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The Spirit of Prophecy
Note: The word apostle is a transliteration of a Greek word meaning “one sent forth,” or in other words, a missionary.
Note: Unlike natural talents which anyone might possess, spiritual gifts are given to God’s people so that each believer will have some specific ministry he may perform in the service of God.
Note: Until the church reaches the perfection which measures with the fullness of Christ’s stature she will have missionaries, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. All the gifts were to continue operating until the end of time.
Note: God often endowed women with the spirit of prophecy: Miriam (Exodus 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Hulda (2 Chronicles 34:22), Anna (Luke 2:36).
Note: If people forsake God’s law and break His Sabbath, they cannot expect to receive the gift of prophecy. But restore the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus appears again also. (See Revelation 12:17.)
Note: The natural possession of keen insight or the gaining of knowledge by study do not constitute the gift of prophecy. Prophecy is when God speaks directly to His chosen messenger through a vision or dream, giving specific information which the prophet had no other way of obtaining. The prophet is not the source of the information he reveals, but simply the channel through which God speaks.
Note: From the above text it is clear that a prophet’s writings do not have to be in the Bible in order for that prophet to be inspired. When Ahab disregarded the counsel of the prophet Micaiah (who never wrote a single word of the Bible) he suffered the consequences for disobedience just as if it had been Isaiah or Jeremiah who had given the warning (1 Kings 22). When the Lord inspires a prophet, whether the message serves only to meet a specific need at a specific time, or whether it is canonized in the Scriptures for people in all ages, the degree of inspiration is the same. And the messages of all true prophets of God, whether they are Bible writers or not, will be in perfect harmony with the written Scriptures, by which all things must be tested.
Note: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)
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