Lesson 4: “New Testament Prophets”
COLLEEN TINKER | Editor, Proclamation! |
Adventist, how do you define Ellen White’s role? Internally, Adventists spend much energy to validate Ellen as a true prophet inspired by God. At the same time they never stop attempting to re-vision her role to accommodate the ways she clearly contradicted Scripture and even herself. Adventists concurrently elevate her role by using her own words to defend her claim that she is “more than a prophet” while also denying that she was a prophet at all—especially when speaking to “outsiders”.
We’re looking at the fourth lesson of the fourth quarter’s Sabbath School curriculum entitled “New Testament Prophets”. This quarter’s lessons have been written by the White Estate and reflect the organization’s commitment to making sure all Adventists know and respect Ellen White’s interpretive role in Seventh-day Adventism. If Ellen White’s writings are not known and followed, Adventism would lose its distinctive identity.
Ellen’s Central Role
Officially Ellen White is placed at the heart of Adventism’s 28 Fundamental Beliefs. Belief #18 describes her role this way:
The Scriptures testify that one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy.
This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and we believe it was manifested in the ministry of Ellen G. White. Her writings speak with prophetic authority and provide comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction to the church.
They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.—Retrieved from https://adventist.org/beliefs#belief-18
All of Adventism’ doctrines flow from the authority of Ellen White’s confirming visions. She is considered the one who fulfills the New Testament gift of prophecy: in fact, they appropriate Scripture to say that God appointed Ellen White to provide prophetic guidance for the church in the last days. This quote is from Seventh-day Adventists Believe, Edition 3, Review and Herald Publishing, 2018, p. 256:
God gave the gift of prophecy to John the Baptist to announce Christ’s first advent. In a similar way we may expect Him to send the prophetic gift again to proclaim the Second Adventist so that everyone will have the opportunity to prepare to meet the Savior.
In fact, Christ mentions the rise of false prophets as one of the signs that His coming is near (Matt. 24:11, 24). If there were to be no true prophets during the time of the end, Christ would have warned against anyone claiming that gift. His warning against false prophets implies that there would be true prophets as well.
We see that Adventism conscripts biblical facts and twists them to argue for Ellen’s legitimacy. The fact that God gave the gift of prophecy to His church as one of His provisions is not an evidence that Ellen is a true prophet, and it certainly is not a support for the Adventist idea that Ellen is the “John the Baptist” of the last days, the prophet God sent to prepare the way for the second coming!
Saturday’s introduction to the week’s lessons says this:
God spoke through prophets in the Old and New Testaments, and the continuity and harmony in their messages is because the Holy Spirit—the Source, or “Engine,” of divine inspiration—has remained the same. The Holy Spirit always empowers true prophets through the gift of prophecy. He also places Christ at the center of the prophets’ messages, as Hebrews makes clear (Heb. 1:1–3).
In spite of sounding pious, this paragraph reveals the way Adventism misuses the Bible to support Ellen White. Hebrews 1:1–3 does NOT teach that “Christ[is] at the center of the prophets’ messages”. Here is Hebrews 1:1–3:
God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in [His] Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,—Hebrews 1:1–3 LSB
Notice that this passage from Hebrews 1 states that the time of God’s speaking through prophets is OVER. In these last days He has spoken through His Son! It doesn’t say that Christ is the center of a continuing line of prophets who speak for God! Furthermore, this passage cannot be used to support Adventism’s claim that Ellen is inspired just as the biblical prophets were inspired—a claim which the organization teaches and argues in the quote above.
The New Testament gift of prophecy is never described as people who will give the church new insights about God’s plan of redemption, about sin and salvation, or about Jesus Himself. New Testament prophecy is a gift described this way in 1 Corinthians 14:3:
But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and encouragement.—1 Corinthians 14:3 LSB
Adventism uses this verse to describe the role of Ellen’s “testimonies” publicly, but internally they teach a system of theology that was entirely derived from and endorsed by her visions and writings, her biblical interpretations.
