The Spirit of Prophecy

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 28, 1906

The Spirit of Prophecy

To be a prophet it is not necessary for one to proclaim himself a prophet. It is not essential that one go about declaring, “I am a prophet.” False prophets usually herald themselves, and aim to draw disciples to themselves. Christ has forewarned his people that “for down to the end of probation there will be false prophets.” This implies that there will be true prophets all the way through; for the false is always in imitation of the genuine. Satan always works by misrepresentation of the truth. The spirit of prophecy is necessary “for the perfecting of the saints,” etc., until the end. Eph. 4: 11-13.

John the Baptist was a man sent from God, but we have no record of his ever saying that he was a prophet. He could have made many people believe that he was the Prophet spoken of by Moses (Deut. 18:15; John 1:21-23), but he would not yield to the temptation. However, he did proclaim himself a messenger, and he had a decisive message: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.”

Was John the Baptist a prophet?—Ask Him whose messenger he was. He testifies: “What went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” So one need not say, “I am a prophet,” need not ostentatiously pose as a prophet, in order to be recognized of the Lord. Nor does the loudest heralding of one’s claims give evidence of the gift of prophecy. “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” —Signs of the Times.