The above words are those used after the prophet Daniel’s interpretation of the dream given to the proud Nebuchadnezzar respecting his humiliation: “All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.” Dan. 4:28.
The exact accomplishment upon Nebuchadnezzar of what Daniel had said in interpreting his dream seemed to establish faith in the Chaldean queen that what he would predict was from the Lord; for when the handwriting on the wall was confounding all the skill of the wise men of Babylon, she said to Belshazzar: “There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father [“grandfather,” margin] light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.” Dan. 5:11, 12.
In this instance, as in others, the simple narration of the fact that what had been predicted by the prophet was accurately fulfilled, inspired faith that he had93divine illumination,—that he was, indeed, taught of God. So it should be in the confirming of the spirit of prophecy among those “waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor. 1:6, 7.
Vision of the Civil War.
In the further study of this question we refer to a prediction made in a vision by Mrs. White, at Parkville, Mich., Jan. 12, 1861, concerning the Civil War that was to come in the United States. At that time only one state, South Carolina, had passed a secession ordinance. The people in the north little thought of a war growing out of that. In the New York Tribune of that week, Horace Greeley, the editor, said, “A few old women with broomsticks could go down there and beat out all the rebellion there is in South Carolina.” In speaking of it the week before, he said: “If some one with the firmness of Andrew Jackson should go down there and say, ‘South Carolina, where are you going?’ they would reply, ‘Back into the Union again, sir.’”
After Mrs. White came out of the vision already referred to, she arose before the congregation, and said: “There is not a person in this house that has even dreamed of the trouble that is coming upon this land. People are making light of the secession ordinance of South Carolina [some of the leading men of Parkville, while she thus spoke, sneered at the ideas she was advancing], but I have just been shown that a large number of states will join that state, and94there will be a most terrible war. In this vision I have seen large armies of both sides gathered on the field of battle. I heard the booming of the cannon, and saw the dead and dying on every hand. I saw the field after the battle, all covered with the dead and the dying. Then I was carried to prisons, and saw the sufferings of those in want who were wasting away,” etc. She further stated, “There are men in this house who will lose sons in that war.”
This vision, when given, was directly contrary to all northern sentiment, but was nevertheless accurately fulfilled. Before the month of May, 1861, eleven states had seceded, and elected their confederate president. On the 12th of April the first gun of the war was fired on Fort Sumter, which surrendered on the 13th. The northern idea of the war was then so meager that even President Lincoln called for only seventy-five thousand men for three months, to put down the rebellion. Little did the people in responsible places think they were entering upon a war to continue to the spring of 1865,—a war in which the north would have in the field 2,859,132 men, and the south probably half that number.
Not only was this vision accurately fulfilled concerning the secession of the states and the war itself, but as the war continued, other things were predicted. At first the war was conducted with the thought of preserving the Union, allowing slavery to remain;95but while that was the case, the north met many sad reverses. As expressed by Governor St. John, of Kansas, “Had we whipped the rebels, the politicians would have patched up a peace, and the Union would have been continued with slavery, and we would have it to-day.”
As the northern army met these reverses, national fast-days were appointed, and all Christians were to plead with the Lord to manifest His power in bringing the war to a close. In a vision given to Mrs. White Jan. 4, 1862, speaking of these fasts, she said: “And yet a national fast is proclaimed! Saith the Lord, ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?’ When our nation observes the fast which God hath chosen, then will He accept their prayers as far as the war is concerned; but now they enter not into His ear.”
Five months after this vision, the politicians of the north began to call for desperate measures. In June, 1862, the Republican Standard, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, said: “It is time to put into vigorous exercise that severity which is the truest mercy; it is time to proclaim freedom to the slave, and thus strike treason to the heart.”
On Jan. 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. Of it Governor St. John, in the speech previously mentioned, said, “But after Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation,96we had swung round on God’s side, and could not lose.” From that time it was a course of almost continuous success that attended the northern army.
Of the predictions through Mrs. White concerning the war, we can truly say, “All this came;” and can we not, with firmer faith than exhibited by the queen of Babylon, truly say that it was the Spirit of God that taught these things?
“So It Was.”
These words were used by Pharaoh’s chief butler when commending Joseph to the king of Egypt as one who could interpret his dreams. He said: “We told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.” Gen. 41:12, 13. After hearing the facts stated by the chief butler, there seemed to be no question with Pharaoh but that Joseph would give him a correct interpretation of his dream, which so troubled him; and when the interpretation was given, he had no doubt that the thing would come to pass just as had been told him. He said to Joseph, “Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.” Verse 39.
