But it was not only the about 40 Bible authors who were prophets. The Bible itself describes many others who did not write a single line of the Holy Scriptures but who brought messages inspired by God to the world. The list includes Abraham (Gen 20:27), Aaron (Ex 7: 1), Miriam (Ex 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4: 4), Elisha (2 Kings 9: 1), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14; 2Ch 34:22), the wife of Isaiah (Isa 8: 3), John the Baptist (Mark 11:32), Ann (Luke 2:36), Agabus (Acts 21:10) and the four daughters of Philip : 9).
The Bible also mentions prophets who wrote books that do not make up the biblical canon. It is understood that these works were inspired by God, but are not in the Bible because their message had an application to specific people who lived in a certain time, or because its content only repeats or explains what is in the books of the Bible. Among these books, the Bible mentions: a letter from the prophet Elijah (2Ch 21:12); A book about the life of King Uzziah, written by the prophet Isaiah (2Ch 26:22); The writings of the prophet Nathan (2Ch 9:29); The book of the prophet Aiah (2Ch 9:29); The book of the prophet Ido (2Ch 9:29; 12:15; 13:22); The book of the prophet Shemaiah (Col 12:15); The chronicles of the prophet Jehu (2Ki 20:34); A volume of Jeremiah's Lamentations about the death of Josiah (2Ch 35:21); A letter from Paul written to the Corinthian Christians prior to the letter of 1 Corinthians found in the Bible (1 Cor. 5: 9); Another letter to the Corinthians written between 1 and 2 Corinthians, full of rebukes, but not in the Bible (2 Corinthians 7: 8); A letter from Paul to the Laodiceans (Col. 4:16); And a possible gospel written by Paul (Rom 2:16, 16:25, 2 Tim 2: 8).
Even though we can not know all that these prophets said and wrote, we believe that they, their message and their writings have met the biblical criteria of a true prophet, regardless of whether they are in the Bible. Otherwise they would not be so called in the Scriptures. The Word of God has doctrinal authority over the Christian (2 Tim. 3:16, 17), but if not even in the time of the composition of the biblical canon God restricted His revelation to what the Bible should comprise, why would it be different upon completion Of the holy book? The gift of prophecy has been given by God to men and women throughout history. In the Bible, there is a prediction that, at the time of the end, people would receive special revelations from God (Luke 2: 28-31; Acts 2: 17-21; 1 Cor. 14: 1). Increasingly, different segments of Christianity accept the biblical truth that the manifestation of the spiritual gifts, including the gift of prophecy, was not restricted to the period of composition of the Scriptures and is a gift of God that will be given to the church until the second Coming from Christ (1Co 13: 8-13).
Ellen White (1827-1915) recognizes the manifestation of the gift of prophecy. This lady received about 2,000 visions and prophetic dreams between 1844 and the year of her death. His work was instrumental in the formation and organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. About 35,000 pages of printed content, including books, pamphlets and magazine articles, and hundreds of letters, sermons, manuscripts, and Several diaries. These writings are often called the "Spirit of Prophecy". It is understood that Ellen White's texts are inspired by God in the same way that the Bible is, but her writings are a specific message to the people of God at the time of the end and do not have the same authority as the Bible. Its importance and authority is similar to what the ancient prophets spoke or wrote inspired by God, but which is not in the Bible.
Most of Ellen White's writings are about Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation (his favorite subject), or are comments on Bible passages and advice on Christian living, education, health, leadership, and family life. However, she also made some predictions or made scientific and historical statements that were only confirmed well after she had said or written them. Despite this, she is accused of having made some prophecies that would never have been fulfilled.
From the beginning of her prophetic ministry, Ellen G. White had her gift of prophecy challenged numerous times by various opponents. Most of the attacks against Ellen G. White have already been answered. Francis D. Nichol's book, Ellen G. White and Her Critics (703 pages), concentrates virtually every possible questioning against what Ellen G. White wrote or said. Even so, many people have doubts about statements made by the prophetess about the future and that, supposedly, they did not come true. The following is a list of Ellen White's fourteen predictions that have been used by many to discredit the authenticity of her prophetic gift. Each of these allegedly unfulfilled predictions is accompanied by a commentary explaining why the arguments do not disqualify Ellen G. White as an authentic demonstration of someone who in relatively recent times received the gift of prophecy from the Holy Spirit.
