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The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts

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    Chapter 10 — “Much More Than a Prophet”

    “AND WHEN THE MESSENGERS of John were departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled and live delicately, are in king’s courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yes, 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, which 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: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:24-28.FSG 126.1

    John the Baptist performed no miracles. He gave no detailed picture of coming events as had Daniel or John the revelator, and he outlined no prophetic time or period. However, the Spirit of God rested upon him in such measure that all spoke of him as a prophet, and Christ declared that John was not only a prophet but much more than a prophet. Since he was a forerunner of Christ’s first advent, his call and work were “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17. John the Baptist and his work were a type of the advent movement and its activity.FSG 126.2

    Mrs. White often writes about the similarity between the two revivals, but she never compared herself to John the Baptist nor did she ever claim that there was any Bible prediction concerning her personally as there was about John. Though John was not Elijah, he was a fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Elijah, for he came in the “spirit and power of Elijah.”FSG 127.1

    The Savior Himself said, “This is Elias, which was for to come.” Matthew 11:14. When the leaders among the Jews inquired of John as to his message, his answer was, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” John 1:2 3. The Jewish leaders were perplexed by John’s reply that he was not Elijah, but God’s people understood. Something similar occurred when Mrs. White declared that she did not claim to be a prophetess.FSG 127.2

    We remember well the reaction and response of the advent people to these words of the Lord’s messenger. A few seemed disturbed by her statement that she did not claim to be a prophetess and had never done so; but to the rank and file of the advent people and especially to the ministers it was neither a surprise nor a disappointment. It was only what we had been teaching over fifty years. Even though we had always believed that she had the prophetic message and was, therefore, a prophetess, our understanding was that her work was more as God’s messenger and herald of the second advent. In the early years of my ministry I lectured on this many times. We were never given to any boasting or any claims that we had a prophet, but that the Lord’s messenger gave us the guidance which brought growth and success to the church. We remember so well the instruction given in our advanced Bible class at Union College in 1895. E. W. Farnsworth was the teacher. His people were the first Seventh-day Adventist family in the world. They accepted the advent message and the Sabbath truth at Washington, New Hampshire, in 1844. Elder Farnsworth was the eldest of a large family of children, and few ministers among us have been as successful as that faithful man of God.FSG 127.3

    When our class asked the question, “What is Mrs. White? Should preachers speak of her as a prophetess?” this was his answer: “I have known Elder and Mrs. White from my childhood and I know what Adventists have believed and taught concerning her work. We do not claim that any one scripture was fulfilled in her. We have never believed that there would be another person that could be called Elijah. John the Baptist himself said that he was not Elijah, but he came in the spirit of Elijah. But what Isaiah was for Israel in his day, or Jeremiah for the Jews before the destruction of Jerusalem, or especially Ezekiel during the Babylonian captivity when he prepared the people to leave Babylon, that is what Mrs. White has been to the Adventist Church. In this way Adventists have thought of her as a messenger for the Lord, and this faith has brought us a great blessing.”FSG 128.1

    During the early years of this century there was much discussion in America about the question of prophets, as there had been sixty years before when Mormonism and Spiritualism began. Two men—Dr. Alexander Dowie, first of Chicago and later of Zion City, and Pastor Russell, of the so-called “Millennial Dawn” movement—were much in the news, and their adherents, at least, spoke of them as prophets and even as Elijah. About this time, too, because of pantheistic theories, a few former members attacked Mrs. White and denied her gift as a messenger of God. Partly to meet some of these objections, Mrs. White, who then lived in California, made a trip East, stopping at various places. Concerning her stay in Battle Creek, Michigan, she writes:FSG 128.2

    “We had a very pleasant journey from College View to Battle Creek. We were given a very hearty welcome by the friends in Battle Creek....FSG 129.1

    “During my short stay in Battle Creek, I spoke five times, three times in the Tabernacle, once to the students in the Medical College, and once to the patients and helpers, in the Sanitarium. I had a message to bear, and the Spirit of the Lord seemed to impress those present. I know that God gave me strength to speak. On Sabbath there were about three thousand people present in the Tabernacle, and on Sunday about two thousand.FSG 129.2

    “The meeting on Sunday afternoon was attended by many of the citizens of Battle Creek. They paid the best of attention. At this meeting I had opportunity to state decidedly that my views have not changed. The blessing of the Lord rested upon many of those who heard the words spoken.FSG 129.3

    “I understood that some were anxious to know if Mrs. White held the same views as she did years ago when they had heard her speak in the Sanitarium grove, in the Tabernacle, and at the camp-meetings held in the suburbs of Battle Creek. I assured them that the message she bears today is the same that she has borne during the sixty years of her public ministry. She has the same service to do for the Master that was laid upon her in her girlhood. She receives lessons from the same Instructor. The directions given her are, ‘Make known to others what I have revealed to you. Write out the messages that I give you, that the people may have them.’ This is what she has endeavored to do.FSG 129.4

