23 The Testimony of Jesus

Question 1: Where are the evil angels during the 1,000 years, and how was Satan bound—I don’t think its a real chain…

The Bible Tells us that Satan is bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. You can read about it Revelation 20:1-3

Revelation 20:1–3 NKJV

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

Here’s what we know about this time frame: 1) the 2nd coming has already happened, 2) the righteous are in heaven during this time, acting as a jury for the wicked, 3) the wicked all died at the 2nd coming of Jesus and the Bible tells us they will rest until the 2nd resurrection at the end of the 1,000 years, and 4) Satan is bound in the bottomless pit.

So, where are the evil angels?

Here’s what the Bible tells us in 2 Pet 2:4

2 Peter 2:4 NKJV

For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

The word that’s translated “hell” is the Greek word Tartarus. This is the only time this word is used in the Bible, and I’m pretty sure we’re not intended to believe that Peter has adopted Greek Mythology as truth. Instead, he clarifies that they are cast down, bound in chains, and reserved for judgment. It sounds like Satan AND all the angels are bound in the “bottomless pit” — the abusos, which we established last week is the desolate, earth after the 2nd coming.

Which brings us to how Satan was bound. Was it a real chain? It does say the angel brought a “great chain.” Could this be a real chain? Some divinely crafted metal links that are designed to hold Satan? Sure, it could be. But it could also simply be A symbol for what the Revelation 20:3 describes:

Revelation 20:3 (NKJV)

and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The purpose is that he doesn’t deceive, and the fact is that there are no wicked left alive, and the righteous are in heaven. So, it seems that the desolate earth is its own chain, it’s own seal. He can’t raise the dead, so he’s shut up, closed off, chained up, and bound. Not by a real chain, but by the fact that he can no longer pursue an Agenda against God. He and the evil angels are in isolation until the wicked are raised after the 1,000 years.

Upcoming Subjects

Our subject this morning: “The Testimony of Jesus.” I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but there’s a last-day prophecy in the book of Joel that says that before Jesus comes, we should expect people to have dreams and visions - so today, we’re going to dig into that just a little bit.

Then tonight, we’ll be talking about “The Last Night on Earth.” God has a plan for your eternal well-being but what about tomorrow? What about next month? Is God involved in your life? I’m going to tell you a little bit of my story and explore a more intimate side of the story of salvation.

I don’t think you’re going to want to miss that!

But for this morning, “The Testimony of Jesus.”

This morning, we’re going to look at something I think is one of the more interesting subjects in Bible prophecy - and maybe one of the most misunderstood. In fact, as the Christian world continues to push forward into the 21st century, I know there are people who are actually ABUSING this subject - they’re twisting it into something the Bible never intended - so, as always, we’re going to go straight to the pages of the Bible and make sure we understand. Let’s pray.

Prayer

Recently, we studied the remnant movement of Bible prophecy - God’s last-day, global, united church - and we discovered that the remnant church has a number of distinctive identifying characteristics:

First of all, it has to be worldwide, because it preaches to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Secondly, it HAS to be preaching that the judgment hour is already here - not that it’s COMING, but that it’s already here. Thirdly, they have to be calling the world to return to a distinctive worship of God as Creator. Fourthly, they have to be telling the world that “Babylon is fallen” and calling God’s people to come OUT of Babylon.

They need to be warning people to avoid the mark of the beast - something we studied at our last meeting.

They have to keep the commandments of God - not two of them, not nine of them - but all ten of them. And then we read, in Revelation 12:17, that the remnant church has to “have the testimony of Jesus.”

The Bible’s description of the remnant people of God is very specific, and we discovered that there’s only one group in all the world’s history that matches that description exactly.

Now this morning, I want to return to that description and go just a little bit deeper, so let’s go back to Revelation chapter 12 one more time:

Revelation 12:17 (AV)

17 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.

Now, if you remember what we studied, you’ll recall that God has always had a remnant people at every critical juncture in salvation history. In the days of the Flood, He had Noah. In the days of Babylon’s rising influence, He called Abraham out of Chaldea - and then He raised up a nation that would demonstrate the plan of salvation right at the very crossroads of the ancient world: the children of Israel.