1. Questioning. Ellen G. White predicted that England would declare war against the United States. His prophecy concerning England concerned the American Civil War and was not fulfilled (Testimonies for the Church, v. 1, p.259).
Answer. On the page quoted in 1862, during the American Civil War, Ellen White wrote: "England is studying whether it is better to take advantage of the present condition of the country by warring against it. Examine the question and probe other nations. It fears that if it starts a war abroad, it will weaken and other nations can take advantage of the situation. Other countries are making quiet but diligent preparations for the armed struggle and hoping that Britain will fight the United States, and then have the opportunity to avenge the exploitation and injustices they have suffered in the past. A part of the countries subject to the queen is waiting for a favorable chance to break their yoke. But if England thinks it will be worth it, it will not hesitate a moment to increase the chances of exerting power and humiliating our country. When England declares war, all nations will have their own interests to attend to, there will be total war and confusion. "
In that quote, Ellen G. White revealed to her readers that the high ranking British government considered intervening in the American Civil War, but the possibility that English participation in the conflict could give rise to separatist movements in the colonies weighed against the decision. In fact, history records that the European country during the first eighteen months of the war (exactly the time when Ellen G. White wrote the text) considered military intervention in the Civil War. It is likely that Ellen G. White's readers (and perhaps not even herself) had no way of knowing what the British government was planning on the war in the United States. God, however, revealed to Ellen that on the other side of the Atlantic the British authorities considered an attack that could be tragic for the United States but were about to give up the idea for fearing the consequences of the onslaught for the integrity of their vast empire . Finally, the UK chose to remain neutral in relation to the Civil War in the United States, and retained dominion over its colonies during the following decades. In the Bible, there is a similar example of prophecy that describes the consequences that could follow if a decision were made (see Jeremiah 42: 10-19).
2. Questioning. Ellen G. White predicted that Jerusalem would never be rebuilt. The city of Jerusalem was rebuilt and Israel re-existed as a country (Early Writings, 75).
Answer. Before commenting, let's read the excerpt, written in 1851: "I was then told some who are in great error to believe that it is their duty to go to the old Jerusalem, understanding that they have a work to do there before the Lord comes. Such a view is such as to divert the mind and the interest of the present work of the Lord under the third angel's message, for those who think it their duty nevertheless to go to the old Jerusalem will have their mind set therein, and their resources Will be taken from the cause of present truth to enable them and others to be there. I saw that such a mission would accomplish no real good, that it would take a good amount of time to get some Jews to become believers even at Christ's first coming, let alone at His second advent. I saw that Satan had somehow deceived some at this point and that the souls around them in this country could be helped by them and led to keep the commandments of God, but left them to perish. I also saw that the old Jerusalem would never be rebuilt, and that Satan was doing his utmost to bring the mind of the Lord's children to these things now, in the time of the gathering, preventing them from devoting all their interest to the present work of the Lord, Thus leading them to neglect the necessary preparation for the Lord's day. "
In this passage, Ellen White exposes and fights the wrong decisions that can be made by those who believe in prophetic theories that try to fit Jerusalem and the Jews at all in the events of the end time. She simply states that she saw that "the old Jerusalem" would not be rebuilt. In 1851, when Ellen White wrote this text, Jerusalem was not a ruined city, but the capital of the Ottoman province of Palestine. A census of 1845 measured the population of the city at 16,410 people. The city, destroyed in AD 70, has been totally or partially rebuilt and destroyed countless times since. Ellen G. White, speaking in "Old Jerusalem," referred to the restoration of the city to the same role it had in biblical times as the stage for the manifestations of God on earth and the rebuilding of the Temple. In fact, "the old Jerusalem," totally Jewish and with the Temple, was never rebuilt.
