Ranko Stefanovic
Andrews University
One of the unique tenets of the Seventh-day Adventist church concerns the presence of the prophetic gift in the end-time church (cf. Rev. 12:17; 19:10). Adventists hold that this prophetic gift was manifested in their midst in the person of Ellen G. White. Her role in the movement from the very beginning was one of leading and helping in the development of the denomination’s organization, publishing activities, health reform, life style, mission, and education, as well as in helping settle some key doctrinal issues. After her death in 1915, her writings continued to speak to the church, and her message even speaks to us today.
However, during the last few decades, there have been some movements within the denomination questioning not only the relevance of Ellen White’s writings, but also the relevance of the prophetic gift in general for the life and mission of the church today. Without negating her historic role in the nascent movement, their tendency leans toward what might be expressed by the ubiquitous pun: “a non-prophet denomination.” A rationale for this might obviously be found in the Protestant concept of the priesthood of all believers within which New Testament prophets are not to be distinguished as a special group within the church. This also calls for a re-interpretation of the Adventist position on the meaning and significance of the gift of prophecy for the life of the church. The purpose of this paper is to trace the origin as well as the meaning and function of the gift of prophecy in the Bible.
The question of the origin of biblical prophecy brings one to the beginning of biblical history. According to the Genesis account, God created the world in seven days. On the sixth day he created human beings as the crowning act of creation. He placed them in the Garden of Eden and attempted to establish a working relationship with them through direct, face-to-face communication (cf. Gen. 2:15-17).
God’s attempt to establish a working relationship with Adam and Eve eventually ended in their failure to fulfill their prescribed role in the relationship. By disobeying God’s prohibition against eating the forbidden fruit, they caused a disjuncture in the relationship (Gen. 3). This sin of disobedience not only created a separation between God and humanity, characterized by a state of rebellion against God, but also destroyed humanity’s intimate, face-to-face communication with God. It is not until sin is finally eradicated that the face-to-face communication between human beings and God will ultimately be restored.
After the Fall, however, God continued to communicate with humanity. In the Old Testament, two distinctive phases of this communication may be discerned.
In the first phase, during the antediluvian and patriarchal periods God spoke to people directly individually by means of dreams or theophanies. In the book of Genesis, he is portrayed as speaking to Noah (Gen. 6:13-21; 7:1-4; 8:15-19; 9:1-19), Abraham (Gen. 12-17, 22), Isaac (Gen 26:2-5, 24), Rebekah (25:22-23); and Jacob (28:13-15; 31:3, 11-13; 35:9-12; 46:2-4). Significantly, he also communicates with those not belonging to the godly line, including Cain (Gen. 4:6-15), Hagar (Gen 16:7-12; 21:17-18), Abimelech (Gen 20:3-7), and Laban (32:24). The list is evidently not exhaustive; it is quite reasonable to assume that, during the antediluvian and patriarchal periods, God communicated in similar fashions to many others, even though these probable occurrences were not mentioned in the Genesis account.
With Moses, there is a shift from the to-each-person communication to the through-prophets-communication. Although Abraham is the first person whom the Bible calls a prophet (Gen 20:7),1 Old Testament normative prophecy actually started with Moses, who communicated with God “mouth to mouth” (Num. 12:8) and “face to face” (Deut. 34:10), and who set the pattern for all future prophets. From Moses on, God’s way of revealing his will and communicating with his people is exclusively through a chosen human agent, referred to as a prophet. The direct communication with every person concerned—which was clearly evident during the antediluvian and patriarchal periods— ended at that time. From that time on, God revealed his message to a person known as a “prophet” who in turn communicated and articulated that message to the people. In such a way, the prophet functioned as God’s spokesman.
The book of Numbers is instructive on this point. Chapter 12 records the displeasure and jealousy that Miriam and Aaron expressed toward their brother Moses: “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” (Num. 12:2).2 The words of Miriam and Aaron show that up to that point, God spoke directly to them as well. But now, this has all changed. God is not speaking to them directly any longer but rather only to Moses and then further through him to all the people.
The situation was suddenly interrupted by the divine theophany making a solemn proclamation: “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream” (12:6). What God made very clear here was that from that time on, he would communicate with people only through a medium of one person chosen by him to prophetic office. At that time, Moses was chosen to fill that position. This is what Hosea later confirmed: “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved” (12:13).
The statement, “If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream” (12:6) indicates that the prophetic ministry was not limited only to Moses, but that he would be followed by prophets after him. This is what Moses made very clear to the people of Israel in his last speech: “The Lord Your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him” (Deut. 18:15). Although this prophecy was partially fulfilled in Moses’ successor Joshua, and ultimately in the Jesus the Messiah (cf. Acts 3:22; 7:37), it clearly referred to the succession of prophetic ministry from that time on (cf. vv. 16-22).
At this point a question arises: why such a change in God’s way of communication? The answer to this question might be found in the fact that the beginning of prophetic ministry in the Bible coincides appropriately with the establishment of Israel at Sinai as the church of God in the Old Testament. This notion is affirmed later in the New Testament by Stephen in his well-known speech before the Sanhedrin: “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel: ‘God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’ This is the one who was in the congregation [evkklhsi,a] in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you” (Acts 7:37-38). Unlike the patriarchal period, when the faithful were usually members of an extended family with the patriarch as its head, the faithful now comprised one whole nation of a tribal organization. In such a context, communicating the divine revelation to each person in the community individually would no longer suffice. One might imagine the confusion that the continuation of communication with every person individually would create. Prophecies would have been interpreted according to each individual’s own understanding and interpretation, thereby causing untold chaos and confusion.
The prophetic gift was thus given for the benefit of the community of believers as a whole. As Solomon states, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained [[r;P’]” (Prov. 29:18). The Hebrew word [r;P’ literally means “to be loosed” in the sense of being out of control.3 The word, for instance, is used in the account of the golden calf at Sinai: when Moses came down from the mount he saw “that the people were out of control [[;rUp’]–for Aaron had let them out of control [h[or”p.]” (Exod. 32:25). In the absence of Moses’ prophetic leadership, the people quickly became unrestrained and out of control. His return to the camp brought a rebuke to the guilty and the situation was soon settled. This is one of many examples in the Old Testament showing that prophetic ministry was for the purpose of unifying the people and holding them together.
