ever reaching such a point of excellence. But, seeing where they struggled and fell, took heart again and conquered through the grace of God, we are encouraged to press on over the obstacles that degenerate nature places in our way. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 7}
God has ever been faithful to punish crime. He sent his prophets to warn the guilty, denounce their sins, and pronounce judgment upon them. Those who question why the word of God brings out the sins of his people in so plain a manner for scoffers to deride and saints to deplore, should consider that it was all written for their instruction, that they might avoid the evils recorded, but imitate the righteousness of those who served the Lord. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 8}
We need just such lessons as the Bible gives. The sorrow and penitence of the guilty and the wailings of the sin-sick soul, come to us from the past, telling that man was then, as now, in need of the pardoning mercy of God. The record shows us that while he is a punisher of crime, he pities and forgives the repenting sinner. In his good providence the Lord has seen fit to teach and warn his people in this way through the Sacred Writings, that all might understand his will. If God's people would recognize his dealings with them, and accept his teachings, they would find a straight path for their feet, and a light to guide them through darkness and discouragement. David learned wisdom from God's dealings with him, and bowed in humility beneath the chastisement of the Most High. The faithful portrayal of his true state by the prophet Nathan, made David acquainted with his own sins and aided him to put them away. He accepted counsel meekly, and humbled himself before God. "The law of the Lord," he exclaims, "is perfect, converting the soul." {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 9}
Repentant sinners have no cause to despair because they are reminded of their transgressions and warned of their danger. These very efforts in their behalf show how much God loves them and desires that they shall be saved. They have only to follow his counsel and do his will to inherit eternal life. God sets before his erring people their sins, that they may behold them, in all their enormity, under the light of divine truth. It is then their duty to renounce them forever. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 10}
God is as powerful to save from sin today as he was in the times of the patriarchs, of David, and of the prophets and apostles of Bible times. The multitude of cases recorded in Sacred History, where God has delivered his people from their iniquities, should make the Christian of this time eager to receive divine instruction, and zealous to perfect a character that will bear the close inspection of the Judgment. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 11}
Bible history stays the fainting heart with the hope of God's mercy. We need not despair when we see that others have struggled through discouragements like our own, fallen into temptations, even as we have done, yet recovered their ground and been blessed of God. The words of Inspiration comfort and cheer the erring soul. Although the patriarchs and apostles were subject to human frailties, yet through faith they obtained a good report, fought their battles in the strength of the Lord, and conquered gloriously. Thus may we trust in the virtue of the atoning sacrifice, and be overcomers in the name of Jesus. {RH, January 22, 1880 par. 12}
---------------------------
B## Revelation
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
1:18 I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
[Revelation 1:10-20, quoted.]
The revelation of Christ to John is a wonderful, dignified, exalted, solemn message. To present this message with decided emphasis demands all the talents of capabilities that God has given to man. When John received it, he was worked by the Holy Spirit, for Christ Himself came from heaven and told him what to write. {18MR 37.1}
------------------------------------
---------------------------
B## Revelation
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
1:18 I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
[Revelation 1:10-20, quoted.]
The revelation of Christ to John is a wonderful, dignified, exalted, solemn message. To present this message with decided emphasis demands all the talents of capabilities that God has given to man. When John received it, he was worked by the Holy Spirit, for Christ Himself came from heaven and told him what to write. {18MR 37.1}
------------------------------------
Chap. 1 - The Inspiration of the
Prophetic Writers
INTRODUCTION
STATEMENTS PENNED BY ELLEN G.
WHITE, REGARDING HER WORK AS THE MESSENGER OF THE LORD AND CONCERNING
THE PROCESSES BY WHICH GOD COMMUNICATES HIS WILL TO MEMBERS OF THE
HUMAN FAMILY, ARE ALWAYS HELPFUL AND INTERESTING. SUCH ARE PRESENTED
IN THIS OPENING SECTION OF SELECTED MESSAGES.
ALTHOUGH THE QUESTION OF
INSPIRATION WAS TOUCHED ON AT INTERVALS THROUGH HER SEVENTY YEARS OF
MINISTRY, THE OUTSTANDING PRESENTATION IS THE AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION
TO THE GREAT CONTROVERSY (NOT APPEARING HERE) WRITTEN IN MAY, 1888.
AN EARLIER STATEMENT, "OBJECTIONS TO THE BIBLE," PENNED IN
1886, IS PUBLISHED HEREIN, AND ANOTHER, "THE INSPIRATION OF THE
WORD OF GOD," WRITTEN IN THE AUTUMN OF 1888, IS ALSO PRESENTED
HERE. A FOURTH MAJOR STATEMENT, "THE MYSTERIES OF THE BIBLE A
PROOF OF ITS INSPIRATION," WAS PUBLISHED IN 1889 AND MAY BE
FOUND IN TESTIMONIES, VOLUME 5, PAGES 698-711.
VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS ABOUT HER
WORK, THE REPUBLICATION OF THE 1913 TRACT "THE WRITING AND
SENDING OUT OF THE TESTIMONIES TO THE CHURCH," AND MRS. WHITE'S
ANSWERS TO CERTAIN QUESTIONS AND CHARGES CONCERNING HER EARLIER
WRITINGS ROUND OUT THE SECTION DEVOTED TO "THE LIGHT ON OUR
PATHWAY."--WHITE TRUSTEES.
The Inspiration of the Word of
God
This is a time when the question
with all propriety may be asked, "When the Son of man cometh,
shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). {1SM 15.1}
Spiritual darkness has covered the
earth and gross darkness the people. There are in many churches
skepticism and infidelity in the interpretation of the Scriptures.
Many, very many, are questioning the verity and truth of the
Scriptures. Human reasoning and the imaginings of the human heart are
undermining the inspiration of the Word of God, and that which should
be received as granted, is surrounded with a cloud of mysticism.
Nothing stands out in clear and distinct lines, upon rock bottom.
This is one of the marked signs of the last days. {1SM 15.2}
This Holy Book has withstood the
assaults of Satan, who has united with evil men to make everything of
divine character shrouded in clouds and darkness. But the Lord has
preserved this Holy Book by His own miraculous power in its present
shape--a chart or guidebook to the human family to show them the way
to heaven. {1SM 15.3}
But the oracles of God have been
so manifestly neglected that there are but few in our world, even of
those who profess to explain it to others,
who have the divine knowledge of the Scriptures. There are learned
men who have a college education, but these shepherds do not feed the
flock of God. They do not consider that the excellencies of the
Scriptures will be continually unfolding their hidden treasures as
precious jewels are discovered by digging for them. {1SM 15.4}
There are men who strive to be
original, who are wise above what is written; therefore, their wisdom
is foolishness. They discover wonderful things in advance, ideas
which reveal that they are far behind in the comprehension of the
divine will and purposes of God. In seeking to make plain or to
unravel mysteries hid from ages from mortal man, they are like a man
floundering about in the mud, unable to extricate himself and yet
telling others how to get out of the muddy sea they themselves are
in. This is a fit representation of the men who set themselves to
correct the errors of the Bible. No man can improve the Bible by
suggesting what the Lord meant to say or ought to have said. {1SM
16.1}
Some look to us gravely and say,
"Don't you think there might have been some mistake in the
copyist or in the translators?" This is all probable, and the
mind that is so narrow that it will hesitate and stumble over this
possibility or probability would be just as ready to stumble over the
mysteries of the Inspired Word, because their feeble minds cannot see
through the purposes of God. Yes, they would just as easily stumble
over plain facts that the common mind will accept, and discern the
Divine, and to which God's utterance is plain and beautiful, full of
marrow and fatness. All the mistakes will not cause trouble to one
soul, or cause any feet to stumble, that would not manufacture
difficulties from the plainest revealed truth. {1SM 16.2}
God committed the preparation of
His divinely inspired Word to finite man. This Word, arranged into
books, the Old and New Testaments, is the guidebook to the
inhabitants of a fallen world, bequeathed to them that, by studying
and obeying the directions, not one soul would lose its way to
heaven.{1SM 16.3}
Those who think to make the
supposed difficulties of Scripture plain, in measuring by their
finite rule that which is inspired and that which is not inspired,
had better cover their faces, as Elijah when the still small voice
spoke to him; for they are in the presence of God and holy angels,
who for ages have communicated to men light and knowledge, telling
them what to do and what not to do, unfolding before them scenes of
thrilling interest, waymark by waymark in symbols and signs and
illustrations. {1SM 17.1}
And He [God] has not, while
presenting the perils clustering about the last days, qualified any
finite man to unravel hidden mysteries or inspired one man or any
class of men to pronounce judgment as to that which is inspired or is
not. When men, in their finite judgment, find it necessary to go into
an examination of scriptures to define that which is inspired and
that which is not, they have stepped before Jesus to show Him a
better way than He has led us. {1SM 17.2}
I take the Bible just as it is, as
the Inspired Word. I believe its utterances in an entire Bible. Men
arise who think they find something to criticize in God's Word. They
lay it bare before others as evidence of superior wisdom. These men
are, many of them, smart men, learned men, they have eloquence and
talent, the whole lifework [of whom] is to unsettle minds in regard
to the inspiration of the Scriptures. They influence many to see as
they do. And the same work is passed on from one to another, just as
Satan designed it should be, until we may see the full meaning of the
words of Christ, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). {1SM 17.3}
Brethren, let not a mind or hand
be engaged in criticizing the Bible. It is a work that Satan delights
to have any of you do, but it is not a work the Lord has pointed out
for you to do. {1SM 17.4}
Men should let God take care of
His own Book, His living oracles, as He has done for ages. They begin
to question some parts of revelation, and pick flaws in the apparent
inconsistencies of this statement and that statement. Beginning at Genesis, they give up that
which they deem questionable, and their minds lead on, for Satan will
lead to any length they may follow in their criticism, and they see
something to doubt in the whole Scriptures. Their faculties of
criticism become sharpened by exercise, and they can rest on nothing
with a certainty. You try to reason with these men, but your time is
lost. They will exercise their power of ridicule even upon the Bible.