3. Questioning. Ellen G. White, basing herself erroneously on other authors, predicted that Turkey would cease to exist. Turkey continues to exist and there does not seem to be any prospect that it will cease to be a country so soon. (See Josiah Litch, "The Rise and Progress of Adventism," in The Advent Shield and Review, May 1844, 92, quoted in the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students' Source Book, 513). (See also: The Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, v. 11, pp. 51 and 52).
Answer. Turkey is a country that did not even exist when Ellen G. White lived, only became independent on July 24, 1923, with the Treaty of Lausanne. That was eight years after she died. But Ellen G. White supported Methodist minister Josiah Litch's interpretation that the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire is prophesied in Revelation 9: 13-21 (see Great Controversy, 334, 335). Due to the fact that in the Ottoman Empire they were ethnic Turkish people who subjugated peoples of other ethnic groups, it was common at the time to call this empire "Turkey", as it is now commonly called Great Britain "England" or the Netherlands Of "Holland", although these countries include other nationalities. Twice, Ellen G. White called the Ottoman Empire of Turkey (The Great Controversy, 35, Evangelism, 408). Indeed, this empire that dominated vast areas of Asia, Africa and Europe between the 14th and 19th centuries, was losing many of its territory during the 19th century, until it was reduced to a small area of Anatolia and officially ceased to exist on 1 November 1922, confirming the prophetic interpretation of Josiah Litch.
4. Questioning. Ellen G. White prophesied that some who were alive in 1856 would be alive at the return of Christ. (Testimonies for the Church, v. 1, 131, 132). She was referring to people who were present at an Adventist Church meeting and, since they all died, that prophecy was not fulfilled either.
Answer. The following is the statement made by her in 1856:
"I was shown the group present to the assembly. The angel said: "Some will be food for the worms, some will be subject to the last seven plagues, others will be alive and remain on earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus."
Anyone who believes that Christ will soon come to earth often speaks of this occasion as being for his days. The apostle Paul believed that he would be alive when Jesus Christ appeared in the clouds of heaven (1Th 4:15). However, the fact that Paul died before the return of the Lord does not make him a false prophet. He was only a hopeful and confident Christian who believed that the second advent of Christ would happen in his day, as every Christian should believe. Ellen White often described the coming of Christ as being to happen in her day, following the example of the biblical authors.
She explained her 1856 statement in a note written in 1883, quoted by Francis M. Wilcox in The Testimony of Jesus (CPB), p. 108: "The angels of God present time as being very brief. So it has always been presented to me. It is true that time has gone on longer than we expected in the early days of this message. Our Savior did not appear as brief as we had hoped. But has the Word of God failed? Absolutely! It should be remembered that the promises and threats of God are equally conditional. "
"It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should have been thus delayed. It was not His design that His people, Israel, wandered forty years in the wilderness. He had promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there as a holy, healthy and happy people. But those to whom it was first preached did not enter "because of unbelief." His heart was full of murmuring, rebellion and hatred, and the Lord could not keep His covenant with them. "
"For forty years unbelief, murmuring and rebellion excluded the ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entry of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case was there any lack of the promises of God. It is disbelief, worldliness, lack of consecration, and strife among the professed people of God who have held us in this world of sin and sorrow for so many years "(MS 4, 1883, quoted in Evangelism, 695, 696) .
5. Questioning. In 1850, Ellen G. White stated that Christ would return in a few months (Early Writings, 58, 64, 67).
Answer. Let's look at what Ellen G. White actually wrote:
"Some are supposing the coming of the Lord in a very distant future. Time has continued a few years longer than they expected, and so they think it will go on for a few more years, and so their minds are diverted from present truth to go after the world. In this I saw great danger, for if the mind is full of other things, the present truth is left out, and there is no place on our foreheads for the seal of the living God. I saw that the time for Jesus to remain in the most holy place was almost over and this time could last only a little longer; That the time available to us must be spent in examining the Bible, which will judge us at the last day "(Early Writings, 58).
