The Gift of Prophecy

Ellen White’s Use of the Sola Scriptura Principle

The fact that Ellen White did not do a modern exegetical analysis of the biblical text should never be used to disclaim her expositions of Scripture. Her use of Scripture is indeed a prophetic one, unfolding in many cases the inner motivations of the individuals involved and the spiritual struggles that were taking place behind the scenes. Furthermore, Ellen White’s own expositions of Scripture were in harmony with the sola Scriptura principle, allowing the Bible to be its own interpreter. GOP 298.4

While many critics of the Bible questioned the historicity of Genesis 1-11 and denied its miracles, Ellen White remained in line with the Bible prophets who confirmed the historicity and reliability of those accounts. For example, as the historicity of the Creation accounts (Gen. 1; 2) was confirmed by other texts of both the Old Testament (Pss. 33:6-9; 94:9; 95:4, 5; 121:2; 136:5-9; 146:5, 6; 148:1-5; Isa. 40:26) and the New Testament (Acts 17:24-26; Col. 1:15,16; Heb. 4:4, 10; Rev. 14:7), Ellen White also confirmed it. ⁶¹ The story of the fall of Adam and Eve instigated by the serpent (Gen. 3) was referred to as literal elsewhere in the Bible (Rom. 5:12, 14, 18, 19; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9), and she understood it likewise. ⁶² As the story of Noah and the universal flood (Gen. 6-8) was taken literally in both the Old Testament (Ps. 104:6-9) and the New Testament (Matt. 24:37-39; Heb. 11:7; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:6), so did she as well. ⁶³ GOP 298.5

As the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:23-29) was understood historically in the Old Testament (Deut. 29:23; Isa. 13:19; Jer. 49:18; 50:40; Amos 4:11) and the New Testament (Luke 17:28, 29; 2 Peter 2:6-8; Jude 7), so she also interpreted it. ⁶⁴ The historicity of the miracles related to the Exodus and the pilgrimage in the wilderness were confirmed by other passages not only of the Old Testament (Pss. 66:6; 78:10-55; 105:26-45; 106:7-33; 136:10-16; Mal. 4:4) but also of the New Testament (Acts 7:17-44; Heb. 11:22-30), as well as by Ellen White. ⁶⁵ The story of Jonah in the belly of the great fish (Jonah 1:17; 2:10) really happened as recorded in the Bible, according to Jesus (Matt. 12:39-41) and Ellen White. ⁶⁶ GOP 299.1

In contrast to the critical attempts to discover the “historical Jesus” (Albert Schweitzer) ⁶⁷ and to “demythologize” the four Gospels (Rudolf Bultmann), ⁶⁸ Ellen White recognized the Gospel narratives and miracles as historical. Her classic book The Desire of Ages (1898) ⁶⁹ builds up trust in the way Jesus and His ministry are portrayed in the canonical Gospels, and provides many helpful insights into those narratives. This book is a good example of her commitment to the sola Scriptura principle in studying the Bible and expounding its message. GOP 299.2