When Ahab married a pagan queen named Jezebel and led Israel into the worship of pagan idols, God raised up a prophet by the name of Elijah who found 7,000 remnant people who had never bowed the knee to Baal. And in the New Testament, as the Temple was declared desolate for the last time, God raised up a remnant New Testament church.

So the pattern for the last days is really nothing new. As the whole world began to move out of the Dark Ages, God began to raise up one more remnant church - the last one - a group of believers from every walk of life - and we know exactly who that remnant is, because she “keeps the commandments of God” and has the “testimony of Jesus.”

Now that last phrase in the verse - “the testimony of Jesus” - that is a very specific expression, and you find it elsewhere in the Bible. It has a very specific meaning.

Let me show you something interesting:

In Revelation chapter 19, an angel appears to John, and John does something that he really shouldn’t do: he’s overwhelmed by the appearance of the angel, so he falls down and worships him. And of course, that’s a big no-no, because we only worship God.

So listen to what the angel says, because it’s fascinating:

Revelation 19:10 (NKJV)

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of

your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

According to the angel, what is the testimony of Jesus? It’s the “spirit of prophecy.” So now we know: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

But what, exactly, does THAT mean? Well, fortunately, the Bible gives a little more detail. The same thing happens a few chapters later - the angel appears again - and AGAIN, John bows down to worship - and again, the angel tells him not to do it.

Now watch this very carefully:

Revelation 22:9 (NKJV)

9 Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets...

Follow me very carefully now. Revelation 19 and 22 are parallel passages with slightly different details. A moment ago, the angel said, “I am your fellow servant,” and “I am of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus.”

Now he says, “I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the” - what? The PROPHETS.

That is the only difference in those two verses. In one verse, the angel is of the brethren who have the testimony of Jesus, and in the next verse, he is of the brethren the prophets.

Why? Because the prophets are the ones who HAVE the testimony of Jesus. When the Bible talks about “the testimony of Jesus,” it’s talking about the prophetic gift.

Let me show you. Paul actually talks about this gift in his first letter to the Corinthian church:

1 Corinthians 1:6–7 (NKJV)

6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short in no gift,

eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ...

According to Paul, the believers in Corinth had a special gift - he says they had the “testimony of Christ.”

This is talking about a spiritual gift - something God gives the church to help them get the work finished and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Christ.

A spiritual gift is something that all believers get: it’s a special ability that God gives you to help you participate in the work of the church - and in the Bible you find several passages that tell us what some of those gifts are.

Here’s an example in Ephesians chapter 4:

Ephesians 4:7–8 (NKJV)

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”

When Jesus went back to heaven, the Bible says He gave us spiritual gifts - special abilities that help you and I do the work of God. He gave us all the resources we need to get our assignment finished.

And the Bible teaches that every single believer has been given one or more of those gifts:

Ephesians 4:11–12 (NKJV)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

According to the Bible, why did God give us gifts? It’s to equip us for ministry. It’s not so that we can entertain ourselves, or show each other how blessed or talented we are - the gifts were given specifically for doing the work that God asked us to do.

You and I are not supposed to be spectators - you and I have work to do. We are supposed to participate in the life of the church, together with other believers. You are supposed to add YOUR gifts to the gifts of everybody else in the body of Christ.

And there are no exceptions. Every believer has gifts. And in that list of gifts, it says some people will be PROPHETS. In fact, that one gift is listed in EVERY SINGLE LIST of spiritual gifts in the Bible.

Let me show you - here’s another list in 1 Corinthians 12:

1 Corinthians 12:8–11 (NKJV)

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another

faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to

another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and

the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Let me point out a couple of things. First of all, it says the Holy Spirit gives gifts to “each one,” which means that everybody has a gift. Everybody has something valuable to contribute to the life of the church.

Secondly, it also says the SPIRIT decides who gets what gift. And the reason I point that out is because there are some people who will tell you that if you really know Jesus, you MUST get a specific gift - and all the high-level Christians get that same gift. But according to the Bible, that’s not true: God decides what you get.

