Earlier text: PREFACELaw and Prophet’s Message.
In the following words of Isaiah the prophet is shown what is to be expected in the last days: “Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever [“the latter day,” margin, Heb.]; that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord; which say to the seers, See not, and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits; get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.” Isa. 30:8–11. By reference to 1 Sam. 9:9, we learn that a seer and a prophet mean one and the same, for there we read, that “he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer”—one who had visions from God and prophesied. The force, then, of the above scripture is that the gift of prophecy will be connected with the proclamation of God’s law in the last days. This the masses will reject, because they do not like reproof, preferring a smooth path. In the New Testament, where Paul is speaking of the people waiting for Christ’s second coming, he says: “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in everything ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you; so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 1:4–8. From this we see that all the gifts are to be manifest among that people who stand at last prepared to meet Christ in peace at His coming. From this it also appears that one gift is singled out the confirmation of which prepares the way for all the gifts to be developed in the church. That one gift he calls the testimony of Jesus. To ascertain the meaning of this scripture, we will compare it with others. In Revelation, chapter 12, after the persecution of the Dark Ages, we find the apostle speaking thus of the last of the church in her probationary state: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war 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.” Verse 17. By a remnant we understand the last of that of which we speak. The remnant of cloth is the last of the bolt. So the remnant of the church is the last of the church in its probation here. This is seen in Joel’s prophecy of the Lord’s people just before the great and terrible day of the Lord. In the preparation for that30 day He says salvation shall be “in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.” Joel 2:32. This remnant will have war made on them for keeping all of God’s commandments, and for having manifested among them the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of those who were taught in vision by the Spirit of God is called the testimony of Jesus. We read: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21. This testimony by the Spirit is thus spoken of in 1 Peter. When speaking of those ancient prophets, He says, “Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Chapter 1:11. Then the instruction of those prophets in holy vision was the “testimony of Christ.” By looking in Revelation, chapter 19, we get a Scripture definition of the “testimony of Jesus.” This is John’s account, given while in vision on the isle of Patmos. He mistook the beautiful angel that was before him as an object for him to worship, and said: “I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Verse 10. We now have an inspired definition that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. When we have the right definition of a word or phrase, it is proper to substitute the definition in the sentence. Substituting thus in 1 Cor. 1:6, 7, the text would read,31 “The spirit of prophecy was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And in Rev. 12:17 it would read that the dragon went to make war with the remnant who “keep the commandments of God, and have the spirit of prophecy.” We see, then, that the remnant church, the members of which will be keeping all of God’s commandments, are to have the gift of prophecy among them, and that that gift is to lead out in preparing the way so that all the gifts will at last be manifested among the people who are waiting for Christ’s coming. So, then, as the Lord’s people return to obedience, to the keeping of all His commandments, the gift of prophecy is restored to His people. In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, in the first epistle, chapter 4, he speaks of Christ’s second coming, the resurrection of the righteous, and the change of the living saints. In the fifth chapter he shows that that day will come upon the masses as a thief in the night. He says, however, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thess. 5:4. That people who will be found watching for Christ’s coming, whom He calls “children of light,” He exhorts as follows: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thess. 5:17–21. What is more consistent than to expect the Lord to32 directly teach His people who are to pass through the perils of the last days and be prepared to meet the Saviour in peace at His coming? It is that point of time to which the patriarchs, and the true prophets of all past time, have looked with intense interest, when the conflict of ages, the controversy between sin and righteousness, is to close, and the age for which all other ages were made is to be brought in. It can not be that God, who is abundant in mercy, will refrain from specially instructing His people. Thanks be to God, He has not left this as a matter of supposition; for He will guide His people by the spirit of prophecy, as the Scriptures clearly teach. There is no surer way to prove a prophetic gift than by comparing it with the description of such gifts as were manifested in Scripture times, and testing it by the rules therein given. The Scriptures thoroughly furnish us unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), and give a correct record of the manifestation of the gift of prophecy and how the true work of the Spirit of God may be known from the workings of Satan, with his spurious gifts. In the prophecy of Isaiah a statement is given reaching down to the last days, in these words: “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples. ‘And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.” Isa. 8:16, 17. This looking for the Lord is not looking to find Him, for these are already waiting upon Him; hence the people here introduced are looking for, and expecting, Christ’s coming, and also the restoration of33 the seal to God’s law. To these He says: “And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:19, 20. From this we see that in the time near the coming of Christ, when Satan comes professing to represent the dead, those who seek the Lord may expect special instruction from Him. Why are the people seeking to the dead in this time?—For instruction and guidance. Where should they seek for such instruction?—To the Lord God, who made heaven and earth. Why seek to Him?—Because He has instruction for His people in this time, and they need not go to the dead, of whom He says they “know not anything.” Eccl. 9:5. If the Lord is sought unto, He has instruction for His own through special manifestation of the gift of prophecy. But all such manifestations, the genuine, will be in harmony with His “law” and with the “testimony” of His Word. Beware of False Prophets.
In the New Testament, rules are given for discerning the true prophets from the false. The question naturally arises, Why these rules, if there be no true prophets? Our Saviour taught that as we near the end false prophets will “show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth;34 behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not.” Matt. 24:24-26. Here are two features of false prophets in the last days. One is the calling of the people to “go forth”—literally to rally together at some point. The other is the teaching of a secret coming of Christ. When called upon by those professing the gift of prophecy to rally together, or invited by those who claim that their private Spiritualistic circles and seances are the coming of Christ, it is well carefully to ponder the steps, and refuse to “go forth” with the one, and avoid being swayed by the other; for these are some of the marks given of false prophets. The apostle John writes, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.” I John 4:1-3. This text does not say that “every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ” did come in the flesh,” but “is come;” that is, that He comes and dwells in our mortal flesh. This is indeed the central truth of the Gospel, Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith. Eph. 3:17; John 14:23; Gal. 2:20. Satan, in his false gifts, does not exalt Christ. A person who had been a spirit medium said to the writer: “The name of Christ is never mentioned in prayer in the circles, and in the public prayers of Spiritualists they35 “implore the great spirit, never naming Christ.” In contrast with such, in the true prophet it is Christ first, last, and all the time. Another rule given by the apostle John which applies to false prophets reads: “They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” 1 John 4:5. This shows that false prophets speak in a manner to please the carnal heart, which agrees exactly with the description given of false prophets by the prophet Jeremiah: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise Me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.” Jer. 23:16, 17. Fulfilment of Predictions.
