Since man’s fall into sin, God speaks to us primarily through His prophets. – Hosea 12:10 – “I have also spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.”

God reveals His secrets to us through His prophets. – Amos 3:7 – Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

God’s Secrets Are Revealed
“The Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.” While “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” “those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever” (Amos 3:7; Deuteronomy 29:29). God has given these things to us, and His blessing will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures. DA 234

God speaks to His prophets through visions and dreams. – Numbers 12:6 – Then He said, “Hear now My words: if there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.

Prophets speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Spirit. – 2 Peter 1:19-21 – ¹⁹And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a  dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; ²⁰knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, ²¹for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Not Left in Mystery
The Bible was designed to be a guide to all who wish to become acquainted with the will of their Maker. God gave to men the sure word of prophecy; angels and even Christ Himself came to make known to Daniel and John the things that must shortly come to pass. Those important matters that concern our salvation were not left involved in mystery. They were not revealed in such a way as to perplex and mislead the honest seeker after truth. GC 521

Warning against false prophets in the last days. – Matthew 24:24 – For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

True prophets are known by their fruits. – Matthew 7:15-20 – ¹⁵”Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Therefore by their fruit you will know them.”

Messages of a true prophet are Christ centered. – 1 John 4:1-6 – ¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ²By this you know the Spirit of God: ³Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. ⁴You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The Word: The Final Standard
Since it was the Spirit of God that inspired the Bible, it is impossible that the teaching of the Spirit should ever be contrary to that of the word. The Spirit was not given – nor can it ever be bestowed – to supersede the Bible; for the Scriptures explicitly state that the word of God is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested. Says the apostle John, “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). GC vii

Prophet’s messages should harmonize with previous prophets, with God’s law, and with previous Scripture. – Isaiah 8:20 – To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Error of Consulting the Dead
If men had been willing to receive the truth so plainly stated in the Scriptures concerning the nature of man and the state of the dead, they would see in the claims and manifestations of spiritualism the working of Satan with power and signs and lying wonders… Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies… We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils. GC 559, 560

Prepare For A Final Delusion
The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness, Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God’s work the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity, he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sigh. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that is will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested. Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible shall stand through the last great conflict. To ever soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey Good rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? GC 593, 594

True prophet reproves sin. – Jeremiah 23:16 & 17 – ¹⁶Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace”’; and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his won heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’”

Predictions of a true prophet must be 100 percent accurate. – Jeremiah 28:9 – As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.

A prophet’s words edify the church. – 1 Corinthians 14:3 & 4 – ³But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. ⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

Do not despise prophesyings. – 1 Thessalonians 5:20 & 21 – ²⁰Do not despise prophecies. ²¹Test all things; old fast what is good.

We prosper as we believe in God’s chosen prophets. – 2 Chronicles 20:20 – So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe his prophets and you shall prosper.”

Ignoring the prophet’s words brings destruction. – Acts 3:23 – And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

The tragic results of mocking God’s prophets. – 2 Chronicles 36:14-17 – ¹⁴Moreover all the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the Lord which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. ¹⁵And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. ¹⁶But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord aroused against His people, till there was not remedy. ¹⁷Therfore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand.

End of a Disastrous Reign
Scorning the unusual privileges granted him, Judah’s king willfully followed a way of his own choosing… Within a few years [Zedekiah] closed his disastrous reign in ignominy, rejected of Heaven, unloved by his people, and despised by the rulers of Babylon whose confidence he had betrayed – and all the result of his fatal mistake in turning from the purpose of God as revealed through His appointed messenger. PK 438