Diapositiva 1

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THE INSPIRATION OF THE PROPHETS
Lesson 5 for the 31st of January, 2009
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God has a message
BIBLICAL PERIOD
LAST DAYS
How does He transmit it to men?
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God transmits a message to someone through
revelation, and that person must pass it on to
other people.
THROUGH
REVELATION
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How has God revealed to prophets?
Directly, like He did to Moses.
the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man
speaks to his friend (Exodus, 33 11)
Through angels, like He did to John.
And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His
angel to show His servants the things which must
shortly take place (Revelation, 22 6)
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Through dreams, as He did to Daniel.
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon,
Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while
on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling
the main facts (Daniel, 7 1)
Through visions, like He did to Ezekiel.
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in
the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month,
as I was among the captives by the River Chebar,
that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of
God (Ezekiel , 1 1)
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Among all the ways God uses to reveal Himself
(directly and through angels, dreams and
visions), visions are which cause physical
extraordinary effects in the prophet.
A form took Ezekiel by the hair of my head and
lifted him up, but he felt no pain (Ezekiel, 8
3). His body stood before the elders, while he
was being carried to Jerusalem by the
Spirit. The vision happened while the elders
remained sitted before the prophet. Obviously,
they saw nothing, but Ezekiel was in a condition
of vision that prepared them to listen, at the
end of the vision, everything that God had showed
the prophet(SDA Bible Commentary, commentary on
Ezekiel, 8 2)
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Other prophets lost strength while receiving
vision, like Daniel or John. Daniel said I had
no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and
I was helpless (Daniel, 10 8 Revelation, 1 17)
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In the case of Ellen G. White, the physical
phenomena that went with visions are faithfully
registered.
Ellen G. Whites testimony
As inquiries are frequently made as to my state
in vision, and after I come out, I would say that
when the Lord sees fit to give a vision, I am
taken into the presence of Jesus and angels, and
am entirely lost to earthly things. I can see no
farther than the angel directs me. My attention
is often directed to scenes transpiring upon
earth. At times I am carried far ahead into the
future and shown what is to take place. Then
again I am shown things as they have occurred in
the past. (Selected Messages, Book 1, chapter 2,
pg. 36)
While engaged in earnest prayer, I was lost to
everything around me the room was filled with
light(Testimonies to ministers and Gospel
Workers, chapter 17, pg. 461)
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Some of the instruction found in these pages was
given under circumstances so remarkable as to
evidence the wonder-working power of God in
behalf of His truth. Sometimes while I was in
vision, my friends would approach me, and
exclaim, "Why, she does not breathe!" Placing a
mirror before my lips, they found that no
moisture gathered on the glass. It was while
there was no sign of any breathing that I kept
talking of the things that were being presented
before me. These messages were thus given to
substantiate the faith of all, that in these last
days we might have confidence in the Spirit of
Prophecy.(Selected Messages, Book 3, pg. 39)
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The testimony of those who saw her while she was
in vision

• She is utterly unconscious of everything
  transpiring around her.
• She does not breathe This has been repeatedly
  proved by pressing upon the chest, and by closing
  her mouth and nostrils.
• Immediately on entering vision, her muscles
  become rigid, and joints fixed, so far as any
  external force can influence them
• On coming out of vision, whether in the daytime
  or a well-lighted room at night, all is total
  darkness. Her power to distinguish even the most
  brilliant objects, held within a few inches of
  the eyes, returns but gradually(Life incidents,
  p. 272)

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Once the prophets had received a divine
revelation, how did they pass it on?
INSPIRATION
THROUGH
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In all the cases, the Holy Spirit inspired the
prophets to transmit those revealed messages from
God by the most convenient mean.
The inspiration is the process by which the Holy
Spirit influences the thinking of the prophet and
helps him to express by spoken or written word
what God wants to transmit.
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After I come out of vision I do not at once
remember all that I have seen, and the matter is
not so clear before me until I write, then the
scene rises before me as was presented in vision,
and I can write with freedom. Sometimes the
things which I have seen are hid from me after I
come out of vision, and I cannot call them to
mind until I am brought before a company where
that vision applies, then the things which I have
seen come to my mind with force. I am just as
dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in relating
or writing a vision, as in having the vision. It
is impossible for me to call up things which have
been shown me unless the Lord brings them before
me at the time that He is pleased to have me
relate or write them.E.G.W.(Selected messages,
Book 1, chap. 2, pg. 36).
Country meeting in Eagle Lake, Minnesota, 1875.
The Whites, Uriah Smith and others under the
baldachin.
Ellen White in the dedication of Loma Linda
campus. 1905
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Sometimes, the prophet thought he wasnt able to
express or write correctly the received
message. In those cases, they were helped by
other people who expressed and wrote those
thoughts, under his supervision. In other cases,
the Holy Spirit inspired both, the prophet and
his helper.
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JEREMIAH
Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah and
Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, all the words
of the LORD which He had spoken to him
(Jeremiah, 36 4)
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PAUL
Paul couldnt write long letters because of his
problems of sight. He just wrote the final
greeting, so he guaranteed the authenticity of
his letters. The salutation of Paul with my own
hand, which is a sign in every epistle so I
write(2 Thessalonians, 3 17) He dictated the
letters to trustworthy brothers Tertius
testimony stands out among them I, Tertius, who
wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord
(Romans, 16 22)
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THE APOSTLE JOHN
In exile, John was undoubtedly obliged to use his
own linguistic ability to redact the Revelation,
so the language in this book is not always pure
sometimes, some Semitic strokes are revealed
through Greek, and the author wasnt always sure
of his grammar.
However, the oldest Christian tradition indicates
that the Gospel was written in completely
different conditions. It was revised by different
brothers and it was written by Papiah, his
disciple.
(SDA Bible Commentary, introduction to the book
of Revelation)
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ELLEN G. WHITE
The books are not Marian's productions, but my
own, gathered from all my writings. Marian has a
large field from which to draw, and her ability
to arrange the matter is of great value to me. It
saves my poring over a mass of matter, which I
have no time to do. So you understand that Marian
is a most valuable help to me in bringing out my
books. Fanny had none of this work to do. Marian
has read chapters to her, and Fanny has sometimes
made suggestions as to the arrangement of the
matter. This is the difference between the
workers. As I have stated, Fanny has been
strictly forbidden to change my words for her
words. As spoken by the heavenly agencies, the
words are severe in their simplicity and I try
to put the thoughts into such simple language
that a child can understand every word uttered.
The words of someone else would not rightly
represent me.
Marian Davis, Ellen Whites secretary
Fannie Bolton
Selected messages, Book 3, cap. 12, pages 91-92
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Those who compiled information and wrote an
organized account of the things that the Holy
Spirit impressed them to relate, show another
kind of inspiration. This happened, for example,
to the anonymous authors of the books of Samuel,
Kings or Chronicles. Tradition shows us that
persons like Nathan, Jeremiah and Ezra compiled
and wrote those books under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. Luke used this method to write
his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles It
seemed good to me also, having had perfect
understanding of all things from the very first,
to write to you an orderly account, most
excellent Theophilus (Luke, 1 3)
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THE PROCESS OF REVELATION
Directly from God. Through angels. Through
dreams. Through visions.
THE PROCESS OF INSPIRATION
The Holy Spirit has an influence on the thought
of the prophet to express the received
message. They may use assistants to write or even
to word more correctly his words. The authors can
compile existing material, even quotes of
non-biblical authors, to compose new divinely
inspired material.
(Holy Spirit)
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