Chapter 8

Prophecy Must Be Fulfilled

We Rod believers include this chapter to consider the question in the last part of Chapter 7. Will there be another genuine prophet in the Seventh-day Adventist Church before Jesus returns? Yes, absolute! Let’s prove that point as we review the inspired prophet of God Ellen G. White.

She wrote: “Prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say: "You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message." {TM 475.3}

The Bible declares, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:5, 6

Angels were sent to aid the mighty angel from heaven, and I heard voices which seemed to sound everywhere, "Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

I. A Mighty Angel

I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, descending to the earth, and again ascending to heaven, preparing for the fulfillment of some important event. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily, with a strong voice, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844. The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel's message as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of temptation, which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel's message. {EW 277}

I heard everywhere a multitude of voices saying, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." {EW 278.2}

II. From the Shepherd’s Rod Literatures

Here the Scriptures point out that someone in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet is first to appear, and will not only prepare the way, but will also restore all things. Plainly, the message of Elijah shall restore all things in the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the day of restitution, the day the Lord comes to His temple, the Church. The spirit of Elijah was a spirit against idolatry, and his power was a power to destroy those who led in idolatry, and to bring about purity. {2TG31: 4.1}

This surely confirms the conclusion that since Elijah is to herald the great day, he can therefore be the only one who will rightly interpret the prophecies of the day, which are still mysteries to Christendom, and even to our own Denomination! Indeed, to reiterate, it is for this very reason that the prophet is sent. He is to unroll the scroll to explain what the day of the Lord is like, what the Lord will do then, and how we may survive His judgments. To re-emphasize the fact, let it be said again that being the last of the prophets Elijah is, therefore, the only one who can open to our understanding all the prophecies of the Scriptures pertaining to the great and dreadful day of the Lord -- prophecies which heretofore have been only mysteries to all. Thus he is, as the Scriptures say, to blow the trumpet in Zion, and to sound an alarm in God's holy mountain, in the church. {GCS: 19.2}

No one but a hopeless Laodicean, one who forever holds to his day-dreaming that he has need of nothing more, -- no more Truth or prophets, -- can fail to see that the prophecies pertaining to the day of God are only dark sentences to him, that he is in need of everything instead of nothing, and that the work of the promised Elijah is not the work which the Laodiceans are doing. The Laodicean message (the Judgment for the Dead) is definitely not Elijah's message, although many may think it is. That many are blind to this, the Lord points out: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." {GCS: 30.1}

Moreover, we all know that the work of typical Elijah was to do away with the prophets and priests who served Baal instead of God, those who led ancient Israel into the greatest fallacy and folly of the day. Accordingly, the antitypical Elijah's work, being in the spirit and power of typical Elijah, must therefore be similar to typical Elijah's work-restoring Truth and righteousness, and bringing judgment upon the false prophets and teachers in the antitypical day which in itself is the separating of the chaff from the wheat -- the work of the Judgment for the Living. {GCS: 30.2}

The substantial weight of evidence which the Scriptures on the subject have amassed to this point, has, I am again confident, impressed the discerning one that he is here face to face with God's solemn Truth for these closing hours of probationary time. All such who have unbiasedly thought their way through the subject this far will surely continue on now through the next part to "prove all things; [and to] hold fast that which is good." {GCS: 31.1}

Now the question: Is the ancient prophet Elijah himself to re-appear, or is some other, having the same spirit and power, to take his place? {GCS: 31.2}

John the Baptist's statement that he himself was not the Elijah, and Jesus' statement that John was the Elijah of that day, not of our day, clear three points: {GCS: 31.3}

(1) That John was not in any sense of the word fulfilling the mission of the Elijah who is to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, but that he, the last prophet to the church of his day, simply came in the spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare the way for the Lord's first advent. So it is that the Elijah of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the last prophet to the church of this day, comes in the same spirit and power, to prepare the way for the Lord's second advent. {GCS: 31.4}

(2) That as John was the Elijah of his day, yet not Elijah the Tishbite himself, then the promise of the prophet Elijah is not necessarily to be fulfilled in person by the ancient prophet himself. {GCS: 32.1}

(3) That as the Elijah of Christ's first advent was one person, and also as the Elijah of Mt. Carmel of old was one person, not a multitude of priests, then by parity of reasoning the Elijah of today must also be one person, not a multitude of ministers. {GCS: 32.2}

The promise, itself, moreover, is for only one, not for more, and, with but one exception, we know not of any other time when God employed even two prophets (let alone many) at one time, to convey one message to one people. He invariably called one, and that one himself, under the direction of the Spirit, employed others to help him take the message to the people. Thus only were any others ever identified with a called one. {GCS: 32.3}

