powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2009 Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2009

Dear User … This PowerPoint Show is freely shared to all who may find it beneficial. While intended primarily for personal use, some find it useful for teaching the lesson in church. There are those, however, who add illustrations, change background, adjust font size, etc. While their intention may be good, this is not right. Slide #1 says “designed by claro ruiz vicente.” For honest Christians, it is not necessary for another’s creation to be copyrighted in order to be respected. PLEASE USE AS IS. The Prophetic Gift An Appeal

Contributor Gerhard Pfandl Principal Contributor

The Prophetic Gift Contents 1. Heaven’s Means of COMMUNICATION 2. The Prophetic GIFT 3. SPIRITUAL Gifts and Prophecy 4. The Gift of Prophecy and God’s REMNANT Church 5. The INSPIRATION of the Prophets 6. TESTING the Prophets 7. The WORK of the Prophets 8. The AUTHORITY of the Prophets 9. The INTEGRITY of the Prophets 10. The MESSAGE of the Prophets 11. INTERPRETING the Prophetic Writings 12. The BLESSINGS of the Prophetic Gift 13. CONFIDENCE in the Prophetic Gift

The Prophetic Gift Our Goal {5} The real focus is on the Gift-Giver. We’ll learn about the Lord who loves this world so much He gave Himself, in the person of Jesus, as the sacrifice for our sins. That’s the God we serve, and that’s the God we seek to reveal in this quarter’s lessons.

The Prophetic Gift Lesson 9, February 28 The Prophetic Gift Lesson 9, February 28

The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift Key Text 2 Chronicles 18:13 NKJV “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.” “As sure as God lives, what God says, I’ll say.” MSG

The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift Initial Words {111} If you ever read modern criticism of the Bible, one thing you’ll notice: The same kind of attacks leveled against the Bible are similar to the attacks leveled against Ellen White. And one attack against Ellen White is that she used other sources, she is not reliable or honest.

The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift Quick Look 1. Integrity of the Prophet (1 Kings 22:26-28) 2. Integrity of the Message (Jeremiah 43:2-4) 3. Integrity In Spite of Mistakes (1 Chronicles 17:1-4)

The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift 1. Integrity of the Prophet 1 Kings 22:26-28 NKJV “Then the king of Israel said, ‘Take Micaiah … and say, Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in prison and feed him with bread of affliction … until I come in peace.” ’ Then Micaiah said, ‘If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.’ ”

1.Integrity of the Prophet Regardless of Circumstances {112} Though prophets have their moments of weakness, in this case Micaiah was determined to tell the truth, no matter how unpopular it was with those in authority. Throughout history, God’s prophets have endured hardship because they refused to change their testimony to suit their contemporaries.

1.Integrity of the Prophet Ellen G White’s Experience {112} During Ellen White’s lifetime, critics questioned her integrity and have continued to do so ever since her death. One major reason for these accusations has been personal presuppositions about how a prophet should function.

1.Integrity of the Prophet Critics Believe…. {112} 1. Prophets ‘should have full knowledge’ from the start of their ministry. 2. Their predictions should be unalterable. 3. Their writings are exempt from all errors, discrepancies, and mistakes, and never include uninspired sources. 4. Prophets never express merely personal opinions in their writings.

The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift 2. Integrity of the Message Jeremiah 43:2-4 NIV “And all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, ‘You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, “You must not go to Egypt to settle there.” But Baruch … is inciting you against us to hand us over to the hands of the Babylonians….’ ”

2. Integrity of the Message Hostility Against the Message {114} Because some did not like the clear instructions God gave, they claimed Jeremiah’s message actually had originated with his literary assistant Baruch and not with the Lord.

2. Integrity of the Message Hostility Against the Message {114} Mrs White has at times been the focus of claims that her literary assistants wrote her books or that she plagliarized most of what she wrote. In 1981 the General Conference asked a non-Adventist copyright lawyer to study the matter.

2. Integrity of the Message Hostility Against the Message {114} After spending more than three hundred hours researching, he concluded that “Ellen White was not a plagiarist, and her works does not constitute copyright infringement/piracy.” 1. The books she used were not covered by copyright. 2. Her use of phrase and sentences did not constitute an infringement of copyright.

2. Integrity of the Message “Thus Says the Lord” {116} The expression “thus says the Lord” appears more than four hundred times in the Old Testament—a powerful testimony to the fact that in Scripture, God is speaking directly to the reader. EGWhite Selected Messages 1:17: “In these letters … I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me…. It is true concerning the articles … and books.”

2. Integrity of the Message Lesser Light {116} Ellen White called her writings the lesser light leading men and women to the greater light. While both are light, their functions are different: 1. The writings of Ellen White are God’s message for a particular time, the end time, and for a particular people, the remnants. 2. Her writings focus the reader’s attention on Scripture. They do not replace Scripture.

1 Chronicle 17:1-4 NKJV “David said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar … but the LORD is under tent curtains.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘Do all that is in your heart….’ But … the word of God came to Nathan…. ‘Go and tell My servant David, … “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in.” ’ ” The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift 3. Integrity In Spite of Mistakes

When Prophets Get It Wrong {120} The prophet Nathan was a wise, thoughtful and God-fearing man, but not everything a prophet says or does is done under inspiration. Ellen White was not infallible, and she never claimed infallibility. She grew, changed her mind on issues, and was constantly open for more light.

3. Integrity In Spite of Mistakes Growth in Understanding {118} The possession of the prophetic gift did not imply immediate, full, and complete knowledge of spiritual and other matters. Prophets received light as history unfolded and as they are able to understand it. In Dan 8:27 the prophet said, “I … did not understand it.” (RSV). About ten years later the angel Gabriel came and explained to him the full import of the vision (Dan 9:20-23).

3. Integrity In Spite of Mistakes Growth in Understanding {118} “For sixty years I have been in communication with heavenly messengers, and I have been constantly learning in reference to divine things, and in reference to the way in which God is constantly working to bring souls from the error of their ways to the light in God’s light.” Selected Messages 3:71.

3. Integrity In Spite of Mistakes Growth in Understanding {118} She was not a systematic theologian but more of an evangelist and communicator of what God showed her. Her understanding of theology, though founded on Scripture and informed by her visions, grew through the years as she continued to study Scripture and the writings of others and was open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Integrity of the Prophetic Gift Final Words {120} We must remember that prophets are not always on duty—that is, they are not speaking constantly for God. But as history has shown, if erroneous counsel has been given by the prophet, God will intervene to correct the mistake.