Q4 2026 · Adult Bible Study Guide

The Gift of Prophecy

Sep 26 – Dec 25, 2026

Lesson 9

Testing the Prophets

Saturday, Nov 21 – Friday, Nov 27

Saturday · November 21

Testing the Prophets

Read for This Week’s Study

Dan. 10:7–19; Deut. 13:1–5; Isa. 8:20; John 11:25; Acts 15:36–39; Jer. 28:9, 15–17.

Memory Text:
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, NKJV).

A real diamond is one of the most valuable gems on earth. Of course, many other things can be made to look nearly identical to diamonds but are worthless. So, how can one know if a diamond is real or fake? The best way is to test it. Some tests can be done at home with a few simple tools. Others need professional expertise. Most of the tests are not conclusive on their own, but if a diamond passes several tests, one can be confident that the diamond is real.

A diamond is one of the strongest materials on earth. Part of a diamond’s strength is its ability to withstand very high temperatures and dramatic temperature changes. To test a diamond, you could heat it with a lighter or torch and then drop it into cold water. Although a real diamond will not be damaged, a fake diamond is likely to shatter!

The gift of prophecy is more valuable than any diamond, yet someone claiming this gift cannot simply be taken at face value. That claim must be tested. This week we will examine biblical prophets to uncover the biblical principles used to test their authenticity.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 28.

Supplemental EGW Notes

How shall we distinguish God’s true servants from the false prophets who Christ said should arise to deceive many? There is only one test of character—the law of Jehovah.
The Israelites placed over their doors a signature of blood to show that they were God’s property. So the children of God in this age will bear the signature God has appointed. They will place themselves in harmony with God’s holy law. A mark is placed upon every one of God’s people just as verily as a mark was placed over the doors of the Hebrew dwellings, to preserve the people from the general ruin. God declares, “I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them” (Ezekiel 20:12). . . . There is no need for us to be deceived. . . .
Satanic agencies have made the earth a stage for horrors which no language can describe. War and bloodshed are carried on by nations claiming to be Christian. A disregard for the law of God has brought its sure result. The great conflict now being waged is not merely a strife of man against man. On one side stands the Prince of life, acting as man’s substitute and surety; on the other, the prince of darkness, with the fallen angels under his command. . . .
There will be a sharp conflict between those who are loyal to God and those who cast scorn upon His law. The church has joined hands with the world. Reverence to God’s law has been subverted. The religious leaders are teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. As it was in the days of Noah, so it is in this age of the world. But shall the prevalence of disloyalty and transgression cause those who have reverenced the law of God to have less respect for it, to unite with the powers of earth to make it void? The truly loyal will not be carried away by the current of evil. They will not throw scorn and contempt on that which God has set apart as holy. The test comes to every one. There are only two sides. On which side are you?—That I May Know Him, p. 211.

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 Saviour, 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.—The Great Controversy, p. vii.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Sunday · November 22

Role of the Supernatural

During the Exodus, the Lord spoke to His people about the prophetic gift among them, saying, “ ‘Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream’ ” (Num. 12:6, NKJV).

A prophetic message and calling often involves the supernatural; it definitely goes beyond a mere impression or idea that a person may have. A prophet receives direct communication from God, often through prophetic dreams or visions (Dan. 8:1, Isa. 1:1, Acts 9:10, etc.) that may be accompanied by marked physical phenomena.

List some of the physical phenomena that the prophet Daniel experienced when in vision. See Dan. 10:7–19.

Daniel lost his strength as he went into vision. He was then dependent on God for the duration of the experience. Although those who were with him did not go into vision, the presence of the Divine was so strong that they ran away and hid in terror. Nevertheless, God uses physical phenomena to draw attention to a prophet so that the prophetic message can be noted.

What does Deuteronomy 13:1–5 teach us about the prophetic gift?

Though visible phenomena show that a supernatural power is at work, this does not automatically mean that the person experiencing the phenomena is inspired by God. Satan can also demonstrate the supernatural. No single piece of evidence confirms a prophetic ministry. Apart from physical phenomena, prophets must be tested. Supernatural manifestations are not a test of the true prophetic gift. All the biblical tests of a prophet must be present for us to validate someone as God’s messenger. History, unfortunately, has been full of false prophets (see Matt. 7:15).

