Memory Text:

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things he saw” (Revelation 1:1, 2, NKJV).

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We have studied who prophets are and what their roles are in God’s plan of salvation. They are God’s spokespersons to communicate a message of salvation in a world going to damnation.

But this raises the question: how do prophets receive messages from God? How can we truly know they’re from God?

Some Hollywood films suggest that prophets go into a trance where they see God’s message and their hands write the message quickly, on the spot.

But is that true? We will see that it’s simpler yet more beautiful than movies depict it to be.

Read on!

Definition of Terms

Let’s briefly define these two terms used in the title of our lesson: Revelation and Inspiration.

Revelation is the act of God giving His prophets a message for His people. It’s called revelation because it reveals something.

Inspiration, on the other hand, is how the prophets receive and impart that message to God’s people.

God is the sender; the prophet is the mailman. That’s a simple illustration to get us started. But it’s not a perfect illustration. Let me tell you why.

How Inspiration Works

Again, inspiration is the act of receiving and sharing the message that God has given to the prophet.

We usually think of this when a prophet is in vision. But that is not the only way inspiration works.

Let me break the first aspect down—the receiving of the message.

Visions are a common way of receiving the message of God. But they’re not the only way. Historical research can be one way to receive God’s message, as in the case of Luke (Luke 1:1-3). He didn’t receive visions of the past; he studied it. God guided his study of history in order for the prophet to get His story. Another way is through eyewitness accounts, both spoken and written—that is why we regard the gospels and the historical sections of the Old Testament as inspired. And there are other ways prophets can receive the message. But God is at work in all of these.

In the first section of this article, I said that prophets are God’s mailmen. That’s only an illustration to point out that they are messengers. But that’s an imperfect illustration. Because they do more than carry the message and passively hand it over to God’s people. They are actively involved. Let me now explain.

Prophets, when they write, are not in a trance where their minds are shut off and they begin to miraculously write 200 words per minute. No. They think through the message. They prayerfully write. And in their limited language, they describe the message that God wants to give.

The language is human. The message is divine. What a thought! How can you describe a glorious God in human words? That’s the challenge of the prophets. And so, while the message is of God, it still falls short of the real thing because of the limits of human language. But God chose this because He meets us where we are.

Other Formats

It’s not merely the written words that were inspired. We can see that God’s message can be given orally in public and private discourse. 

Just because it was not written does not mean that it’s not inspired or is less inspired. Both are equally inspired because they have the same source—God.

John the Baptist was a prophet who was held in high regard by Jesus Himself. He didn’t write anything, but his sermons are accepted as God’s voice. Though we don’t have a preserved copy of Nathan’s writings (see 1 Chro. 29:29), we do know that his spoken words were regarded as God’s voice. Even to the point that when David was rebuked by Nathan, David immediately recognized it as God’s voice.

Inspiration can also be dramatized. I’m not pointing to a new Netflix movie. I’m referring to what scholars sometimes refer to as an acted parable. Hosea’s challenging marriage to the prostitute Gomer was a dramatization in real life of the undying fidelity of God towards His people despite their many lovers. The plant in Jonah 4 was an acted parable to make Jonah realize that he cared too much about the plant but lacked compassion towards the people of Nineveh.

The point of all of this is that God can speak through prophets in various ways and means, but it’s all equally important, for it is God who works in all of it.

Story Time

On March 14, 1858, James and Ellen White attended the funeral of a little boy in Lovett’s Grove, Ohio.¹

The boy had died the day before. James delivered the funeral message, and afterward, Ellen stood up to share some words of comfort with the grieving family.

But something unexpected happened.

While speaking, she was taken into vision. For about two hours, God showed her the great controversy between Christ and Satan, from the beginning of sin until its final destruction.

Think about that. At a funeral where a family was mourning the death of their child, God showed her the origin of sin and how it would eventually end.

She was then instructed to write what she had seen.

Sounds simple, right?

But it wasn’t.

Two days later, while traveling home, Ellen and James discussed plans to publish the message. But when they arrived in Jackson, Michigan, Ellen suddenly suffered an attack of paralysis. She could barely speak or move. Those around her feared she would die.

Eventually, she recovered. But she was still very weak.

And yet she had a message to write.

At first, she could write only one page a day and then had to rest for three days. But as her strength returned, she was able to write more.

In 1858, the message was published as Spiritual Gifts, volume 1, containing only 219 pages.

But here’s where the story gets interesting.

Over the following decades, Ellen expanded that message into several books that eventually became the five-volume Conflict of the Ages series, which includes the book we now know as The Great Controversy.

Why the expansion? Wasn’t the first account already inspired?

Of course it was!

But inspiration doesn’t mean that prophets stop learning. Over the years, Ellen received further light, studied Scripture and history, and grew in her understanding of the message. She also developed her ability to express it more clearly.

Prophets grow in their knowledge and in their ability to communicate God’s message.

That’s an important point.

We sometimes imagine that prophets simply receive a vision and automatically write everything down. But Ellen White’s experience shows us that inspiration involves the active participation of the prophet.

She received the message from God. But she still had to think, study, write, and even revise her work under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The message was divine. The language was human.

And that’s the beauty of inspiration. God doesn’t remove the humanity of His prophets to communicate His message. He works through it.

Conclusion

God has chosen to communicate His message through human beings, not by removing their individuality, but by working through their minds, personalities, and abilities. Whether through visions, historical research, spoken words, or acted parables, the source remains the same—God. And while prophets may be limited in their understanding and language, the Holy Spirit guides them to faithfully communicate His message. The language is human, but the message is divine.What a beautiful thought! God uses imperfect human beings to communicate His perfect message of salvation.

Notes

1. This story is based on the following sources: Ellen G. White, Life Sketches of Ellen G. White (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1915), 162–63; James R. Nix, Glimpses Into the Life of Ellen White (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2016), “The Story Satan Didn’t Want Told”; George R. Knight, Meeting Ellen White: A Fresh Look at Her Life, Writings, and Major Themes (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996), 109–27; and Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1911), xi–xii. ↩︎