The same idea is expressed by Paul, who stated that one of the purposes of spiritual gifts in the church, of which prophecy is a part (Eph. 4:11), is to bring the believers into “the unity of faith” so that they are not “tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; … to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together …” (4:13-14). The unity of faith in the church as the body of Christ that Paul refers to here is both doctrinal and organizational. In choosing one person to be his spokesperson, and through him, to channel his message to all the people, God wanted to keep his church together in the unity of faith. The role of the prophet was to pass on to others the message revealed to him and apply it to the situation and needs of the people.
In the Bible, when God’s message is channeled through the prophet to the people, this is referred to as prophecy. Critical scholarship has treated biblical prophecy as though it were not unique in the ancient Near East. It has been argued that the origin of biblical prophecy should be traced back to ancient Egyptian, Canaanite, or Babylonian sources. It is true that prophecy in Israel might have resembled, to some degree, the prophecies of its neighbors, but we must remember that, as C. Hassel Bullock observes, ecstatic prophecy was very much like the temple and its sacrificial system “a general phenomenon in the ancient world of the Bible.”4 Yet, Hebrew prophecy was “a fundamentally different phenomenon.”5 “The Israelite prophet, as an inspired speaker and writer–under divine commission or constraint, who publicly announces an immediate revelation from God–is unique in the ancient world.”6 While the prophetic oracles outside of Israel served the political interest of the royal court and the ruling class, Old Testament prophecy was conveyed in the context of the salvation history of Israel as God’s covenant people. Although per se not a unique phenomenon, the nature and function of biblical prophecy were thus unique and without any parallel among ancient Near Eastern nations.7
The word prophet comes from the Greek profh,thj which is related to its verbal form pro,fhmi which is composed of pro, (“for” or “prior to, before”) and fhmi, (“to say, to proclaim”). The word thus might mean either “to speak for [another]” or “to say prior to/beforehand, foretell.” Because of the temporal aspect of the prefix pro,, the word prophet today is used to mean exclusively “one who predicts the future.” However, such an understanding of the word is one-sided, for the implicit meaning of the word in the Hebrew Scriptures points to biblical prophets as both forth-tellers and fore-tellers.
Prophets as Conveyors
The principal word for “prophet” in Hebrew Scripture is aybin” (“prophet”) and its related feminine form ha’ybin> (“prophetess”). Their derivation is uncertain. Both are most likely derived from the verb hb’n” (“to speak”), a loan word from the Akkadian passive verb {{Wbn” (“to be called”). The question is whether aybin” designates the role of the prophet as a proclaimer, “the one who speaks,” or the one who was called by God to deliver the message—depending on whether the meaning is derived from the Hebrew verb or its Akkadian root verb. Both concepts suit the role of the prophet in the Old Testament, for being called by God and proclaiming the divine message are two inseparable aspects of prophetic ministry.8 The prophet is thus a person called by God to speak for him. The multiple occurrences of the word (over 310 occurrences in the Hebrew Scriptures, in addition to its cognates and synonyms) show the importance of the prophetic office in the Bible. In the New Testament it occurs in Greek (profh,thj) about 150 times, adding to its significance.
The role of the prophet as a aybin” is best defined in Exodus 4:15-16 and 7:1 where Moses is likened to God and his brother, Aaron, is described as his “prophet” [aybin”]” (7:1). After Moses had used his lack of eloquence as an excuse for his inability to act as God’s spokesman before Pharaoh, God told him that he would appoint his brother Aaron to accompany him. Aaron’s role was to serve as the mouthpiece of Moses, speaking on his behalf, “And you are to speak to him, and put the words in his mouth.” Later, God further instructed him, “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God to him” (Ex. 4:15-16). The functional relationship between Moses and Aaron in this account reflects the relationship between God and the prophet.9 Just as Aaron was the mouthpiece of Moses, so the prophet functioned as the spokesperson of God. This meaning was reinforced later when God promised to raise up another prophet like Moses: “I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut. 18:18). These texts define the prophet [aybin”] as a person who speaks on behalf of another, in this case on behalf of God. The true prophet is one who receives a message from God and passes it on to the people.
The common expression for the prophetic message is “the word of God.” “The word of God came to …” is a common expression in the Old Testament pointing to the divine source of the prophetic message. The prophetic message was not the prophet’s idea, he received it directly from God. Having received it, the prophet had to convey it to the people. What the prophet proclaims is, in the Bible, called “prophecy” (Heb. ha’Wbn>; Gr. profhtei,a). “Prophecy” is thus the technical term for the divine message clothed in human language. The following diagram illustrates the transmission of the divine message from God to his people:
(GOD)
the word of God
▼
(THE PROPHET)
prophecy
▼
THE PEOPLE
The prophets regularly introduced their message with the formula: “Thus says the Lord …” (it occurs 418 times in the Hebrew Bible). Sometimes they used the phrase: “Hear the word of the Lord …” which occurs 34 times in the Hebrew Bible. These two formulas were used after the manner of ancient kings’ envoys as they were delivering the royal messages to the population. In such a way, those formulas provided the prophets with divine authority as they conveyed God’s message to the people. They showed that the oracle, so introduced, was from the God of Israel who delivered his message through his prophet.
Prophets as Visionaries
Two other words are used for a prophet in the Old Testament: ha,ro (“seer”) and hz<xo (“visionary”) meaning literally: “the one who sees in a vision.”10 There has been much discussion regarding the relation of these two terms to the word aybin”. In 1 Chronicles 29:29, the three words are used for three different persons, suggesting different shades of meaning between the words: “Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Samuel the seer [ha,ro], in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet [aybin”] and in the chronicles of Gad the seer [hz<xo].”
1 Samuel 9:9 shows that ha,ro (“seer”) was the original reference to the prophet pointing to “his supposed ability to see the present or future facts that were invisible to others.”11 It was eventually later replaced by aybin” (“prophet”). At a later period, the two words came to be used synonymously. On the other hand, hz<xo (“visionary”) seems to be a newer word. The textual evidence indicates a close relationship between the three words. First of all, the prophet Gad was called both a aybin” and a hz<xo (2 Sam. 24:11); the two words are also parallel in Isaiah 29:10 (cf. also 2 Kings 17:13). Then, in Isaiah 30:10 ha,ro and hz<xo are used in a parallelism, showing that the two words are synonymous. With the beginning of literary prophecy in the 8th century, the word aybin” eventually became the most common title for a prophet.