And thirdly, I want you to notice that the gift of prophecy was in the list again. In fact, it’s there EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

And I’ll be honest. Sometimes, that bothers me - because every so often, someone will walk up to me and say, “I have a message from the Lord for you,” and then they’ll go off into the Twilight Zone and say something REALLY weird.

So it bothers me to think that some people might have the gift of prophecy - and yet I have to accept it as POSSIBLE, because the Bible mentions it in every single list. And on top of that, the Bible says, very specifically, that you and I should expect to see that gift in the last days:

Joel 2:28 (NKJV)

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters

shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

Joel mentions that we should expect to see the prophetic gift in conjunction with the “coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” In other words, in the last days, God says, the prophetic gift WILL be found among God’s people.

So really, I HAVE no choice - I HAVE TO ACCEPT that it’s possible, because the Bible says it’s going to happen. And yet if somebody says they have that gift, I don’t want to take his or her word for it, because Jesus was very clear that in the last days, there will be FALSE PROPHETS.

Remember what Jesus said?

Matthew 24:24 (NKJV)

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive...

Now there’s something important here that we really shouldn’t miss. Jesus said that false prophets will “show great signs and wonders,” and that means that even a miracle is no guarantee that something comes from God. Someone might come along who says or does things that defy explanation, but that still doesn’t prove anything, because according to Jesus, even false prophets are going to be able to do amazing things.

Listen to me carefully: a miracle is NOT proof that something is true - not according to the Bible. You still have to check everything you see and hear against the Word of God.

So how should we handle this? We have to accept that it’s possible, because the Bible says so - but at the same time, we need to be careful, because the last days will bring false prophets. So how can you tell the difference?

With all of the religious confusion taking place in this world, I want to be REALLY SURE that I’m not falling for deception. The book of Revelation tells me that the “spirits of demons” are going to go out into the world in the last days, performing miracles - faking spiritual gifts - deceiving the nations - so I want to be absolutely sure that I always know the truth.

So how can you tell the difference? Well, the Bible makes it really easy. First of all, it tells us to “test all things”:

1 Thessalonians 5:19–21 NKJV

19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

You and I are not just supposed to reject prophesying out of hand, because it MIGHT be the real thing - but the Bible says we need to TEST it, and only pay attention if it passes the test.

So how do you test it?

The Bible actually gives us some really good guidelines. First of all, if God were to actually reveal the future to someone, He’s not going to make a mistake.

So a person with the genuine gift of prophecy is going to get things right. If God is the source of their message, the message HAS to be true, because God cannot lie, and God does not make mistakes.

So if I were to tell you that God told me, in no uncertain terms, that tonight, at 8:05 PM, a terrorist was going to fly a plane into your house - and at 8:06, your house is still standing, what do you make of my predictive gift?

It CAN’T be the real thing - because God doesn’t get things wrong. Here’s a Bible passage to back that up:

Deuteronomy 18:22 (NKJV)

22 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...

God simply doesn’t make mistakes. A REAL prophet has got to get it right, every single time - with just one exception. There IS such a thing as a conditional prophecy - a prophecy that will only come to pass if certain conditions are met.

So, for example, the prophet Jonah told the people of Nineveh that their city would be destroyed if they didn’t repent. That’s a conditional prophecy - the Bible says the people repented, and the city wasn’t destroyed.

But other than that - if someone says the Lord told them it would happen, and it doesn’t - then it’s simply not true.

So let’s take this biblical test and apply it to some of the best-known so-called prophets today . . .

Let’s apply it to Nostradamus, the French prognosticator who lived in the 1500s. He’s a fascinating character, and a lot of people are absolutely convinced that he had the gift of prophecy - so much so that you can still buy his books today.

A few years ago, someone sat down and looked through Nostradamus’ work. During his lifetime, the French prophet wrote out 449 major prophecies . . . and of those, only 18 have been proven wrong.

Now that’s pretty amazing, right? Only 18 wrong. But let me ask you - is 18 wrong the same as 100 percent right? No, it isn’t. And God wouldn’t get 18 wrong.

But still, it seems pretty amazing . . . until you consider the fact that 390 of his prophecies don’t fit anything that has ever happened in the history of the world!

