FOURTH QUARTER 2026
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #5
OCTOBER 31, 2026
"REVELATION AND INSPIRATION".

 

In the sanctuary service, the priests functioned as intermediaries between the people and God. Their sacrifices and gifts came to the sanctuary through the work of the priests. The prophets had a different role. They served as God’s spokespersons to communicate with the people at large. In the New Testament, the role of the earthly priests came to an end through the heavenly ministry of Christ’s priesthood. However, the task of the prophets, to speak to humanity on behalf of God, continued. This communication took many different forms, among which are dreams, visions, direct speaking, and intuition. This week’s lesson explores the many ways God used to communicate with humanity.

Only a relatively small segment of humanity had the privilege of hearing the messages of God’s prophets. God did not leave the vast mass of humanity without some communication. The apostle Paul clearly states, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

The psalmist proclaimed the same truth. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

This broad knowledge of God through His created works is called general revelation. The natural world reveals both God’s goodness and the impact of death and evil in our world. However, it does not give us a clear picture of how we can be rescued from the sorrows of this world. For that, we need special revelation, a more direct communication from God. This is what occurs when God speaks to a prophet to convey a message to His people. The more closely we look at this process, the more clearly we see that God uses a variety of means to accomplish His purpose.

However, the process of interaction between God and His prophets has not always been clearly understood and appreciated.

At one extreme are those who argue that the inspiration of the Bible writers is comparable to that of a poet or an artist. From this perspective, there is no significant difference in the experience of Marx, Mohammad, Moses, or Martin Luther King. Each one has made a major contribution; each is in an equal sense inspired.

In contrast to that, there are those who contend that God dictated every word of the Bible. The Bible writers merely recorded the exact words and phrases that God told them. Thus, just as the Ten Commandments came directly from God, so too did the rest of the body of the Scriptures.

Perhaps the majority of evangelicals today would defend a view of inspiration called verbal inspiration. This view argues that while the personality of the writer is not overridden, the exact words of the Bible are the ones that God intended to be used. A closer look at Scripture can help us with understand the inspiration process.

Even among those who have a respect for the prophetic role of Ellen White, questions arise as to how inspiration works. These questions are not new. From January to June in 1884, Elder G. I. Butler wrote a series of articles for the Review on the topic of inspiration. He attempted to demonstrate that the Bible contained different levels of inspiration. This was attributed to the various ways that the Bible writers received their messages. Those passages of Scripture that were written as a result of direct revelation were clearly inspired and authoritative. Those passages that appear to have been written as a result of the personal experience of the writer were either less inspired, or, as Butler wrote, “hardly…inspired.”

Ellen White’s response to these articles was forthright. In a letter to Elder Underwood, she responded directly:

“Both in the tabernacle and in the college, the subject of inspiration has been taught, and finite men have taken it upon themselves to say [that] some things in the Scriptures were inspired and some were not. I was shown that the Lord did not inspire the articles on inspiration published in the Review, neither did He approve their endorsement before our youth in the college. When men venture to criticize the Word of God, they venture on sacred, holy ground and had better fear and tremble and hide their wisdom as foolishness.” —Letter 22, 1889.

Thus, while there are different ways that God communicates, the end result is the work of inspiration. The Bible does not clearly state how inspiration occurs. Nevertheless, by examining a variety of passages carefully, we can develop a sound, biblical theology of inspiration.

In 2 Timothy 3:16 is found one of the classic texts for understanding the nature of inspiration. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (NASB). The word here translated “inspired” is the word theopneustos.

Strictly speaking, the word does not mean “to inspire” or “to breathe in.” Rather, it indicates that the Scriptures are “God breathed.” They are the result of God’s activity. Scripture is the result of divine activity. In talking of inspiration, we mean that process by which God guided the human writers in the producing of the books of the Bible, whatever the specific process used with a particular individual.

When Paul writes that all Scripture is the result of inspiration, it is important to realize that primarily he was referring to the Old Testament. However, since the New Testament writings have come to be considered “Scripture,” they are also to be considered the fruit of inspiration.

