Messenger of the Lord

Infallibility

Infallibility is a characteristic of God alone, not His messengers. Created beings cannot possibly be infallible; they are always dependent on their Creator, always short of ultimate perfection, always becoming what God intended them to be. MOL 376.7

Although the message God reveals through His messengers is without error, the message is conveyed through error-prone, fallible messengers. That is why Ellen White called prophets God’s penmen, not His pen. And that is why she said bluntly: “In regard to infallibility, I never claimed it; God alone is infallible.” ³⁴ MOL 376.8

Therefore, infallibility is not “on trial” in the prophet’s words, whether in the Bible or in the writings of Ellen White. What is at stake is the search for that infallible authority which God is communicating through His messengers. God’s messages breathe with infallible authority. The search for accuracy in understanding God’s infallible messages depends, in part, on a person’s faithfulness to the rules of hermeneutics, uncontaminated by human philosophical presuppositions. MOL 376.9