If a heathen king could discern that the power to tell what would take place was proof of divine guidance, surely those professing faith in God and His working should recognize it. The Lord Himself97reasons with His people respecting His foresight in these words: “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. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass: 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. Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.” Isa. 48:3-7.
The Lord’s revelation of what He would do was through His servants the prophets (“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveal eth His secret unto His servants the prophets,” Amos 3:7); and when the thing predicted came to pass, He expected all who professed to be His people to acknowledge it as a proof that He spoke the word, and that the instrument through whom He spoke was one of His true prophets. This principle is just as true in these modern days as in ancient times, and should be kept in mind when studying the instruction given by Paul, in 1 Thess. 5:21, to “prove all things” that come in the form of “prophesyings.”
Messenger Party.
As a further application of the above rule, we call attention to a prediction made by Mrs. White, in a vision given in Oswego, New York, June 20, 1855. It related to what was then called “The Messenger Party,” which consisted of disaffected ones, who, having left the ranks, began a united opposition to the visions, claiming that, when rid of them, the third angel’s message would at once “go with a loud cry.” This party printed a paper called the Messenger of Truth. From this the party was named. They claimed to have more preachers than were left with us, and tauntingly said to Seventh-day Adventist ministers, “We will follow up and get all your converts.” One by the name of Drew put it in these words, “You go ahead and shake the bush, and we will follow up and catch all the birds.” The conflict was fierce, and the opposition bitter. As expressed of them by another, “There is nothing to which they will not stoop; and they are never likely to be out of scandal with which to assail those who have incurred their displeasure.”
Until the Lord spoke directly concerning this party, our leading ministers considered it their duty to answer the scandalous falsehoods that were published in the Messenger of Truth. Elders White, Waggoner, Cornell, and Frisbie, and the writer counseled together, and had arranged to write a reply to the malicious fabrications, each taking a separate line of attack. Just at this time the vision (the writer being present) was given in Oswego.
After coming out of the vision, Mrs. White, speaking to Elder White and the writer, said: “Brethren, you are mistaken as to your duty to answer the slanderous writings of the Messenger. It is only a trick of the enemy to divert you from using your time in spreading the truth. When you answer one of their lies, they will manufacture two more. The Lord says to let them alone, and go on with your work as if there was no such people on the earth, and in less than six weeks they will be at war among themselves. The candid ones will see their error and come back. The Messenger company will go to pieces, and their paper go down, while the third angel’s message will advance more rapidly than ever. When their paper goes down, you will find that our ranks have doubled.”
And “so it was.” We let them alone, and made no reference to them nor their work in the Review. First they complained, then they growled, and dared us for battle. In less than four weeks some of their financial supporters left them, and the dissension and fight was on among themselves. The cause of present truth advanced in every phase of its work. A statement made in the Review, Jan. 14, 1858, just after the Messenger paper “breathed its last,” having had a sickly existence of about three years, shows how accurately the prediction made in the Oswego vision was fulfilled. Speaking of the result of the Messenger work, the writer said: “At the time of the disaffection, when the effort was made to break down100the Review, the church property at the office was worth only seven hundred dollars. Since it has increased to five thousand. Then there were about one thousand paying subscribers; now there are two thousand, besides quite a free list.” As the number of paying subscribers to the Review had exactly doubled, so the number of believers had increased more than twofold.
If, in the statement made by the Lord’s servant, a heathen king could see proof that he was “a man in whom the Spirit of God is,” should not we, as believers in the Bible and the living God, be as ready to acknowledge God’s Spirit in the instruction He gives us in these last days through His own humble instrument?
“Be in Health.”
John, the beloved apostle, wrote to Gaius these words: “I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 3 John 2. This wish inculcates the same principle that the apostle taught in his letter to the Romans when he wrote: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1. This thought is also expressed in his prayer for the people of God, even down to this time: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body [life, mind, and body] be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord101Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” I Thess. 5:23, 24.
The Scriptures speak of that sanctification as being of a very doubtful kind that does not lead its possessor to have the glory of God in view in all he does; for “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I Cor. 10:31. Especially is this true when the Lord is about to come. “For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.” Isa. 66:15-17. See also Isa. 65:3-5.
