God gave prophecy as proof of the Bible. If you were God, how would you give enough proof to humans that You exist — for them to pass or be rejected by the test of honesty? How would you tell them that You are God? Would You send them a book? Would You show them that all around them is proof that someone greater than creation exists? Who are the 5 best prophets in the Bible? We need first to establish the need for prophecy.
As humans cannot tell what will happen in 1,000 years to the very day, and God can, this is a great way God would use to tell us that the Bible is from Him. The Bible is filled with hundreds of prophecies. Just concerning the coming of Jesus before He was born, there are more than 300 prophecies.
Isaiah 52, written 650 BC, tells us that Jesus would not be esteemed, that He would suffer and be rejected. Isaiah 53 says that Jesus would be led to the slaughter as a lamb, and that He would die. This is amazing proof of the Bible, as it was written 650 years before Jesus was born.
IS 53:3–5, 7
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Other ways that prove God and the Bible are true include creation, archaeology, and prophecy, among others. Bible prophecy is very precise and definite, contrary to what many who have never read and studied Bible prophecy claim. Many claim that these prophecies are vague, but when I ask them to explain a specific prophecy to me, they cannot. It is a good idea to study a topic before speaking about it.
This lack of wisdom is very common today — people begin talking about a topic for which they have no understanding. Let us find out who are the 5 best prophets in the Bible.
Who Are the 5 Best Prophets in the Bible? — Elijah
The story of Elijah is amazing. He had so many manifestations of God. God works through people who are not conformed to this world — people who follow the Bible and God’s ways, people who have faith and know that God will work for them. Elijah was an amazing man of God, so much so that James says: Elijah was just a man.
Elijah asks God to stop rain, and the rain stops for years.
JA 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
1 KI 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
Elijah received this message to give to King Ahab, and he believed it. We do not know if it was an impression, but it requires faith to believe what God said He would do and to stand before the king with that message. Can you imagine Elijah giving this message while doubting whether it was from God, and then having nothing happen?
2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
Here it requires even greater faith. Elijah did not have a job, and God said, “I will send birds to feed you.” When have you seen birds send food to people? But Elijah believed God, and birds did feed Elijah.
Elijah then arranged a great assembly, and all the inhabitants of Israel were invited. Many of them worshipped Baal. This was the great moment when the true God would reveal Himself. If Elijah had failed here, he would have been killed by the more than 850 prophets of Baal and the millions of Israel’s citizens. Who are the 5 best prophets in the Bible? Elijah is known as one of the greatest prophets in the Bible.
1 KI 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Elijah had faith in God. It is not presumption when Elijah calls on God and trusts Him to answer. Here the prophets of Baal cannot show any sign — they do not exist — and they lose.
1 KI 18:26–28
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
Then Elijah appears and calls upon God, who sends fire and consumes the sacrifice.
1 KI 18:37–39
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
Who Are the 5 Best Prophets in the Bible? — The Lion Prophet
This is found in 1 Kings 13, where a prophet comes to give a message to Jeroboam.
1 KI 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.
1 KI 13:2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.
The king was astonished at this message — that one king after him would reign, and that this altar would then serve to burn men’s bones.
1 KI 13:3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.
1 KI 13:4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.
When the king heard this prophecy, he commanded his servants to seize the man of God. But the hand he stretched forth became withered — a clear sign of divine justice reaching him, and a clear sign that this prophet was a prophet of God.
1 KI 13:5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
1 KI 13:6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.
The king asked for mercy from the prophet, who is unnamed. God’s mercy intervened and the king was healed.
1 KI 13:7–10
7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.
8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:
9 For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.
10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.
It had been charged to the prophet that he would not stop or eat anywhere until he had returned home.
1 KI 13:11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.
Here is the strange and remarkable part of the story. Another prophet appears and tells him: do not worry, you can follow me and eat, as God has revealed to me that you may eat at my house. And the unnamed prophet follows him and disobeys God. One might think: perhaps God has spoken through this other prophet, and God has changed His mind. But this is not the case. It may seem that God’s judgment against this prophet is severe, yet what follows is recorded for our warning.
1 KI 13:12–18
12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.
13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,
14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.
15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.
16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:
17 For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.
18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.
