Are There No More Prophets?

Psalm 74:9

The Voice (VOICE)

⁹ We no longer receive signs,
    there are no more prophets who remain,
    and not one of us knows how long this situation will last.

Many years ago our church received a new pastor. He spent his first few weeks visiting as many of his new flock as he could possibly find. One of the questions he asked us was what topics we would like to hear him preach about.

This visit was subsequent to a number of high level meetings in our church that consumed over a million dollars and resulted in “defrocking” the powerful preacher and much loved and respected theology professor, Desmond Ford. I was not part of these meetings and possibly misunderstand the purpose of these conferences, nor do I know Ford. But the way it was explained to me, a layman, was that Ford denied the cardinal doctrine of the church concerning the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 and the investigative judgment. It is one a very few doctrines that distinguish us from other churches, if not the only one.

Since then other issues have arisen, some peculiar to certain churches or regions, some global in nature. These include, but are not limited to

·         How we explain the origin of the earth and the universe

·         Whether we should ordain women to the ministry

·         How we relate to LGBT issues

·         How we handle converts who are involved in plural marriages

·         The wearing of jewelry and related adornments

Addressing the question the pastor had asked me about sermon topics, I mentioned that it had been a couple decades since I had last heard a sermon on the 2300 days and more generally on traditional Adventist interpretations of prophecy. I mentioned the fact that Ford had been defrocked for denying the doctrine. I encouraged him to preach about it. His response was a condescending, “Yes brother.”

Needless to say, I have never heard anything about this doctrine from the pulpit since. We have had a score of pastors ministering in our church, and none have so much as hinted at the place of prophecy in the Adventist church. “There are no more prophets who remain”?

Dear Lord, I lament with the psalmist the apparent absence of prophetic guidance in our church today. At the same time, I fear that we might treat anyone You would send to us like we did the last prophetess You sent:  We banished her to the continent where criminals against society had been abandoned.