The Gift of Prophecy
and God's Remnant Church
SATURDAY
“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17, NKJV).
God’s faithful remnant was not always a visible remnant; that is, from the early days up to the last days, God has His faithful ones in different faiths, which is why the call is made: “ ‘Come out of her [Babylon], my people’ ”
The Week at a Glance: What do the symbols in Revelation 12 represent? What events in history can be seen as a fulfillment of this chapter? What is the meaning of the phrases “the testimony of Jesus" and "the spirit of prophecy"?
SUNDAY January 18
Good Versus Evil: Act 1
Revelation 12:14 (King James Version)
14And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Second, the various time phrases used in Daniel and Revelation—“time and times and half a time” (Dan. 7:25, 12:7, Rev. 12:14, NKJV), “forty-two months” (Rev. 11:2, 13:5, NKJV), and “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Rev. 11:3, 12:6, NKJV)—are not the natural way of expressing a literal three and a half years (see Luke 4:25 and James 5:17). For these reasons and others, Seventh-day Adventists (in contrast to most other Christians today) interpret the 1,260 days as 1,260 years, and see it as a reference to the period of papal supremacy from the sixth to the end of the eighteenth century.
MONDAY January 19
Good Versus Evil: Act 2
Revelation 12:17 (King James Version)
17And 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.
In Revelation 12:17, we are now in the time after the 1,260-day period (which ended at the close of the eighteenth century). Satan, seeing that he was unable to wipe out God's faithful people, is angry with a particular group called “the rest of her offspring” (NKJV) or “the remnant of her seed” (KJV).
How much simpler could God have made it? This end-time remnant will be distinguished, first of all, by the fact that it keeps the commandments of God, all of them, which of course includes the seventh-day Sabbath.
How firm are you in your own mind regarding God’s call that we keep His commandments? How can you be sure that the Lord commands us to keep them? How do you respond to arguments against keeping the commandments, especially the Sabbath?
TUESDAY January 20
The Testimony of Jesus
Revelation 19:10 (King James Version)
10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy
A study of the word testimony in John’s writings indicates that each time it appears in the same grammatical construction as in Revelation, it always refers to Jesus’ own testimony (John 1:19; 3:11, 32, 33; 5:31). In contrast, the idea of witnessing about somebody in John's writings consistently is expressed by a different grammatical construction.
Thus, “the word of God” refers to what God says and is parallel to “the testimony of Jesus.” Thus, “the word of God” is simply what Jesus says; it is the testimony that Jesus gives about Himself.
Thus, according to the principle of “interpreting scripture with scripture,” every text in the book of Revelation where the phrase “testimony of Jesus” appears always refers to Jesus’ own testimony. How has Jesus revealed Himself to you? Would you like to know Him better? What’s the only way you can?
WEDNESDAY January 21
The Spirit of Prophecy
1 Corinthians 12:8-10 (King James Version)
8For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
10To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
1 Corinthians 12:28
28And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
Now, just as in 1 Corinthians 12:28, those who have the gift of prophecy (verse 10 of the same chapter) are called prophets—in Revelation 22:8, 9, those who have the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10) are also called “prophets.”
“I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God’ ” (Rev. 22:8, 9, NKJV).
“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’” (Rev. 19:10, NKJV).
This is not purely an Adventist interpretation. Lutheran scholar Hermann Strathmann says about “brothers who have the testimony of Jesus” (NJKV) in 19:10: “According to the parallel 22:9 the brothers referred to are not believers in general, but the prophets. . . . If they have the marturia Iesou [the testimony of Jesus], they have the spirit of prophecy, i.e., they are prophets.”—Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 4, p. 501.
THURSDAY January 22
The Remnant Church
Revelation 12:17 (King James Version)
17And 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.
...God’s visible remnant church that can be recognized by two specific characteristics: (1) they “keep the commandments of God” as God has given them on Mount Sinai, including the Sabbath commandment; and (2) they “have the testimony of Jesus Christ,” which is the Spirit of prophecy, or the prophetic gift.
Revelation 14:6-12 (King James Version)
6And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
8And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
9And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
12Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
FRIDAY January 23
Further Study:
In short, the idea of the remnant had more to do with a revelation of truth and of God’s character than with the holiness of those who had that knowledge. The point? As expressed in Thursday’s lesson, being part of the remnant means only that you have great light, and with that light comes important responsibilities. It does not mean you automatically have salvation; nor does it mean that those who aren’t part of the remnant are lost.
What important message is found in Luke 12:48 for those who believe that they are part of the remnant church?
Luke 12:48 (King James Version)
48But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
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