In some cultures, supernatural occurrences are more common than in others. Why, though, must we be very careful when seeking to know if something supernatural really is of God?

Supplemental EGW Notes

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 Saviour assures His followers, “I am with you alway, 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 usward 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 Ephesian 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, pp. viii, ix.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Monday · November 23

Harmony With the Bible

Though we humans often contradict ourselves and are deceitful, God does not lie (see Num. 23:19). The prophetic messages He gives through the prophets will also reveal this consistency. His unchangeable truthfulness will be seen in the prophetic messages that He gives.

Read Isaiah 8:20. What crucial point is He making?

The Bible is always the final standard of any claim to inspiration. Prophets must be tested by comparing what they say with what the Bible says. A true prophet will never contradict, minimize, or draw attention away from biblical truth. That is why a knowledge of the Scriptures is so crucial for those who want to follow the Lord and not be deceived by false teachers or false prophets.

In the Old and New Testaments, successive prophets often highlighted and pointed back to previous prophetic writings as the standard for their own prophetic ministry. Later biblical prophets reveal additional insights into God’s plans and the way of salvation, but they never contradict basic principles and concepts already given by God.

What do 2 Peter 1:19–21, Romans 15:4, and James 1:17 teach us about God and the prophetic messages that He has given over the centuries?

The Old Testament foundation for understanding the plan of salvation was set in the first prophecy that God Himself gave, in Genesis 3:15. The sacrificial system exemplified this plan, but the details of how God’s Lamb, Jesus Christ, would come, live, and die for humanity were clarified step by step in later prophecies. The biblical record shows that God unfolds truth when His people are able to understand it. This allows the understanding of truth to deepen with each new generation. This is what is meant by the idea of “unfolding truth” or “progressive truth.” That is, a later generation will often have a deeper understanding of God’s truth than did an earlier one.

There is, however, a crucial point that cannot be overemphasized: new revelations of truth will never contradict the truth that God earlier had given.

Supplemental EGW Notes

God committed the preparation of His divinely inspired Word to finite man. This Word, arranged into books, the Old and New Testaments, is the guidebook to the inhabitants of a fallen world, bequeathed to them that, by studying and obeying the directions, not one soul would lose its way to heaven.
The Bible points to God as its author; yet it was written by human hands; and in the varied style of its different books it presents the characteristics of the several writers. The truths revealed are all “given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16); yet they are expressed in the words of men. The Infinite One by His Holy Spirit has shed light into the minds and hearts of His servants. He has given dreams and visions, symbols and figures; and those to whom the truth was thus revealed, have themselves embodied the thought in human language.
The Lord speaks to human beings in imperfect speech, in order that the degenerate senses, the dull, earthly perception, of earthly beings may comprehend His words. Thus is shown God’s condescension. He meets fallen human beings where they are. The Bible, perfect as it is in its simplicity, does not answer to the great ideas of God; for infinite ideas cannot be perfectly embodied in finite vehicles of thought. Instead of the expressions of the Bible being exaggerated, as many people suppose, the strong expressions break down before the magnificence of the thought, though the penman selected the most expressive language through which to convey the truths of higher education.—The Faith I Live By, p. 10.

By patient, untiring labor, sometimes in the deep, dark caverns of the earth, by the light of torches, the Sacred Scriptures were written out, verse by verse, chapter by chapter. Thus the work went on, the revealed will of God shining out like pure gold; how much brighter, clearer, and more powerful because of the trials undergone for its sake only those could realize who were engaged in the work. Angels from heaven surrounded these faithful workers.
Satan had urged on the papal priests and prelates to bury the word of truth beneath the rubbish of error, heresy, and superstition; but in a most wonderful manner it was preserved uncorrupted through all the ages of darkness. It bore not the stamp of man, but the impress of God. Men have been unwearied in their efforts to obscure the plain, simple meaning of the Scriptures, and to make them contradict their own testimony; but like the ark upon the billowy deep, the word of God outrides the storms that threaten it with destruction. As the mine has rich veins of gold and silver hidden beneath the surface, so that all must dig who would discover its precious stores, so the Holy Scriptures have treasures of truth that are revealed only to the earnest, humble, prayerful seeker. God designed the Bible to be a lessonbook to all mankind, in childhood, youth, and manhood, and to be studied through all time. He gave His word to men as a revelation of Himself. Every new truth discerned is a fresh disclosure of the character of its Author. The study of the Scriptures is the means divinely ordained to bring men into closer connection with their Creator and to give them a clearer knowledge of His will. It is the medium of communication between God and man.—The Great Controversy, p. 69.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Tuesday · November 24