For example, Peter regards Paul’s writings as “Scripture” (2 Peter 3:15-16). Peter warns that the unstable distort Paul’s writings, “as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 1 Timothy 5:18 is another example. Paul writes, “For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’” The first is a quote from Deuteronomy 25:4, the second from Luke 10:7. This indicates that very early on, the writings that now form the New Testament were considered authoritative and inspired.

Throughout the Bible, this combination of the divine and human is clearly seen. There are places where the New Testament unites the speaking of an Old Testament prophet with that of the Holy Spirit.

Here are two examples that emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit upon David.

Mark 12:36 (commenting on Psalm 110:1) “David himself said in the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:16 (commenting on Psalms 69:25; 109:8) “The Holy Spirit spake by the mouth of David.”

These verses are just two examples of places where the divine side of inspiration is stressed.

There are other texts where the human instrumentality is asserted. Note how Paul stresses the role of the writer.

Romans 10:19 (commenting on Deuteronomy 32:21) “Moses says….” 

Romans 10:20 (commenting on Isaiah 65:1) “Isaiah is very bold and says….” 

In other places, there is a strong connection between the Scripture and God. That is, a New Testament writer will quote the Old Testament, and in the original context, God is said to have spoken. Yet, the writer simply attributes the speaking to “the Scripture.” It is as though the Scripture has become personified and is able to predict.

Galatians 3:8 “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed.” (See Genesis 12:1-3)

Romans 9:17 “The Scripture saith unto Pharaoh...” (Exodus 9:16)

In still other places, we find the opposite phenomenon. Old Testament verses are cited in which God is not actively shown to be the speaker, yet the New Testament writer attributes the speech to God.

Matthew 19:4-5 “And he answered and said, Have ye not read that he which made them…said…” (See Genesis 1:27; 2:24)

Hebrews 3:7 “Wherefore even as the Holy Ghost saith…” (See Psalm 95:7.)

The above examples demonstrate the strong connection of the divine and the human in the forming of the Bible. The fact of this union is clear. The how or the exact method of the union is not.

The most commonly held idea is that of the prophetic model of inspiration. This experience of inspiration has its source in dreams and visions. Daniel and John would be examples of those who had visions, and wrote down what they saw in dreams and figures.

There is also the historical model of inspiration. This model applies to those historical books within the canon. The writers of such books obviously included and excluded certain material. Their choices are reflected in the emphases that are found in those books. There is a theological stress being made in the forming of these works. Naturally, examples of this include both John and Luke, who wrote their gospels with specific thoughts in mind. They both state clearly that they had certain intentions in mind in writing their gospel accounts (Luke 1:1-4; John 20:30-31). We can imagine them choosing and rejecting, ordering and arranging their gospels to strengthen the point for which they were writing.

A third model of inspiration is the epistolary model. Herein are letters written to various congregations or persons, arising out of specific historical situations. The letters of the New Testament were written out of the needs and experiences of the congregations to whom they were addressed. Thus, the apostle Paul wrote some of his correspondence based upon information that came to him from others (1 Corinthians 1:10-17).

Still other portions of Scripture arose through a revelatory encounter of the writer and God (Exodus 19:18-19; Galatians 1:11-12). However, in each situation, the work of God’s Spirit is moving the Bible writer (2 Peter 1:20-21). The writer is being guided in the writing of that particular book.

The work of inspiration does not bypass the human agent. The writer does not become a mere mechanical tool recording what the Holy Spirit wishes. The personality of the writer is active and engaged in this process. Therefore, we find that the prophets often entered into discussion with God. They asked God questions, dialogued with Him, and let Him know their reactions (Isaiah 6:5-11; Jeremiah 14:13; Acts 11:5-9).

One can easily trace the particular style or manner of expression through the writings of Paul or John or Moses, a fact that shows that inspiration makes allowance for human personalities. Inspiration was even flexible enough to allow for some personal matters, as when Paul asked Timothy to come to him shortly and to bring his coat and certain books that he had left at Troas (2 Timothy 4:13). Realizing this should help us take notice of each writer’s style and emphasis. We should not hastily try to smooth out what has been written.

“It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.”—Ellen G. White,  Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p.  21.

 

—Steven Grabiner