So at the end of the day, his real accuracy rate is only nine percent. Now let me ask you: would you trust a dentist with a nine percent accuracy rate? How about a heart surgeon? So why would you trust your eternal future to a man who used methods forbidden by Scripture, and only got it right nine percent of the time?

Now, there are some people who do better than 9 percent - people like Jeane Dixon, who was very popular last century. Some people estimate that SHE was right 30 to 60 percent of the time. But again, even if it’s as high as 60 percent, would God get it wrong 40 percent of the time?

Absolutely not. The same is true for Edgar Cayce, the “sleeping prophet,” and for just about every other person the world has called a prophet.

Last year, Kim Kardashian West shared a extract from a book printed in 2008 where Sylvia Browne, a self-proclaimed psychic, predicted a “severe pneumonia-like illness” would spread throughout the globe. It was as if Sylvia Browne knew the future. The tweet got 227,000 likes, and the book’s popularity grew on bookseller sites like amazon.com. But notice what else she said about this pneumonia-like illness, it will “[attack] the lungs and the bronchial tubes and [resist] all known treatments.” She then predicted that it would it would suddenly vanish and then come back again in another ten years. Here’s the thing, every year we have pneumonia-like illnesses all around the world. It’s not hard to make this prediction. The fact that a novel coronavirus became a worldwide pandemic and resisted the known treatments at first does not make Sylvia Browne a prophet. And it didn’t disappear, and we have found very successful treatments of the disease. But more damning is the fact that Browne’s psychic career has been highlighted by failed prediction after failed prediction.

In 2004 when Amanda Berry was kidnapped, she told Amanda’s mother on national TV that her daughter was “not alive” anymore. Mrs. Berry believed her, and two years later passed away. She would never know that her daughter was still alive, and would be found again in 2013.

She claimed people would have microchips in their brains by 2014, to overcome schizophrenia and epilepsy. She claimed that by 2020 it would be common for women to give birth in gravity-rigged birthing chambers. ​(whatever those are)

Folks, it’s pretty clear that most people who claim to be prophets aren’t the real thing!

So that’s test number one: if they’re making predictions, they have to be true.

Test number two: if someone has the genuine gift of prophecy, they have to be faithful to the Word of God - they have to agree with the Bible. Why? It’s because God doesn’t change His mind about the information in this Book!

If God were to give somebody a message in our day - and that message REALLY comes from God - then it has to agree with the Bible. Here’s what the Bible says:

Deuteronomy 13:1–3 (NKJV)

1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—

which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that

dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul.

If a so-called prophet disagrees with the Bible, then you know that their gift does NOT come from God. Even if that person does amazing things - even if they manage to get ALL their predictions right, 100% of the time - if they disparage the Bible, then they are NOT the real thing.

Here’s another Bible text to prove it:

Isaiah 8:20 NKJV

20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

If a so-called prophet does not agree with God’s Word - then you go the other way. If they don’t agree with God’s law, or if they encourage you to break it? Then it’s not the real thing.

In fact, the Bible seems to indicate that the genuine gift of prophecy won’t even be there among people who refuse to keep God’s law:

Lamentations 2:9 (NKJV)

…The Law is no more, And her prophets find no vision from the Lord.

This is something that actually happened with King Saul. He stopped walking with God - he became disobedient - and at that point, all prophetic communication stopped. The prophet Samuel died, and after that, there was no more word from God.

So if you remember the story, Saul went to a spiritualist for advice, and it ended up costing him his life!

So now we have these two tests:

A genuine prophet has to get things right if they’re making predictions. They also have to agree with the Bible.

And then the Bible says that if God really communicates with someone, He’s not going to use Ouija boards, or tea leaves, or crystal balls. He’s going to use dreams and visions - and the Bible makes this very clear:

Numbers 12:6 NKJV

6 Then He said, “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.

Here’s another text . . .

This one comes from Joel chapter 2.

Joel 2:28 (NKJV)

...Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

Of course, this rules out most of the people today who claim to have the prophetic gift. It rules out channelers, and psychics who say that ascended masters and space aliens are speaking to them.

It rules out crystal ball readers, and tarot card readers, and palm readers, and people who talk to the dead at seances in the middle of the night. If their messages were really coming from God, they’d be coming in dreams and visions . . .

