Prophets—the Most Recognized Form of Divine Disclosure

Although God used many methods, the “prophet” was the most recognized form of divine communication. Priests in Israel were the people’s representatives before God; the prophets were God’s official representatives before His people. The priest’s calling was hereditary; the prophet was specifically called by God. ^{6Note the difference between the duties of the priest and prophet: “The priest was concerned largely with the ceremony and ritual of the sanctuary, which centered in public worship, in the mediation of forgiveness of sins, and in the ritual maintenance of right relations between God and His people. The prophet was chiefly a teacher of righteousness, spirituality, and ethical conduct, a moral reformer bearing messages of instruction, counsel, admonition, warning, whose work often included the prediction of future events.” Siegfried Horn, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary (SDABD Revised edition), (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1979), p. 903.}MOL 9.8

Prophets have been the most visible channel in God’s communication system. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). “The Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people” (2 Chronicles 36:15).MOL 9.9

God said very clearly that if people would not listen to His prophets, He had no other remedy to help them in their personal or national problems: “But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets... till there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16).MOL 9.10

In A Prophet Among You, ^{7T. Housel Jemison, A Prophet Among You (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1955), pp. 24-28.} T. Housel Jemison listed eight reasons why God used prophets rather than some dramatic attention-getting device such as writing on the clouds or thundering out His will every morning at dawn:MOL 10.1

1. Prophets prepared the way for Christ’s first advent.MOL 10.2

2. As representatives of the Lord, prophets showed the people that God valued human beings enough to choose from among them men and women to represent Him.MOL 10.3

3. Prophets were a continual reminder of the nearness and availability of God’s instruction.MOL 10.4

4. Messages through the prophets accomplished the same purposes as a personal communication from the Creator.MOL 10.5

5. Prophets were a demonstration of what fellowship with God and the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit could accomplish in a human life.MOL 10.6

6. The presence of the prophets tested the people as to their attitude toward God.MOL 10.7

7. Prophets assisted in the plan of salvation, for God has consistently used a combination of the human and the divine as His most effective means for reaching lost humankind.MOL 10.8

8. The prophets’ outstanding product is their contribution to the Written Word.MOL 10.9