Angel Over Her Tent

Chapter 2—Chosen by God

God had a special purpose for Ellen Harmon’s life. She would represent Him to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In both the Old and New Testaments God communicated to specially chosen men and women called prophets. Since New Testament times, however, He had not chosen any particular person to bring His messages to the church over a long period of time. He spoke with men in other ways. But through the life of Ellen Gould Harmon—later Ellen G. White—He would restore the office of the prophet to the church. AOT 19.1

To represent God required special preparation, which she had received during her time of wondering whether Christ had accepted her. When God decided she was ready, He began to reveal Himself to her in a more open way. Then one day while she prayed, she felt God’s blessing come upon her “like the gentle dew,” as she later described it. A love for God greater than she had ever known before filled her heart. Even nature—the flowers and the trees and the animals—seemed more wonderful. She felt as if everything around her smiled and praised God. AOT 19.2

In March, 1840, and in June, 1842, the Harmon family listened to the great preacher William Miller lecture on the second coming of Christ at the Casco Street Church in Portland, Maine. Ellen’s family believed Miller and accepted the doctrine of Christ’s second coming, but their Methodist friends laughed at them and eventually expelled them from the Chestnut Street Methodist Church in 1843. AOT 20.1

The Adventists of the 1840’s—people now call them Millerites—thought that Christ would come in the fall of 1844. But they had misunderstood Bible prophecy. The Bible stated that the sanctuary would be cleansed 2300 days after the prophecy began in the year 457 B.C. Knowing that in symbolic Bible prophecy a day stands for a year, Miller and his followers figured that Christ would come in the fall of 1844. They had made a mistake, however. The sanctuary Christ would cleanse was not the earth, as Miller thought, but the sanctuary in heaven that Moses had made a copy of for the Hebrews’ center of worship after they fled from Egypt. Ellen Harmon and her family and others did not know about the mistake, though. When Christ did not come, they lived through what Seventh-day Adventists now call the “great disappointment.” AOT 20.2

The thought that Christ would return had become the most important thing in the lives of the Harmons and their Adventist friends. His seeming failure to do so completely crushed their hopes. They feared that they would have to live the rest of their lives on earth. Many former Adventists rejected the idea of Christ’s coming again and laughed at those who still believed in it. Ellen felt completely dejected. Although Hiram Edson and others soon found out where they had misinterpreted the Bible prophecy, the sense of disappointment remained. Those that kept their faith in the Lord’s return turned more and more to prayer to help ease their sorrow. Never had many of the Adventists wanted anything more strongly than they now wanted Christ to come and take them to heaven. AOT 20.3

One December day Ellen and four other women gathered for prayer. The cold morning light washed their faces and glistened on the simple furniture of the New England room. Ellen’s turn came, and she began to pray. Each person had prayed quietly, almost routinely. Suddenly God’s power seized Ellen, and a vision projected itself like a movie into her mind. Using the symbol of people taking a trip, God showed her some of the dangers and crises Christians must face as they prepare for heaven and Christ’s second coming. AOT 21.1

In the parablelike vision she saw the small group of Adventists traveling toward a city at the end of a high, narrow path. A bright light shone behind them and helped them to find their way over the difficult path. Christ led the people, who, as long as they kept their attention on Him, remained safe and would reach God’s city in heaven at the end of the path. God intended for the vision to encourage Ellen and the few who had kept their faith in Christ’s second coming. AOT 21.2

The vision was the first of some two thousand that Ellen received in her lifetime. Each one helped her and the young Seventh-day Adventist Church to understand God’s purposes better. Some visions helped clarify a point of doctrine. Others gave warnings against bad habits and practices among church members. Several depicted the battle between Satan and Christ over the fate of mankind. But all strengthened the church and its members, and many prevented Adventists from falling into the dangers that had destroyed other denominations. Ellen wrote what she saw in the dreams and visions and compiled these in articles and books. Her over 100,000 pages of manuscript—much of it handwritten—have resulted in more than fifty-five major books. AOT 21.3

Ellen Harmon, however, did not spend her entire life in carefully writing out the visions. In 1846 she married James White, a young Adventist minister. The couple had four sons. Besides being a prophet, a wife, and a mother, Mrs. White also helped her husband in his preaching and other church duties. She remained busy throughout her long life. AOT 22.1

Although specially honored by God, Ellen at first felt reluctant to accept the great responsibility of becoming God’s prophet to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Many times the angel who appeared in the visions pointed out evil in church members and told her to warn them about their bad habits and traits. She dreaded revealing the evil in human nature and did not want to hurt anybody’s feelings. Occasionally she had to struggle with the temptation to soften God’s reproofs to the church, not realizing that she was being unfaithful to her role as a prophet. Nor did she see the dangers in such a course both to her and to the church. AOT 22.2

God decided to illustrate to Ellen her responsibility toward her fellow church members. Again He used a symbolic dream. Taken into the presence of Christ by an angel, she saw Christ frown at her, then turn His face away. Terror and agony seized Ellen, and she fell speechless to the ground. An overpowering desire to hide from Christ’s frown made her understand the feelings of those who would beg for the mountains to fall on them during Christ’s second coming. AOT 23.1

A brightly glowing angel appeared and, attracting Ellen’s attention, pointed to a group of people with bloodstained clothing and faces filled with horror and despair. Noticing Mrs. White, they ran to her, grabbed hold of her clothes, and began to rub their bloody rags on her dress. The blood stained her clothes. The sight of the people and their blood on her dress made her faint. She instantly realized that the smeared blood symbolized her guilt in not warning others of their faults and mistakes. No excuse to defend herself before the angel came to her lips. She knew that she had none. Flee she could not. AOT 23.2

“This is not your case now,” the angel suddenly said. He explained that he had presented the scene to warn her of her fate should she not present God’s warnings and reproofs to others. But if she would faithfully do her duty, at Christ’s second coming she would gain eternal life. “You will have to suffer much,” the angel emphasized, “but the grace of God is sufficient.” God would give her the strength, the courage, and the insight she needed. Later, with the publication of her first book, Christian Experience and Views, in 1851, she included a special note to the readers. “A sense of duty to my brethren and sisters and a desire that the blood of souls might not be found on my garments have governed me in writing this little work,” she wrote. AOT 23.3

Never again did she weaken any of her warnings or instructions from God, but delivered them faithfully. Some of her fellow church leaders thought her needlessly severe at times. She did not let their attempts at pressure influence her. “I had to set my face like steel to do this,” she explained. Her task brought her much heartache at times, though she knew that she would face greater sorrow if she did not fulfill her mission. AOT 24.1

Mrs. White died in 1915, and she can no longer give personal messages from God. Her books, however, continue her task. Carefully studied, such volumes as the Testimonies for the Church can save the church and its members from much trouble. Some people have read wrong meanings into them, but they would do the same thing with the Bible. Her writings are valueless unless read. If Seventh-day Adventists will read them, they will find the thoughts of God given through the literary style of Ellen G. White. They will find a wonderful Christian life, one worthy of imitation. But most of all, they will find Jesus Christ. AOT 24.2