The Incarnation of Christ

According to 1 John 4:1–3, the test of belief in Jesus’ incarnation would quickly rule out people who claim to be prophets from other major world religions, or from those who claim to connect to the spiritual realm without subscribing to a particular religion. If a person “does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh,” that person “is not of God” (1 John 4:3, NKJV).

When John wrote these verses, he was thinking of false teachers who were teaching that Jesus was not a human being, but merely appeared to be human. This test, however, goes further. It is not saying only that a prophet should agree that Jesus was a real person who lived on earth. Most Christians believe this about Jesus. John was dealing with a very specific issue at the time; however, John’s prophetic words, though needed for a particular circumstance, still contain important truths for later generations, as well.

What do the following verses tell us about Jesus? John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21; John 11:25; Heb. 4:14, 15; John 14:1–3.

True prophets must believe that Jesus was God incarnate yet truly a human being. They must also embrace the complete truth about Jesus—His mission, sinless life, atoning death, resurrection, and high-priestly ministry in heaven, as well as His second coming. This is more than an intellectual agreement that Jesus lived on earth. Jesus must be the center of a prophet’s teachings and not just something added on. His or her messages should lead people to a saving relationship with Jesus.

The Holy Spirit–inspired prophetic word is God’s spotlight, dispelling the darkness in us until Jesus, the Morning Star, dawns in our hearts, and the prophetic gift unites us with Him and continually points us to Him.

Prophets who are uplifting Jesus will not try to create their own following or promote themselves (Acts 4:12). They will be ready to serve and not to take advantage of those to whom they have been sent. At the same time, as we will see tomorrow, God’s prophets were human beings and, like the rest of us, sinners who needed the gospel.

Jesus, fully God, died as our Substitute, bearing the penalty for our sins. Why is understanding this so central to our faith? What do we lose if we lose that teaching?

Supplemental EGW Notes

The incarnation of Christ is the mystery of all mysteries.
Christ was one with the Father, yet. . . He was willing to step down from the exaltation of one who was equal with God.
That He might accomplish His purpose of love for the fallen race, He became bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.
How wide is the contrast between the divinity of Christ and the helpless infant in Bethlehem’s manger! How can we span the distance between the mighty God and a helpless child? And yet the Creator of worlds, He in whom was the fullness of the Godhead bodily, was manifest in the helpless babe in the manger. Far higher than any of the angels, equal with the Father in dignity and glory, and yet wearing the garb of humanity! Divinity and humanity were mysteriously combined, and man and God became one.
It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
Those who claim that it was not possible for Christ to sin, cannot believe that He really took upon Himself human nature. But was not Christ actually tempted, not only by Satan in the wilderness, but all through His life, from childhood to manhood?
Our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured.—The Faith I Live By, p. 48.

His divine life could not be reckoned by human computation. The existence of Christ before His incarnation is not measured by figures.
Christ was God essentially, and in the highest sense. He was with God from all eternity, God over all, blessed forevermore. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right.
He was equal with God, infinite and omnipotent.—The Faith I Live By, p. 46.\

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Wednesday · November 25

Positive Fruits

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), Jesus outlined the foundations of the Christian church. It would seem that prophetic ministry would be a part of that foundation. After all, Jesus warned against false prophets, saying, “ ‘By their fruits you will know them’ ” (Matt. 7:20, NKJV).

The quality of a fruit can be judged only over a period of time. By seeing a prophet’s character and watching what results come from his or her messages, we can see whether that prophet is drawing others to God or leading them away from Him.