. . . because God speaks directly to the mind. And if you think about it, that makes perfect sense - it offers perfect encryption, if you will. The Bible teaches that the devil can’t read your mind, and so if God speaks through dreams and visions, then the devil cannot intercept and twist the message.

And that brings me to our next point:

If someone has a dream or vision from God, sometimes, they absolutely quit breathing. Now this is not really a test as much as it is a manifestation - this is just the way that dreams and visions appear to happen. Listen to what happened to Daniel when HE went into vision:

Daniel 10:17 NKJV

17 For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”

When someone goes into vision, we should expect to see their breathing stop. And if you think about it, this would be really hard to fake! If someone claims to be having a vision, try pinching their nose shut, and see how long the vision lasts!

It’s impossible to counterfeit.

And then - at least sometimes - people exhibit supernatural strength while in vision. Here’s another example from the life of Daniel:

Daniel 10:18 NKJV

18 Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.

At first, Daniel collapses on the floor - he becomes exceedingly weak - and then an angel comes and strengthens him supernaturally.

So there you have it: five things to watch for. A real prophet is going to be right 100 percent of the time. A real prophet is going to agree with the Bible. A real prophet is going to hear from God in dreams and visions. A real prophet will sometimes stop breathing when in vision - and sometimes, that will be accompanied by supernatural strength.

If you look at it carefully, you’ll notice that the real gift of prophecy is very hard to fake.

And of course, the big question is: does it still happen?

Well, we HAVE to expect it, because the Bible told us to watch for it. So yes, it MUST still happen - and I’m convinced it does.

This morning, would you like to see a case study of someone I believe actually had that gift?

Her name was Ellen Harmon, and she was born in 1827, just after the deadly wound of the beast of Revelation 13, and right before what the Bible calls “the time of the end” that started in 1844. She eventually married a man by the name of James White, and most people today know her as Ellen White - and she was a rather remarkable person. In fact, the Smithsonian recently named her as one of the 100 most influential Americans of all time.

As a young girl, she gave her heart to Jesus at a Methodist gathering. Then a few years later, when she was 17, people say that something remarkable happened at a prayer meeting:

They say she had a vision, in front of a group of believers. It was a vision of people making their way to heaven on a straight and narrow path. They were leaving the world, and following Jesus into the heavenly Promised Land.

So at first glance, it looks perfectly biblical - but the Bible tells us to test the gifts, to be really sure.

Over the course of her lifetime, people say she had more than 2,000 such experiences, so the question is: was her gift the real thing?

Well, let’s put it to the test.

First of all, if her gift was the real thing, then she had to be accurate, because God’s not going to make mistakes. So if Ellen White said that God told her that something was going to come to pass, did it actually happen?

It would appear so:

Back in 1902, she warned people that San Francisco and Oakland were becoming very wicked cities, and that God had shown her that He was going to deal with them if they didn’t change their ways.

San Francisco and Oakland are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will visit them in wrath.

On another occasion, she told people that she had seen buildings shaking like reeds in the wind, and fires burning all over the city. And nobody gave it much thought, until . . .

. . . 1906, when the big earthquake we all know about suddenly wiped out San Francisco. To this day, it is still ranked as one of the most devastating earthquakes of all time. More than 3,000 people died, and 80 percent of the city was destroyed. The fires that started as a result of that earthquake burned for days on end.

Then, further back - in 1864 - Ellen White said something that most people laughed at:

She said the Lord had showed her that “tobacco is a poison of the most deceitful and malignant kind.”

She said that people were going to discover that smoking was dangerous, and she said that God’s people should stay away from cigarettes because they’re killers.

And the people of the day actually laughed her to scorn, because back then, doctors were actually prescribing cigarettes as a cure for lung ailments!

But today? Nobody’s laughing, because we ALL know that smoking is killing us . . . but here’s the amazing thing: this little lady knew it before anybody else. In fact, it wasn’t until . . .

. . . 1957, almost 100 years later - that the American Heart Association finally concluded that smoking actually causes lung cancer. Medical science didn’t catch up to Ellen White for almost 100 years!

So how in the world did SHE know this, 90-plus years in advance?

