Understanding Ellen White

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Prophetic authority and the Advent movement

Foundational to understanding Ellen White’s prophetic authority is to identify why it came into existence in modern times and what role it plays for the end-time remnant people of God (cf. Rev. 12:17). There are at least two major aspects that deserve special attention. First, her ministry provided early Sabbatarian Adventism with helpful prophetic insights and encouragement in the process of establishing a new movement focused on the restoration of Bible truths. The need for such a restoration derived from the fact that postapostolic Christianity absorbed so much from the Greco-Roman culture that its original commitment to God’s Word was largely lost (cf. Dan. 8:9-13; Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Thess. 2:1-12). Accepting the primacy of culture over revelation, the medieval Christian tradition not only generated a nonbiblical culture but also propagated aggressively the value system of that culture instead of the everlasting gospel. UEGW 59.2

Jacques Ellul touches the very core of the problem when he asks, UEGW 59.3

How has it come about that the development of Christianity and the church has given birth to a society, a civilization, a culture that are completely opposite to what we read in the Bible, to what is indisputably the text of the law, the prophets, Jesus, and Paul? I say advisedly “completely opposite.” There is not just contradiction on one point but on all points. UEGW 59.4

On the one hand, Christianity has been accused of a whole list of faults, crimes, and deceptions that are nowhere to be found in the original text and inspiration. On the other hand, revelation has been progressively modeled and reinterpreted according to the practice of Christianity and the church. 19 UEGW 59.5

Undoubtedly, sixteenth-century Protestant Reformers tried to restore the authority of Scripture over unbiblical traditions by means of the basic hermeneutical principles of sola Scriptura (the exclusiveness of Scripture) and tota Scriptura (the totality of Scripture). But on a practical level, those Reformers were more successful in emphasizing the supremacy and exclusiveness of Scripture over other sources of truth than in restoring the entirety of Bible truth lost over more than a millennium of tradition. UEGW 60.1

Building on the Protestant hermeneutical legacy, Sabbatarian Adventists began to use more consistently the tota Scriptura principle in the process of (1) discovering those doctrines derived from the historical fulfillment of specific end-time prophecies of Scripture and (2) restoring those doctrines of Scripture that had been overlooked and disregarded by the larger Christian church. 20 UEGW 60.2

The whole discovery-restoration process was indeed biblically based and prophetically assisted through the ministry of Ellen White. The biblical basis was due to the fact that all Seventh-day Adventist doctrines were derived from and grounded on the Scriptures. Far from replacing the study of the Bible, Ellen White’s prophetic assistance actually encouraged a deeper investigation of Scripture. Her major prophetic role in the formation of doctrine was to confirm biblical truth and reprove error. So, George R. Knight states correctly that “we can best view Mrs. White’s role in doctrinal development as confirmation rather than initiation.” 21 According to T. H. Jemison, her writings have served “three basic purposes: (1) to direct attention to the Bible, (2) to aid in understanding the Bible, and (3) to help in applying Bible principles in our lives.” 22 This is in harmony with Ellen White’s own self-understanding of her role. UEGW 60.3

A second major aspect of Ellen White’s prophetic role is to provide inspired motivation to continue in the already-restored biblical faith. The need for such help comes from the fact that all religious movements tend to lose over the years their early restorationist commitment. Those movements are usually launched with the purpose of reforming the culture in which they exist. But in the second century of their existence, after the pioneers and those who knew them passed away, those very same movements tend to lose their own identity and to be reabsorbed by the culture they originally intended to reform. 23 The original message and lifestyle of the movement are reread into a new cultural setting to such extent that they end up losing much of their prophetic meaning. The acculturation process obscures the capability of many church members to distinguish between the holy and the profane (cf. Ezek. 22:26; 44:23). UEGW 60.4

The fact that Seventh-day Adventism came into existence as an end-time restorationist movement does not mean that it is invulnerable to losing its original identity. But that risk can be minimized and even overcome by faithfully following the same prophetic guidance that assisted the rise and early development of the movement. Proverbs 29:18 warns: “Where there is no prophecy the people cast off restraint” (RSV). The word prophecy in the Hebrew actually means a “prophetic vision.” Underlying this statement is the foundational principle that whenever God’s people disregard genuine prophetic revelations, they tend to drift toward the unbiblical ideologies of contemporary cultures (cf. 2 Chron. 36:11-16). On the other hand, the acceptance of God’s true prophets helps believers to overcome antibiblical cultural temptations (see 2 Chron. 20:20). UEGW 61.1

Ellen White’s long-term prophetic ministry brought significant doctrinal, administrative, outreach, and lifestyle stability to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. After her death, her writings continued to provide the same stability for the denomination. In 1907, she stated, UEGW 61.2

Abundant light has been given to our people in these last days. Whether or not my life is spared, my writings will constantly speak, and their work will go forward as long as time shall last. My writings are kept on file in the office, and even though I should not live, these words that have been given to me by the Lord will still have life and will speak to the people. 24 UEGW 61.3

Yet the stability provided by Ellen White’s writings has been seriously undermined by many who are unable to distinguish between universal principles and the current application of those principles found in her writings (see chapter 5). UEGW 61.4