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1) JERUSALEM'S FUTURE
The following Ellen White quote has been cited to prove she made a false prediction. "Then I was pointed to some who are in the great error of believing that it is their duty to go to Old Jerusalem, and think they have a work to do there before the Lord comes .... I saw that Satan had greatly deceived some in this thing, .... I ALSO SAW THAT OLD JERUSALEM NEVER WOULD BE BUILT UP; and that Satan was doing his utmost to lead the minds of the children of the Lord into these things now, in the gathering time" (emphasis added). Early Writings, p. 75 The confusion here lies in the misunderstanding of the words "Old Jerusalem." With just this edited passage it is difficult to understand what she means by these words. The "building up" does not refer to the literal construction of physical buildings on that spot, but rather the popular notion of the 1840's and 1850's that a Zionist state in Palestine should be established. Ellen White's counsel was that "Satan was doing his utmost to lead the minds of the children of the Lord into these things now" and that Adventists should concentrate on the promotion of the three angels' messages of Rev. 14 rather than get caught up in this erroneous belief. Even today proponents of the secret rapture theory and other Christians have become confused about God's promises to "old Jerusalem" and mistakenly await that ancient city to be "built up" in a prophetic role during the earth's final events. From the Ellen White Estate's web site: "With several variations, age-to-come exponents, led by Joseph Marsh, O. R. L. Crosier, and George Storrs, believed that the Second Advent would usher in the millennial kingdom on earth during which time the world would be converted under the reign of Christ, with the Jews playing a leading role. This group closely related to the Literalists (British Adventists) who had believed that in the 1840s the literal Jews would welcome their Messiah (Christ) in Palestine, thus fulfilling Old Testament prophecies with Jerusalem becoming Christ's capital during the millennium. The majority of the Millerites had rejected this aspect of their Adventist theology, calling it Judaism. (See Josiah Litch, "The Rise and Progress of Adventism," The Advent Shield and Review, May 1844, p. 92, cited in Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students' Source Book, p. 513. The first defectors from early Seventh-day Adventists were H. S. Case and C. P. Russell who had, among other concepts, embraced the "age-to-come" theory. See The Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, s.v. "Messenger Party." " For more information on this subject we recommend Julia Neuffer's essay The Gathering of Israel A Historical Study of Early Writings, pp. 74-76. 1
Hard copies can be ordered from: The Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904
The following Bible quote was cited as false by an individual on the Internet who decided that after such statements Paul must be a false prophet and Christianity must be erroneous: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:15-17 (emphasis supplied) Note that the portion of Ellen White's statement that was emphasized by the first critic is practically word for word what Paul had said nearly 2,000 years earlier as quoted by the second critic. Even the words "WE [shall be] changed" were used by Paul in 1 Cor. 15:52. The criticism is of course that if a prophet describes him/herself among those that are translated and then that prophet dies, the prediction (and prophet) must have been false. Those who have been blessed by the writings of Paul and Ellen White can rest assured though, that these statements in no way prove either of them to be false prophets. Both often spoke of the soon coming of the Lord, as did other New Testament prophets and Christ Himself. While such language provides Bible critics with even more material to supposedly prove the Bible inaccurate, we must always keep the apostle Peter's words in mind: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation...But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is 2
with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:3,4,8,9 As we examine these predictions we must remain consistent. If Ellen White's words condemn her, then those same words coming from Paul would condemn him. But if we conclude that such words do not condemn Paul (who was not translated) then we must conclude that the same words do not condemn Ellen White (who was not translated). For more on the conditional aspect of this and other Ellen White statements, see the response to Prediction #6.
"She fears, if she should commence war abroad..." "...but if England thinks it will pay, she will not hesitate a moment to improve her opportunities [by declaring war]."
