by Lehman Strauss
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giv ing heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (I Timothy 4:1).
T his verse suggests a phase of the Spirit’s minis try which receives very little attention in present- day teaching and preaching, namely, the function of the Holy Spirit in relation to the future. Any devout student of the Scriptures will not be able to escape seeing the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in prophecy. The Spirit is the Author of prophecy. “ Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scrip ture is of any private interpretation. For the proph ecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:20, 21). The prophecies re corded in the Bible are not the result of the mind and meditations of man. The penmen of prophecy were “ men of God” and they spoke and wrote under the direct power and influence of the Holy Spirit. As a sailing vessel is moved or borne along by the wind, so the prophets were driven to speak and write by the Spjirit’s unseen but irresistible force. Too many people read the prophetic Scriptures, and say, “ I think it means this or tha t." The correct interpretation of any prophecy will disclose one mean ing, and that is the meaning the Holy Spirit gave when He inspired the prophecy to be written. The proph ecies in the Bible are not the opinions of the men who wrote them; they are the clear statements of the mind of the Spirit. Let us not be guilty of passing our opinion upon these prophecies, but rather let us seek the mind of the Spirit. Jesus said, “ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. . . . And he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13). God has a future plan for the world and man, and even now that plan is in the process of fulfillment. The Holy Spirit has put in His Word as much of that plan as He wants you and me to know, and we may be certain that He will show it to those who seek His help. The Spirit not only brings to mind the past (John 14:26), but also He has shown the future as well. 8
The Book of the Revelation is entitled, "The Reve lation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass . . .” (Revelation 1:1). Now how can one know what those things are which must come to pass? The answer to this is repeated seven times in Chapters 2 and 3. “ He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (1:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). So whether they be things past, things present, or things to come, the teaching min istry of the Holy Spirit is inerrant and indispensable. David’s testimony is typical of those testimonies of the writing prophets. He said, “ The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). Micah said, “ I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD” (Micah 3:8). The New Testa ment Scriptures verify the fact that the Old Testament writers were controlled by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus said, “ For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on My right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Mark 12:36). Peter said, “ Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus” (Acts 1:16). Paul added this word, “ Well spoke the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers” (Acts 28:25). The Epistle to the Hebrews bears the same testimony in at least three chapters'. “ Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years” (Hebrews 3:7-9 cf. Psalm 95:7-9). “ The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tab ernacle was yet standing” (Hebrews 9:8). “ Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will THE KING'S BUSINESS
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