Prophets After Jesus?

It’s valid to ask if we should expect new prophets after Jesus, since He is the Lord and the ultimate messenger and revealer of the Father.

However, notice Jesus’ warning about knowing false prophets by their fruit. He is speaking to what will soon become the New Testament Church. Why should He warn us of false prophets if there would be no prophets after Him? On the same point, in Ephesians 4:8–13 (also 1 Corinthians 12:28), Paul said that the gifts of the Spirit would be present “till we all come in the unity of the faith.” He details those gifts, listing “prophets” second only to “apostles.” Even more explicitly, Paul wrote that the Christian church “waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” would “come short in no gift.”

Apparently, the gift of prophecy is as essential to the present-day church as it was in the Old Testament. And according to the prophet Joel, the gift of prophecy will continue to be manifest until the end of time. He predicted that “sons and daughters” would “prophesy” when God’s Spirit was poured out prior to the second advent of Jesus, which he called “the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Joel 2:28, 29).

If indeed the prophetic gift is alive and well, is there anyone in recent history who manifested this gift, whose ministry bears the marks of a true prophet of God? It is our purpose to examine the ministry of Ellen White in this fashion, to determine whether she truly did receive visions from the Lord.

Next: Testing Ellen's Gifts