It thus appears that “seer” and “visionary” are complementary to the title “prophet.” We have already seen that aybin” refers to the role of the prophet as the person who is called to speak on behalf of God. He is the person who is given a charge to convey the message from God to the people. On the other hand, ha,ro and hz<xo designate the prophet as the recipient of divine revelation as indicated in Isaiah 30:10: “They say to the seer [myairo]: ‘Don’t see any more visions!’ They say to the prophet [myzixo], ‘Do not give us any more visions of what is right!’”12 These two terms designated the prophet as a person who was more than a mouthpiece or a messenger; he was a person who had a special experience with God.13 He stood in the very presence of God (cf. 1 Kings 22:19; Isa. 6:1), “in the council of the Lord” (Jer. 23:18).14 As Abraham Heschel states, the prophet is “a witness, and his word is a testimony,”15 and in the word that he proclaims, “the invisible God becomes audible.”16 And thus the message they proclaimed was intended to reach not only the heads, but also the hearts of people in their relationships with God.
The Hebrew verbs ha’r’17 and hz’x’18 (“to see,” “to observe”), are cognates of ha,ro and hz<xo respectively. Both are used in the Old Testament to denote the manner in which the prophet received divine revelation (the latter being more commonly used than the former). The prophet thus received a message from God by “seeing” or “observing” in vision (!Azx’, ha’r>m;).
| Hebrew | English | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| aybin” | prophet, spokesperson | conveyor |
| hb’n” | to speak | manner of conveying prophecy |
| ha’Wbn | prophecy | means of conveying prophecy |
| ha,ro, hz<xo | seer, visionary | recipient |
| ha’r’, hz’x’ | to see, to observe | manner of receiving divine message |
| !Azx’, ha’r>m; | vision | means of receiving divine message |
Revelatory dreams and visions were clearly the primary means by which divine revelation was communicated to the prophet (Num. 12:6; cf. Isa. 30:10). They showed that the source of the prophetic oracles was the God of Israel. The prophet was only an instrument for channeling to the people the things he had observed in dreams and visions as “the word of the Lord.”
Besides dreams and visions, God could speak his words to the prophet directly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:11-14; 1 Sam. 16:7). The prophet would have proclaimed it with: “the word of God came to …” (occurs 93 times in the Hebrew Bible; cf. 2 Sam. 24:11; 1 Kings 17:2; Jer. 28:12; Hos. 1:1). That word put the prophet in the role of the divine spokesperson commissioned to represent God to the people and to speak on his behalf. Another common name for prophet was, “man of God” (Deut. 33:1; 2 Kings 4:7). As God’s spokesperson, his ministry was to deliver the word from God. The prophet was “often compelled to proclaim the very opposite of what his heart expected” (cf. Jer. 20:9).19 Thus, he did not speak on his own. The message he proclaimed was neither his invention nor his idea. He was, rather, a channel of the divine revelation for the message he preached was given to him by God (2 Pet. 1:21).
There were prophets—male (aybin”) and female (ha’ybin>)20—ministering in Israel throughout Old Testament times. Although there were prophets in Israel since the time of Moses (cf. Judg. 4:4; 6:8), the prophetic order actually began with Samuel—who was, according to Peter, the first of the Israelite prophets (Acts 3:24). Samuel was regarded by Jeremiah as the greatest prophetic figure after Moses (15:1). Some others after him, such as Nathan, Gad, Elijah, and Elisha, exercised an influential ministry. Although some of them left some written records (cf. 1 Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29), they are all known as non-literary prophets because they did not leave behind written prophetic messages. The reason for this could be that the messages they delivered had only local and contemporary significance for the generations of their time.
Literary prophecy began as early as the 8th century B.C. with Amos, who is considered to be the first literary prophet who put the message he had proclaimed in writing,21 most likely in order to reach a wider audience. His and the messages of his contemporaries, as well as of their successors, are recorded and they have found their place in the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures due primarily to the permanent value of their messages that applied beyond the generations of their time. “They spoke to their generation, but their influence was destined to reach far beyond their own age; hence the importance of their place in the OT canonical books.”22
The prophetic ministry lasted throughout Old Testament times until the return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. The last in the line of the prophets found in Hebrew Scripture was Malachi. After Malachi, during the subsequent four hundred years, no prophetic activity was recorded among the Jews. Jewish tradition affirms the cessation of prophecy during the Intertestamental period. Thus 1 Maccabees, the book that objectively describes the situation in Palestine during the Maccabean Period, expresses the current feeling that “the prophets ceased to appear among them”— a view that had been accepted for a considerable length of time (1 Macc. 9:27; cf. also 4:46; 14:41).23 Josephus wrote in A.D. 93 that since the time of Artaxerxes of Persia there has not been a “succession of prophets” among the Jews.24 This has also been the view of some later Rabbis who held that prophecy had ceased at the time of Ezra and would re-appear eventually sometime in the eschatological age.25
The New Testament testifies of the continuation of prophecy during the time of Christ. MacRae notes: “The casual Bible reader is not apt to realize that the NT contains as many references to prophets and prophecy in proportion to its length as the OT does.”26 A number of individuals in the New Testament are referred to as prophets (profh,thj) or prophetesses (profh/tij), or it is just stated that they prophesied (profhteu,w).27 The first person explicitly referred to as a prophet is prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38). Luke also records the prophecy of Zacharias (1:67-79) and Simeon (2:25-35). Jesus referred to John the Baptist as a prophet (Matt. 11:9-14) and was regarded by the people as such (14:5). A number of prophets are also mentioned in the infant church: a group of prophets in the church of Antioch of which Paul and Barnabas were a part (Acts 13:1)—Paul describes his visionary experience as a prophet (2 Cor. 12:1-4); Judas and Silas were also considered to be prophets (Acts 15:32); then, the four daughters of Philip the evangelist are mentioned (Acts 21:8). The book of Acts also records the prophecies of Agabus (Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-11). Finally, the apostle John was believed to be a visionary who wrote the great prophecies of the book of Revelation (Rev. 22:9).
