101 Questions on the Sanctuary and on Ellen White

70. Ballenger’s Letter Not Answered

Ford quotes a five-page letter addressed by A. F. Ballenger in 1909 to Ellen White in which he asked for a Scriptural refutation of his views on the sanctuary. Ford notes that this letter was “one which did not receive a personal reply” (Ford, pages 64-69). Why did Ellen White not answer Ballenger? QSEW 63.2

Ellen White never attempted at any time to write a detailed exegetical commentary on any passage of Scripture. She left this type of exercise to others. At the age of eighty two it was all the more necessary for her to leave argumentative correspondence and the defense of the faith in the hands of the brethren. Ellen White had fully expressed her views about Ballenger’s teachings in 1905, 1906, and 1907. In previous years she had set forth Bible-supported presentations of the sanctuary truth in a number of her books. There was little she could add in 1909. (See the 31-page Manuscript Release #760, “The Integrity of the Sanctuary Truth.”) QSEW 63.3