Ellen G. White and Her Critics

No New Theology in 1911 Edition

The construction of this 1852 editorial reveals a striking similarity to the disputed passage in the new edition of The Great Controversy! This much, at least, is already evident, that the new edition is setting forth no new theology! EGWC 329.6

J. H. Waggoner, writing in 1854 under the title “Babylon Is Fallen!” declared: EGWC 329.7

“Babylon is said to be fallen, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Revelation 14:8. This I understand to be at the period when the fall of the whole family has taken place; and is it not a fact that the daughters are allied to the nations as well as the mother?”—The Review and Herald, September 5, 1854, p. 29. EGWC 329.8

In an article in the Review and Herald in 1862, Uriah Smith comments on Revelation 17:1-5. The proposition is set down: “That this apostate woman is a symbol of the Roman Catholic church, all Protestant commentators are agreed.” After discussing this point Smith declares: EGWC 330.1

“This woman is explicitly called Babylon. Is then Rome Babylon to the exclusion of all other religious bodies? No; from the fact that she is called the mother of harlots, which shows that there are other independent religious organizations, which constitute the apostate daughters, and belong to the same great family.”—December 9, p. 12. (Italics his.) EGWC 330.2

This statement, taken in conjunction with the preceding one by Waggoner, once more reveals how the two thoughts regarding Babylon—a primary emphasis on Rome, and a final emphasis on the Protestant sects—balance in the minds of our Seventh-day Adventist writers. When attention is first called to Rome’s long historical relation to certain Bible prophecies, Smith seeks to protect against a mistaken conclusion by inquiring: “Is then Rome Babylon to the exclusion of all other religious bodies?” When the particular prophecy of the fall of Babylon, in Revelation 14:8, is before him, Waggoner wishes to make sure that attention is focused on Protestantism: “This I understand to be at the period when the fall of the whole family has taken place.” EGWC 330.3