HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2009 / JANUARY/FEBRUARY / TINKER

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2009
VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1

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A R T I C L E S

Did Ellen White change as she aged?

Colleen Tinker
Research assistance by Jeremy Graham

 

Adventists have long explained the internal contradictions within Ellen White's writings by saying that she grew and changed as the years passed. They use the phrase "progressive revelation" to explain the sometimes startling changes in her explanations of various subjects from the nature of Christ to the eating of pork.

The generally held view is that as she aged, Ellen White adopted more nearly "orthodox" views of salvation. Hence, Adventists argue, the fact that her early writings often articulated noticeably unbiblical views is "corrected" by her later works which exonerate her as a true prophetic voice.

One problem with this rationalization is that "progressive revelation" is understood as the process of Ellen White's moving from error toward truth. In fact, however, true progressive revelation never begins in error. If a person is inspired by God, He never gives that person "error". God cannot lie, and His revelations are always truth, even if they are not revealed in detail. Revelation from God cannot move from error to truth; it can, however, move from shadows and types, as in the tabernacle ceremonies God gave to Israel, to the fulfillment of those shadows, as in the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

It is generally thought that Ellen White's book The Desire of Ages, published in 1898, marked a change in Ellen White's understanding of the identity of Jesus and of righteousness by faith. Below, however, are several examples of Ellen White's statements written between 1898 and her death in 1915. We will show how each of these quotations reflected her still-unbiblical understanding of our salvation, emphasizing that our own perfection and law-keeping are required in order for us to be saved.

 

The year 1898

"His [Jesus'] example declares that our only hope of eternal life is through bringing the appetites and passions into subjection to the will of God." (The Desire of Ages, page 122, paragraph 2.)

In the context of this passage, Ellen White emphasizes that Jesus' fasting and victory during His 40 days in the wilderness are directly linked, that His refusal to indulge His temptations thwarted Satan. Jesus' example of restraining His appetites, therefore, is our example as to how we achieve righteousness that qualifies us for salvation.

The Bible, however, teaches that the condition for entrance into the kingdom of heaven is being born again.

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Jn. 3:6, NASB). The new birth is possible only by believing in—placing one's complete trust in—the Lord Jesus and His finished work and thus being saved (Acts 16:31). When we believe, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) and made alive with Christ, even while we are dead in our sins, and seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph. 2:4-6). This spiritual resurrection and consequent salvation has nothing to do with our own works, not even the work of bringing our "appetites and passions into subjection" (see Eph. 2:8-9).

We are saved entirely by God's miraculous work for us through Jesus' substitutionary death and resurrection (Rom. 3:21-30). Our self-discipline does not play a part in our salvation. Romans 6 and 8 teaches that believers overcome temptation primarily by submission to the Holy Spirit. While self-denial is a part of life after one is saved, nevertheless the primary method of overcoming temptation is the surrender of our desires to the Lord Jesus, releasing to Him our "right" to indulge in sin.

 

The year 1902

"Every one who by faith obeys God's commandments, will reach the condition of sinlessness in which Adam lived before his transgression." (The Signs of the Times, 07-23-1902, paragraph 14.)

 

The year 1903

"But in the struggle for immortality we have a part to act. [...] We can never be saved in inactivity and idleness. We might as well look for a harvest from seed which we have not sown, and for knowledge where we have not studied, as to expect salvation without making an effort. It is our part to wrestle against the evil tendencies of the natural heart." (The Youth's Instructor, 03-05-1903, paragraph 4.)

First, nowhere does the Bible support these statements. On the contrary, Paul describes his own struggle with sin in Romans 7:14-24. Our bodies, he says in Romans 8:10, are dead (mortal) because of sin, but our spirits are alive because of righteousness. We have living spirits inside mortal, dead bodies.

Second, our trust in the Lord Jesus is what God counts as our righteousness: "But to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" (Rom. 4:5). We do not "struggle for immortality"; Jesus took care of that problem.

Moreover, we are saved the moment we believe in the Lord Jesus: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (Jn. 5:24).

We have no "part to act" in our salvation. Our activity of wrestling "against the evil tendencies of the natural heart" does not produce any movement toward salvation. Salvation is entirely an act of God bringing us to life through Jesus. We do not contribute to our salvation by any effort or struggle.

 

The year 1906

"He came to this world and lived a sinless life, that in his power his people might also lead lives of sinlessness." (Atlantic Union Gleaner, 01-17-1906, paragraph 5.)

Again, "sinlessness" is not a requirement for salvation. God's intention for us is to be credited with righteousness which is alien to us (Phil. 3:9, "…not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith").

His purpose in sending Jesus was to break the power of sin and to open a new, living way by which we can approach the Father freely (Heb. 10:19-20).

Jesus' sinless life was not primarily for the purpose of being our example; rather, it qualified Him to be our "merciful and faithful high priest" and "to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17). His sinlessness qualified Him to offer "Himself without blemish to God" (Heb. 9:14) as our Substitute, the perfect Sacrifice for all our sins.