This reveals that even prophets can fall away and become servants of Satan. This is an amazing story, and yet today many Christians claim that once you are saved, you are always saved. But here we find that even prophets can fall away and become wicked. Once saved, always saved is not true. We always have the choice to choose God, or to fall away into unbelief, pride, selfishness, and an unloving spirit.
1 KI 13:19–22
19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back:
21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee,
22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.
We see here that God can use fallen prophets and messengers to try and test His people.
It is a sobering thing to be told of one’s death before it comes to pass. God told this man that he would soon die. God’s judgments are terrible, and we need to be warned that the world and our society will soon reach the limit of God’s mercy and forbearance.
1 KI 13:23–26
23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.
24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.
25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.
26 And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him.
God sent a lion to slay the prophet. It is extraordinary that animals are God’s agents to carry out His will. All animals know that God exists — this is an absolute proof. Animals do not need to read the Bible to be used by God.
What a sorrowful story — that this prophet was so obedient to God as to go where God directed him and deliver a message at great personal danger before the king, to the point that the king nearly had him killed, only to then be slain himself by a lion for disobedience.
1 KI 13:27–31
27 And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.
28 And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.
29 And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.
30 And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!
31 And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.
These are such profound truths in the Bible, where we find that we do not fully know God, we do not fully understand God — He remains a mystery, as part of His amazing character. And God is to be feared. Because we do not see much of God’s retributive judgment today does not mean that tomorrow people will not have crossed the boundary of God’s patience.
Who Are the 5 Best Prophets in the Bible? — Samson
Of all the prophets, Samson is one of my favourite stories. Here we see God’s leniency — in contrast to what many churches today teach — on the matter of relationships and human weakness. Samson had different relationships, yet God’s Spirit was upon Samson and did not leave him. The Holy Spirit only left Samson when he revealed the secret that he should not have revealed to anyone.
Nobody forced Samson to give that secret away. What a man of God — who defended his own country and was delivered over by his own countrymen. He is very much a figure of Jesus, who was betrayed by His own people. How ungrateful people are; how unthankful and evil our world is. These Bible truths are a way for us to learn about Jesus and end-time events.
Who Are the 5 Best Prophets in the Bible? — John
The book of Revelation is one of the most amazing books in the Bible. It gives us details on the whole of end-time events — through to the end of the world and beyond. John was the last apostle to be alive. On the island of Patmos, he survived alone. There he received the vision of the book of Revelation, and we have today this amazing revelation to warn us of what is soon to happen on earth.
John was the beloved friend of Jesus — gentle, kind, and humble like Jesus. John was the most Christlike in character of all the apostles. He is the apostle who leaned on Jesus’ breast during the Last Supper. The Gospels and letters of John are the most filled with the love of God, as John was the closest to Jesus.
Who Are the 5 Best Prophets in the Bible? — Ellen G. White
The last end-time prophet, Ellen G. White, is identified in Revelation 12 through the signs of those who keep the commandments of God and have the Spirit of prophecy.
RE 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Jesus gives us several clear signs of His end-time church. They keep the commandments, including the Sabbath. They have the Testimony of Jesus, which Revelation 19:10 says is the Spirit of prophecy. They preach the Three Angels’ Message of Revelation 14 and the sanctuary message of Revelation 12, the book of Hebrews, and the Daniel 8:14 message of the 2,300 days.
This Three Angels’ Message movement comes after the 1,260 days of papal persecution, which ended in 1798. It is unmistakably easy to identify who keeps the Sabbath today, preaches the Three Angels’ Message, and speaks about the sanctuary and judgment message. The only group is the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Through Ellen G. White, with her 3,000 amazing prophecies and visions, God is warning the world of its coming doom. Here are a few of this end-time prophet’s predictions.
September 11 Prophecy — Written 1902
On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify the owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and in them the most costly material was used. . . .
The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fire-proof buildings and said: “They are perfectly safe.” But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. The firemen were unable to operate the engines. — Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 12, 13.
