Ellen G. White and Her Critics

“Spirit” and “Gift” Intimately Related

“The spirit of prophecy” is intimately related to the gift of prophecy. ^* The one is the Spirit which indites the prophecy; the other is the gift bestowed. They go together; they are inseparably connected. Where you find the one you find the other. The gift is the manifestation of that which the Spirit of God distributes to men, according to His own good purpose and plan. The apostle John not only gives us the definition of the term “testimony of Jesus” but also reveals in another passage in the Apocalypse something which keys the expression “testimony of Jesus” to the prophetic gift. EGWC 556.2

If, after considering the evidences presented in this article, some should still feel constrained to urge that the expression “testimony of Jesus” should be understood somewhat in its objective rather than its subjective sense, we would reply that the objective might be considered, but only as a secondary meaning. We believe we have established the thought that the primary significance of this expression is subjective—that the testimony of Jesus means Jesus’ testimony, either in Himself or in and through the servants He might choose through whom to reveal Himself or His message. Certainly, after the prophet has received the divine illumination and goes forth with his message to man, in the giving of that message he is surely bearing testimony concerning his Lord and Master. EGWC 556.3