Twelve Tests of a Biblical Prophet
1. Deuteronomy 18:21-22: “And if you say in your heart, how shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken? “
“When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken, but the prophet has spoken it presumptuously: you shall not be afraid of him.”
Every prophecy must happen, excluding conditional ones, but the LORD may “repent” as He did concerning Nineveh and not destroy the city because they all repented in sackcloth and ashes.
Jer 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them.
Jer 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
Jer 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, with which I said I would benefit them.
So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them…. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not” (Jonah 3:3-5, 10).
Implicit in Jonah's prophecy was the condition “if you do not repent.” The Ninevites repented, and therefore God changed His plan.
2. Numbers 12:6: “And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream.
“From this time, up to December, 1844, my joys, trials, and disappointments were like those of my dear Advent friends around me. At this time I visited one of our Advent sisters, and in the morning we bowed around the family altar. It was not an exciting occasion, and there were but five of us present, all women. While I was praying, the power of God came upon me as I had never felt it before. I was wrapped in a vision of God's glory, and seemed to be rising higher and higher from the earth, and was shown something of the travels of the Advent people to the Holy City, as narrated below” {EW 13.2}.
3. Numbers 24:4 and 16: “He has said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open.”
“He has said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open.”
Very interesting, because this perfectly describes what would happen to Ellen White while she was in vision. People in her day would wave their hands in front of her face trying to make her blink. On several occasions men would take their fists and act as if they were going to hit her, then would stop just a couple of inches from her nose! Never once would she blink while in vision. She was oblivious to what was happening around her!
4. Daniel 10:17: “For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.”
“Another test of a true prophet is that they have no breath while in vision. In other words, they don't breathe. According to scripture, this is one of the miracles God performs to identify a genuine prophet. While in vision, they don't breathe. During some of Ellen White's first visions, people would hold a mirror in front of her mouth to see if there was any condensation on it. Why, one man even came up and put his hand over her nose and mouth to see if she was breathing. In one instance, there was a spiritualist physician in Parkville, Maryland, who bragged, "Ellen White just hypnotizes herself. If she ever 'went into vision' when I was around, I'd snap her out of it. She wouldn't pull that kind of stuff around me.”
“You know, God vindicated His servant, because she went into vision one day when this man was in the room. Now was his chance to "snap her out" of her "mesmerized" state. So he went up to her and began doing the things he believed would bring her out of her hypnotized state. Suddenly, he turned and ran for the door. Just as he got out the side door, the deacon grabbed him by the arm and said, "Where are you going, doctor?" He turned around and in a strangled voice said, "My God! She doesn't breathe!"
5. Daniel 10:18: "Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me."
Before a vision, a prophet may be very weak in physical strength. But when taken in vision, a true prophet will suddenly receive supernatural strength. On one occasion, Sister White lifted a Bible that weighed approximately 18 pounds, and held it out at arm's length for over 30 minutes! You should know that she was a frail woman who weighed less than 100 pounds. Here's a picture of that 18 pound Bible. That's a regular Bible laying on top of it. Notice the difference. Also, while holding the Bible, Ellen also quoted the scripture on the pages exposed at that moment, without looking at them.
I've had that very Bible in my hand. And with veins bulging on my neck, I held it at arm's length for 53 seconds! (My arm was shaking for two minutes after that.) Why, the one-time "strongest man in the world," Mr. Universe, held that Bible out at arm's length for four minutes. And friend, let me assure you, all the things I'm telling you today are documented, I'm not just talking off the cuff here.
6. Jeremiah 28:9:"The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him."
A true prophet absolutely does not lie. His predictions will be one hundred percent fulfilled.
7. 2 Peter 1:20: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."
A true prophet does not give his own interpretation of scripture. Every prophecy he or she proclaims will agree with already established truth. If they receive new light, it must agree with the old light God has already given.
"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
So, a true prophet prophesies in the name of the Lord, not in his own name. A true prophet will manifest the fruits of that same spirit because he or she speaks through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
8. 2 Peter 1:21:For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
So, a true prophet prophesies in the name of the Lord, not in his own name. A true prophet will manifest the fruits of that same spirit because he or she speaks through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
9. 1 Corinthians 14:3: "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort."
In other words, a true prophet gives direction to God's true church. And a true prophet's messages will cover all of these three areas: Edification -- to instruct morally; Exhortation -- this means to strongly advise; and Comfort -- to soothe in distress or sorrow, to console. All of these three things will be exemplified by a true prophet. Ellen White wrote 100,000 pages of guidance to the church.
10. Isaiah 8:19-20: “And when they shall say to you, Seek to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek to their God? for the living to the dead?
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
God gives a clear distinction between false prophets and true prophets here -- between the works of hellish darkness, and the works of heavenly light.
How could it be any plainer? God says, "To the law," what's the law? It is the ten commandment law of God, " . . . and to the testimony . . ." What's the testimony? The "testimony" is the rest of scripture. " . . . If they speak not according to this word [the 10 commandments and the Bible], it is because they have no light in them." Friend, that's not what I say, it's what God says. That means a true messenger of God will keep all of God's Ten Commandments. In other words, a true prophet of God is going to be a seventh-day Sabbath-keeper. Was Ellen White a seventh-day Sabbath-keeper? You better believe she was. God showed her in vision how this commandment was being desecrated, ignored, and forgotten by almost the entire world. And through the prophetic gift of this little lady, God raised up a people who would honor all of His commandments.
