The Great Visions of Ellen G. White

An Authentic Miracle

Ellen had been in vision from about 1:00 p.m. until sunset; when she regained consciousness she noticed that “candles were burning. I had been in vision nearly four hours.” ⁴³ Note that during this time she did not breathe, and during much of it she held a large, heavy Bible in her unsupported outstretched hand. These were genuine miracles of God. GVEGW 33.2

The Randolph vision is believed by specialists at the White Estate to have been her longest—“nearly four hours,” according to her own estimate. By contrast, her shortest was probably a 30-second “flashlight” picture, given while she was praying during family worship one morning, according to her son, W. C. White, who was himself present. ⁴⁴ James White, her husband of 35 years (who probably viewed his wife in the vision state more than any other individual), estimated that her visions typically ranged from 15 minutes to three hours. ⁴⁵ GVEGW 33.3

The four-hour vision at Randolph was not, however, the longest on record in the 1840s. William Ellis Foy, God’s first choice for the prophetic office, received two visions in Boston in 1842. The first, on January 18, lasted two and a half hours; but the second, on February 4, ran a remarkable 12 1/2 hours. ⁴⁶ GVEGW 33.4

In the vision state the prophet’s heart continues to function normally, but the lungs are totally at rest—in vision the prophet simply does not breathe. There is usually a loss of normal strength, and often an infusion of supernatural strength. The eyes may be open, but the immediate surroundings are lost to view—rather, the prophet sees what God wishes him to see (whether of past, present, or future). GVEGW 33.5

Probably the best biblical description of the physical condition of a prophet in vision is that found in the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel. GVEGW 33.6

In Joel 2:28-32 we are informed that prophets also receive messages in the night season by means of prophetic dreams. The content of such dreams doubtless is indistinguishable from that received in daytime visions, the only apparent difference probably being the absence of physical phenomena at night. GVEGW 34.1