    “I have written many books, and they have been given a wide circulation. Of myself I could not have brought out the truths in these books, but the Lord has given me the help of His Holy Spirit. These books, giving the instruction that the Lord has given me during the past sixty years, contain light from heaven, and will bear the test of investigation.FSG 129.5

    “The question is sometimes raised, ‘What if Mrs. White should die?’ I answer: ‘The books that she has written will not die. They are a living witness to what said the Scriptures.’...FSG 129.6

    “During the discourse I said that I did not claim to be a prophetess. Some were surprised at this statement, and as much is being said in regard to it, I will make an explanation. Others have called me a prophetess, but I have never assumed that title. I have not felt that it was my duty to thus designate myself. Those who boldly assume that they are prophets in this our day are often a reproach to the cause of Christ.FSG 129.7

    “My work includes much more than this name signifies. I regard myself as a messenger, entrusted by the Lord with messages for His people....FSG 130.1

    “The Lord gave me great light on health reform. In connection with my husband, I was to be a medical missionary worker. I was to set an example to the church by taking the sick to my home and caring for them. This I have done, myself giving the women and children most vigorous treatment. I was also to speak on the subject of Christian temperance, as the Lord’s appointed messenger. I engaged heartily in this work, and spoke to large assemblies on temperance in its broadest and truest sense.FSG 130.2

    “I was instructed that I must ever urge upon these who profess to believe the truth, the necessity of practicing this truth. This means sanctification, and sanctification means the culture and training of every capability for the Lord’s service.FSG 130.3

    “I was charged not to neglect or pass by those who were being wronged. The Lord presented such cases before me, and disagreeable though the duty may be, I am to reprove the oppressor, and plead for justice. I am to present the necessity of maintaining justice and equity in all our institutions.”—MS. 140, 1905.FSG 130.4

    About a year and a half later, in an article written from Sanitarium, California, her home, on June 29, 1906, under the heading “A Messenger,” Mrs. White wrote:FSG 130.5

    “Last night, in vision, I was standing before an assembly of our people, bearing a decided testimony regarding present truth and present duty. After the discourse, many gathered about me, asking questions....FSG 130.6

    “Some have stumbled over the fact that I said I did not claim to be a prophet; and they have asked, Why is this?FSG 130.7

    “I have had no claims to make, only that I am instructed that I am the Lord’s messenger; that He called me in my youth to be His messenger, to receive His word, and to give a clear and decided message in the name of the Lord Jesus.FSG 130.8

    “Early in my youth I was asked several times, Are you a prophet? I have ever responded, I am the Lord’s messenger. I know that many have called me a prophet, but I have made no claim to this title. My Savior declared me to be His messenger....FSG 131.1

    “Exhort from the Word. I will make My Word open to you. It shall not be as strange language. In the true eloquence of simplicity, with voice and pen, the messages that I give shall be heard from one who has never learned in the schools. My Spirit and My power shall be with you.FSG 131.2

    “‘Be not afraid of man, for My shield shall protect you. It is not you that speaks: it is the Lord that gives the messages of warning and reproof. Never deviate from the truth under any circumstances. Give the light I shall give you. The messages for these last days shall be written in books, and shall stand immortalized, to testify against those who have once rejoiced in the light, but who have been led to give it up because of the seductive influences of evil.’FSG 131.3

    “Why have I not claimed to be a prophet?—Because in these days many who boldly claim that they are prophets are a reproach to the cause of Christ; and because my work includes much more than the word ‘prophet’ signifies....FSG 131.4

    “These books, giving the instruction that the Lord has given me during the past sixty years, contain light from heaven, and will bear the test of investigation.FSG 131.5

    “At the age of seventy-eight I am still toiling. We are all in the hands of the Lord. I trust in Him; for I know that He will never leave nor forsake those who put their trust in Him. I have committed myself to His keeping.”—The Review and Herald, July 26, 1906, pages 8, 9.FSG 131.6

    It should be noted, however, that although Mrs. White did not call herself, or claim to be, a prophet, she did claim that she spoke by inspiration of God. Again and again she has stated that the messages she brought were given her by divine revelation. It is useful to notice her positive attitude toward the inspiration of the Bible messages. It was far more than a negative stand, that is, that we are to believe her writings because they are not against the Bible. If we were asked what her greatest work was, we should be inclined to reply that it was her effort to lead people to study and believe the Scriptures. She was constantly urging all to search the Scriptures and study them with prayer. She had a firm faith in Holy Writ.FSG 131.7

    Adventists today and all through the years have been Fundamentalists. We accept the entire Bible and believe in creation, in the Flood and other Bible stories as they are written. That we have thus stood true to the Word of God is largely due to the messages from the Lord concerning these divine records. Mrs. White herself wrote quite fully on the subject of inspiration and the validity of the Bible. Her many messages on this topic came at a time when the whole trend in the religious world was toward skepticism or at least toward what was called broader views on the divine origin of the Holy Scriptures. Her messages were an appeal to remain loyal and true to the faith once delivered to the saints.FSG 132.1

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