The time is right upon us when there will be sorrow in the world that no human balm can heal. Even before the last great destruction comes upon the world, the flattering monuments of man’s greatness will be crumbled in the dust. God’s retributive judgments will fall on those who in the face of great light have continued in sin. Costly buildings, supposed to be fire-proof, are erected. But as Sodom perished in the flames of God’s vengeance, so will these proud structures become ashes. — Signs of the Times, Oct. 9, 1901.
The Four Winds and the Sealing
“I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels… saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Rev. 7:2, 3. Four mighty angels are still holding the four winds of the earth. Terrible destruction is forbidden to come in full. The accidents by land and by sea; the loss of life, steadily increasing, by storm, by tempest, by railroad disaster, by conflagration; the terrible floods, the earthquakes, and the winds will be the stirring up of the nations to one deadly combat, while the angels hold the four winds, forbidding the terrible power of Satan to be exercised in its fury until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads.
Angels are holding the four winds, which are represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path… While their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels and bid them hold until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.” — My Life Today, 308.
Time Is Almost Finished
“TIME IS ALMOST FINISHED….Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready….’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but LITTLE TIME in which to do it….Then I saw that THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES WERE SOON TO BE POURED OUT upon those who have no shelter….” — Early Writings, p. 64.
Some SDA Churches Urged Toward Sunday Worship
The Lord has a controversy with His professed people in these last days. In this controversy men in responsible positions will take a course directly opposite to that pursued by Nehemiah. They will not only ignore and despise the Sabbath themselves, but they will try to keep it from others by burying it beneath the rubbish of custom and tradition.
In churches and in large gatherings in the open air, ministers will urge upon the people the necessity of keeping the first day of the week. There are calamities on sea and land: and these calamities will increase, one disaster following close upon another; and the little band of conscientious Sabbath-keepers will be pointed out as the ones who are bringing the wrath of God upon the world by their disregard of Sunday. — Review and Herald, March 18, 1884.
Leave the Most Remote Places
“As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation, in the decree enforcing the papal Sabbath, will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains.” — Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 464, 465.
“The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from this contamination. The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, ‘Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, but not by God’s people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.’” — Maranatha, p. 184.
“As the decree issued by the various rulers of Christendom against commandment keepers shall withdraw the protection of government, and abandon them to those who desire their destruction, the people of God will flee from the cities and villages and associate together in companies, dwelling in the most desolate and solitary places. Many will find refuge in the strongholds of the mountains… But many of all nations and of all classes, high and low, rich and poor, black and white, will be cast into the most unjust and cruel bondage. The beloved of God pass weary days bound in chains, shut in by prison bars, sentenced to be slain, some apparently left to die of starvation in dark and loathsome dungeons.” — The Great Controversy, 626 (1911).
The End Is Very Soon
“TIME IS ALMOST FINISHED….Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready….’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but LITTLE TIME in which to do it….Then I saw that THE SEVEN LAST PLAGUES WERE SOON TO BE POURED OUT upon those who have no shelter….” — Early Writings, p. 64.
USA Civil War
Another vision Ellen White had was concerning the Civil War in America. The vision came three months before the Civil War began, and she stated:
“There is not a person in this house who has even dreamed of the trouble that is coming upon this land. People are making sport of the secession ordinance of South Carolina, but I have just been shown that a large number of States are going to join that State, and there will be a most terrible war. In this vision I have seen large armies of both sides gathered on the field of battle. I heard the booming of the cannon, and saw the dead and dying on every hand.
Then I saw them rushing up engaged in hand-to-hand fighting. Then I saw the field after the battle, all covered with the dead and dying. Then I was carried to prison, and saw the suffering of those in want, who were wasting away. Then I was taken to the homes of those who had lost husbands, sons, or brothers in the war. I saw there distress and anguish.”
Then she looked around the room at those who were with her and said:
“There are those in this house who will lose sons in that war.” — E. G. White, Remarks at Parkville, Michigan, January 31, 1861; General Conference Daily Bulletin, 2002, p. 37.
When Ellen White revealed this vision, the common view was that war was unlikely, and even if it came, it would be brief and result in few casualties. Yet what Ellen White said was fulfilled and proved to be extremely accurate.
Have you accepted Jesus into your heart? Repeat after me: Father God, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. Bless and heal me, please. Give me Your righteousness and give me the desires of my heart according to Your will. In the name of Jesus, amen.