Instead of this spurious sanctification, the Lord delights in a truly sanctified people; but to perfect them and to accomplish His work in them, He hews them by the prophets. Hosea 6:5. This fact understood leads to inquiry concerning what the Lord is now doing through the gift of prophecy in teaching a sanctification that corrects those wrong habits of eating and drinking which tend to build up the carnal nature, instead of mortifying our members. Col. 3:5.
Otsego Vision.
June 6, 1863, at Otsego, Michigan, Mrs. White had the great and wonderful vision on healthful living,—102disease and its causes, drugs and their evil effects, etc. Regarding the nature of the principles there taught, and the proofs in the vision itself of its divine inspiration, I will quote from the words of Dr. J. H. Kellogg, in the preface to the book called “Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene,” published in 1890:—
“1. At the time the writings referred to first appeared, the subject of health was almost wholly ignored, not only by the people to whom they were addressed, but by the world at large.
“2. The few advocating the necessity of a reform in physical habits, propagated, in connection with the advocacy of genuine reformatory principles, the most potent and in some instances disgusting errors.
“3. Nowhere, and by no one, was there presented a systematic and harmonious body of hygienic truths, free from potent errors, and consistent with the Bible and the principles of the Christian religion.
“Under these circumstances, the writings referred to made their appearance. The principles taught were not enforced by scientific authority, but were presented in a simple, straightforward manner by one who makes no pretense to scientific knowledge, but claims to write by the aid and authority of divine enlightenment.”
“How have the principles presented under such peculiar circumstances and with such remarkable claims stood the test of time and experience? is a question which may very properly be asked. Its answer is to be found in facts which are capable of the amplest verification. . . . The principles which a quarter103of a century ago [now more than thirty-seven years ago] were either entirely ignored or made the butt of ridicule, have quietly won their way into public confidence and esteem, until the world has quite forgotten that they have not always been thus accepted. . . . Every one of the principles advanced more than a quarter of a century ago is fortified in the strongest possible manner by scientific evidence. . .
“It certainly must be regarded as a thing remarkable, and evincing UNMISTAKABLE EVIDENCE OF DIVINE INSIGHT AND DIRECTION, that in the midst of confused and conflicting teachings, claiming the authority of science, . . . a person making no claims to scientific knowledge or erudition should have been able to organize . . . a body of hygienic principles so harmonious, so consistent, and so genuine that the discussions, and researches, and discoveries, and the experience of a quarter of a century, have not resulted in the overthrow of a single principle, but have only served to establish the doctrines taught.”
Since 1863, the time when the diet question and healthful living were unfolded to Mrs. White, the subject of health reform has been classed with the preparatory work for fitting up a people to meet the events before us. The Lord is leading His people “back, step by step, to His original design,—that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth.” “The people who are seeking to become holy, pure, refined, that they may be introduced into the society of the heavenly angels [will not] continue to take the life of God’s creatures and enjoy their flesh as a luxury.”
Mrs. White, in 1863, further stated that from what had been revealed to her, “the animals whose flesh was used for food would become more and more diseased, until finally it would be unsafe to eat their flesh. The Lord was in mercy introducing these principles to His people, that by practising them they might be better fitted to meet and resist the increase of disease upon the human family, and stand unharmed amid the seven last plagues.” The present increase of disease in the domestic animals is startling the nations of the earth. The Lord’s people see in this fact the fulfilling of the predictions made thirty-seven years ago concerning this very thing.
Predictions Concerning Sunday Laws.
In Testimony No. 32, p. 207, printed in 1885, is a statement as to how Sunday laws would be passed in the United States. It reads: “To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for a Sunday law.”
Now, let us see how this has already been done. In 1892 a demand was made of Congress to prohibit the opening on Sunday of the World’s Fair, which was to be in Chicago, Illinois, from May to October of that year. Such a law was passed July 19, 1892, under just such a pressure as above predicted. And be it remembered that this is the first time that the United States Congress ever legislated on the Sabbath question.
The churches sent in immense lists of names, and petitions, and telegrams, not only petitioning Congress105gress, but kindly (?) informing the congressmen “that we do hereby pledge ourselves and each other, that we will, from this time henceforth, refuse to vote for or support for any office or position of trust, any member of Congress, either senator or representative, who shall vote for any further aid of any kind for the World’s Fair except on conditions named in these resolutions.” The conditions were that the Fair should be closed on Sunday.
As a sample of the talk on the floors of Congress, when the bill was passed, read the following: “I should like to see the disclaimer put in white and black and proposed by the Congress of the United States. Write it. How would you write it? . . . Word it, if you dare; advocate it, if you dare; how many who voted for it would ever come back here again?—None, I hope. You endanger yourselves by opposing it.”
