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The Spirit of Prophecy
SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. An expression in Rev. 19:10 used by Seventh-day Adventists
with several meanings. The text declares, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy." This means that Jesus is witnessing to the church through the medium of
prophecy. James White interpreted this verse as follows in his Life Sketches:
"The spirit, soul, and substance of prophecy, is the testimony of Jesus Christ. Or,
the voice of the prophets relative to the plan and work of human redemption, is the voice
of the Redeemer. Christ undertook the work of redemption, and who should inspire a book
upon the subject but the Redeemer Himself?" (1880 ed., pp. 335, 336).
By extension of meaning, G. I. Butler, long-time president of the General
Conference, defined the term spirit of prophecy as "that spirit which causes
certain persons to prophesy." "This Spirit," he wrote, "comes upon
certain ones. They speak as they are moved upon by this Spirit. Future events or things
necessary for the well-being of the church to know are thus revealed" Review and
Herald 43:193, June 2, 1874; cf. 3SG 56).
By still further extension, Seventh-day Adventists apply the term spirit
of prophecy to the operation of the gift of prophecy, one of the "gifts" of
the Spirit (see 1 Cor. 12:4, 7–11, 28; Eph. 4:11–13), and thus to the literary
productions of Ellen G. White, a cofounder of the church and one whom Seventh-day
Adventists regard as having been the recipient of the gift of prophecy in the Bible sense
of a duly accredited and authoritative spokesperson for God.
Definition of "the testimony of Jesus" as "the spirit of
prophecy" in Rev. 19:10 characterises possession of the gift as one of two specific
marks for identifying "the remnant" church brought to view in Rev. 12:17:
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of
her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
Christ." The gift of prophecy, which came to Ellen Harmon (White) in 1844, confirmed
the faith of Seventh-day Adventist pioneers in their movement as the one portrayed in this
Bible prophecy, as the remnant of the seed of the woman in earth’s last days, a
church that keeps "the Commandments of God" and in which was manifested
"the testimony of Jesus Christ," or the "spirit of prophecy" (James
White, in the Review and Herald 7:172, Feb. 28, 1856). SDA pioneers similarly
recognised the prophecy of Joel 2:28–32, with its reference to the last days, to
"the remnant," and to the manifestation of the gift of prophecy, as an
appropriate inspired description of their own experience (R. F. Cottrell, in Review and
Herald 11:126, Feb. 25, 1858).
The Spirit of Prophecy is the name of four volumes in which Mrs. White
presented a sequence of Bible biographies (1870–1884). This set was the forerunner of
her present five-volume Conflict of the Ages Series (see White, Ellen G., Writings
of).
Relation to the Bible. In accord with the historic Protestant position,
Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible and the Bible only as the Christian’s rule of
faith and practice, and believe it to be in its entirety the true, reliable, and
authoritative word of God in human language (see Bible; Inspiration of Scriptures).
Seventh-day Adventists acknowledge the prophetic gift apart from the Sacred Canon as
having operated prior to, during, and since the composition of the Bible, but affirm that
the canonical Scriptures constitute the norm by which all other prophetic messages are to
be tested. They believe that this gift has never been permanently withdrawn, but has been
manifested now and again throughout history, and belongs to the church today. The canon of
Scripture is God’s message to all people of all ages; extracanonical revelation
belongs to those to whom it is originally addressed.
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. That is the view that she herself maintained:
"Brother J would confuse the mind by seeking to make it appear that the light God has
given through the Testimonies is an addition to the word of God, but in this he presents
the matter in a false light. God has seen fit in this manner to bring the minds of His
people to His word to give them a clearer understanding of it" 4T 246).
"The word of God is sufficient to enlighten the most beclouded mind
and may be understood by those who have any desire to understand it. . . . To leave men
and women without excuse God gives plain and pointed testimonies, bringing them back to
the word that they have neglected" (2T 454, 455).
"The written testimonies are not to give new light, but to impress
vividly upon the heart the truths of inspiration already revealed" (ibid. 605).
Ellen White referred to her counsels as "a lesser light to lead men
and women to the greater light" (Review and Herald 80:15, Jan. 20, 1903).
"The Spirit was not given—nor can it ever be bestowed—to
supersede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the
standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested" (GC vii).
In a foreword to volume 1 of Ellen White’s Spiritual Gifts (1858), Roswell
F. Cottrell stated the substance of what has ever since been the denominational position
with respect to the gift of prophecy as manifested in Mrs. White. Cottrell recognised the
unique position of the Bible as the criterion by which all claims to prophesying must be
evaluated. By various texts (Mark 16:15–18; Matt. 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 12:28;
13:8–13; Eph. 4:11–13; 1 Thess. 5:19–21; Joel 2:28–32; Rev. 12:17; cf.
19:10; 22:9; 1 Cor. 1:4–7) he demonstrated that the Bible itself points to a
continuing divine-human channel of communication, and particularly to a renewal of the
gifts of the Spirit preceding the promised return of Christ to this earth -- Seventh-day
Adventist Encyclopaedia.
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