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul mentions apostles and prophets as God’s gift to the church (Eph. 2:20; 3:5; 4:11). He also pointed to men and women who were prophesying in the church in Corinth—whether they were individuals functioning as the mouthpiece of God in the church or some others who were proclaiming the message of God derived from Scripture.28 In admonishing the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul urges them: “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good” (2 Thess. 5:19-21). For Paul, the faithful church will not lack any spiritual gift, including the gift of prophecy.
But the question remains: what about the end-time church? Does the Bible show that God’s people living prior to the Parousia will experience the prophetic ministry in their midst similar to God’s people in the past? The answer is - Yes!
According to Revelation 12:17, one of the characteristics of the end-time remnant of the “woman’s offspring” is that they have “the testimony of Jesus [h` marturi,a VIhsou/].” This phrase is repeated in Revelation 19:10 which portrays how John the Revelator, after having been overwhelmed by what he has just seen and heard in the vision, prostrates before the feet of the angel to worship him. However, the angel immediately warns him not to do that: “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of you and your brothers who have the testimony of Jesus; worship God!”29 The angel immediately explains further that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [to. pneu/ma th/j profhtei,aj]”.
Revelation 19:10 raises some important questions such as: what is the meaning of the expression “the testimony of Jesus”? Then: what does the Revelator mean by the expression “the spirit of prophecy”? And also: why is “the testimony of Jesus” called “the spirit of prophecy”?
“The testimony of Jesus”
The phrase h` marturi,a VIhsou/ occurs six times in Revelation (1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4).30 The problem is compounded by the fact that h` marturi,a VIhsou/ may be interpreted as a subjective or an objective genitive. The former would denote the testimony by Jesus (i.e., his testimony), while the latter to one’s testimony about or regarding Jesus. By a way of illustrating, while the New International Version translates the phrase of Revelation 12:17 subjectively as: “[they] hold firmly to what Jesus has said,” the editors of Today’s New International Version have changed it to mean objectively: “[those who] hold fast their testimony about Jesus.” So also the Revised Standard Version translates the verse as “[who] bear witness to Jesus.” The latter represents the understanding of many commentators of the book of Revelation.31
Although both forms are possible,32 the contextual evidences are in favor of the subjective genitive of the phrase in 12:17 and 19:10.33 First of all, in the Johannine writings, the object of witnessing is regularly conveyed by the preposition peri, (“about, concerning, with reference to, of”) as is seen from the following text: dio,ti ouv parade,xontai, sou marturi,an peri. evmou/ (“because they will not accept your testimony about Me”).34 The subjective idea is regularly expressed with the form in which a marturi,a is followed by a genitive noun (“testimony/witness of …”), as can be seen from the following text: “If we receive the testimony of men [th.n marturi,an tw/n avnqrw,pwn], the testimony of God [h` marturi,a tou/ qeou] is greater; for the testimony of God [h` marturi,a tou/ qeou] is this, that He has testified concerning His Son” [o[ti memartu,rhken peri. tou/ ui`ou/ auvtou/Å] (1 John 5:9).35 All of this suggests that the phrase h` marturi,a VIhsou/ must be understood subjectively (“the testimony by Jesus”); the objective idea would be expressed with h` marturi,a peri, VIhsou/ (“the testimony about/regarding Jesus”).
Furthermore, the use of the verb evcw (“have”) conjoined with the phrase th.n marturi,an VIhsou points to its subjective meaning: the end-time saints are the ones “who have [evco,ntwn] the testimony of Jesus.” The force of this verb conjoined with the phrase is generally overlooked by the expositors who opt for the objective genitive which causes the phrase to mean “they bear the testimony.”36 While the verb evcw in Greek has different shades of meaning, its basic lexical meaning is “possession.”37 This is the predominant meaning of the word in the New Testament.38 This is especially true when evcw takes marturi,a as its object. To have a testimony refers to somebody else’s rather than a person’s own testimony, as in the case of Jesus’ statement: “But the witness which I have … the very works that I do, bear witness of Me [evgw. de. e;cw th.n marturi,an … ta.. e;rga a] poiw/ marturei/ peri. evmou/”] (John 5:36). Also, in the words of Paul, the elder in the church must “have a good testimony from those outside” [dei/ de. kai. marturi,an kalh.n e;cein avpo. tw/n e;xwqen] (1 Tim. 3:7). This leads to the conclusion that the form “to have a testimony of …” is followed by a subjective genitive case. To express the objective concept (“testimony concerning Jesus”) would call for such verbs as “to bear” rather than “to have.”39
All of this shows that the expression evco,ntwn th.n marturi,an VIhsou (“having the testimony of Jesus”) in 12:17 and 19:10 denotes that the end-time believers are in possession of the testimony that Jesus himself bore during his earthly life and ministry and after his ascension through his prophets, who had the spirit of prophecy, much as the prophets in ancient times (cf. 1 Pet. 1:11-12). This is “the testimony of Jesus” that John claimed he bore witness of in Revelation 1:2.
“The Spirit of Prophecy”
The key to unlocking the meaning of “the testimony of Jesus” is, however, given in the last clause of Revelation 19:10 that equates “the testimony of Jesus” with “the spirit of prophecy” (h` ga.r marturi,a VIhsou/ evstin to. pneu/ma th/j profhtei,aj). The difficulty with this phrase “the spirit of prophecy” is that, first of all, it occurs only here in the text (19:10) and nowhere else in the New Testament, and, second, that John the Revelator explains it nowhere in the book. The obvious reason for this lack of explanation is that the first century Christians, to whom Revelation was originally written were very much familiar with the expression. As such, they had little difficulty understanding exactly what John meant by this phrase. All the evidence available to us clearly shows that they understood it as “the Spirit who speaks through the prophets.”40
The Jewish sources overwhelmingly show that the expression “the spirit of prophecy” was not a new phrase coined by John, but that it was commonly in use among the Jewish people around the time when the book of Revelation was written, and that it exclusively connected to prophetic ministry.41 Rabbinic Judaism equated the Old Testament expressions: “Holy Spirit,” “Spirit of God,” and “Spirit of Yahweh” with “the Spirit of Prophecy.” This equation can be observed, first of all, in the frequent occurrence of this phrase in the Targums—the Aramaic paraphrastic translations of the Old Testament used in the synagogue. Here are some representative texts:
Targum Onqelos to Genesis 41:38 – “Thereupon the Pharaoh said to his servants: ‘Can we find a man like this in whom there is the spirit of prophecy from before the Lord’”42 (so also Targum of Jonathan to Genesis 41:38).43
Targum Jonathan to Exodus 33:16 – “For how will it be known that I have found mercy before you, … when you remove the spirit of prophecy from the nations and speak in the Holy Spirit to me and to your people, so that we become different from all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.”44
Targum of Jonathan to Exodus 35:31 – [Regarding Bezael] “… and fill him with a spirit of prophecy from before the Lord, with wisdom, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with every craft.”45
Targum Onqelos to Numbers 11:25-29 – “… the seventy elders; when the spirit of prophecy rested upon them, they began prophesying without ceasing. Now two men had remained behind in the camp …, yet the spirit of prophecy rested upon them though they were listed among the elders, but they had gone out of the Tent and prophecied in the camp. … Said Moses to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people be prophets in that the Lord would place the spirit of His prophecy’”46 (so also Targum of Jonathan to Numbers 11:25-29).