That those who had demanded and secured of Congress the passage of the bill considered it an important victory in their scheme of religious legislation is clear from the fact that one of these prominent ministers, in a sermon in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, just after it, said:—
“That the church has weight with great political or governing bodies has been demonstrated most effectually in the late World’s Fair matter, when the United States Senate, the highest body in the country, listened to the voice of religion and passed the World’s Fair $5,000,000 Appropriation Bill with the church-instituted proviso that the gates of the great exposition should not be opened upon Sunday. That grand106good fact suggests to the Christian’s mind that if this may be done, so may other equally needful measures. The church is gaining power continually, and its voice will be heard in the future much oftener than in the past.” Thus we see how that Testimony, given in 1885, has been and is being fulfilled.
Catholic and Protestant Unity.
Here is another prediction, found also in Testimony No. 32, p. 207, 1885: “When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power; when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with Spiritualism; when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provisions for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan, and that the end is near.”
To show how the first part of this prediction is already fulfilling we need only to call attention to what is transpiring around us. See Protestants, both ministers and people, courting the favor of Catholics, inviting them to attend their associations and join with them in their religious and political federations. Be it remembered that hardly a vestige of what is now seen in this line was apparent sixteen years ago, in 1885, when the above Testimony was given.
As a sample of how the Protestants are reaching for the hand, and help, of Papists, I will quote from the Kansas City (Mo.) Star, of March 18, 1896.
Catholic and Methodist St. Patrick’s Day.
A speech was delivered in Coate’s Opera House, Kansas City, Missouri, on St. Patrick’s day, March 17, 1896, by Dr. Mitchell, pastor of the leading Methodist Church of Kansas City. The Star speaks of a portion of the speech as “a dramatic little scene.” Dr. Mitchell was loudly applauded when he said this: “Bigotry is the child of ignorance. We are bigoted because we do not know our neighbors well enough. We Protestants have been taught to believe unutterable things of Catholics. Catholics have been taught to believe unutterable things of Protestants. Now we discover our mistaken notions of each other when we get close enough to look into each other’s eyes and clasp each other’s hands; if we only knew each other more we would love each other better. We have stood apart and criticized. Shame upon the followers of the blessed Christ. All Christians have been redeemed by the same precious blood; we are sustained by the same divine grace, and expect to reach the same heaven. Say, brothers, we had better be getting acquainted with each other down here.”
Dr. Mitchell then turned to Father Dalton (Catholic priest), who sat just behind him, and, reaching out his hand, said, “Here, Brother Dalton, is my hand.” Father Dalton arose and clasped the extended hand, and as Dr. Mitchell shook it, he said: “It would be an awful shame if, after having lived so long in the same city on earth, we would have to get an angel to introduce us to each other in heaven. Let us get acquainted108here on earth.” The audience applauded, and after Father Dalton sat down, Dr. Mitchell continued his speech. Let it be remembered that that audience was largely Protestant which joined in the vociferous cheering that followed this speech.
These predictions, made through Mrs. White, so accurately fulfilled and fulfilling, in accordance with rule five, show her to be a true prophet of the Lord.
Rule Six,—Miracles Not a Test of a True Prophet.
It has been affirmed by many theological writers, and stated in commentaries on the Scriptures, that the sign of a true prophet is the working of miracles. This, as stated on pages 36 and 37 of this book, is contrary to the Scripture, as no such rule is given in the Bible.
If the working of miracles is proof of a true prophet, then the “false prophet” mentioned in Rev. 19:20 would be declared after all a true prophet; for it is said, “The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast.” The same power is spoken of again in Rev. 13:14, as deceiving “them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he HAD POWER TO DO in the sight of the beast.” By the same application of this rule, we would be driven to the conclusion that even Satan is a true prophet. Certain spirits who will do a special work under the sixth of the seven last plagues are called “the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and109of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Rev. 16: 14.
A true Bible vision, in which the prophet talks without breath, and walks about while wholly oblivious to things occurring around him, is, indeed, a miracle of God’s power; but if the proof of a true prophet is to be found in the miracles he performs while out of vision, we would find but few of the Bible prophets who would stand the test, especially if the decision is to rest upon what is recorded concerning their works. It is true that miracles are recorded as being wrought by some of the prophets, as in the case of Elijah, Elisha, and Paul. But who has found a record in the Bible of the miracles of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, etc.? Yet these were true prophets of the Lord, and are shown to be such by the rules the Lord has given as the test of true prophets.