They even become mockers, and they would be astonished if you put it
to them in that light. {1SM 17.5}
Brethren, cling to your Bible, as
it reads, and stop your criticisms in regard to its validity, and
obey the Word, and not one of you will be lost. The ingenuity of men
has been exercised for ages to measure the Word of God by their
finite minds and limited comprehension. If the Lord, the Author of
the living oracles, would throw back the curtain and reveal His
wisdom and His glory before them, they would shrink into nothingness
and exclaim as did Isaiah, "I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5).
{1SM 18.1}
Simplicity and plain utterance are
comprehended by the illiterate, by the peasant, and the child as well
as by the full-grown man or the giant in intellect. If the individual
is possessed of large talents of mental powers, he will find in the
oracles of God treasures of truth, beautiful and valuable, which he
can appropriate. He will also find difficulties, and secrets and
wonders which will give him the highest satisfaction to study during
a long lifetime, and yet there is an infinity beyond. {1SM 18.2}
Men of humble acquirements,
possessing but limited capabilities and opportunities to become
conversant in the Scriptures, find in the living oracles comfort,
guidance, counsel, and the plan of salvation as clear as a sunbeam.
No one need be lost for want of knowledge, unless he is willfully
blind. {1SM 18.3}
We thank God that the Bible is
prepared for the poor man as well as for the learned man. It is
fitted for all ages and all classes.--Manuscript 16, 1888 (written at
Minneapolis, Minn., in autumn of 1888).{1SM 18.4}
Objections to the Bible
Human minds vary. The minds of
different education and thought receive different impressions of the
same words, and it is difficult for one mind to give to one of a
different temperament, education, and habits of thought by language
exactly the same idea as that which is clear and distinct in his own
mind. Yet to honest men, right-minded men, he can be so simple and
plain as to convey his meaning for all practical purposes. If the man
he communicates with is not honest and will not want to see and
understand the truth, he will turn his words and language in
everything to suit his own purposes. He will misconstrue his words,
play upon his imagination, wrest them from their true meaning, and
then entrench himself in unbelief, claiming that the sentiments are
all wrong. {1SM 19.1}
This is the way my writings are
treated by those who wish to misunderstand and pervert them. They
turn the truth of God into a lie. In the very same way that they
treat the writings in my published articles and in my books, so do
skeptics and infidels treat the Bible. They read it according to
their desire to pervert, to misapply, to willfully wrest the
utterances from their true meaning. They declare that the Bible can
prove anything and everything, that every sect proves their doctrines
right, and that the most diverse doctrines are proved from the Bible.
{1SM 19.2}
The writers of the Bible had to
express their ideas in human language. It was written by human men.
These men were inspired of the Holy Spirit. Because of the
imperfections of human understanding of language, or the perversity
of the human mind, ingenious in evading truth, many read and
understand the Bible to please themselves. It is not that the
difficulty is in the Bible. Opposing politicians argue points of law
in the statute book, and take opposite views in their application and
in these laws. {1SM 19.3}
The Scriptures were given to men,
not in a continuous chain of unbroken utterances, but piece by piece
through successive generations, as God in His providence saw a
fitting opportunity to impress man at sundry times and divers places. Men wrote as they were
moved upon by the Holy Ghost. There is "first the bud, then the
blossom, and next the fruit," "first the blade, then the
ear, after that the full corn in the ear." This is exactly what
the Bible utterances are to us. {1SM 19.4}
There is not always perfect order
or apparent unity in the Scriptures. The miracles of Christ are not
given in exact order, but are given just as the circumstances
occurred, which called for this divine revealing of the power of
Christ. The truths of the Bible are as pearls hidden. They must be
searched, dug out by painstaking effort. Those who take only a
surface view of the Scriptures will, with their superficial
knowledge, which they think is very deep, talk of the contradictions
of the Bible, and question the authority of the Scriptures. But those
whose hearts are in harmony with truth and duty will search the
Scriptures with a heart prepared to receive divine impressions. The
illuminated soul sees a spiritual unity, one grand golden thread
running through the whole, but it requires patience, thought, and
prayer to trace out the precious golden thread. Sharp contentions
over the Bible have led to investigation and revealed the precious
jewels of truth. Many tears have been shed, many prayers offered,
that the Lord would open the understanding to His Word. {1SM 20.1}
The Bible is not given to us in
grand superhuman language. Jesus, in order to reach man where he is,
took humanity. The Bible must be given in the language of men.