Another rule for prophets is found in Deuteronomy: “If thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? when a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Chapter 18:21, 22. Then, in the case of a true prophet, the opposite is understood,—his predictions must each come to pass when the time arrives for their fulfilment. The Lord calls attention to the accurate fulfilment of prophecy as a proof that the word was spoken by Him: “I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of My mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. . . . I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.” Isa. 48:3-5. Another feature respecting false prophets is presented in Deuteronomy in these words: “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder; and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Chapter 13: 1–3. The above texts are proof that the working of “signs” and “wonders,” and even miracles, is insufficient evidence of a true prophet; for in other portions of the Scriptures we learn that even Satan himself will work miracles in the last days through his false prophets. 2 Thess. 2:9; Rev. 16:14. The great test in Deuteronomy, thirteenth chapter, is not the signs that these prophets proclaim and perform, but whether they follow the Lord God in their teachings, or seek by their wonder-working to lead away from His law and truth. It has often been asserted that the evidence of a true37 prophet is the working of miracles. In the case of a few of the prophets we have a record of the working of miracles, but this is never laid down in the Scriptures as the proof of a true prophet; for in the case of John the Baptist, Zacharias, his father, prophesied of him thus: “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest.” Luke 1:76. After the fulfilment of John’s mission, the Saviour said of him, “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” Luke 7:28. Yet of him it was said by those believing on Christ, “John did no miracle; but all things that John spake of this Man were true.” John 10:41. So here is positive testimony that John was a true prophet, and yet performed no miracle. How, then, could the sign of a true prophet be the working of miracles? There is another rule that should be examined in this connection, found in the words of our Saviour in His discourse upon the mount. Says he: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree can not bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt. 7:15–20. If there were to be no true prophets through the38 Gospel age, it would have been a much shorter way to dispose of the subject to say, Beware of prophets. Instead, there is set before us the characteristics of true and false prophets, the kind of fruit being the strongest proof of the character of the prophet. As to the fruit of the true prophet, Paul says, in his letter to the Ephesians, that these gifts have been given for “the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Chapter 4:12, 13. In the light of this rule, the true gift of prophecy will point the sinner to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world. Then it would follow him up, and call him to a higher standard of Christian life and action, exhort to purity and holiness, abase the proud, and lift up the weak and desponding. As the instruction from said gift is received it would cause one to fear that he had not followed Christ as closely as he ought, cause him to search his heart more thoroughly, to read the Word of God more studiously, to pray more, to be less worldly, and more devoted to God, to be more strict in his daily life, in his walk and conversation, in fact, lead him to the Word of God instead of from it. It would plainly, yet kindly, reprove sin, rebuke wickedness, and expose wrongs and hypocrisies. The gifts, and especially the gift of prophecy, have a part to act in bringing the church into “unity” and harmony. “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” In fact, the gathering of a people from the39 confused elements of earth, and the various nations of the world, to move forward as one, is one of the best evidences of a genuine work of the Lord. The true gift of prophecy will not give any revelation to take the place of the Scriptures; yet, while it may shed light on the Scriptures, leading the people into the “unity of the faith,” its great work will be that of counsel, and instructions how to live, act, and move in these last days of peril. The question may arise, What need have we of the gift of prophecy; we have the Old Testament, the words of Christ and His apostles, and the Revelation? Did not Christ forbid more prophesying when he said, “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book” (Rev. 22:18)? We reply, Should the Lord bestow the gift of prophecy upon a person for the instruction and guidance of His people, it would not be an addition to the Book of Revelation. After the Lord had spoken from Sinai, and given the law to His people, with statutes and judgments, they might have said, We have the Lord’s word now, and do not need prophets. The Lord knew best, and, as we have seen, He multiplied visions and similitudes by His prophets for the instruction of that people. This did not add to, nor take from, that already given them; but it did show them where they were being led astray by circumstances peculiar to their time. These revelations shed also a clearer luster on the truths they had already received, and made bright the light relating to the promised Messiah and His glory. Of the time in which we live the Lord has said: “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Rev. 12:12. In the “perilous times” of these last days will not the Lord fulfil His promise to keep His people from “the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10)? Thus the gift of prophecy, when manifested, will be adapted to the peculiarities of this time. It will not be something to take the place of the Bible, but to show how the people now are liable, by Satan’s devices, to be drawn away from the Bible, and from the Lord. With the subject of the gifts opened before us in the Scriptures, with the fact so plainly manifest that the gift of prophecy is to be connected with the last work of God’s people in probationary time, and with rules placed in our hands by which to test such gifts, is it not important that the mind be divested of prejudice, not “despising” such a gift, but, on the contrary, looking for a work of this character which is to be developed in these last days? In the light of Scripture, a message is to go through the world proclaiming the law of God, in connection with which will be found the gift of prophecy—a message which will gather a people into the unity of the faith from all nations, peoples, and tongues. How important, then, to be in harmony with such a work, and thus be found blameless in the last great day, prepared to stand at our Lord’s appearing!