In fact, every time the General Conference meets in a business session—whether the meeting is one of the executive counsel meetings during the year or their quinquennial General Conference Sessions—they open their sessions by reading the official “Statement of Confidence in the Writings of Ellen G. White” formally accepted on July 7, 2015. Following is this official statement of confidence that affirms Adventism’s commitment and submission to Ellen White’s writings:
[W]e express our deep gratitude to God for the continuing presence of the various spiritual gifts among His people (1 Cor 12:4-11; Eph 4:11-14), and particularly for the prophetic guidance we have received through the life and ministry of Ellen G White (1827-1915).
On the centennial of her death, we rejoice that her writings have been made available around the globe in many languages and in a variety of printed and electronic formats.
We reaffirm our conviction that her writings are divinely inspired, truly Christ-centered, and Bible-based. Rather than replacing the Bible, they uplift the normative character of Scripture and correct inaccurate interpretations of it derived from tradition, human reason, personal experience, and modern culture.
We commit ourselves to study the writings of Ellen G White prayerfully and with hearts willing to follow the counsels and instructions we find there. Whether individually, in the family, in small groups, in the classroom, or in the church, a combined study of the Bible and her writings provide a transforming and faith-uplifting experience. We encourage the continued development of both worldwide and local strategies to foster the circulation of her writings inside and outside the church. The study of these writings is a powerful means to strengthen and prepare His people for the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.—Retrieved from https://gc.adventist.org/official-statements/statement-of-confidence-in-the-writings-of-ellen-g-white/
Notice that within this statement Adventism affirms an ongoing commitment to Ellen’s correction of “inaccurate interpretations” of the Bible. All Adventists know, for example, that Ellen White taught that the seventh-day Sabbath is for all mankind for all time—even into the eternal state where God Himself honors the seventh day.
Ellen White also “corrects” the New Covenant teaching that the levitical food laws were fulfilled at the cross and insists that the laws of clean and unclean meat continue today with salvific impact.
Furthermore, Ellen White “corrects” the biblical teaching contained within Hebrews 1:1–3—the very passage used to endorse EGW’s writings as true prophecy—she “corrects” the biblical revelation that Jesus SAT DOWN at God’s right hand, His work of atonement FINISHED. Instead she teaches that His atonement was Not completed on the cross, that He ascended to the Holy, not the Most Holy Place and that that He didn’t enter the Most Holy Place until October 22, 1844. Further, she teaches that Jesus continues applying His blood to the confessed sins of the saved each time a person remembers to confess. If a person does not confess a particular sin, it remains unforgiven.
I could go on—but it is evident that Adventism’s entire system of theology hangs on Ellen White and her “prophetic” gift. Furthermore, in the statement of confidence above, it is noteworthy that the Seventh-day Adventist organization is committed to promoting and increasing the distribution of he writings, both inside their congregations and “outside” as evangelistic tools to proselytize new members!
False Prophets: A Sign of the Times
The Sabbath School lesson spends the week arguing that New Testament prophets are God’s gift for the edification and equipping of the church, applying Paul’s descriptions to Ellen White and further binding the consciences of the Adventist readers to Ellen White’s writings. Yet Thursday’s lesson introduces the core of reality where we will focus. The day’s lesson is “False Prophets in the New Testament”, and it sails over Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 24 and attempts to normalize Jesus’ warning by reminding the readers that there have always been false prophets.
The authors assume that the readers will never suspect Ellen of being a false prophet and superficially offer the hope of protecting themselves against “deception”. Significantly, within Adventism, members are warned against the “deception” of people who criticize and expose Ellen White. So this day’s lesson, while actually pointing to Jesus’ clear warnings, smooths over the ways they can know truth from error and assumes they will only question pretenders who may arise claiming prophetic gifts. Ellen, of course, is never seen as the arch-pretender.
The day’s lesson opens with a reference to Matthew 24:23, 24 and then refers the reader to Ephesians 6:12 for knowing how to guard against the dark forces attempting to deceive. Here are Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:23, 24:
“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There [He is],’ do not believe [him]. For false christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”—Matthew 24:23, 24 LSB
Here is the heart of the Adventist irony. Jesus was warning, very directly, against Ellen White and all other false prophets including Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, Charles Taze Russell, and more.
How can I make this accusation, you ask?
