Ellen G. White and Her Critics

Conditional Quality of Divine Predictions

It may come as a surprise to some to think that God’s promises of blessing and His threats of judgments are conditional. But the Scriptures are explicit on this. Listen to these words: EGWC 102.3

“At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” Jeremiah 18:7-10. EGWC 102.4

The Bible presents a number of illustrations of the application of this principle set forth by Jeremiah. Indeed, we may be thankful for Jeremiah’s words; they help us rightly to understand some texts of Scripture that might otherwise seem to indict the divine claims of certain prophets. Let us cite two instances that illustrate both parts of Jeremiah’s statement. The first is a divine threat to bring judgment upon a nation. We give in parallel columns the threat of judgment and its reversal: EGWC 102.5