February 10, 2007
Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church
“The Spirit of Prophecy and the Remnant”
This sermon is a Powerpoint Presentation
The symbol ^ will indicate the next slide in the presentation
^The Sermon title today is “The Spirit of Prophecy and the Remnant”
Shall we invite God’s presence as we pray…
^ The last living true prophet of God was the Apostle John, the loved disciple who wrote the Book of John, also 1, 2 & 3 John, and through his hand we received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Why have there been no true prophets of God since then?
^ Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false Christs, and (what else?) false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, they shall (what?) deceive (who?) the very elect." Jesus warned us, His people of the last days, about false prophets who deceive.
^ We who read and study our Bibles need not be deceived, for Jesus has given plain warnings about end-time deceptions.
^ He said in Matthew 24:5 “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
^ Jesus said in Matthew 24:11 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” When Jesus said MANY, there indeed have been MANY! The not so ‘Reverend’ Jim Jones convinced almost a thousand people to commit suicide. More recently, another false prophet convinced a group of people to commit suicide, so as to catch a ride on a comet that was passing by the earth.
^ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – The Mormons – Prophet: Joseph Smith – Founder LDS – 1805-1844 – In the Spring of 1820 he said he was visited face to face with God the Father and Jesus Christ. Even Moses could not stand such glory. No mortal human can be in the presence of God and live. Visitation may have been real, but the visitors were not from heaven.
^ Joseph Smith stated that his writings were superior to the Bible. That is not Bible faithfulness, so he is therefore a false prophet. By the way, Joseph Smith was killed in 1844 by a shotgun blast to the chest.
^ Christian Science – Prophet: Mary Baker Eddy – Founder – 1821-1910. Christian Science is neither particularly Christian, nor especially scientific. It shuns medical science and many have died for lack of simple treatment. The movement once had a million followers and has dwindled to less than 100,000. False prophet. No upholding God’s Ten Commandments.
^ Jehovah’s Witnesses – Founder - Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) When the founder died in 1916, he was replaced by the second president, Joseph F. Rutherford.
^ Between 1917 and 1928, they changed their doctrines 148 times! They do not believe that Jesus is God, rather they say that He is the reincarnation of Michael the archangel created by Jehovah. False prophet. No upholding God’s Ten Commandments.
^ There's one man called Edgar Casey. A book on him called The Sleeping Prophet has sold over one million copies. Most of his prophecies failed but he is like a Guru to New Agers.
^ Books on the life of Jean Dixon, have sold rapidly. She claimed to have the gift, and although accurate on the prediction of the death of John F. Kennedy, her track record was miserable at best. Most of her prophecies were regarding Hollywood and the sensational.
^ The New Testament is replete with warnings: Matthew 24:24 (false Christs and false prophets shall show great signs and wonders and they shall deceive)
^ 2 Thes. 2:9,10 (We should look for that man of sin whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders)
^ Rev.13:13 “And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,” (Indeed our senses will be challenged)
^ Rev.13:14 “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;…”
^ Rev. 19:20 “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, ” (again, the warning of miracles . . . with which he deceived)
^ So the Bible predicted indeed that there would be an incredible upsurge in the area of deception and that there would be counterfeit prophets aiding in this. Miracles prove only one thing—supernatural power. Such power may come from either Satan or God.
^ Certain types of false prophets are condemned by the Bible. Let’s see what God’s word says on the subject.
^ Deuteronomy 18:10 “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination,…” (That’s fortune telling)
^ or an observer of times, (that’s an astrologer)
^ or an enchanter, (that’s a magician)
^ or a witch, (that’s a female psychic),
^ Deuteronomy 18:11 Or a charmer, (that’s a person who casts spells or charms)
^ or a consulter with familiar spirits, (that’s a spirit medium)
^ or a wizard, (that’s a male psychic),
^ or a necromancer (that’s a person who supposedly talks to the dead),.
^ Does the Bible tell us if miracles are proof that a prophet is true?
^ Revelation 16:14 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world,…” People are fascinated and deceived by miracles. We cannot trust our senses.
^ Once again the Bible predicts that there would be a counterfeit manifestation of the gift of prophecy.
^ In Matthew 7:21, Jesus warned, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
^ Verse 22, "Many shall say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not (done what?) prophesied in (what?) thy name? and in thy name (done what?) cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works."
^ Verse 23, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." That word iniquity means "lawlessness." "You, who practice lawlessness." He never knew them even when they were working miracles in His name and were prophesying in His name and when they were casting out demons in His name?
^ If Satan can make somebody sick, obviously he can apparently heal them with a false miracle, make them think they're well, but let them continue to live a life of disobedience and in a false security. Jesus didn't say "Beware of all prophets in the last days." He simply warned against accepting false ones.
^ Who does God reveal His plans to?
^ Amos 3:7 “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
^ Would there be prophets in God's last-day church?
