“For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28).
No greater prophet than John? That would include, apparently, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, even Moses. Yet, according to Jesus, John was the greatest of them all. How fascinating, especially because, unlike Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Moses—John the Baptist had no writings in the Bible, and yet John was a greater prophet than all those who, at least before him, did!
The point? The prophetic gift wasn’t limited only to the prophets whose writing became Scripture. No, the prophetic gift included those whose work for the Lord involved something other than writing books of the Bible.
The whole question of the prophetic gift, and of inspiration in general, has been a source of discussion and debate throughout church history. How were the prophets inspired? How do inspiration and revelation work? How much, if any, of culture and personal views appear in the writings of the prophets? If these questions still generate discussion within Christendom after centuries of debate, we’re hardly going to solve them all in the Adult Bible Study Guide this quarter. But we’ll sure do our best to try.
Issues regarding the nature of the prophetic gift and inspiration have been especially important to Seventh-day Adventists. In the book of Revelation, God promised that there will be a special manifestation of the prophetic gift at the time of the end (Rev. 12:17; 19:10; 22:8, 9). Seventh-day Adventists believe that the gift of prophecy has been manifested in the ministry of Mrs. Ellen G. White (1827-1915). For seven decades she gave messages of counsel and warning to our church; and though she died in 1915, her books, full of spiritual insights and counsel, have been a source of tremendous blessing to countless millions whose lives have been, and continue to be, spiritually and theologically enriched through them. We truly have been given a gift.
Yet, questions remain. This quarter we’ll look at what some of the are.
* Please note that the remaining lessons for fourth quarter 2008 are still on the ABSG Web site. Click on the purple button below for the edition in which you are interested. The fourth quarter lessons can be found directly underneath the listing for the first quarter lessons by simply scrolling down the page.