 

The year 1910

"Man is no passive being, to be saved in indolence. Let no one think that men and women are going to be taken to heaven without engaging in the struggle here below. We have a battle to fight, a victory to gain. God says to us, 'Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.' How?—'For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.' Man works, and God works. Man is called upon to strain every muscle, and to exercise every faculty, in the struggle for immortality; but it is God who supplies the efficiency." (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 04-28-1910, paragraph 3.)

The text which Ellen White uses in this passage is Philippians 2:12-13: "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure."

In its context, this text is not referring to how one is saved. Rather, Paul is writing to people who are already saved. He is saying that believers must persevere and express their salvation—their new birth—by honoring the Lord Jesus and dedicating themselves to spiritual growth and obedience to the Lord Jesus.

Paul never addresses unbelievers by telling them to "work out their own salvation" in a joint effort with God whereby they may be saved (Tit. 3:5,6). On the contrary, unbelievers are always admonished to "believe in the Lord Jesus" (see Acts 16:31). Only believers have any salvation to "work out", or share, from within themselves—and that is a gift from God.

Ellen White is misusing this text and is using it to instill guilt and fear into those who are not confident they are saved. Instead, this text is a statement of how to live from a position of victory, of knowing one is saved. Those who are saved are admonished to express their salvation in the ways they live and interact with others.

 

The year 1913

"He died a shameful death upon the cross, that we might have eternal life; and shall we dare to flatter ourselves that we may follow a course of sin, choosing our own way, shunning the cross, avoiding reproach and self-denial, and yet have a home in the kingdom of heaven?—No; through faith in Christ we must render obedience to all requirements of God; through his merits we may be elevated to keep God's commandments." (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 05-08-1913, paragraph 4.)

Once again, Ellen White says that obedience to all the commandments is the requirement for our salvation. This is not a biblical requirement.

Jesus' sinless life, His death and resurrection were not merely "down payments" on our salvation. They were not arbitrary requirements He performed to motivate us to emulate Him. His entire life, death, and resurrection purchased us for God.

The Bible never asks us to keep God's commandments as our proper response to beholding Jesus' suffering. On the contrary, we are asked to believe (Jn. 5:24) and be born again (Jn. 3:5-6). No one is justified by the works of the law (Rom. 3:20). Rather, the righteousness of God that becomes ours when we believe is completely "apart from the law" (Rom. 3:21, 28).

The righteousness God gives us is His blessing to us in response to our faith in Him (Rom. 4:5, 13).

Jesus' work on the cross was not for the purpose of "elevating" us to keep the commandments. His death and resurrection accomplished complete payment for our sin and give us His own righteousness and direct access to God when we believe. Salvation is not a "maybe". Salvation, if we place our faith in the Lord Jesus, is a certainty, and our works are not part of our being saved but are evidence of our salvation (Eph. 2:8-10).

 

Another quote from 1913

"The great crisis is before us, and every one is to act as if his own soul was at stake. The most important question of all is, How shall I save my soul, for which Christ died? How shall I be holy as he is holy?" (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, 05-15-1913, paragraph 2.)

The Bible never instructs us to ask how we may save our souls. Christ's death and resurrection guarantee our salvation when we believe. We become holy by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are totally covered with His own personal righteousness which is alien to us. We do not begin to become saved or to achieve holiness; rather, when we place our trust in Jesus, we are at that moment sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) and made alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5).

We are made holy, or "set apart" for God's use, from the moment we believe, for we are His own workmanship, created for the good works which He prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10).

God saves us; we do not participate in that salvation.

 

Summary

This sampling of quotations reveals that as she matured, Ellen White did not begin to get salvation "right". She continued writing admonitions to work hard in order to gain eternal life. Her late writings were nearly as full of confusion and mixed messages as were her early ones.

While The Desire if Ages does represent more correct theology than do the other writings of Ellen White, this fact can be primarily explained by the work of Marian Davis, whom EGW called her "book maker". Marian was reading from a variety of legitimate Christian authors as she compiled the material for The Desire of Ages, as Walter Rea has demonstrated in his book The White Lie.

The Bible alone contains the gospel, and no modern prophet can make the Bible any clearer. On the contrary, Ellen White's "counsels" do not reflect biblical truth but lead people into the despair of not knowing either how to be saved or whether they are saved (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 155).

Our hard work and law-keeping never assist us to be saved. Salvation is entirely the work of God, and our response to His grace is to worship, praise, and surrender to His Spirit.

Our triune God is faithful, and He is all we need. His word is sufficient. We are to trust and honor Him alone. He is the One who saves and transforms us.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! †

 

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…true progressive revelation never begins in error. If a person is inspired by God, He never gives that person "error". God cannot lie, and His revelations are always Truth, even if they are not revealed in detail.

Ellen White did not begin to get salvation "right". She continued writing admonitions to work hard in order to gain eternal life. Her late writings were just as full of confusion and mixed messages as were her early ones.