Since God is not experimenting, and since He means just what He says, there should be no doubt in your minds that the Scriptures concerning antitypical Elijah (he who is to awaken the church and to warn the Laodiceans of "the great and the dreadful day of the Lord"' make sure that he is one person. Of a surety, he is to have faithful helpers, but according to the prophet Nahum he will greatly make use of the printing press and will scatter his message by the postage stamp everywhere, as the leaves of autumn. He will not care what is done with his publications, but will make sure the they find their way into all hands, laps, pockets, yards or waste baskets throughout Laodicea. Here is what Inspiration Itself has to say concerning the prophet's means of taking his message to the church: {GCS: 34.2}

The conditions further prove that this scripture meets its fulfillment now, because the church at the present time has, by her institutions, entangled herself with the institutions of the world, but we thank the Lord that years ago the "Spirit of Prophecy" predicted that "somebody was to come in the spirit and power of Elijah" ("Testimonies to Ministers," p. 475), and that "God will have men who are true to duty. At the right time He sends His faithful messengers to do a work similar to that of Elijah." ("Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 5, p. 254.) {2SC9: 2.1.4}

The foregoing prophecies are now becoming history, and this prophetic organ "The Symbolic Code," proves to be the mouth piece of the Elijah message, leading hundreds of S.D.A.'s in the work of helping this message to restore the defunct and decadent institutes of the Christian religion; for, as it is written, "Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things" (Matt. 17:11), and "in the time of the end, every divine institution is to be restored." -- "Prophets and Kings," p. 678.) {2SC9: 2.2.1}

So we see that the more we consider the subject, the more obvious becomes the truth that the Third Angel's Message in its final phase is the Judgment for the Living, the harvest. Plainly, then, the work of Elijah is to give light on the Judgment for the Living. Hence {GCS: 39.2}

"...Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ, are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ's first advent...." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 3, p. 62. {GCS: 40.1}

Therefore, in this promised restitution of "all things" under the economy of the Elijah message, it is the privilege of each to help restore, in all the beauty and perfection of primitive simplicity, the pre-eminently important institute of the: schools of the prophets which, since before the days of Christ, has been a stranger to the church, as is evidenced by the fact that the denominational schools, through the accrediting boards of the state universities, are joined hand in hand with the schools of the world, despite the following solemn instruction to contrary: "Let us determine that we will not be tied by so much as a thread to the educational policies of those who do not discern the voice of God, and who will not hearken to His commandments." -- "Counsels to Teachers," p. 255. {2SC9: 2.2.4}

III. Functions of the Prophetic Ministry – School of the Prophet

Though sin ended face-to-face communication between God and human beings (Isa. 59:2) , God did not end His intimacy with humanity; instead, He developed other ways of communicating. He began sending His messages of encouragement, warning, and reproof through prophets.

In the Scriptures a prophet is “one who receives communications from God and transmits their intent to His people.” Prophets did not prophesy on their own initiative, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2Peter 1:21).

“Seer” a translation of the Hebrew roeh (Isa. 30:10) or chozeh (2Sam. 24:11; 2Kings 17:13) is yet another designation for persons with the prophetic gift. The terms prophet and seer are closely related.

Throughout the years, God has given revelations of His will for His people through persons with the gift of prophecy. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7, cf Heb. 1:1)

The New Testament gives prophecy a prominent place among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, once ranking it first and twice second among the ministries most useful to the church (see Rom. 12:6; 1Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11) It encourages believers t desire especially this gift (1Cor. 14:1, 39)

The gift of prophecy was active in the ministry of Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. She has given inspired instruction for God’s people living during the time of the end. The world of the early nineteenth century, when EGWhite began to deliver God’s messages, was a man’s world. Her prophetic call put her under critical scrutiny. Passing the biblical tests, she went on to minster through her spiritual gift for seventy years, from 1844, when she was 17, until 1915 – the year of her death – she had more than 2,000 visions.

A. What were the functions of Prophetic Ministry?

1. Prophetic Ministry assisted in founding of the church/association (Eph. 2:20, 21)

2. Prophetic Ministry initiated the church’s mission outreach – Acts 13:1, 2; 16:6-10)

3. Prophetic Ministry edified the church – 1 Cor. 14:3, 4; Eph. 4:12)

4. Prophetic Ministry united and protected the church – Eph. 4:13, 14

5. Prophetic Ministry warned of future difficulties – Acts 11:27-30; 20:23; 21:4, 10-14

6. Prophetic Ministry confirmed the faith in times of controversy – Acts 15:32