11. John 4:1-3:"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they, are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is in the world."
“A true prophet believes in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and will never question the fact that Jesus came in man's fallen nature, in our fallen flesh. The Bible says any person, or church, claiming that Jesus Christ came to this earth in any other way, than in the fallen flesh that you and I have, is the spirit of antichrist.”
“ In other words, it's imperative that you and I understand correctly Christ's human nature while on this earth. Ellen White believed and taught the correct biblical definition of Christ's human nature: He came to this earth in our nature, in our fallen, human flesh. But in spite of that, He never yielded to temptation; He was sinless, and you and I can be victorious over all sin in our life through the power, and the blood, and the strength of our Lord, Jesus Christ, our perfect Example. Hebrews 4:15: "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities [not Adam's - the infirmities before he fell - he didn't have any - our infirmities]; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
“Don't you see, Jesus' perfect life on this earth was an example for us to follow. 1 Peter 2:21, "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye [we] should follow his steps."
“This test, Number 11 plainly states that God's true messengers on this earth will be teaching victory over sin, and that Jesus' perfect life is not our substitute, but our example! Very important: Christ was our substitute only on Calvary. His perfect life is our example!”
“Through the power and strength of Jesus Christ, can we stop sinning? Yes! Jude 24: "Unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."
“There is not one sin in our life that Jesus cannot give us victory over, if we will just let Him do so.
12. Matthew 7:15-16:”"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. . ."
“In other words, look at what their ministry produces. If all they produce is a good time, with theme parks and water slides, and all they spend their time doing, is telling people to send them money, on the authority of the Word of God, that person is a false prophet.”
“Answer one question: why do all these false prophets today, insist you send them your money? If they're truly of God, they should be happy for it going anywhere in God's work. But no, they tell you that you must send it to them before God will bless you. Well, "by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). This is exactly what God showed Ellen White about false prophets in the last days.”
“Look at the fruits of a ministry, look at the fruits of a messenger. Are they preaching the truth, or lining their own pockets? Very important!
“Now friend, we just looked at the twelve biblical tests of a true prophet. You can examine the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you can apply these twelve tests to any person who has ever lived since the time of John the Revelator, which was around 100 A.D. You can take these twelve tests of Scripture and line them up with anyone who has lived in the past 1800 years. As far as I know, they will only match up with one person that we know of-- a little woman who lived from 1827 to 1915 by the name of Ellen G. White.”
Ellen White passed all 12 tests of a prophet!
“Look at these wonderful passages from scripture showing us the necessity of a prophet: Amos 3:7 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." Hosea 12:13: "And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved." 2 Chronicles 24:19: "Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear." 2 Chronicles 20:20: ". . . Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye prosper." But are you sure you understand the significance of this Gift of Prophecy?”
“You see, God manifested Himself to us in His Son. Jesus came and dwelt among us, and after He left, He promised us something: it was the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit manifests Himself to us through the gifts. When we reject the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we reject the Holy Spirit. When we reject the Holy Spirit, we reject Jesus. When we reject Jesus, we reject salvation. Do you see that? When we reject the gifts the Holy Spirit gives, we reject Jesus Christ, and the sin that God cannot forgive is the continual rejection of His Holy Spirit!”
“Do you see the ramifications of this? Do you see the magnitude of rejecting the gift of the Holy Spirit? What we've got to do is to "test the spirits." We must see if what we're seeing is of God, because if we reject it, we are rejecting the Holy Spirit.
“You know, I feel sorry for these people who say, "Just give me the Bible and the Bible only -- no modern day prophet, just the Bible." Now doesn't that sound pious? There's only one problem with that: you can't separate the two, because the Bible testifies of latter-day prophets; each testifies of the other. If you truly take the Bible as the Word of God, then you must accept the true Gift of Prophecy because the Bible testifies to it.”
Joel 2:28-29: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit."
“God has given the true Gift of Prophecy to His church in these last days for one reason: we have a fearful, yet exciting job to do. We must warn a sensual, seduced world of a coming Savior. God has given the Spirit of Prophecy, its admonitions and its counsels, to prepare His people to do that task. Will you join with God's people? Will you accept this precious Gift of Prophecy? Will you realize its value? Will you let it prepare you for eternity? If you do, your success is guaranteed. If not, nothing but doom can be prophesied concerning you.”
Proverbs 1:24-26, 28 simply says: "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; . . . Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me."
“ Oh friend, God has given the true Gift of Prophecy to lead His children down through the ages, and in these last days we need it now more than ever.”
"How can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation. . . ?" (Hebrews 2:3).
Read a personal testimony of someone who knew Ellen White:
http://www.seventh-day.org/egw_testimony.htm
Work Cited
“The 7th Day Sabbath”: Seventh Day Sabbath.org. Retrieved from: http://www.seventh-day.org/testsofproph.htm
Back to: Ellen White: Gods End Time Messenger