My certainty about Ellen’s status as a false prophet comes from her unbiblical teachings about the Trinity, the nature of man, the investigative judgment, the Sabbath-mandate for salvation, and the diminished status of the Lord Jesus. She has given Adventists an entire pre-history story, reminiscent of Mormonism, that says God exalted Jesus resulting in Lucifer’s jealousy and subsequent banishment from heaven—resulting in the “great controversy”. Notice these words:
The Lord has shown me that Satan was once an honored angel in heaven, next to Jesus Christ.…
And there was contention with the angels. Satan and his affected ones, who were striving to reform the government of God, wished to look into his unsearchable wisdom to ascertain his purpose in exalting Jesus, and endowing him with such unlimited power and command.—Spiritual Gifts Vol. 1, p. 17
This one statement alone is enough to disqualify Ellen as a prophet of God. She blasphemes the Lord Jesus, denying His eternal identity as Yahweh, the I Am of the Old Testament, the One who declared Himself to be the “I Am” before Abraham existed! (John 8:58). Satan was never an angel “next to Jesus Christ”. The Lord Jesus was Lucifer’s creator, and he was never in doubt about Jesus’ identity!
Jesus was not exalted to the position of God’s Son and brought into the heavenly councils of God. Jesus was eternally GOD. On earth, God the Son took human flesh onto His identity as God, and when He spoke on earth, He spoke as GOD. He spoke with the authority of the One who had inspired the Old Testament, and He taught His disciples how the Law, the prophets, and the Psalms all foreshadowed HIM (Luke 24:44)I.
No prophet of God would ever have denigrated God and diminished the Lord Jesus. No true prophet says Jesus had been exalted to the position of God’s Son. Further, the Bible tells us no such “origin story”. There is no biblical account for the great controversy. God has always been God, and Lucifer, like all creatures, has always been different from Jesus. They were never on an equal playing field.
Ellen White teaches Adventists to see Jesus as distinct from the Father and from the Son. She teaches that God is a triunity, a “winning team”, as the official Adventist website says, who work together for our salvation.
No! God is One, and the Lord Jesus is not just one third of God but shares substance with the Father and the Son. Every attribute of God dwells in Him bodily (Col 2:9), and He is to be worshiped as Almighty God!
Ellen White is a false prophet. The only “Jesus” to whom she points is a diminished Jesus, a false Jesus who did not complete the atonement at the cross and who is still engaged in a great controversy with his arch-enemy, Satan. Ellen’s Jesus is not yet a victor, and her Jesus cannot “win” until He is able to place the sins of the saved on Satan and send him to the Lake of Fire!
Ellen’s Jesus has to destroy Satan physically before sin is eradicated. Ellen’s Jesus did not fully atone for sin, did not end the curse of death, did not bring eternal life to the dead spirits of those who believe. Her Jesus is still hoping that humans will keep the law as he did ad help Him defeat the devil!
Ellen White is a false prophet who received dark inspiration from the spirit who inspired her to portray Satan as the tragic hero in the story of salvation. Poor Satan—he will be punished for our sins in the end and thus cleanse heaven and the universe from sin!
NO! Jesus, God the Son in human flesh, fully atoned for sin at the cross! He ascended to the Father and SAT DOWN—His work was finished! Sin and death are condemned and broken eternally!
Ellen White teaches what Paul called “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). She is dangerous, and her writings lead people away from biblical truth and inexorably down to destruction.
Adventist, ask the Lord Jesus to show you truth and reality. Ask Him to convict you of your sin and of your need for a Savior, and trust the blood of Jesus that has paid fully for your sin. Trust and believe that He has already done everything necessary for your salvation. The Sabbath is not part of your salvation package. Jesus is all you need!
Repent of your loyalty to Ellen White and embrace the Lord Jesus alone. See Him dying for you on the cross and rising from death on the third day and breaking your curse—and believe! Jesus is all you need, and He will bring you to spiritual life when you trust Him. Believe Him today! Let Ellen go! The Lord Jesus will show you what is real and will ground you in truth and reality. He will break the shackles of your false prophet and set you free in Himself! †
This weekly feature is dedicated to Adventists who are looking for biblical insights into the topics discussed in the Sabbath School lesson quarterly. We post articles which address each lesson as presented in the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, including biblical commentary on them. We hope you find this material helpful and that you will come to know Jesus and His revelation of Himself in His word in profound biblical ways.
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