And how did she figure THIS one out . . .

In 1906, she said, “The X-ray is not the great blessing that some suppose it to be. If used unwisely, it may do much harm.”

Now, why did she say that? It’s because in 1906, the X-ray was a sideshow novelty - people were using it for entertainment. You could go to the carnival and pay a few cents to have your X-ray taken for fun.

Nobody had ANY IDEA that it was dangerous - but today, we KNOW it’s dangerous, because the X-ray technician covers you up with a lead apron and leaves the room!

So how did a humble woman with only a third-grade education figure this out before anybody else?

And how did she know this one? . . .

In 1893, she started to describe “the electrical force of the brain.” And of course, people laughed at her, because nobody really knew how the human brain operated - but today, I can tell you: nobody’s laughing. Why? Because she was right, today we know that a typical bring takes about 20watts of electrical power to operate, enough to power an electric train or a 2,400 lumen LED light buld. How did she know this with only a third-grade education?

So does Ellen White pass this first test? It would seem so. In fact, at one point, she even stood up in church in Michigan and predicted the American CIVIL WAR before it happened. She told the congregation, “Some of you are going to die in that war.”

And some people laughed because the north thought it was going to be short skirmish and be over in a day or two. But then the most devastating wars in our history took the lives of not a few, but a large number of the young men in that church and nearly every other church in the nation.

So how, exactly, did she know all that stuff?

Somehow, with a third-grade education, Ellen White has become the most translated female author in the history of the world. She wrote hundreds of thousands of pages.

One of her books was about the biblical principles of education. And on one occasion, the minister of education for Norway was visiting America, and he read her book - and he was so impressed that today, much of the Norwegian school system is still based on her book - even though she never made it past the third grade.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s get back to our tests:

Test number one: they’ve got to be predictively accurate, and that appears to be true. Just to make sure I did some digging around to find predictions from Ellen White that didn’t come true. One guy pointed to a prediction Ellen White made in 1862 about the Civil war where she said, “England is studying whether it is best to take advantage of the present weak condition of our nation, and venture to make war upon her… She fears, if she should commence war abroad, that she would be weak at home… if England thinks it will pay, she will not hesitate a moment to improve her opportunities to exercise her power, and humble our nation. When England does declare war, all nations will have an interest of their own to serve, and there will be general war, general confusion" (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 259).

He pointed to this prediction and said, “look, she said England would declare war on the United States during the civil war, but England did not. Ellen White must be a false prophet.” The problem with that conclusion is that she didn’t say England WOULD MOST CERTAINLY declare war. She said, England is weigher her options, considering if it would be wise, and if/when England does declare war, other nations will take advantage of the opportunity too. This was a conditional prediction — really just a wise and thoughtful consideration if you ask me — not a guarantee that England would make war with the US.

I explored a number of other claims and found that every single one of them took a portion of a statement out of context from something Ellen wrote and then blasted that as if they were telling the whole story. In my estimation, Ellen White passes the first test of a prophet.

Test number two: they’ve got to agree with the Bible. If someone puts themselves above the Bible, or dismisses the teachings of the Bible, then you can dismiss THEM - because the Christian only accepts the Bible as the final rule of faith. God’s Word is the standard of truth.

No matter how gifted somebody is, if they dismiss the Bible, or try to substitute something else for the Bible, or place other writings on par with the Bible, then you can write them off.

And it turns out this little lady passed THAT test, too.

Actually, I don’t really know of too many people who have tried harder than Ellen White to get people to go back to the Bible, and the Bible ONLY, as the rule of faith. Here’s what she said:

…cling to your Bible, as it reads, and stop your criticisms in regard to its validity, and obey the Word, and not one of you will be lost.

She wrote this at a time when even Christians were starting to critique the Bible and buy into the theory of evolution. She wrote this during a century when a so-called prophet named Joseph Smith had insisted that the Bible was corrupted and he had another book to replace it.

Throughout her entire lifetime, Ellen White pleaded with people to turn back to the Bible. “Quit questioning it,” she said. “Quit criticizing it - just believe what it says and start LIVING it.” Ellen White was a HUGE fan of the great Christian principle:

…there is need of a return to the great Protestant principle—the Bible, and the Bible only, as the rule of faith and duty.