That the working of miracles is not the test of a true prophet is clearly seen by reading the Scripture record of John the Baptist. That he was a prophet is shown by the prediction of his father, Zacharias, in relating the vision God had given him respecting the son that should be born to him: “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest; for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways.” Luke 1: 76. Our Saviour Himself recognized John as that very prophet who should prepare the way before Him; for of John He said: “But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face,110which shall prepare Thy way before Thee. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.” Luke 7: 26-28.
Here, then, is a plain statement of the Saviour that John was a prophet. Let us apply the test of miracle-working, and see the result. In the gospel, as written by John the evangelist, we have these words: “And many resorted unto Him [Christ], and said, John did no miracle; but all things that John spake of this Man were true.” John 10:41. This statement alone is a complete refutation of the claim that the sign of a true prophet is the working of miracles.
The rule given in Deuteronomy 13:1-3, which we have designated as rule six in our present enumeration, is to guard against the running after anything wonderful or miraculous until we have first carefully noticed whether its tendency is to a greater nearness to the Lord or to a drawing away from Him. This text virtually tells us to apply all the rules, especially to see if it is in harmony with God and His law.
This sixth rule teaches that if a miracle is wrought by a pretender, there will be seen with it, when carefully tested, a departure from the sacred truths of God’s Word, and a lowering of the standard, to meet a heart inclined to shun the way of self-denial. The Lord permits such a pretender to arise, and his course is a test to the true child of God, giving him an opportunity to weigh carefully the tendency or motive of said miracle-worker. Those who cling to God’s Word, instead of being captivated by the false miracle-worker,111come forth strong in God as the result of such experience.
In these evil days when many are claiming to be “faith healers,” “divine healers,” or “Christian Science healers,” etc., it would be well to apply closely the scriptural rules; for it will need divine rules, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, to enable us clearly to discern the intent and purpose of some of these “healers,” so subtle is their work; while on the other hand are those who openly disregard God’s law and His truth for this time. In some instances these pretended “healers” have raged like men filled with madness at even a mention of the law of God. As surely as the Lord has a message proclaiming His holy law, so surely are the men destitute of the movings of the Holy Spirit who rail against His law, and thrust from their presence those who even mention it.
Predictions of False Prophets.
In still further noticing rule six for testing the gift of prophecy, the question may arise, If the prophet makes some prediction that comes to pass, even if it be a miracle that he said he would perform, would not such fulfilment be one of the tests of a true prophet, according to rule five?—Not at all. In this rule six we are counseled to watch the nature of his testimony, whether it draws us nearer to the Lord, or away from Him. Virtually, we are counseled to test the prophet by all the rules, and not decide that he is a true prophet because apparently he is in harmony with one rule. I say apparently, for the next question naturally112arises, Where did he get his prediction of events to take place? if perchance he made a prediction. We understand from the Scriptures that anciently unprincipled men, false prophets, “stole” the words of true prophets, and passed them off as their prophecy, seeking thus to succeed in their deception.
The Lord, by the prophet Jeremiah, thus speaks of their work: “I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal My words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.” Jer. 23:30, 31. Instead of the Lord using their tongues, and speaking through them even while in vision, they steal the words of the true prophet, and repeat them as their own words received from the Lord, saying, “He saith.”
That lying spirits of Satan thus seek opportunities to learn what is to come, and then go forth to tell it, or to pervert and deceive their subjects, is apparent from the case stated by the Lord’s prophet Micaiah, respecting the spirit that was permitted to deceive Ahab’s four hundred false prophets, as recorded in 2 Chron. 18: 18-24.
The Lord has told His people in these times that “the devil is a careful student of the prophecies of the Bible.” And why is this? Is it to learn the truth that he may help on the work of the Lord?—No, by no means, but rather that he may tell some of these things that are coming—having stolen them from the Lord’s prophets—thus making it appear that his prophets are true ones.
“Satan closely watches events, and when he finds one who has a specially strong spirit of opposition to the truth of God, he will even reveal to him unfulfilled events, that he may more firmly secure himself a seat in his heart. . . . During his experience of nearly six thousand years he has lost none of his skill and shrewdness. All this time he has been a close observer of all that concerns our race.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 171, 172.