Read Jonah 1:1–3, Acts 15:36–39, and Galatians 2:11–14. What do these verses teach us about prophets?

Being a prophet, however, does not make a person sinless or personally infallible. We see in the biblical examples of Jonah, Paul, and even Peter mistakes or character flaws. God alone is flawless; His messengers never are. Prophets, like all of us, have weaknesses, but the trend of their lives must clearly be toward God, and the prophets must not negate their ministry by a lifestyle that is contrary to the message they share.

No prophet completely models the example of Jesus, but a true prophet is committed to the principles and lifestyle of God’s kingdom (Matt. 7:16–20). Anyone who claims to be God’s messenger and yet whose lifestyle blatantly contradicts the message he or she carries should be regarded with suspicion.

Although the prophetic call is difficult, many prophets showed “good fruit” during their ministry. For example, Moses successfully led the children of Israel through the wilderness (Deut. 34:10–12). Haggai’s faithfulness encouraged the inhabitants of Judah to start the rebuilding of the second temple, which had been paused for 19 years (Hag. 1:12). Isaiah’s unflinching ministry served four Judean kings, guiding them through a tumultuous period and pointing to the Messiah (Isa. 39:5, 6; Isa. 53:4–6). We cannot forget Daniel’s heartfelt confession (Dan. 9:15) or Jeremiah’s tear-filled commitment (Jer. 9:1). Notwithstanding the way that they often were persecuted and mistreated, God’s prophets always showed a genuine love for Him and His people, the hallmark of a fruitful ministry.

How often have men or women of God disappointed you by their actions or character flaws? What important lesson can you learn from that experience?

Supplemental EGW Notes

Those who have this union with Christ will declare it in spirit and word and work. Profession is nothing unless in word and work good fruit is manifest. Unity, fellowship with one another and with Christ—this is the fruit borne on every branch of the living vine. The cleansed soul, born again, has a clear, distinct testimony to bear. . . .
To know God is, in the scriptural sense of the term, to be one with Him in heart and mind, having an experimental knowledge of Him, holding reverential communion with Him as the Redeemer. Only through sincere obedience can this communion be obtained. Where this communion is lacking, the heart is not in any sense a temple of God, but is controlled by the foe, who is working out his own purposes through the human agency. Such a man, whatever his profession or claims, is not a temple of the Holy Spirit.
The experience is perfected by fruit bearing. He who does not bear good fruit in words and deeds, in the strength of elevated, ennobling principle, is a bad tree. The fruit that he bears is unpalatable to God. His professed knowledge of Christ is a falsehood, a deception. . . .
In the light of the love of Christ, the gospel is an open book. This is the true light, which Christ came to bring to the world. The Saviour’s true disciples have received this love. . . .
Following Christ’s example of unselfish service, trusting like little children in His merits, and obeying His commands, we shall receive the approval of God.—Our Father Cares, p. 310.

The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony. He will bring in spurious visions to mislead, and will mingle the false with the true, and so disgust people that they will regard everything that bears the name of visions as a species of fanaticism; but honest souls, by contrasting false and true, will be enabled to distinguish between them. . . .
There is nothing more detrimental to the soul’s interest, its purity, its true and holy conceptions of God, and of sacred and eternal things, than constantly giving heed to and exalting that which is not from God. It poisons the heart, and degrades the understanding. Pure truth can be traced to its divine Source, by its elevating, refining, sanctifying influence upon the character of the receiver. The Author of all truth prayed to His Father, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20, 21).—Maranatha, p. 158.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Thursday · November 26

Fulfilled Prophecies

People often think of a prophet as someone who predicts the future, but this is only one aspect of a prophet’s work. A prophet’s work encompasses much more. Prophets lead people back to God’s Word and provide counsel, warning, and encouragement.

Besides helping people know about and prepare for future events, why do prophets predict the future? See Jer. 28:9, 15–17.

Fulfilled predictions are another way to test a prophet. The predictions of a true prophet should happen as prophesied: “ ‘When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him’ ” (Deut. 18:22, NKJV). This test can be challenging to apply because some prophecies are conditional; that is, they might not come to pass as predicted by the prophet if the conditions are met.