Targum Onqelos to Numbers 24:2 – “As he raised his eyes, he saw Israel encamped according to its tribal units, and the spirit of prophecy from before the Lord rested upon him.”47
Targum Onqelos to Numbers 27:18 – “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man who has within himself the spirit of prophecy, and lay your hand on him.’”48
Targum Jonathan to 2 Samuel 23:2 – “David said: ‘By a spirit of prophecy before the Lord I am speaking these things, and the words of his holiness in my mouth I am ordering.”49
Targum to 2 Chronicles 15:1 – “The spirit of prophecy from before the Lord rested upon Azariah, the son of Oded.”50
Targum to Psalms 49:16 – “David said through the spirit of prophecy.”51
Targum to Psalms 68:34 – “He, by his Memra with his voice, gave the voice of the spirit of prophecy to the prophets.”52
Targum to Psalms 79:1 – “A Psalm by Asaph: concerning the destruction of the house of the sanctuary. He said through the spirit of prophecy.”53
Targum to Isaiah 61:1 – “The prophet said, ‘A spirit of prophecy before the Lord God is upon me, …’”54
Targum to Ezekiel 11:5 – “Then the spirit of prophecy from before the Lord rested upon me;”55 (so also 41:3856).
Targum to Micah 3:7-8 – “And the false prophets shall be ashamed … because there is no spirit of prophecy from the Lord in them. But as for me, I am filled with the strength of the spirit of prophecy from the Lord.”57
These references are representative; many similar others may be added here.58 They all show how commonly the phrase the spirit of prophecy was used in the synagogue before and after the time of John to refer “the Spirit of Yahweh which comes upon this or that prophet.”59 The Jewish Encyclopedia explains that somewhere toward the end of the Second Temple period, the “Holy Spirit is at times identified with the spirit of prophecy.”60 Since it was believed that all the prophets spoke by the Holy Spirit, “the most characteristic sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit is the gift of prophecy, in the sense that the person upon whom it rests beholds the past and the future.”61 Similarly regarding later rabbis, The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia explains “In rabbinic literature, Ruach Hakodesh [Holy Spirit] is practically always the spirit of inspiration. It is described as the author of certain passages in the Bible, such as Song of Songs 8:5 or the passages in which God Himself is represented as speaking.”62 The rabbinical writings also show that rabbis widely believed that single biblical passages were “often considered as direct utterances of the Holy Spirit”63
Although written in the post-New Testament period, these sources reflect an earlier tradition, much of which goes back to the first century. They show that for the first-century readers of Revelation the expression “the spirit of prophecy” meant the Holy Spirit who speaks through specific persons, called prophets, to declare the message revealed and entrusted to them by God. In other words, “the spirit of prophecy” refers to the Holy Spirit who inspires and empowers the prophets to proclaim God’s message to people. This concept is attested also in the New Testament (cf. Luke 2:25-32; Pet. 1:21). It is also affirmed by a comparison of Revelation 19:10 with Revelation 22:8-9: 19:10 – Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
22:8-9 – I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
This comparison shows the common context of the two passages: in both, John falls at the feet of the angel to worship him; and in both, the angel warns him not to do so. However, in 22:9, the angel clarifies the “brethren who have the testimony of Jesus” of 19:10 as “the prophets.” At this point, Hermann Strathmann makes an insightful comment: “According to the parallel 22:9 the brothers referred to are not believers in general but the prophets. … This is the point of v.10c. If they have the marturi,a VIhsou, they have the spirit of prophecy, i.e., they are prophets … like the angel who simply stands in the service of the marturi,a VIhsou (cf. 1:1).” 64 That the Spirit who bestows the prophets with the prophetic gift is in view in the text is also affirmed by Revelation 22:6: “These words are faithful and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angels to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.”
