Enoch: Hebrews 11:5; Jude 14, 15.

“He was one of the holy line, the preservers of the true faith, the progenitors of the promised seed. From the lips of Adam he had learned the dark story of the Fall, and the cheering one of God’s grace as seen in the promise; and he relied upon the Redeemer to come. But after the birth of his first son, Enoch reached a higher experience; he was drawn into a closer relationship with God. He realized more fully his own obligations and responsibility as a son of God. And as he saw the child’s love for its father, its simple trust in his protection; as he felt the deep, yearning tenderness of his own heart for that firstborn son, he learned a precious lesson of the wonderful love of God to men in the gift of His Son, and the confidence which the children of God may repose in their heavenly Father. The infinite, unfathomable love of God through Christ became the subject of his meditations day and night; and with all the fervor of his soul he sought to reveal that love to the people among whom he dwelt.

“Enoch’s walk with God was not in a trance or vision, but in all the duties of his daily life. He did not become a hermit, shutting himself entirely from the world; for he had a work to do for God in the world. In the family and in his intercourse with men, as a husband and father, a friend, a citizen, he was the steadfast, unwavering servant of the Lord.

“His heart was in harmony with God’s will; for ‘can two walk together, except they be agreed?’ (Amos 3:3). And this holy walk was continued for three hundred years. There are few Christians who would not be far more earnest and devoted if they knew that they had but a short time to live, or that the coming of Christ was about to take place. But Enoch’s faith waxed the stronger, his love became more ardent, with the lapse of centuries.

“Enoch was a man of strong and highly cultivated mind and extensive knowledge; he was honored with special revelations from God; yet being in constant communion with Heaven, with a sense of the divine greatness and perfection ever before him, he was one of the humblest of men. The closer the connection with God, the deeper was the sense of his own weakness and imperfection.

“Distressed by the increasing wickedness of the ungodly, and fearing that their infidelity might lessen his reverence for God, Enoch avoided constant association with them and spent much time in solitude, giving himself to meditation and prayer. Thus he waited before the Lord, seeking a clearer knowledge of His will, that he might perform it. To him prayer was as the breath of the soul; he lived in the very atmosphere of heaven.

“Through holy angels God revealed to Enoch His purpose to destroy the world by a flood, and He also opened more fully to him the plan of redemption. By the spirit of prophecy He carried him down through the generations that should live after the Flood and showed him the great events connected with the second coming of Christ and the end of the world.”1

Noah: Hebrews 11:7. “God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13).

“Noah stood like a rock amid the tempest. Surrounded by popular contempt and ridicule, he distinguished himself by his holy integrity and unwavering faithfulness. A power attended his words, for it was the voice of God to man through His servant. Connection with God made him strong in the strength of infinite power, while for one hundred and twenty years his solemn voice fell upon the ears of that generation in regard to events, which, so far as human wisdom could judge, were impossible.”2

The Spirit of Christ used Noah as a mouthpiece to preach the gospel to the antediluvians, who were “dead in sins” (Ephesians 2:5), as prisoners of Satan (Isaiah 42:7; 61:1; 2 Timothy 2:26), calling them to repentance. But they did not respond.

“For Christ also . . . went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18–20; 4:6).

Abraham: Genesis 15:1; 18:17.

“Abraham had honored God, and the Lord honored him, taking him into His counsels, and revealing to him His purposes.”3

Abraham’s sense of righteousness and his love for his fellow humans were tested. Would he reveal indifference? Or would he plead for justice and mercy? Abraham said to the Lord:

“Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:23–25).

Superficially, these last words of Abraham looked like sheer presumption. Upon close examination, however, we see that there was not the slightest trace of arrogance in his question. The announcement made to Abraham had a purpose: Should the destruction come without an explanation on the part of God concerning the true situation, and without an assurance that, if there were any righteous, they would be spared? If so, Abraham and other God-fearing men would begin to question the righteousness of the Ruler of the universe. But the Lord has a special way to reveal facts to humans. Oftentimes, He first allows His servants to be involved in deep perplexity, making them feel a desperate need for answers, so they can properly understand His love, His mercy, His righteousness. Then He reveals to them His special providences and vindicates His actions. Thus He acted with Abraham, with Moses (Exodus 32:9–11; 33:13, 14), with Joshua (Joshua 7:7–15), with Gideon (Judges 6:12–16), with Elijah (1 Kings 19:13–18), and with others. God wanted to give Abraham the clarification for which he pleaded, but, before giving it to him, God wanted to make him so anxious for it that he would start asking for it. As far as His righteousness is concerned, the Lord wants us to be fully convinced, and He is willing to answer our questions and remove our doubts. As creatures made in the image of God, we have hearts and minds which demand that things be right, and we should also be satisfied that God’s actions are right.

