2009 SDA Sabbath School Quarterly
Prophetic Gift
Lesson 3

An Alternative Viewpoint by Dirk Anderson


A Prophet to Arise at the Time of the End?

As noted in the introduction, Pfandl uses Revelation 12:17 as evidence that a prophet will arise at the end of time. Pfandl writes in lesson #3:

This particular gift, according to Revelation 12:17, was to be manifested again in the end-time remnant church.
We must keep in mind that linking Rev. 12:17 to the "end-time" rests upon a whole host of assumptions. Revelation 12:17 itself says nothing about a prophet, and nothing about the end-times:
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 12:17)
This verse is describing a group of faithful believers who obey God and have the testimony of (or about) Jesus. It says nothing else. Revelation 12 does not tell us when they exist in history, except that they live in the Christian era, and they are living after a three-and-a-half-year period of persecution (1,260 days). In order to identify the "remnant" as the SDA Church, Pfandl must rely on a whole host of assumptions:
  1. The 1260 days are actually 1260 years
  2. The 1260 years began in 538
  3. The 1260 years ended in 1798
  4. The "commandments of God" refers to the Old Covenant 10 Commandment Law
  5. The "testimony of Jesus" is Jesus' own testimony, not the believer's testimony about Jesus
  6. The "testimony of Jesus" refers to the prophetic gift
  7. The "prophetic gift" was manifested in Ellen White
  8. The "prophetic gift" may not be active; in other words, the prophet may be dead, but lives on through their writings
  9. The "prophetic gift" cannot refer to the Apostle John, or any of the Bible prophets

The last point is very important. Keep in mind, the SDA Church teaches that Ellen White "lives on" through her writings. In other words, Adventists claim that they possess the "prophetic gift" even though their prophet has passed away. If that is true, then it must also be true that the "prophetic gift" of the 24 Bible prophets "lives on" through their Biblical writings. Therefore, using Seventh-day Adventism's own reasoning, any church that has the writings of the 24 Bible prophets has the Spirit of Prophecy. If this is true, then Seventh-day Adventists cannot uniquely identify themselves as the remnant. Therefore, Seventh-day Adventists must make the assumption that the "prophetic gift" of Revelation 12:17 cannot refer to the Biblical Spirit of Prophecy. It must refer to an extra-Biblical prophet. However, it is IMPOSSIBLE to prove that the "prophetic gift" of Revelation 12:17 is an extra-Biblical prophet. It could just as logically be a Biblical prophet.

The Bible tells us the Apostle John had the "testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 1:2,9). Therefore, if we would allow the Bible to interpret itself, the "remnant" of Revelation 12:17 must refer to those who hold onto the prophetic writings of the Apostle John, particularly the book of Revelation. Thus, the "remnant" of Revelation 12:17 who have the "testimony of Jesus" are those who know and understand the book of Revelation. There is no reason to believe the remnant of Revelation 12:17 have a "modern" prophet.

For further study on this subject, click here.

Biblical Tests of a Prophet

Pfandl makes an excellent point in lesson #3:

Finally, in the end, Satan is working to do what he can to deceive as many people as possible. Thus, whatever manifestations that do appear, we always must test them by the Bible. If they are not in harmony with the Word of God, we have our answer, regardless of how impressive the manifestations appear to be. The Bible must be our ultimate standard.
Mrs. White's writings must be judged against the Word of God. It may come as a surprise to many Adventists reading this that Mrs. White's writings contradict the Bible a number of times. Below is a small sampling (click on each link for details):
  1. The Investigative Judgment
  2. Signs of the End
  3. When did Christ enter the Most Holy Place?
  4. Persecution in the Last Days
  5. The Plan of Redemption
  6. Does Satan have a Body?
  7. The Seal of God
  8. The Millennium
  9. King Jareb and Nineveh
  10. Was Zoar really Destroyed?
  11. God's Sabbath Laws - Are they "Senseless Restrictions"?
  12. Fleeing Jerusalem on the Sabbath
  13. "Be Thou Perfect"
  14. Can Christians be Perfect, Flawless or Without Sin?
  15. 50 Bible Contradictions of Ellen White
  16. 7 More Bible Contradictions


NOTES

 


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