Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy
The Spirit Still Speaks God’s people always need counsel.
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ive hundred years ago Martin Luther and other Reformers exalted the Holy Scriptures and challenged people to obey the Word. Many heeded this call, but some claimed that they were directly instructed by the Holy Spirit and did not need to submit to the authority of ancient writings. In the chapter “Progress of Reform in Germany” in The Great Controversy, Ellen White describes how the Reformers used God’s Word as a mighty weapon to overcome this opposition. Today, an opposite heresy has gained a foothold in Christendom, with echoes heard even among some Seventh-day Adventists. In correctly extolling the Scriptures as the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, some cry, “The Bible, the Bible only,” denying the continuing prophetic voice of the Holy Spirit in post-New Testament times. Seventh-day Adventists have stated as one of our Fundamental Beliefs that the Holy Spirit was at work in the ministry of Ellen White, providing “comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction” for the church. We have pointed to the teaching of the Scriptures that the gift of prophecy did not cease with the apostles, but that it would be present in the “last days,” as prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:28, 29). John tells us that God’s people at the very end of time will possess the testimony of Jesus Himself, which the angel identifies as the Spirit of prophecy (Rev. 12:17; 19:10). 24
February 2021 AdventistWorld.org
If one interprets sola Scriptura— “the Bible and the Bible only”—to mean that everything Christians need to pay attention to was already written 2,000 years ago—to the exclusion of what the Spirit says to the church today—their position holds no practical difference from the belief that the prophetic gift ceased with the apostles. The Scriptures stand unique as God’s infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, and the revealer of doctrines. If this is true, then why the writings of Ellen White? If the Bible is all-sufficient, what need is there for the continuing special guidance of the Holy Spirit? Jesus presents the answer: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth: . . . and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:12, 13). This promise was fulfilled in the life and writings of the apostles, but this testimony of the Spirit did not end with the apostles. Scripture records how God instructed His people through special messengers to rebuke sin, to warn of coming dangers, to unmask Satan’s plans, and to reveal the results of misdirected choices— timely instruction from the Holy Spirit that was distinct from the light ultimately embodied in the canon, yet just as necessary. God has not left His end-time church without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And this has been remarkably demonstrated in the life and writings of Ellen White. A PRESENT HELP
Let’s look at five areas in which the writings of Ellen White accomplish God’s purposes for us individually and as a church. Photos: R. F. Studio