Thus one might conclude that the equation of “the testimony of Jesus” with “the spirit of prophecy” shows that this phrase does not refer to the historic testimony of Jesus while in the flesh, 65 but to his post-resurrection testimony through the prophetic gift for the purpose of showing “the things which must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1). James Moffat comments:
“For the testimony or witness of (i.e., borne by) Jesus is (i.e., constitutes) the spirit of prophecy.” This prose marginal comment specifically defines the brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus as possessors of prophetic inspiration. The testimony of Jesus is practically equivalent to Jesus testifying (22:20). It is the self-revelation of Jesus which moves the Christian prophets.66
This assertion is further affirmed in the very prologue of the book (1:1-3) which describes the chain of transmission of the divine revelation from God to the church as a three-part process. The prologue tells us that the divine revelation begins with God. Jesus communicates the revelation through his angel to the prophet (in this case, to John) in a visionary presentation. John further explains that he “bore witness” to the things shown to him in the vision which he identifies as “the word of God” and “the testimony of Jesus” (1:2). These things he passed subsequently to the church as the word of prophecy (1:3). Here and elsewhere in the book, the phrase “the testimony of Jesus” is balanced symmetrically with “the word of God” (1:2, 9; 20:4). The expression “the word of God” (o` lo,goj tou/ qeou/) in the Greek Old Testament (LXX) refers regularly to the prophetic vision (cf. Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Hag. 1:1; Zech. 1:7). Thus, by referring to the contents of Revelation as “the word of God,” John shows that what he wrote down came from God in the same way as the messages of the Old Testament prophets. “And they are prophecy not only in the sense of predicting the future, but in the sense that all the salvation of the saints is declared in this prophecy, and that in the name of God Himself.”67
Revelation 1:1-3 shows that Jesus communicates “the word of God” to the prophets in vision as his own testimony, wherefrom it is “the testimony of Jesus.” Here is the key to unlock the meaning of the phrase “the testimony of Jesus” as “the spirit of prophecy” When, further, the prophet transmits “the testimony of Jesus Christ” to the church, it is received by the church as the “book of prophecy.” This is also further evidence that “the testimony of Jesus” is the self-revelation of Jesus to his church given through the gift of prophecy. The following diagram illustrates the chain of revelation described in Revelation 1:1-3:
(GOD)
the word of God
▼
(JESUS CHRIST)
the testimony of Jesus
▼
(THE PROPHET)
the spirit of prophecy
▼
THE PEOPLE
Thus, the prologue of Revelation seems to be the key for unlocking the meaning of the statement that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” It shows that “the testimony of Jesus” is “the word of God” sent by Christ as his own testimony to the church by means of “the spirit of prophecy.” It is referred to as “the spirit of prophecy” because it is the Spirit who inspires and empowers the prophet to speak the words of Christ and to communicate the prophetic word to God’s people on earth (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
Revelation 19:10 is thus in line with the clear teaching of the rest of the New Testament that the prophets in the church are distinguished as a special group within the church. The contextual evidence show that the phrase “the testimony of Jesus” in Revelation 12:17 and 19:10 does not refer to believers bearing their witness about Christ, but to the testimony that Jesus bears through his prophets who had the spirit of prophecy, just as was the case with the prophets in ancient times. The evidence from Revelation itself as well from the contemporary extra-biblical sources show further that the phrase “the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10) refers not to all believers in general but only to those called by God to prophetic ministry. 68 This assertion is affirmed by many modern scholars, one of which is Richard Bauckham who argues that
a distinction is to be drawn between the special vocation of the Christian prophets to declare the word of God within the Christian community, and the general vocation of the Christian community as a whole to declare the word of God in the world. The former will then subserve the latter. The Spirit speaks through the prophets to the churches and through the churches to the world. However, as far as specific references to the Spirit go, those we have so far examined concern exclusively the Spirit’s inspiration of Christian prophecy addressed to the churches.69
David Aune follows the same tradition, and many others, who hold that the phrase “the spirit of prophecy” should be understood as “the power that allows certain individuals to have visionary experiences and gives them revelatory insights not available to ordinary people.”70
The objective of this paper was to determine the origin and the function of the gift of prophecy in the Bible. On the basis of the biblical evidence presented above, one may observe that the beginning of prophecy in the Bible coincided with the establishment of Israel at Sinai as the church of God in the Old Testament, for the purpose of keeping God’s people together in the unity of faith and providing them with guidance for their life in the promised land. Thus, we can see that from the very beginning of Israel’s history and all throughout Old Testament times, prophetic ministry played an important role in the life of ancient Israel. The prophetic ministry in the life of ancient Israel was of paramount importance for the full dimension of Israel’s faith.
The twofold primary role of the prophets in ancient Israel was one in which he/she spoke on behalf of God (wherefrom the title a aybin”) and was endowed with the ability to see the present and future things that were invisible to others (wherefrom the titles ha,ro and hz<xo). The prophet in the Old Testament was thus a person who conveyed to people the word of God transmitted to him in dreams and visions, and applied it to their situation and needs in the form of prophecy (ha’Wbn>). While the prophetic message was primarily forth-telling, it also included fore-telling. The prophetic ministry was thus an expression of God’s care for the wellbeing—both physical and spiritual—of his people. The prophet was thus regarded as a person who had a special relation to God. The fact that Moses applied the word aybin” to Abraham in the context of praying for others (Gen 20:7), shows that the true prophet is someone who represents God to people and people to God, just as Moses, Daniel, Amos, and many other prophets did. The prophets were thus not simply the announcers of God’s punishment on sinners, but those who identified themselves with the people whom they ministered.
The prophetic ministry is visible in the Bible throughout Israel’s history and continued in the Christian Church. What was the case with regard to the church through history, was also true regarding the church at the time of the end. There is nowhere in the Bible indication of a cessation of the prophetic gift at some time in history prior to the Parousia. The church at the time of the end will have a need of prophetic guidance as much as God’s church in past history. This concept is emphatically pointed out in the book of Revelation which shows clearly that God’s end-time people will be characterized by possession of the prophetic gift at the closing time of this world’s history (12:17; 19:10). The New Testament makes very clear that the church will need prophetic guidance all until the conclusion of this earth’s history when, with the Second Coming, the prophetic gift will lose its function and purpose for the triumphant church.
What is the purpose and function of the gift of prophecy in the church today? For one thing, it functions much like prophetic ministry in biblical times. The role of prophets is to provide the guidance to the church and to keep the church in the unity of faith (Prov. 29:18; Eph. 4:13-14). According to Ephesians 3:2-6, the prophets are the agents of God’s revelation. Their role is to unpack the mysteries of Jesus Christ, his life and death, his resurrection, his work in heaven, and his return to the earth. William Barclay explains: “We can define the true prophet as the man who has received from Christ the message he brings to men, and whose words and works are at one and the same time an act of witness to Christ.”71 Bauckham notes similarly that
the Spirit of prophecy speaks through the Christian prophets bringing the word of the exalted Christ to his people on earth, endorsing on earth the words of heavenly revelations, and directing the prayers of the churches to their heavenly Lord. These are the special functions of the Christian prophets, whom Revelation distinguishes as a special group within the churches” (11:18; 16:6; 18:20, 24; 22:9).72
John the Revelator claims to be one of the prophets; like Paul prior to him, he received a special revelation from God. And he bore witness to “the testimony of Jesus Christ” that was communicated to him in the vision (Rev. 1:2).