^ We will look for the answer starting in Ephesians 4:8. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”
^ What were those gifts?
^ Verse 11, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
^ For what reason and how long would these gifts remain in the church?
^ Verse 12, "For the perfecting of the saints," (that's the people of God). The Bible says, "... for the work of the ministry, for the edifying (that means the upbuilding) of the body of Christ:
^ Verse 13 “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 fulness of Christ:” The gifts of the Spirit including the gift of prophecy, would be in the church right to the end.
^ 1 Corinthians 1:7 "Even as the testimony of Christ (And what's the testimony of Jesus? The Spirit of Prophecy!) was confirmed in you (The Church): So that ye come behind in (what?) no gift; (for how long?) waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:"
^ Acts 2:17 “And it shall come to pass in the (what?) last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall (what?) prophesy,…” Peter prophesied that in the last days that God would pour out His Spirit and prophets would arise, men and women.
^ Revelation 12:17, "And the dragon (who's that? Satan) was wroth (what does that mean? Angry) with the woman (who's that? The church), and went to make war with (what?) the remnant (what's the remnant? The last part. The remnant does not mean its different, it just means its at the end), of her seed,
^ which (do what?) keep the commandments of God," But they have something else. What do they have? "...the testimony of Jesus Christ." The remnant church of Revelation, not only keeps God's commandments but MUST also has the testimony of Jesus.
^ Keep in mind that the devil wouldn't be so angry unless they were on the right road— the road of obedience to all of God's commandments.
^ What is the testimony of Jesus? Revelation 19:10 tells the story of an angel on the island of Patmos coming down to give John a message. And John says, "And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not;
^ I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the (what?) spirit of prophecy." So the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. And who has the Testimony of Jesus? The brethren! Who are the brethren that had the Testimony of Jesus?
^ Revelation 22:9 "Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the (who?) prophets, and (who else are the brethren?) of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."
^ When Israel disobeyed God, what did He do with the gift of prophecy? He took it away. Why are so many of the Christian churches of today left in darkness? They have taught the rejection of the law of God, and even more specifically, they've rejected the true holy Sabbath—God’s special sign of faithfulness to His law.
^ Prov. 29:18“Where there is no vision the people (what?) perish.”
^ Jesus made it clear that the gift of prophecy will be restored to His end-time church.
^ God would have a remnant church in the last days that would keep His commandments and would have the gift of prophecy.
^ The Bible clearly instructs us not to despise prophesyings. If we reject the God’s true prophet, we reject the Testimony of Jesus and therefore reject Jesus Himself. This is no small matter!
^ Jeremiah 28:9 “…then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him." So the Bible says if the prophet makes predictions and if those predictions come to pass, that is one way of knowing that the prophet is accurate. But if the message proves to be inaccurate, it is not from God!
^ Secondly, the gift of prophecy is given to lead men and women back to the Bible. A so-called prophet may make a prediction that may come to pass, but the prophecy may lead away from the Bible. Sometimes even the devil can guess right! So test #2 is Biblical faithfulness
^ Deuteronomy 13:1 The true gift of prophecy is never a substitute for the Scripture, however it leads men and women back in harmony with the Scripture. "If there arise among you a (what?) prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,... ."
^ Verse 2, "And the sign or wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
^ Verse 3, Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, …"
^ So here the prophet has made a prediction, it comes to pass, but the prophet teaches things that are not in harmony with the Bible, and the Bible says, "Don't go follow after that prophet because the prophet must be tested by the Bible."
^ Third, the genuine gift of prophecy exalts Jesus Christ and does not speak about itself and does not write about itself, but it exalts Jesus. It is a witness for Jesus.
^ Now the Bible gives us another test for the true gift of prophecy in 1 John 4:1,2 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God." Why try or test the spirits? "because many false prophets are gone out into the world." Now if there are many false prophets, there also has to be what? True! Because the false is only compared by the what? True!
^ There are only two sources — God and Satan; good and evil; light and darkness. Discern the spirit behind that kind of writing! The Bible says that the true gift of prophecy is high, holy and noble. It is accurate. It leads people back to the Bible. Notice 1 John 4:2, "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of (what?) God."
^ The Bible says that one of the tests of a true prophet is to lead men and women back to Jesus, and they recognize the deity of Jesus.
^ Test the gift of prophecy. The fourth test of the gift of prophecy is the relationship to the Law. Isaiah 8:20 "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is (what?) no light in them." The Bible says, "To the law." Any so-called prophet that does not exalt God's law and does not lead back to commandment-keeping is not a true prophet but a false prophet.
^ God's Word says that any so-called prophet that leads away from the law cannot be a genuine prophet because in the true remnant church, the entire law of God, and the gift of prophecy go together—according to the Bible. So the 4th Bible test of a true prophet is that they uphold God’s Ten Commandment law.