How the Holy Spirit works

 to inspire God’s servants to prepare

the Bible for us

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked His  disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am ? And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist : some, Elias; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But who say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered  and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”— Matthew 16 : 13 – 17.

          “When God makes man to understand something which is beyond finite knowledge, the Bible terms the act, Inspiration. Hence, Jesus pronounced Peter inspired. This Inspiration and Jesus’ testimony, therefore, were the Keys to the central theme of man’s salvation – knowledge of the Son of God. This is the truth, the gospel that had to be proclaimed. It was the Present Truth — an inspired message direct from God.” — The Answerer, Book 4, p. 38.

          Having been studied with Jesus directly, though, and even for time and again, having been accompanying Him wherever He went along throughout His mission in Palestine, most of the disciples seemed yet in the dark of whom He was actually. They still did not recognize Him as the Son of the living God until the Lord Himself has to make them understand through inspiration. This is proven from the answers they gave to Jesus. And that is the reason why  when Peter had successfully given  to Jesus the right answer, Jesus then directly told them that such knowledge of Him was originated not from themselves, but from God the Father. And Peter had been inspired by the Holy Spirit to have the knowledge and to give to the Lord the right answer.   

          Let us see further of how the p r o p h e t s  of God have been inspired.   There are prophets who have been directly inspired, and there are also prophets who were not directly inspired. The servant of the Lord, Mrs. Ellen G. White, gave us the following information : 

         “In the highest sense the prophet was one who spoke by direct inspiration, communicating to the people the messages he had received from God. But the name was given also to those who, though not so directly inspired, were divinely called to instruct the people in the works and ways of God.”–  Education, p. 46.

          From historical background of the prophets of God in this time of the end, we should have to know that Mrs. Ellen G. White was the prophet, who spoke by direct inspiration, communicating to the Laodicean Church the messages she had received from God. Most of her writings were the things she received through visions, either in the night season or during the day, and even before the people. Whereas, in contrary, Brother Victor T. Houteff, despite having presented us the whole interpretations of “The Things to Come” of those prophesied by the old Testament prophets and  by the apostle John in the book of Revelation, and  the parables of Jesus in the New Testament, he seemed to be the last divinely called one to the office of prophet in this time of the end. For being divinely called to the office of prophet, Brother Houteff had first to study the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy of Mrs. White, and most of the related sciences.  And this is the reason why he had ever said :   

         “The Bible and the books of the Spirit of Prophecy being the sole source of the Shepherd’s Rod message, therefore when the Rod is taught, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are taught. And since none but the Spirit of Truth, who transmitted the mysteries of Inspiration, can interpret them, then those who attempt to teach them without this inspired interpretational Authority, inevitably fall into the forbidden practice of private interpretation (2 Peter 1 : 20) — the great evil which has brought Christendom into its present almost-boundless state of schism and consequent confusion, strife, and impotency.”— Fundamental Beliefs of the Davidian SDA.

Inspiration and the various results of its work  

The servant of the Lord said :

“The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God’s penmen, not His pen. Look at the different writers.

It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the  man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will ; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God. — Manuscript 24, 1886.” – 1 Selected Messages, p. 21 

“There is variety in a tree, there are scarcely two leaves just alike. Yet this variety adds to the perfection of the tree as a whole. In our Bible, we might ask, Why need Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Gospels, why need the Acts of the Apostles, and the variety of writers in the Epistles, go over the same thing ?

“The Lord gave His word in just the way He wanted it to come. He gave it through different writers, each having his own individuality, though going over the same history. Their testimonies are brought together in one Book, and are like the testimonies in a social meeting.  

“The Creator of all ideas may impress different minds with the same thought, but each may express it in a different way, yet without contradiction. The fact that this difference exists should not perplex or confuse us. It is seldom that two persons will view and express truth in the very same way. Each dwells on particular points which his constitution and education have fitted him to appreciate. The sunlight falling upon the different objects gives those objects a different hue.” – 1 Selected Messages, pp. 21, 22.

Attention !

God’s thought and will are to combine with the thought and will of men, thus the utterances of the men are to become the word of God. Thus said the servant of the Lord. Therefore, let it be remembered always that the Word of God, either in the Bible or in the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY did not come right from the Lord Himself, but through His divinely appointed ministry. 

         Even during His personal mission on earth. Though Jesus had ever spoken so much before the people at the time, He was not the One Who by Himself prepared the New Testament Scriptures for us. He just said through the apostle John as follows :

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak : and he will shew you things to come.” – John 16 : 13.