Now let me ask you: does it sound like this woman disparaged the Bible? Never.

Did she agree with the Bible? Yes, she did.

In fact, when people started to believe that she MIGHT have the prophetic gift, some of them got a little too excited by the things she was writing, and she actually had to rebuke them, because they were elevating her books to the status of the Bible. And what she said absolutely confirms that she had the right attitude:

But don’t you quote Sister White… Quote the Bible. Talk the Bible. It is full of meat, full of fatness. Carry it right out in your life...

Now let me stop for a moment and clear the air on something very important. There’s this misconception floating around that Seventh-day Adventists base their beliefs on extra-biblical writings - that somehow we think that a prophetic gift like Ellen White’s takes the place of Scripture.

So let me ask you - because I’m a Seventh-day Adventist preacher: what Book have we been studying? Where did we get ALL of our information? From the Bible - because that’s who Seventh-day Adventists are: they are a people of the Book.

Let me give you an official quote - an official position - from the Seventh-day Adventist Church itself:

The writings of Ellen White are not a substitute for Scripture. They cannot be placed on the same level. The Holy Scriptures stand

alone, the unique standard by which her and all other writings must be judged and to which they must be subject. The Bible is the supreme standard.

Seventh-day Adventists fully support the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, the Bible as its own interpreter and the Bible alone as the basis of all doctrine.

We could go through every piece of scripture and every book or letter of Ellen White but let me just save the time and tell you this—of all the commentaries that I’ve read, none is more faithful to let the Bible interpret itself than when I read what Ellen White has written about it. Certainly some will argue that some conclusion that she has come to is not biblical—and they would do the same for likely several of the things that I’ve shared in this Discovering Revelation seminar. So, here’s my challenge, prove me wrong from the Bible and I’ll change my view—I’ll follow the Bible very time. Prove Ellen White wrong from the Bible, and I’ll throw her writing out—I’ll follow the Bible every time. But so far, people don’t try to prove me wrong from the Bible, they bring in church tradition or philosophy, or they take a Bible verse completely out of context to try to prove a point the Bible isn’t making. Read some of what she’s written and see for yourself.

Ok, Let’s move on:

We’ll handle the last three points together, because these are really manifestations - the way we should expect the gift to present itself. A real prophet hears from God in dreams and visions - a real prophet will stop breathing in vision - and sometimes, the vision comes with supernatural feats of strength.

And this was all true of Ellen White. She didn’t use crystal balls - or tarot cards - or tea leaves. It was always dreams and visions. And sometimes, very interesting things took place during those visions . . .

On one occasion, she suddenly picked up an 18-pound family Bible, and held it over her head for 30 minutes. And while she was holding it over her head, she started to point to different places on the page and quoted Bible verses. So of course, someone was really curious, and they got up on a chair to see if she was getting them right - and she was - every single one of them.

And I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to hold 18 pounds over your head for 30 minutes, but it’s physically impossible. One Mr. Universe heard what she had done, and he tried to hold the same Bible over HIS head, and he only made it EIGHT minutes.

On other occasions, when Ellen White went into vision, people held up candles and mirrors to her nose to see if she was breathing . . . and she WASN’T. In fact, one skeptic was convinced she was faking it, and he went to check her breath, because he knew what the Bible said - and up on the platform, he suddenly turned pale, and ran out of the room. “She’s not breathing!” he said.

Ellen White’s gift seems to match - it seems she had the real thing - and honestly, that’s kind of exciting, because the Bible says that in the last days, you and I should expect to find it among God’s people:

Revelation 12:17 (AV)

17 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.

The Bible clearly talks about the prophetic gift re-emerging in the last days, and so you and I should expect to find it - we shouldn’t be surprised if it happens.

And if the real thing happens, you WANT to know about it - this is something you wouldn’t want to miss.

Now there’s one more thing that I want you to think about as you think about this remnant group as a whole - and this is something Jesus said:

Matthew 7:20 NKJV

20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

You know, people can say all they want that they’re genuine Christians - but if the fruit doesn’t match, then you need to be very careful. So what has this last-day movement of God produced?