However, John did not consider himself to be the last of the prophets; he shows clearly that it was shown to him that the prophetic ministry would continue after his days in the ages to come. While this might be true of God’s people throughout the Christian age, Revelation 12:17 and 19:10 make it clear that God’s end-people in particular are characterized by being in possession of “the testimony of Jesus” through “the spirit of prophecy,” In other words, at the time of the end, the church will experience presence of the prophetic gift in its midst as it was in the time of John.
Revelation 19:10 (together with 22:6, 9) provides God’s people, living in the closing days of this earth’s history, with an assurance of God’s special care and guidance through the Holy Spirit working through those called to prophetic office, just as it was true of God’s people of old. However, it is not the manifestation of the prophetic gift in their midst only, but also the faithfulness to the prophetic message that separates God’s people from the unfaithful at the time of the end.
Seventh-day Adventists have traditionally viewed the predictions of Revelation 12:17 and 19:10 as having been fulfilled in the life and ministry of Ellen White (1827-1915). Although such a belief is firmly grounded in the prophecies of the last book of the New Testament, it must be made clear here that these texts are not prophecies about Ellen White. They are rather about the presence of the gift of prophecy among God’s people at the time of the end. However, Seventh-day Adventists have experienced the manifestation of the prophetic gift in their midst in the life and ministry of Ellen White as the direct fulfillment of biblical prophecy. What was true of the church at Exodus, could be also applied to the infant Adventist church that arose in the aftermath of the Great Disappointment: “By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved” (Hos. 12:13).
As the one who manifested all the characteristics of a true prophet—similar to those found in the Old Testament, namely as God’s messenger (aybin”), seer (ha,ro), and visionary (hz<xo)—Ellen White’s role in the movement from the very beginning until the time of her death was also one of leading, instructing, rebuking, and counseling. Furthermore, after her death, her writings continued to provide instruction, guidance, and encouragement to the church until this very day, as we cross into the third millennium and as the church endeavors to fulfill its divinely entrusted task of proclaiming the end-time gospel message to suffering humanity. However, her prophetic role and ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist church is beyond the scope of this paper, and it will be treated more extensively by Professor Jiri Moskala in his paper to be presented later today.
Any idea of the church as a non-prophet denomination contradicts what is found in the Bible—from the Pentateuch to Revelation. The gift of prophecy is a token of God’s care for his people. The prophetic ministry began with the establishment of the church at Sinai, it was always present in the church, and it will be present in the church until that very moment when the triumphant and glorified church will stand victoriously before the throne of God. According to Peter, “the prophetic word” is like a light shining in a dark place. God’s people will need prophetic guidance until the daybreak and arising of “the morning star” (2 Pet. 1:19). In the Bible, the morning star is Jesus Christ himself (Rev. 22:16). With His coming, we will have no further need of this lamp-like-prophetic word (1 Cor. 13:8-10). Paul states that when we finally see him “face to face,” (1 Cor. 13:12), then prophecy “will be done away” (1 Cor. 13:8) and lose its function. Until that day, we are dependent on prophetic guidance. We are urged by the apostle Paul not “to quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:19-21).
__________
1 Abimelech, the king of Gerar, was told that Abraham was “a prophet” (aybin”) and that he would pray for him (Gen. 20:7). However, the meaning of the word, here, is different from the one it has later in Hebrew Scripture. In this context the word means that Abraham was in “an especially close relationship to God and could pray effectively” (A. A. MacRae, “Prophets and Prophecy,” in Zondervan Encyclopeadia of the Bible [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009], 4:993). The New Testament letter of Jude mentions that Enoch “prophesied” (Gr. proefh,teusen) about the eschatological judgment to be executed on the wicked in the world (Jude 14). It appears, however, that in both these cases the term “prophet” is not used as a normative title of a person called by God into the prophetic office, a practice that started later with Moses (cf. Num. 12:6).
2 Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations in this paper are taken the New American Standard Bible.
3 R. Laird Harris, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1980), 736-737.
4 C. Hassel Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1986), 14.
5 William Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1977), 211.
6 Gerhard F. Hasel, Understanding the Living Word of God, Adventist Library of Christian Thought 1 (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1980), 182.
7 See Bullock, 14.
8 James M. Efird, The Old Testament prophets Then and Now (Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1982), 10.
9 Walter C. Kaiser, Back Toward the Future: Hints for Interpreting Biblical Prophecy (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1989), 73.
10 William S. LaSor, David A. Hubbard, and Frederick W. Bush, Old Testament Survey, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 222.
11 MacRae, 995.
12 Trans. New Internation Version; see further, Harris, 823-824.
13 Abraham J. Heschel, The Prophets (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2003), 1:21, 25.
14 Ibid., 21.
15 Ibid., 22.
16 Ibid.
17 E.g., Isa. 6:1; Jer. 1:11-13; Ezek. 1:1; 11:24; 43:3; Dan. 8:2; 10:8; Amos 9:1; Zech. 1:8.
18 Cf. Num. 24:4, 16; Isa. 1:1; 2:1; 13:1; Ezek. 12:27; Amos 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Hab. 1:1.
19 Heschel, xiii.
20 The Old Testament mentions a number of female persons called to prophetic ministry including Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4), and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chr. 34:22). The New Testament mentions the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38) and the four daughters of Philip the evangelists (Acts 21:28).
21 Joel and Jonah have been dated by some scholars earlier than Amos and Hosea (see R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1969], 876-879, 914-918).
22 G. C. D. Howley, “Introduction to the Prophetical Books,” New International Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1979), 101.
23 The Oxford Annotated Apocrypha: Revised Standard Version (New York: Oxford University Press, 1977), 242.
24 Josephus Against Apion 1.8 (trans. William Whiston, The Works of Josephus (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987), 776.
25 See M. Eugene Boring, “Early Christian Prophecy,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary (NewYork: Doubleday, 1992), 5:497.
26 MacRae, 1027.
27 Ibid.
28 MacRae, 1027.
29 My translation.
30 This form of expression occurs also in 1 Cor. 1:6 (to. martu,rion tou/ Cristou/, “the testimony of Christ”) and 2 Tim. 1:8 (to. martu,rion tou/ Kuri,ou h`mw/n, “the testimony of our Lord”).
31 For the arguments for the objective genitive see David E. Aune, Revelation 17-22, Word Biblical Commentary 52c (Waco, TX: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 1038.