And then through Sister White  :  

“In ancient times God spoke to men by the mouth of prophets and apostles (in the Bible). In these days (in this time of the end). He speaks to them by the t e s t i m o- n i e s   o f   H i s  S p i r i t. There was never a time when God instructed His people more earnestly than He instructs them now concerning His will, and the course that He would have them pursue” – Evangelism, p. 255, 256 (In brackets added).

The only exception is with the “Ten Commandments”, which is the Basic Law or the Constitution of the Kingdom of Heaven. Regarding this we read in the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY as follows :

“The Ten Commandments were spoken by God Himself, and were written by His own hand.  They are of divine, and not of human composition. But the Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of Christ, that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” John 1 : 14. —The Great Controversy, pp. 5, 6.

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From the pen of Mrs. Ellen G. White

“Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in ranks and occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowment, the books of the Bible present a wide contrast in style, as well as diversity in the nature of subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by one than by another. And as several writers present a subject under varied aspects and relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless, or prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer insight, discerns the underlying harmony.

As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in its varied aspects.  One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience or with his power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind — a different aspect of the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all. And the truths thus revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants of men in all circumstances and experiences of life.

God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by human agencies, and He Himself, by His Holy Spirit, qualified men and enabled them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of what to speak and what to write. The treasure was entrusted to earthen vessels, yet it is, nonetheless, from Heaven. The testimony is conveyed through the imperfect expression of human language, yet it is the testimony of God; and the obedient, believing child of God beholds in it the glory of a divine power, full of grace and truth.

In His word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative, infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the revealer of doctrines, and the test of experience. “Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17, R.V.

Yet the fact that God has revealed His will to men through His word has not rendered needless the continued presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit. On the contrary, the Spirit was promised by our Savior, to open the word to His servants, to illuminate and apply its teachings. And since it was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to that of the word.

The Spirit was not given–nor can it ever be bestowed — to supersede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. Says the apostle John, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. And Isaiah declares, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.

Great reproach has been cast upon the work of the Holy Spirit by the errors of a class that, claiming its enlightenment, profess to have no further need of guidance from the word of God. They are governed by impressions which they regard as the voice of God in the soul. But the spirit that controls them is not the Spirit of God. This following of impressions, to the neglect of the Scriptures, can lead only to confusion, to deception and ruin. It serves only to further the designs of the evil one. Since the ministry of the Holy Spirit is of vital importance to the church of Christ, it is one of the devices of Satan, through the errors of extremists and fanatics, to cast contempt upon the work of the Spirit and cause the people of God to neglect this source of strength which our Lord Himself has provided.

In harmony with the word of God, His Spirit was to continue its work throughout the period of the gospel dispensation. During the ages while the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament were being given, the Holy Spirit did not cease to communicate light to individual minds, apart from the revelations to be embodied in the Sacred Canon. The Bible itself relates how, through the Holy Spirit, men received warning, reproof, counsel, and instruction, in matters in no way relating to the giving of the Scriptures. And mention is made of prophets in different ages, of whose utterances nothing is recorded. In like manner, after the close of the canon of the Scripture, the Holy Spirit was still to continue its work, to enlighten, warn, and comfort the children of God.

Jesus promised His disciples, “The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” “When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: . . . and He will show you things to come.” John 14 : 26; 16 : 13. Scripture plainly teaches that these promises, so far from being limited to apostolic days, extend to the church of Christ in all ages. The Savior assures His followers, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28 : 20. And Paul declares that the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit were set in the church “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4 : 12, 13.

For the believers at Ephesus the apostle prayed, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and . . . what is the exceeding greatness of His power to upward who believe.” Ephesians 1 : 17 – 19. The ministry of the divine Spirit in enlightening the understanding and opening to the mind the deep things of God’s holy word, was the blessing which Paul thus besought for the Ephesians church.

After the wonderful manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Peter exhorted the people to repentance and baptism in the name of Christ, for the remission of their sins; and he said: “Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2 : 38, 39.

In immediate connection with the scenes of the great day of God, the Lord by the prophet Joel has promised a special manifestation of His Spirit. Joel 2 : 28. This prophecy received a partial fulfillment in the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost; but it will reach its full accomplishment in the manifestation of divine grace which will attend the closing work of the gospel.

The great controversy between good and evil will increase in intensity to the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been manifested against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His grace and Spirit upon His people to strengthen them to stand against the power of the evil one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear His gospel to the world and to record it for all future ages, they were especially endowed with the enlightenment of the Spirit. But as the church approaches her final deliverance, Satan is to work with greater power. He comes down “having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12 : 12.” — The Great Controversy, pp. 6 – 10.