In line with this thought, the following question must have arisen in the minds of some people: Why does a God who knows everything need an investigative judgment about which we read in the Bible? I myself asked this question sixty years ago and received the following explanation: God actually does not need such a judgment, but we do. So that we may be able to examine the records of the lives of some of our good friends and relatives whom we expected to see in heaven but who will not be there, God transparently gives us a right to be satisfied concerning His righteousness.

The Lord revealed to Abraham that, had there been ten righteous people in Sodom, He would spare the city for the sake of those ten. At this stage, let us humbly understand that, in many cases, human beings (individuals, families, villages, towns, and so on) are protected from calamities without the intervention of the police, or the fire department, or a special rescue team. Even a city may be preserved because of the righteous people, the “salt of the earth,” living there. (Read Acts 28:18-25). Consider the following example:

Paul Harvey, the famous American radio commentator, described a miracle that happened in Beatrice, Nebraska, on March 1, 1950. A lady who was always punctual for church called her daughter: “It’s 7:15 p.m. Choir practice is at 7:30 p.m. Let’s go.” But the girl was asleep. The mother ran upstairs to wake her up. By the time she got ready to leave, it was evident that they would be late—for the first time. The mother was the choir director, and the daughter was the pianist. But these two participants were not the only ones who were late that evening. The pastor and his wife had always been on time for choir practice but not that evening. There were eighteen members in the church choir, and all of them, for one reason or another, were late for choir practice that very same night. No one showed up at 7:30 p.m. This had never happened before.

At 7:30 p.m. a gas leak in the basement was ignited by the furnace that was directly below the choir loft. And there was an explosion which demolished the church—at 7:30 p.m. But the merciful hand of God intervened to cause all those eighteen choir members to arrive after 7:30. Was this a coincidence or a miracle? You decide.

Moses and Aaron, and others: Exodus 3:10; 5:1; Numbers 11:25, 26.

The prophetic gift was manifested in a great measure through Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. The same gift was bestowed also upon Joshua.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient” (Numbers 27:18–20).

During the long period of the Mosaic dispensation, the people of Israel received messages, instructions, and were rebuked through God’s prophets. Jeremiah said:

“Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers” (Jeremiah 7:25, 26).

Paul says that, among the spiritual gifts bestowed on the church, the spirit of prophecy is included.

“When [Christ] ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:8, 11).

We see this fulfilled in the apostles and others of their time.

Many of God’s servants in the time of the Old Testament were used by God as He spoke to them in dreams and visions. They were men of God—seers, prophets, divine messengers. Arthur G. Daniels explains:

“[These men of God] were given messages … which led them to meet the purpose of God in the gospel. Not all were called to foretell events or to work miracles. To them were revealed the purposes of God not known to others. Their mission was to bear these messages to their fellow men.

“John the Baptist was brought into the world to bear a new message to the human race—to herald the advent of the Son of God. He recognized God’s purpose, he understood the mission of his very existence, and performed it exactly as God had planned. This is true greatness as God estimates greatness. The Saviour declared that there had been no greater prophet than John.