Well, first of all, it has produced exactly the right message - the message you SHOULD expect them to preach in the last days:

Revelation 14:6–7 (NKJV)

6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell

on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for

the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Secondly, it has produced the largest missionary movement in the world, with 80 times as many missionaries as any other single group. Not twice as many - not three times as many - 80 times. The Adventist church began a huge initiative to reach the 10/40 window in the late 1990’s. This is the area in the world with the most significant economic needs, and the lowest concentration of Christians. They are primarily Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Atheist. My own sister and her husband are missionaries in Africa; working to plant a Christian center of influence in a country that is 99.9% muslim. One of the biggest missionary endeavors right now is the mission to the cities—the population centers where the majority of the world is moving to. Many of these cities are so dense than 10 or 20 million people pack into one city. And the needs in most of the worlds largest cities are extreme.

Why do Adventists focus so much attention on reaching the unchristian world? Because they know it’s their job to take God’s final message to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people - and the Seventh-day Adventists take that job very seriously.

Thirdly, it has produced one of the biggest private health care systems in the world, including the world-famous Loma Linda hospital - where the first baby heart transplants in the world were done - and where they developed proton treatments for prostate cancer.

And why do they care so much about people’s health? It’s because they know that Jesus spent more time healing than preaching. It’s because they know that God wants people to prosper and be in good health.

This last-day movement is providing humanitarian relief to at least 119 countries . . . right now. A worldwide humanitarian aid group called Adventist Development and Relief Agency or ADRA provides food, shelter and other humanitarian aid with the majority of their work being community development to help prevent crisis in the future. And that’s just one of dozens of Adventist humanitarian ministries throughout the world. Why? Because God cares about suffering, that’s why.

And most importantly, this movement has produced millions of vibrant Christians from every imaginable walk of life - and they’re working together to prepare the world for Jesus’ return.

This movement is bringing millions of people to Christ - thousands every single day - because that’s all that really matters in these last few minutes before Jesus comes.

And most importantly of all - this last-day movement of God is getting the world ready for Jesus to come.

This morning, I have a special gift for you. I’m going to give you a book - one of the best books I’ve ever read, outside the Bible, on how to become a Christian and have a better relationship with Christ. It was written by Ellen White - and I’m giving it to you so that you can see for yourself. Take it home and read it - and if you find that it’s biblical, and Christ-centered, then add it to your library and enjoy it.

But if you find that it contradicts the Bible? Then throw it out.

I guess my last point this morning is this: what is the gift that God has given YOU? What is the PASSION God has put in your heart? If you could do anything for God, and you KNEW it would not fail - what would that be?

I want you to think about that, because the Bible says we all have gifts, and this morning, I promise you: YOU are called by God. This sinful world of ours really needs Jesus - and God is calling you, with the gifts and talents He has given you - to be part of taking the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

What is YOUR gift? What is your passion? And are you willing to use it for God’s cause? You might think that God can only use a narrow set of skills—public speaking, teaching, playing or singing music—but that’s just not true. Are you an engineer? Are you a health professional? D you have management experience? Are you someone who studies deeply and really wants to know what’s true? Are you a friendly person who likes to spend time with people, do outdoorsy stuff, or cook meals for people? Honestly, if there is a passion that God has given you—he’s got a place for you to use it. One Adventist church up in Canada decided to start an oil changing ministry for single mothers once a month. They soon started fixing up cars and giving them away to needy mothers. And when they built a new church, they built a mechanic shop at the edge of the parking lot and mechanics donate their time to help fix cars for families in need. There is really no limit to how God can use us if we are willing to give our gifts to Him.

Let’s sing a song

Father in heaven, we marvel at the way that You have loved and sustained Your people all these long years as we’ve been waiting for Jesus to come. And now we’re excited, because it’s obvious that Jesus is almost here. We’re excited, because You have left no stone unturned in keeping Your people on the right path.

This morning, we want to dedicate our hearts to You - and we want to place our gifts - the ones that You have given us - at Your disposal. We want to be a vibrant part of Your closing work - so take us, and use us, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Folks, thanks for coming - and remember: our next meeting? “The Last Night on Earth.” See you tonight - and God bless!