Through His own appointed ministry

 the Lord is now speaking to us     

Jesus had ever inspired the Old Testament prophets to write “the mystery of God,” and even to have them revealed and finished through Mrs. Ellen G. White and Brother Victor T. Houteff in the time of the end. The mystery of God as mentioned in Revelation 10 : 7 should have been finished prior to the voice of the seventh angel, when the angel shall begin to sound his trumpet.

Due to the fact, however, that Sister White and Brother Houteff were already dead long before the mystery of God be finished, we must believe that the Lord would have moved His appointed ministers and teachers to accomplish the work of proclaiming the mystery of God in the churches until finished.

The message of the angels of Revelation 14 by Mrs. E.G. White and the message of the angel of Revelation 18 : 1 by Brother Victor T. Houteff, have now been compiled in the so-called THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. These are the messages sent by God Himself for us in the time of the end through His appointed prophets.

And now with the absence of the prophets, then the ministers and teachers should have taken the jobs, and by themselves to teach and to proclaim the message in THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY unto all the Laodiceans.

Here the Lord Himself would have led the minds of His appointed servants to speak out as much and as freely as possible to let the message of THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY be truly comprehended by the people. Never more to think that we must limit the use of our own words to explain the message to the people, so that the purity of the message could have been preserved. The purity of the message could be preserved only when the servants of the Lord speak under the guidance of His Spirit.  The servants of the Lord have ever warned us as follows :

“The Creator of all ideas may impress different minds with the same thought, but each may express it in a different way, yet without contradiction. The fact that this difference exists should not perplex or confuse us. It is seldom that two persons will view and express truth in the very same way. Each dwells on particular points which his constitution and education have fitted him to appreciate. The sunlight falling upon the different objects gives those objects a different hue.” – 1 Selected Messages, pp. 21, 22.

Conclusion

The objective of formulating this article here is to show our people that the Lord    (in the time of the New Testament – Ephesians 4 : 11 – 14) is  speaking through His appointed ministry : the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers. Though the apostles and prophets were already dead for a long time since, there are still abiding with us to the end: the evangelists and pastors and teachers. These are the only appointed agency of the Lord who could be fully trusted to succeed the New Testament prophets to teach the Bible and THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY up to the end.

But how could we recognize them to be the appointed ones of the Lord ? Shall we trust them because they were fully authorized by the Top of Carmel in Waco, Texas, to teach the message for us? Or because they have been ordained by the Leaders of the Headquarters in Waco, Texas, to be ministers of the Lord?

Since we are now dealing with the message of the Eleventh Hour Call, which is now calling you and me, as those standing idle in the market of Seventh-Day Adventist Church, then let us read carefully the following statements of the servants of the Lord:

          “God will send forth into His vineyard m a n y who have not been dedicated to the ministry by the laying on of hands.”— The Acts of the Apostles, p. 110.

         “The Bible and the books of the Spirit of Prophecy being the sole source of the Shepherd’s Rod message, therefore when the Rod is taught (by the appointed ministry of the Lord), the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are taught. And since none but the Spirit of Truth, who transmitted the mysteries of Inspiration, can interpret them, then those who attempt to teach them without this inspired interpretational Authority, inevitably fall into the forbidden practice of private interpretation (2 Peter 1 : 20) — the great evil which has brought Christendom into its present almost-boundless state of schism and consequent confusion, strife, and impotency. ……………………..

“…………. as teachers of the Shepherd’s Rod (the official publications of the Davidian SDA Association), teach only in the light of the Rod those passages which in one way or another need to be i n t e r p r e t e d.” —- Fundamental Beliefs of the Davidian SDA. p. 26 (In brackets added).

The evangelists, pastors and teachers of the Lord would be recognized only through the way they teach the message. Since “The Bible and the books of the Spirit of Prophecy being the sole source of the Shepherd’s Rod message, therefore when the Rod is taught, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy is taught.” 

The fact that there are yet many passages of the message  need to be  i n t e r p r e t e d, here again to prove that the appointed ministry of the Lord will be recognized, not only by the way they teach the message, but also by the way they interpret the dark passages of the message in the light of the Rod.

Since none but the Spirit of Truth, who transmitted the mysteries of Inspiration, can interpret them, then only those appointed of the Lord are to be blessed with this inspired interpretational Authority, that  could be trusted in this time of the end to have the SPIRIT OF PROPHECY taught for us. Even to have those dark passages of the message to be  interpreted for us in the light of the Rod.

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