Loading…

Ellen G. White in Europe 1885-1887

206/212

The Last Item in the Diaries

With her visit to the Isle of Wight, Mrs. White's European diaries end, and only sketchy information is available for the last three weeks of her stay in Britain. But on July 14, she was in Wellingborough, a small city of the Midlands near Kettering. Here she preached on the subject “A Peculiar People.” In conclusion she said: EGWE 311.3

“There was a great excitement in London last week. The Queen was coming. All wanted to see their sovereign. But there is One greater than the Queen coming. ‘The glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.’ Can we not get up an excitement on this subject? Jesus will bring the dead from their graves, and they shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. They shall enter into the city of God. There they shall see the gates open wide to receive them, and shall eat of the tree of life. There are angels there, who never fell. The saints of all ages are to be there, and take the kingdom, and it shall be theirs.... Is it not enough to cause gladness in our hearts?”—Manuscript 25, 1887. EGWE 311.4

The following week she visited in Grimsby, where she again busied herself with buying flannel and other fabrics to make clothes for her family. She also wrote several letters to one of the young workers in Basel who was drinking and smoking. He was a valuable German translator, but was about to lose his job because of his bad habits. As a result of reading prayerfully Ellen White's rather pointed testimonies, he confessed his errors. By the time Mrs. White left for the United States, reports indicated he was having a genuine reformation in his life and practice. EGWE 311.5

On Tuesday, August 2, we find Ellen White in Birkenhead, preaching her last sermon in Europe. She also spent a busy afternoon receiving visitors who had come to say a last good-by at George Drew's home at 12 the Woodlands, Clifton Park. EGWE 312.1

Her testimony as she bore it on hundreds of occasions in Europe is epitomized in her last message to the believers at Moss, Norway: EGWE 312.2

“We must take our journey through the world as pilgrims and strangers, clinging by living faith to the cross of Calvary. The blessing of God will rest upon every soul that makes a full consecration to Him. When we seek for God with all the heart we shall find Him. God is in earnest with us, and He wants us to make thorough work for eternity. He has poured out all heaven in one gift, and there is no reason why we should doubt His love. Look to Calvary. Christ died for you, and what greater evidence of God's love could you ask than that which has been given in the life and death and intercession of Jesus? EGWE 312.3

“God asks you to give Him your heart. Your powers, your talents, your affections, should all be surrendered to Him, that He may work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure, and fit you for eternal life. Accept the invitation of Christ. He bids you, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’ O that we might press toward the mark for the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus! What more can God do than He has done? Let us empty our souls of all enmity, all foolishness, and by living faith connect with Jesus. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Christ will pardon your transgressions, and receive you graciously.”—The Review and Herald, May 5, 1891. EGWE 312.4