32 G. K. Beale argues that “a subjective genitive connotes the idea that all true prophecy has its origin in the words and acts of Jesus; an objective genitive conveys the notion that all true prophecy manifests itself in testimony to Jesus” (The Book of Revelation, The New International Greek Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999], 947).
33 William Barclay, The Revelation of John, 2nd ed., Daily Study Bible (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1960), 2:177; Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (1919. Reprint, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1967), 630; Leon Morris, The Book of Revelation, 2nd ed., Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987], 160; Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977], 347.
34 Cf. John 1:7-8, 15; 5:31-32, 36-37, 39; 8:14; 1 John 5:9-10.
35 Cf. marturi,a tou/ VIwa,nnou (John 1:19); marturi,a h`mw/n (3:11; 3 John 1:12); marturi,a mou (5:31-32; 8:14); marturi,a auvtou/ (3:22-33; 19:35) marturi,a sou (8:13; 19:35; 21:24; Acts 22:18); du,o avnqrw,pwn h` marturi,a (8:17); h` marturi,a tou/ qeou/ (1 John 5:9); marturi,an autw/n (Rev 11:7; 12:11).
36 Gerhard Pfandl, “The Remnant Church and the Spirit of Prophecy,” in Symposium on Revelation—Book 2, Daniel and Revelation Committee Series 7 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 1992), 315.
37 See Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 420.
38 E.g., “have authority” (Matt. 7:29; Mark 1:22); “have a reward” (5:46); “have faith (17:20; Luke 17:6); “have power” (Mark 2:10; 3:15); “have treasure in heaven” (10:21); “have eternal life” (John 3:15); “have the light” (John 12:35); “have peace with God” (Rom. 5:1); “have a zeal of God” (10:2); “have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16); “have boldness” (Eph. 3:12); “have an advocate” (1 John 2:1); “have the keys” (Rev. 1:18); “have patience” (2:3); “have a name” (3:1); “have the seal” (7:2); “have the trumpet” (9:41); see also General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Problems in Bible Translation (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1954), 248.
39 Problems in Bible Translation, 248.
40 Richard Bauckham, The Climax of Prophecy (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1993), 160.
41 See Committee on Problems in Bible Translation of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists, Problems in Bible Translation (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1954), 256.
42 Trans. by Bernard Grossfeld (The Aramaic Bible: The Targums 6 [Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1988], 138. Further in the text this series will be referred to as ABT).
43 Michael Maher (ABT 1b, 137).
44 Trans. Maher, (ABT 2, 257).
45 Ibid., 263.
46 Trans. Bernard Grossfeld (ABT 8, 102).
47 Ibid, 135.
48 Ibid., 145.
49 Trans. Daniel J. Harrington and Anthony J. Saldarini (ABT 10, 203).
50 Trans. J. Stanley McIvor (ABT 19, 177).
51 Translated by David M. Stec (ABT 16, 103).
52 Ibid., 134.
53 Ibid., 155.
54 Translated by Bruce Chilton (ABT 11, 118).
55 Translated by Samson H. Levey (ABT 13, 40).
56 ABT 13, 102.
57 Translated by Kevin J. Cathcart and Robert P. Gordon (ABT 14, 118).
58 E. g., Targum of Jonathan to Genesis 45:27 (ABT 1B, 148); Targum of Jonathan to Exodus 35:21 (ABT 2, 262); 37:8 (ABT 2, 266); Targum Jonathan to Judges 2:10 (ABT 10, 63); Targum Jonathan to 1 Samuel 10:6, 10 (ABT 10, 119); 19:20, 23 (ABT 10, 139); Targum Jonathan to 1 Kings 22:24, 10 (ABT 10, 261); Targum to First Chronicles 2:55 (ABT 19, 54); Targum to First Chronicles 18:22-23 (ABT 19, 186); 20:14 (ABT 19, 191); 24:20 (ABT 19, 203); Targum to Psalms 14:1 (ABT 16, 44); 22:27 (ABT 16, 60); 45:3 (ABT 16, 96); 46:1 (ABT 16, 97); 49:16 (ABT 16, 103); 51:13-14 (ABT 16, 107); 77:3 (ABT 16:149); Targum to Ezekiel 11:24 (ABT 13, 42).
59 F. F. Bruce, The Time is Fulfilled (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), 105.
60 The Jewish Encyclopedia, ed. Isidore Singer (New York, NY: Funk and Wagnall, 1907), 6:449a.
61 Ibid. See further Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuem Testament aus Talmud und Midrash (Munchen: Beck, 1924), 129-130.
62 The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, ed. Isaac Landman (New York: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, 1943), 9:268b.
63 The Jewish Encyclopedia, 6:449; cf., Sifre Num. 86; Tosefta Sotah 9.2; Sifre Deut. 355.
64 Hermann Strathmann, “ma,rtuj, etc.,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. G. Kittel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1967), 4:501.
65 See Hans LaRondelle who, following some scholars, argues that “the testimony of Jesus” refers to the historic testimony of Jesus that he bore in his earthly life and ministry. Thus, the term “the spirit of prophecy” is not restricted to a chosen group of believers; it rather embraces all faithful Christians who “have” the testimony of Jesus (How to Understand the End-Time Prophecies of the Bible [Sarasota, FL: First Impressions, 1997], 287-290). Space does not allow any extensive treatment of the subject. I do not find this view convincing because it is based more on theological and philosophical conjecture than exegetical and contextual evidence.
66 James Moffat, “The Revelation of St. John the Divine,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, ed. W. R. Nicoll (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), 5:465.
67 Herman Hoeksema, Behold He Cometh: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Company, 1969), 623.
68 Contrary to Beale (948) who argues wrongly that the prophets in 19:10 are “not an exclusive office but the same group mentioned as prophets elsewhere in the book, where the prophetic role of the entire church is in mind.”
69 Bauckham, 162; also Beckwith, 729-730.
70 Aune, Revelation 17-22, 1039; also George B. Caird, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), 238; Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), 377.
71 Barclay, 2:177. Many other scholars share this view including Charles R. Erdman, The Revelation of John (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1936), 148; Wilfrid J. Harrington, Understanding the Apocalypse (Washington, DC: Corpus Books, 1969), 226; George R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 2nd ed., New Century Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1981), 276; Morris, 222; Mounce, 342.
72 Bauckham, 160.