The Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the Church

The Testimony of the Prophets Themselves

All through the ages the prophets of the Most High have unhesitatingly declared that the word they gave to the people of their day came from the Lord. We will observe some of the expressions they used to convey this thought to men: BSPC 14.1

“Says the Lord“: Jeremiah 8:1; Amos 2:11; Nahum 2:13; Zephaniah 3:8; Jonah 4:10. BSPC 14.2

“The Lord says“: Micah 6:1. BSPC 14.3

“The Lord answered me, and said“: Habakkuk 2:2. BSPC 14.4

“Thus says the Lord“: Obadiah 1:1; 2 Samuel 7:8; Joshua 7:13; Jeremiah 13:1; Zechariah 11:4. BSPC 14.5

“The word of the Lord that came“: Hosea 1:2; Joel 1:1. BSPC 14.6

“The word of the Lord ... came unto me, saying“: Ezekiel 12:1. BSPC 14.7

“The word that came ... from the Lord, saying“: Jeremiah 30:1. BSPC 14.8

“The Lord said unto me“: Isaiah 8:1. BSPC 14.9

“His word“: 2 Chronicles 10:15; Lamentations 2:17. BSPC 14.10

“What hath the Lord spoken?” Numbers 23:17. BSPC 14.11

“The word of God“: 1 Samuel 9:27. BSPC 14.12

“The scripture of truth“: Daniel 10:21. BSPC 14.13

The testimony of the New Testament writers to the messages of ancient days: BSPC 14.14

Of Genesis	“God spoke.”	Acts 7:6; Genesis 15:13-16
Of Exodus	“The Holy Ghost this signifying.”	Hebrews 9:8; Exodus 30:10
Of Leviticus	“Word of God.”	Mark 7:10-13; Leviticus 20:9
Of Deuteronomy	“Says the Lord.”	Hebrews 10:30; Deuteronomy 32:35, 36
Of 1 Kings	“Answer of God.”	Romans 11:4; 1 Kings 19:10, 18
Of 1 Chronicles	“He hath said.”	Hebrews 13:5; 1 Chronicles 28:20
Of Psalms	“The Holy Ghost saith.”	Hebrews 3:7; Psalm 95:7
Of Isaiah	“As God hath said.”	2 Corinthians 6:16; Isaiah 52:11

Let us notice also some of the testimonies of the prophets as to how they received the divine revelation: BSPC 14.15

“The Lord spoke.”	Exodus 6:10.
“Hear the word of the Lord.”	Isaiah 1:10
“I have put my words into thy mouth.”	Jeremiah 1:9
“The spirit of the Lord spoke by me.”	2 Samuel 23:2.
“The word of the Lord by Jeremiah.”	2 Chronicles 36:21, 22.
“Thus says the Lord.”	Ezekiel 2:4.
“The word of the Lord came.”	Jonah 3:6.
“The burden of the word of the Lord.”	Zechariah 9:1; Malachi 1:1.
“Hear you the word which the Lord speaks.”	Jeremiah 10:1.
“The Lord spoke unto Moses.”	This or its equivalent is found over fifty times in the book of Leviticus alone.
“The word of the Lord came.”	This or an equivalent is used in Jeremiah, over one hundred times; Ezekiel, over sixty times; Amos, over fifty times.

We would re-emphasize the fact that the New Testament writers endorsed the sacred origin of the Old Testament Scriptures. This can be seen all through the New Testament narrative. BSPC 14.16

Acts 1:16	“Holy Ghost by the mouth of David.”
Acts 3:18	“God ... showed by the mouth of all his prophets.”
Acts 10:43	“To him give all the prophets witness.”
Acts 13:40	“Spoken of in the prophets.”

The New Testament, however, puts its stamp of approval not merely on one part of the Old Testament Scriptures but: BSPC 14.18

On the Law

“The law of the Lord.” Luke 2:39. BSPC 14.19

“The law of Moses.” Luke 2:22. BSPC 14.20

See also Matthew 12:5 and Mark 10:3. BSPC 14.21

On the Prophets

“God ... showed by the mouth of all his prophets.” Acts 3:18, 21. BSPC 16.1

“His prophets.” Romans 1:2. BSPC 16.2

See also Ephesians 2:20; James 5:10; Hebrews 1:1. BSPC 16.3

On the Psalms (Holy Writings)

Acts 13:35; Luke 24:44; Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16. BSPC 16.4

On Other Books

Matthew 24:15; Romans 10:5; 11:1, 3, 4. BSPC 16.5

A noteworthy fact is that each succeeding generation of prophets, as well as leaders in the church of God, accepted the divine revelation that came through the prophets who preceded them. The following references show the recognition and endorsement of: BSPC 16.6