The Gift of Prophecy

Summary

This section has provided an overview regarding Ellen White and the Bible. Adventists consider themselves Protestants and have from their beginning embraced a restorationist approach to the principle of sola Scriptura. Ellen White also explicitly subscribed to this principle. Neither early Adventists nor Ellen White herself saw her prophetic experience as incompatible with this principle. Rather, they saw her visions as a fulfillment of biblical predictions and subject to biblical authority. Ellen White went even further and expressed that her prophetic gift and writings were intended to lead people to the Bible. She saw herself as a prophet “to” Scripture. She sought to point not only Seventh-day Adventists but also the broader Christian community and people in general to the Bible and its message. She did not believe her personal testimonies would have been necessary if there had been greater faithfulness in Bible study and practice. Finally, an examination of Seventh-day Adventist doctrinal development shows that Ellen White’s visions and prophetic dreams supported and enriched the process but were never originating or determinative. Seventh-day Adventists view her as a noncanonical prophet. GOP 287.1

It is vital to understand Ellen White’s personal experience in relation to the Bible. She earnestly studied the Bible and had committed much of it to memory. She did not give token acknowledgment to Scripture. Both her personal and public writings are centered on the Bible and contain almost continual allusions, references, and quotations to it. The theological and lifestyle standards she promoted were invariably linked to Scripture. It is expected that Seventh-day Adventists will continue to focus their attention on the Bible and cherish the principles of sola Scriptura... GOP 287.2