Would You Have Accepted Them?
Listed below are names of prophets, including Jesus, and descriptions that mention “objectionable” points about their life or ministry. With hindsight it is easy to answer the questions below correctly, but try to imagine you were there and give an honest answer. A negative answer to any of these questions may indicate that you, along with Mr. Prewitt, are susceptible to limiting the work of God and may be deceived when God sends a true prophet.
Prophet |
Description |
Question |
|---|---|---|
| Noah | Noah preached a message that was not only unpopular but totally against the beliefs of the scientists of his day, who thought it was impossible for it to rain, not to mention flood the whole earth. Noah could not prove his message from a scientific point of view, but he knew it was from God. (Genesis 6:17) |
Would you have accepted Noah’s message even though it went against scientific proof? |
| Abraham | Abraham was a faithful person and is often referred to as a man of faith. Yet one day he and his son, Isaac, left their home to go on a strange mission. God had instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son. This is what the pagans did to appease their gods. (Genesis 22:1-2) |
Would you have believed that God would tell His servant to kill his son? |
| Moses | Moses was a stranger to the people of God. He murdered an Egyptian and then fled for his life. Forty years later he returns, only to claim that God spoke to him from a burning bush, instructing that he was to lead God’s people out of Egypt. (Exodus 2:11-12; 3:2; 4:29-30) |
Would you have believed Moses, even though you thought it strange that God would speak from a burning bush and even though Moses had killed someone? |
When approaching the Red Sea, the armies of Egypt came to destroy the children of Israel. With nowhere to go, the people blamed Moses and accused him of leading them out to die in the wilderness. (Exodus 14:10-12) |
Would you have trusted that God was still leading Moses in spite of the seemingly impossible situation? |
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After the children of Israel had complained and accused Moses of leading them into the desert to die, he disobeyed God by striking the rock, thus forfeiting his chance of entering the Promised Land. (Numbers 20:9-12) |
Would you still have accepted Moses as God’s messenger, even though he disobeyed God? |
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| Ezekiel | God asked Ezekiel to get a brick and draw Jerusalem on it and portray a war against Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 4:1) |
Would you believe Ezekiel was God’s prophet even though he was asked to perform what seemed like a childish act? |
God told Ezekiel to bake his bread with dried human feces (as a fuel) and eat it in front of the people. (Ezekiel 4:12) |
Again, would you believe that Ezekiel was God’s prophet even though he was given such a strange request? |
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| Hosea | Hosea’s life defies all of our logic. God asked him to marry a prostitute, knowing that she would not be faithful to him. (Hosea 1; 2) |
Would you believe that Hosea was a prophet of God even though he married a prostitute? |
| John the Baptist |
John the Baptist chose to live by himself in a secluded place in the wilderness. He never went to the church to get authority to preach, and part of his message was to denounce the leadership. (Matthew 3:1-7) |
Would you have accepted John the Baptist after he had rebuked the church leadership and after the leadership rejected him? |
| Jesus | The birth of Jesus looked very suspicious, and He grew up in a wicked town. (Matthew 1:18; John 1:46) |
Would you have believed Jesus was the Messiah, considering the rumors of His birth and the surroundings of His environment? |
Even though Jesus did many mighty miracles, the church leaders were not convinced He was from God. They even accused Him of performing His miracles through the power of Satan. (Matthew 12:24) |
Considering the opposition Jesus received from church leaders, would you have believed His miracles were from God? (Would Mr. Prewitt have believed it was the “devil preaching to the choir”?) |
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At one time Jesus taught that if we did not eat His flesh and drink His blood that we would not have eternal life. Because of what He said, many of those who had followed Him left and never believed in Him again. (John 6:53) |
Would you have continued to follow Jesus in spite of what He said? |
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At another time Jesus was having a meal with Simon, and Mary came in and anointed His head with some very costly perfume. Some at that meal thought it was a terrible waste of money, and that it should have been used to feed the poor. Jesus did not agree with that idea. (Mark 14:3-9) |
Would you have agreed with Jesus in this situation? | |
Jesus was often found with the outcasts and sinners. He was accused of keeping bad company. (Luke 5:30-32) |
Would you have still believed in Jesus even knowing the kind of people He associated with? |
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Jesus was very critical of the church leadership. He called them serpents, hypocrites, fools, and blind guides. (Matthew 23) |
Would you have continued to accept Jesus even though He denounced the church leaders? |
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Eventually Jesus was arrested by the church leaders and they crucified Him. While hanging from the cross, Jesus cried to God, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) |
After hearing those words, would you have still believed in Jesus as the Son of God? |
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| Paul | Paul hated Christians and had some put into prison or killed. On his way to Damascus, he had a vision of Jesus and was converted. (Acts 9) |
Would you have believed Paul’s conversion was real and accepted him into fellowship even knowing his past deeds? |
| Ellen White | Ellen White was a teenage girl when God first called her to be a messenger. (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, p. 65) |
Considering how women were regarded in Ellen White’s day, would you have accepted her as a prophet? |
Many rejected Ellen White for various reasons—one being that she had been hypnotized. (Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 71) |
Would you still have accepted Ellen White as God’s messenger in spite of the accusation that she was hypnotized? |
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Ellen White was called to rebuke many people during the course of her ministry. Some people accepted her rebukes, while others rejected them. |
Would you have still believed Ellen White was of God even though she rebuked others or even yourself? |
