Prophecy

Seventh-day Adventists believe in the gift of prophecy in the time of the end, but we also believe that everything should be tested by the Word of God. In recent years, a number of modern prophets have appeared in certain charismatic churches. At one time, Metro Vineyard Fellowship, a charismatic church in Kansas City, had three modern prophets who were known as “the Kansas City prophets.” The prophecies and messages of these modern prophets were frequently false and often foolish. For example, J. P. Jackson, one of these prophets, “said in one message that God blew up the space shuttle Challenger to teach Americans a lesson, given that there was a teacher on board.” ^{8Beverley, 124.} And Bob Jones, another Kansas City prophet, predicted “that 1,000 religious leaders would die in 1989 because of their abuse of spiritual gifts.” ^{9Eric E. Wright, Strange Fire (Durham, England: Evangelical Press, 1996), 291.} He also spoke of a new breed of humans, “the elect seed,” created by God in 1973 to form a super church that would be ” ‘ten thousand times greater than the church in the book of Acts.’ “ ^{10Ibid., 161}GP 35.1

These prophets don’t believe that they have the same authority as the biblical prophets. They admit they have prophesied falsely. Nevertheless, thousands regard the prophecies these men deliver as messages from God. The pastor of the church actively encourages the members to embrace modern prophecies as God’s means of revealing fresh truths to the church.GP 35.2

Evangelical theologians have worked out a whole theology to justify the existence of modern prophets such as these. Wayne Grudem, who teaches at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, believes that Scripture is verbally inspired. In regard to modern prophets he says, “Prophecy today is merely human words reporting what God has brought to mind, while the prophecies that were written down in the Old Testament were men speaking God’s words to report what God had brought to mind.” ^{11Wayne Grudem, “Should Christians Expect Miracles Today?” in G. S. Greig and K. N. Springer, eds., The Kingdom and the Power (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1993), 79.} Therefore, he believes that modern prophets can make mistakes. Bob Jones once said, “If I hit two-thirds of it [in other words, if two-thirds of his prophecies are fulfilled], I am doing pretty good.” ^{12MacArthur, 67}GP 35.3

Of course, this distinction between thought and verbal inspiration satisfies only those who, unlike Seventh-day Adventists, believe in verbal inspiration.GP 35.4