“The great Reformation was in the purpose and plan of God. He allowed the apostasy to come, but He did not intend that it should forever fully eclipse the light of His glorious gospel. He did not intend that His light should shine no more, that the human race should end in the midnight blackness of papal ascendancy. Therefore, in His own time and way He visited men, spoke to them, illumined their minds, gave them messages to bear to their fellows, and inspired them to carry out His purposes and plans. Such a glorious company of messengers was raised up in the early part of the sixteenth century. Says Wylie:

“ ‘One thing has struck all who have studied, with minds at once intelligent and reverent, the era of which we speak, and that is the contemporaneous appearance of so many men of great character and sublimest intellect at this epoch. No other age can show such a galaxy of illustrious names’ (James A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, vol. 1, book 8, chapter 1, p. 410).”4

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

From the earliest promise of God (Genesis 3:15) calculated to bring hope to mans fallen in sin, to the glories of redemption in the earth renewed, prophecy was the comforting and enlightening channel of God’s promises. The first advent of Christ was the climax of the long held prophetic hope for Israel, and we look forward to the second advent of Christ as the consummation of our highest hope at the end of the same prophetic line.

When we understand the comprehensive nature and meaning of the prophetic gift, it becomes clear to us that prophecy is not wholly confined to foretelling future events; it is also given for the elevation of heavenly principles. Forecasting is comparatively a small part in the work for the people of God, whereas revival and reformation is a constant need in every generation.

Belief in the spirit of prophecy as God’s method of communication with His people is one of the marks of identification of the remnant church.

In the Old Testament we read about priests, scribes, and prophets contributing in various capacities to the organized church. Then, in the New Testament, we again have a similar set of offices fixed into the administrative machinery of the church. Christian stewardship included “the word of wisdom, . . . the word of knowledge, . . . the gift of healing, . . . the working of miracles, . . . the gift of prophecy,” and so on. All were encouraged to make conscientious application of their loaned talents, to ensure harmony and success. Whatever the reason for the decrease of the prophetic gift, the need of wisdom, knowledge, exhortation, and the like, continued during the history of the prophetic churches.

Warnings against deceptions were given as safeguards for the truth. Paul said: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:29, 30). Also we have the warning of Peter: “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20).

It is in this area—interpretation of the Scriptures—that endless divisional difficulties have originated. Honesty and sincerity are not enough to safeguard against prejudices, circumstances, education, and experience leading us to the misinterpretation of Scripture. Rejection of God’s commands or disrespect for the spirit of prophecy will lead us to misunderstand God’s Word. Dependence on the interpretations of other humans (no matter how useful these may be in suggesting various ways to understand God) will also lead us astray. We will learn of God’s will for us when we approach His Word with sincerity, a belief in the consistency of the teachings of God, a determination to understand His Communication for ourselves firsthand, and a willingness to obey.

Whether their messages were accepted or rejected, the messengers have always had to speak. Jeremiah is one example. He explained:

“For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jeremiah 20:8, 9).

Each succeeding period of the church of God was blessed with increased instruction in the will and purpose of God. Prophetic revelation has always been a connected system of progressive instruction. Some prophets introduced outlines of events that were to take place, and others followed adding further information for their times. Christ and the disciples amplified the important prophetic writings which were already recognized as the voice of God. Amplification of predictions or instructions is part of the prophetic gift.

Thousands of religious leaders, scholars, and exegetes have categorically opposed the messages of the Advent Movement, because they fail to recognize that this movement is a prophetic increase in knowledge and experience of “the everlasting gospel.” How sad is it to witness the same disposition today among those who are endeavoring to relegate the servant of God and her writings to some nonexistent classification of half-inspired. Many of the Jewish leaders and scholars relegated the prophet Daniel to a decreased level of inspiration and did not place him on the same level as others, simply because his messages contained severe and straight rebukes for them. Daniel’s testimony loses none of its truth or authority just because someone do not like what it says.

Repeatedly, it is quoted that the Bible is an anvil upon which hammers have been worn. The same could be said about the Testimonies also. Whether we accept or reject the urgent calls for reformation that the prophetic gift continually brings, they still remain. The prophets make no apologies or retractions. Who would dare to question the will of God? No church or organization needs to recommend, or argue over, the merits of the messages of God; they have their own inherent value. Apostasy of the professed people of God does not stop the reforms for which His messages were sent. Explanations and excuses made to placate derogatory criticism by those who are courting the popularity of the enemies of the truth, do not dull the luster which flashes from the gems of truth in the inspired messages of God. The clear ringing voice still calls, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established, believe in his prophets, so shall ye prosper” (2 Chronicles 20:20).