Everything that is human is imperfect. Different meanings are
expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct
idea. The Bible was given for practical purposes. {1SM 20.2}
The stamps of minds are different.
All do not understand expressions and statements alike. Some
understand the statements of the Scriptures to suit their own
particular minds and cases. Prepossessions, prejudices, and passions
have a strong influence to darken the understanding and confuse the
mind even in reading the words of Holy Writ. {1SM 20.3}
The disciples traveling to Emmaus
needed to be disentangled in their interpretation of the Scriptures.
Jesus walked with them disguised, and as a
man He talked with them. Beginning at Moses and the prophets He
taught them in all things concerning Himself, that His life, His
mission, His sufferings, His death were just as the Word of God had
foretold. He opened their understanding that they might understand
the Scriptures. How quickly He straightened out the tangled ends and
showed the unity and divine verity of the Scriptures. How much men in
these times need their understanding opened. {1SM 20.4}
The Bible is written by inspired
men, but it is not God's mode of thought and expression. It is that
of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say
such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in
words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of
the Bible were God's penmen, not His pen. Look at the different
writers. {1SM 21.1}
It is not the words of the Bible
that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts
not on the man's words or his expressions but on the man himself,
who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts.
But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine
mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human
mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.--
Manuscript 24, 1886 (written in Europe in 1886). {1SM 21.2}
Unity in Diversity
There is variety in a tree, there
are scarcely two leaves just alike. Yet this variety adds to the
perfection of the tree as a whole. {1SM 21.3}
In our Bible, we might ask, Why
need Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Gospels, why need the Acts
of the Apostles, and the variety of writers in the Epistles, go over
the same thing? {1SM 21.4}
The Lord gave His word in just the
way He wanted it to come. He gave it through different writers, each
having his own individuality, though going over the same history.
Their testimonies are brought together in one Book, and are like the testimonies in a social
meeting. They do not represent things in just the same style. Each
has an experience of his own, and this diversity broadens and deepens
the knowledge that is brought out to meet the necessities of varied
minds. The thoughts expressed have not a set uniformity, as if cast
in an iron mold, making the very hearing monotonous. In such
uniformity there would be a loss of grace and distinctive beauty. . .
. {1SM 21.5}
The Creator of all ideas may
impress different minds with the same thought, but each may express
it in a different way, yet without contradiction. The fact that this
difference exists should not perplex or confuse us. It is seldom that
two persons will view and express truth in the very same way. Each
dwells on particular points which his constitution and education have
fitted him to appreciate. The sunlight falling upon the different
objects gives those objects a different hue. {1SM 22.1}
Through the inspiration of His
Spirit the Lord gave His apostles truth, to be expressed according to
the development of their minds by the Holy Spirit. But the mind is
not cramped, as if forced into a certain mold.-- Letter 53, 1900.
{1SM 22.2}
The Lord Speaks in Imperfect
Speech
The Lord speaks to human beings in
imperfect speech, in order that the degenerate senses, the dull,
earthly perception, of earthly beings may comprehend His words. Thus
is shown God's condescension. He meets fallen human beings where they
are. The Bible, perfect as it is in its simplicity, does not answer
to the great ideas of God; for infinite ideas cannot be perfectly
embodied in finite vehicles of thought. Instead of the expressions of
the Bible being exaggerated, as many people suppose, the strong
expressions break down before the magnificence of the thought, though
the penman selected the most expressive language through which to
convey the truths of higher education. Sinful beings can only bear to
look upon a shadow of the brightness of heaven's glory.--Letter 121,
1901.
{1SM 22.3}
No Man to Pronounce Judgment
on
God's Word
Both in the [Battle Creek]
Tabernacle and in the college the subject of inspiration has been
taught, and finite men have taken it upon themselves to say that some
things in the Scriptures were inspired and some were not. I was shown
that the Lord did not inspire the articles on inspiration published
in the Review, [REFERENCE HERE IS TO A SERIES OF ARTICLES THE WRITER
OF WHICH ADVOCATED THAT THERE WERE "DIFFERENCES IN DEGREES"
OF INSPIRATION. SEE THE REVIEW AND HERALD, JAN. 15,
1884.--COMPILERS.] neither did He approve their endorsement before
our youth in the college. When men venture to criticize the Word of
God, they venture on sacred, holy ground, and had better fear and
tremble and hide their wisdom as foolishness. God sets no man to
pronounce judgment on His Word, selecting some things as inspired and
discrediting others as uninspired. The testimonies have been treated
in the same way; but God is not in this.--Letter 22, 1889. {1SM
23.1}