This is the equivalent of a man telling his friend "Now if you speed on this street you will get pulled over. And if you do get pulled over, be nice to the officer. And when he hands you a ticket, don't try to argue with him." In light of the previous "if"s in Ellen White's paragraph, it seems clear that she was not prophesying that England would definitely declare war against the United States. Some may say "show me a similar 3
example from the Bible." Francis D. Nichol both answered this allegation and showed a parallel example from the Bible way back in 1951 in his book Ellen G. White and Her Critics, and yet this same "prediction" keeps resurfacing. On page 123 he wrote: An inspired parallel to this "if" and "when" construction is found in Jeremiah 42:10-19. The prophet speaks to Israel about abiding in Palestine rather than going down into Egypt: "If you will still abide in this land. . . ." Verse 10. "But if you say, We will not dwell in this land. . . ." Verse 13. "If you wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt. . . ." Verse 15. "When you shall enter into Egypt . . . ." Verse 18. It is evident that the phrase "when you shall enter into Egypt" is synonymous with "if you shall enter into Egypt." But what about that prediction that the U.S. would be "humbled into the dust"? Was the U.S. humbled into the dust during the Civil War? Some assume that such a phrase was predicting the total overthrow or downfall of the nation, but is that what it means? "And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me." Exodus 10:3 We know the rest of this story. The Pharaoh did not humble himself, so the Lord humbled him and all of Egypt into the dust with 10 plagues followed by the incident at the Red Sea. And yet did Egypt cease to be a nation? Were they overthrown completely? No, the Old Testament records that even after the 10 plagues they remained a powerful military presence in the region for centuries. But how humbling it must have been to have the God of their slaves fight so mightily for them and ultimately free them from the most powerful nation on earth. Likewise, the internal strife of the U.S. during this war delivered a much-needed and humiliating blow to the pride of the nation at that time. Following is the paragraph that appears just before the "humbled into the dust" statement: "Our Government has been very proud and independent. The people of this nation have exalted themselves to heaven, and have looked down upon monarchical governments, and triumphed in their boasted liberty, while the institution of slavery, that was a thousand times worse than the tyranny exercised by monarchial governments, was suffered to exist and was cherished." Testimonies, Vol. 1 p. 258,259 In his book Francis Nichol asks the question "Was this country of America humbled in the eyes of the countries overseas?" He then proceeds to quote from the London Times (Jan. 20, 1863) which had printed the words of an American Reverend who had blessed the name of God for having so "humbled the nation [United States]." He continues on pages 120-121: "On July 4, 1863, the London Times referred to the date of the American Independence Day, describing it as 'this day of festivity, now converted into a day of humiliation.' "Thus spoke the London Times in the darkest days of the Civil War. The fact that this leading English paper was most evidently writing in vengeful glee, does not therefore make unwarranted the use of its words as testimony. Something very humiliating must have been happening to the United States to make England's most conservative, most representative paper speak as it did. That the United States was greatly humbled, so far as England was concerned, is not opened to question. We think historians 4
would agree that the London Times was not inventing a story, but was presenting a substantially true picture.... no one can read these quotations from the London Times in the setting of Mrs. White's statement about the pride of America, without concluding that her prediction that this country would be humbled in the dust, found more than ample fulfillment in the conditions that actually did develop."
"So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Jonah 3:3,4 Some have stated that conditional prophecies are always known to be thus at the time, for the prophet will use the word "if." But in this case we see that Jonah's words are quite specific, with no second option offered. The Ninevites heard what the prophet said was going to happen and they repented. We get even more insight into the nature of this prophecy when we read verse 10 of the same chapter: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." This is compatible with Jeremiah 18:7-10 (above) which tells us clearly that some prophecies are conditional, even if the word "if" is not used; sometimes it is implied, just by the fact that the Lord had the prophet reveal such a thing to His people. Ellen White was very much aware of the conditional element to her prophecies about the Second Coming and she made no attempt to conceal this. Here are a few of her statements: "The angels of God in their messages to men represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented to me. It is true that time has continued longer than we expected in the early days of this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped. But has the Word of the Lord failed? Never! It should be remembered that the promises and the threatenings of God are alike conditional. "It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in 'because of unbelief.' Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them. "For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years" (Ms 4, 1883, quoted in Evangelism, pp. 695, 696). (for a longer list of statements, click here) In conclusion, this Prediction has less to do with Ellen White and more to do with whether or not one believes what the Bible says about conditional prophecies. Those who understand this concept have never had any problem with such statements from the Bible or Ellen White. The vision about some being translated and some being "food for worms" was never hidden in a secret vault to cover up a failed prophecy, nor was it altered by her editors. Millions of Seventh-day Adventists and nonAdventists alike can freely read this and other similar statements in the Testimonies for the Church set of books, available at any Adventist Book Center. For further study, read the chapter entitled The Predictions of the 1856 Vision, in Ellen G. White and Her Critics (pp. 102-111), by Francis D. Nichol.
Conclusion
As is our policy, we do not doubt the sincerity of those who have brought forth what they believed to be unfulfilled predictions of Ellen White. We hope and pray that this response was not argumentative, but rather educational for the honest seeker of truth (critics included). May God help us to continue studying His Word and may we all come to know, after "proving all things" indeed "what is truth."
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