We see this principle with Jonah and his warning against Nineveh. Jonah’s sermon seems fairly short and pointed: “ ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ ” (Jon. 3:4, NKJV). Yet, that did not happen as he predicted. Why?

Read Jeremiah 18:7–10. What does this teach us, too, about conditional prophecy?

Conditional prophecies are prophecies that depend on how people respond to God’s messages. If the people change their attitude and behavior, the predicted event may not happen. The people of Nineveh took Jonah’s prediction to heart and changed their ways, so God did not destroy them (Jon. 3:10). When later generations forgot this prophetic warning, and Nineveh again became an evil, cruel place, God destroyed it. God knows the future, but we don’t. Our choices greatly determine our future realities.

Why is it important to understand the concept of conditional prophecy? How could this understanding greatly help us better grasp biblical truth?

Supplemental EGW Notes

In the annals of human history the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as dependent on the will and prowess of man. The shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, behind, above, and through all the play and counterplay of human interests and power and passions, the agencies of the all-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will. . . .
Amidst the strife and tumult of nations, He that sitteth above the cherubim still guides the affairs of the earth. . . . .
The history of nations that one after another have occupied their allotted time and place, unconsciously witnessing to the truth of which they themselves knew not the meaning, speaks to us. . . .
The history which the great I AM has marked out in His Word, uniting link after link in the prophetic chain, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tells us where we are today in the procession of the ages, and what may be expected in the time to come.
All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order. . . .
We need to study the working out of God’s purpose in the history of nations and in the revelation of things to come, that we may estimate at their true value things seen and things unseen; that we may learn what is the true aim of life; that, viewing the things of time in the light of eternity, we may put them to their truest and noblest use. Thus, learning here the principles of His kingdom and becoming its subjects and citizens, we may be prepared at His coming to enter with Him into its possession.
The day is at hand. For the lessons to be learned, the work to be done, the transformation of character to be effected, the time remaining is but too brief a span.—Education, pp. 173, 178, 184.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Friday · November 27

Further Thought

Seventh-day Adventist acceptance of Ellen G. White’s prophetic gift, from its inception until the present time, has faced similar challenges to those of many biblical prophets. After Ellen G. White’s first vision in December 1844, some questioned her prophetic claims. This led Sabbath-keeping Adventists (later Seventh-day Adventists) to develop arguments in support of Ellen G. White’s prophetic gift.

First, they offered theological justification for the perpetuity of the gift of prophecy until the end of time. The Bible supports the modern display of the gift of prophecy, they argued. Based on Joel 2, Revelation 12:17, and other scriptures, the prophetic gift would be visible in the “last days” and become an “identifying mark” of God’s end-time people. (See Gerhard Pfandl, “The Gift of Prophecy and God’s Remnant Church,” in The Gift of Prophecy, chapter 4.)

Second, early Adventists noted that Ellen G. White’s gift had a positive influence on believers. For example, her prophetic insights helped to unify believers attending the Sabbath Conferences in the late 1840s when they disagreed on biblical doctrines. Her gift continued to bear “good fruit” in the decades since, and her writings remain influential within the Seventh-day Adventist community of faith.

A third argument in defense of Ellen G. White relates to the supernatural elements of her visionary experiences. While in vision, as we have noted previously, Ellen G. White exhibited supernatural manifestations—reporting facts and circumstances unknown to her, revealing future events, exhibiting greater-than-natural strength, and being unable to control or influence the timing of her visionary experiences, among others.

Seventh-day Adventists today continue to highlight these supports for the validity of Ellen G. White’s gift. While these arguments are sound, a powerful “proof” of Ellen G. White’s gift is a personal experience with her writings. As the psalmist David urged: “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8). It is only when we prayerfully read Ellen G. White’s writings that we can evaluate her prophetic claims.

One place to begin is with her small but most popular volume, Steps to Christ. Follow this with the five-volume Conflict of the Ages series, which traces the great controversy theme from Genesis to Revelation. Her writings are widely available in paper and electronic versions (see EGWWritings.org) and have been translated into many languages.

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