The Gift of Prophecy (The Role of Ellen White in God’s Remnant Church)

Special revelation

Special revelation is generally understood to refer to the revelation recorded in Scripture. Special revelation is “given.” It is not something that human beings, left to themselves, can recognize. While general revelation is accessible to all people, special revelation is accessible only to those to whom the Word of God comes either supernaturally or through human agents. GP 12.4

God appeared to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the Old Testament prophets to make His will known to them. He revealed His power and purpose in the crucial events in Israel’s history, and in the fullness of time He sent His Son, who manifested the Father in the garb of humanity. These special revelations have been made Scripture in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. “The Bible,” said Ellen G. White, “is God’s voice speaking to us just as surely as though we could hear Him with our ears” (HP 134). GP 13.1

In revealing Himself to His people here on earth, God used a variety of means. The most important are the following: GP 13.2

1. Theophanies (appearances of the Deity). The early books of the Bible record many instances of theophany. God appeared directly or in the guise of the Angel of the Lord (see Genesis 17:1, 22; 18:1; 26:2; 32:30; Exodus 3:2-6; 33:11; etc.). The Angel of the Lord—identified as God—was a temporary manifestation of Jesus Christ Himself. According to Scripture, no one but the only begotten Son can make God known (see John 1:18). Thus, in Exodus 23:21, Yahweh said of the Angel of the Lord, ” ‘My name is in him.’ ” This Angel was the same One who spoke with Moses on Sinai (see Acts 7:38) and who saved Israel from all her distresses (see Isaiah 63:9). GP 13.3

2. Visions and dreams . Scripture specifically mentions visions and dreams as the marks of a true prophet (see Numbers 12:6). Amos introduced his prophecies by saying, “The words of Amos, . . . which he saw concerning Israel” (1:1). In ancient Israel, prophets were also called seers (see 1 Samuel 9:9), and the distinguishing mark of false or foolish prophets was precisely this: they ” ‘have seen nothing!’ ” (Ezekiel 13:3). Throughout the Old and New Testaments we meet people who received visions and dreams from God (see Genesis 28:12-16; 1 Kings 3:5-15; Daniel 2:19, 28; 7:1; 10:7, 8; Matthew 1:20; Acts 10:9-16; etc.). GP 13.4

The prophets were obviously under the control of the Spirit of God; it is solely by His enabling that anyone can prophesy (see Numbers 11:25, 29; 1 Samuel 10:6, 10). Ezekiel declared that the hand of the Lord was “strong” upon him, that the Spirit lifted him up and took him away, and that He entered into him and set him upon his feet (see Ezekiel 3:14, 22, 24). Mi- cah said that he was filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord to deliver his message (3:8). And in the New Testament, Peter affirmed that the prophets spoke from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). GP 13.5

3. Jesus Christ . The most important and most complete revelation of God is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. In Him, said Paul, “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus came into the world to reveal the Father’s character, His attributes, and, most importantly, the plan of salvation with Himself as the central Figure. Hebrews 1:1, 2 contrasts the earlier revelations of God through the prophets with the appearance of Christ and indicates that the Incarnation was the superior revelation. The revelation of God’s character culminated in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. His words surpassed those of the prophets and apostles. When the prophets spoke, they passed on the messages they received from God; when Jesus spoke, it was God Himself who was speaking. Therefore, He could say, ” ‘I and My Father are one’ ” (John 10:30) and ” ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father’ ” (14:9). Ellen White wrote, “God saw that a clearer revelation than nature was needed to portray both His personality and His character. He sent His Son into the world to reveal, so far as could be endured by human sight, the nature and the attributes of the invisible God” (8T 265). In Jesus, God was living among humankind and displaying His attributes to them. GP 14.1

In order to capture for posterity the different facets of Christ’s life, the Holy Spirit inspired four Gospels detailing from different angles the allimportant three and a half years of Christ’s life. The written Word is, of course, subordinate to the Person who is revealed in its pages, but it is the medium that takes us as close to the life of Christ as we can get. GP 14.2