Again we read: “Those who have bitterly opposed the truth of God, Satan uses as his mediums. To such he will appear in the assumed person and garb of another, it may be a friend of the medium. He will increase their faith by using the words of their friend, and relating circumstances which are about to take place, or which really have taken place, and of which the medium knew nothing. Sometimes, previous to a death or an accident, he gives a dream, or, personating another, converses with the medium, even imparting knowledge by means of his suggestions. But it is wisdom from beneath and not from above. . . . To a certain class of minds he will come sanctioning a part of what Christ’s followers believe to be truth, while he warns them to reject the other part as dangerous or fatal error.”—Id.
Although Satan’s prophets may do miracles, or may speak of things to come, by the aid of what they have seen take place (as the death of a person occurring at a certain hour), or tell of an event to come (of which they “stole” their knowledge from God’s prophet), yet in applying all the rules to their case, it will soon be114seen where they fail to be in harmony with the Lord’s standard of true prophets. Satan will not teach submission to God’s law, but rather the service of other gods, even though it be the self-pleasing way of shunning the path of self-denial.
Rule Seven,—“By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them.”
“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.
These words of our Saviour recognize the fact that the gift of prophecy would exist in the gospel age. If no true prophets were to be connected with the work, and every prophetic manifestation was to be from an evil source, would he not have said, “Beware of prophets”? The fact that He tells us so definitely how each kind may be known is the best of evidence that in the work of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in showing “things to come” (John 16:13), would be the true gift of prophecy. This rule, which in our enumeration we have called rule seven, is an infallible one. Christ did not say ye may know them by their fruits, but, positively, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”
We inquire, What is the fruit to be seen in the work of genuine gifts of the Spirit of God? The answer is found in the statement of Paul respecting the purpose of the Lord in placing the gifts in the church: “Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. . . . And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 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 [“into the unity,” margin] 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; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Eph. 4:8-16.
Apply this rule to the prophetic gift that has been connected with the third angel’s message from its rise, and what is the result?—We find that the continual instruction given through Mrs. White has been in the line of unity and harmony, admonishing to “counsel together” and to “press together,” to be in unison with Christ, thus insuring true fellowship and union with one another.
Some of the opponents of this work have tauntingly said, “If it was not for the visions of Mrs. White, which you have among you, your cause would have gone to pieces long ago.” It is replied, “That is true; because from that source the Lord has given counsel, caution, and light, and thus dissensions have been removed, and the work has prospered.” So what they designed as a thrust against the gift is in reality testimony that its fruit is that of the true gift of prophecy.
One prominent minister, when railing in a sermon against Mrs. White’s gift, was asked this question by a Methodist woman, “Is there anything immoral in Mrs. White’s writings that you are so opposed to them?” He replied, “No; her writings are the highest-toned morality you ever read outside of your Bible.” Another question: “What kind of people are those who firmly believe and live up to her teaching?” He answered: “They are the most conscientious, godly people you can find; and there is just the danger in her writings. The reading of her books makes such devoted Christians that people are led to believe that her visions are from the Lord.” The remodeling of the rule given by Christ so as to read, The proof that a tree is evil and dangerous is the fact that the fruit it bears is good, would better please this class of divines.
One of the fruits of true gifts mentioned in the letter to the Ephesian church is the gathering of a people into the “unity of the faith.” What has been the result in this respect in the rise of the third angel’s message?—Forty-three years ago, when our publications117and work were all in the English language, when reference was made to the unity and harmony taught in the Testimonies and existing among the believers, our opponents said, “That is very well now, while your work is all in a limited territory, and the believers of one nationality; but should your work spread into different parts of the earth, and gather people of different languages, with their national peculiarities, you would see the unity disappear, and your work go to pieces.”
Do we see it going to pieces? How is it? The message is now printed, believed, and advocated in thirty-nine of the leading languages of the world, and has gained a foothold at different places around the world twice—both north and south of the equator—yet there is the same unity and harmony among those accepting the Lord’s counsel through the Testimonies as in earlier times. So the visions stand the test of rule seven.
In conclusion, let it be borne in mind that attention has been called in this book to nine points of similarity between Mrs. White’s visions and those described in the Bible; to six points of comparison in the practical work of true vision; and, lastly, to seven rules. In all of these twenty-two points we find her visions in exact harmony with true prophets.
One of the best proofs of the truthfulness of the visions is in the visions themselves. Many of those who read Mrs. White’s writings, who know not the origin of the ideas which she advances, say, “When I read Mrs. White’s articles it seems to me as though her writings are inspired.”
In view of the facts presented in the foregoing pages, it is well for all to heed the admonition of King Jehoshaphat to the host of Judah, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.” 2 Chron. 20:20.