"In a vision given on June 27, 1850, my accompanying angel said, 'The time is almost over. Are you reflecting, as you should, the loving image of Jesus? 'I was then indicated to the earth and I saw that there had to be preparation from those who, in recent times, embraced the third angel's message. The angel said, "Prepare, prepare, prepare! You will have to experience a death to the world, greater than you have ever experienced before. 'I saw that there was a great work to be done for them and little time to do it. I saw then that the last seven plagues were to be poured out on those who have no shelter "(Idem, 64).
"Seeing what we need to be to inherit glory, and how much Jesus had suffered to achieve for us such a rich heritage, I prayed that we would be baptized into the sufferings of Christ so that we would not retreat into trials but endure them patiently and Joy, knowing what Jesus had suffered, so that through His poverty and suffering we might be enriched. The angel said, 'Deny yourselves. You have to walk fast. 'Some of us have had time to have the truth and to progress step by step, and each step has given us strength for the next. But now the time is almost over, and what we have been learning for years, they will have to learn in a few months. They will also have much to unlearn and much to learn "(Idem, 67).
Ellen G. White, like the apostle Peter (Acts 2:17), always believed that she was living the last days before Jesus' return. She wrote a lot about the need to hurry to prepare for that day. In the citations she just mentioned that the last probationary period will be brief, and that people who neglect their spiritual preparation today will only have "a few months" to learn what more dedicated Christians took years to develop in life.
6. Challenge. Ellen G. White stated that the American Civil War was a sign that Christ would soon return (Testimonies for the Church, v. 1, 260). The American Civil War ended in 1865.
Answer. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that all wars are a sign of his second coming, beginning with the wars that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70. On the page quoted, she states: "I have seen on earth an affliction greater than ever We witnessed. I heard groans and cries of distress, and I saw groups in earnest battle. "She went on to describe the war scene and warned of" great distress coming. " At no point in the text did she say that the war she saw in vision was the American Civil War, which was happening in her day. Of course, for those who read the whole text, God took advantage of the context of the American Civil War to give her a vision of a time of great distress to occur just before Christ's coming.
7. Questioning. Ellen G. White prophesied that Christ would return before slavery was abolished (Early Writings, 35).
Answer. The Bible also says that there would be slaves when Christ returned to the earth (Rev. 18:13, 19:18). Although legally abolished, slavery continues to exist illegally in different situations around the world. Ellen G. White said in this passage, describing the coming of the Lord: "Then began the jubilee, a time when the earth should rest. I saw the pious slave rise up in triumph and victory and shake the chains that bound him, while his wicked master was in confusion and did not know what to do. "(First Writings, 35) The text only describes that the return of Christ to the Earth will be an occasion for the liberation of the captives. It says nothing about slavery still legalized when Christ comes.
8. Questioning. Ellen G. White prophesied that slavery would be reestablished in the southern states of the United States (Spalding Magan Collection, 21, and Manuscript Releases, v. 2, no. 153, p.300). Slavery was not re-legalized in the southern United States.
Answer. The statement is in a manuscript dated 1895, with Ellen G. White's answers to questions about working with black populations in the southern United States and the difficulties Adventists face in that region with local laws restricting work on Sundays. Asked whether Adventists from these states should work on Sundays, Ellen G. White replied, "Slavery will again be revived in the southern states, for the spirit of slavery still lives." The comment does not state that freed slaves would return to their condition Of captivity, but that the "spirit" of dominating over other people was still alive in the former slave masters (see: "Slavery, Will It Be Revived?"). Proof of this is that in the second half of the 20th century, decades after Ellen White's words were written, racist segregation of the descendants of former slaves was legalized in several southern states of the United States, a remnant of abolished slavery In 1863.
9. Questioning. Ellen G. White prophesied that the earth would soon be depopulated if Jesus delayed to return (Testimonies for the Church, v. 1, 304). In spite of so many wars, famines and epidemics, what we see is that the Earth is increasingly populated as time passes.
Answer. This is the statement of Ellen G. White:
"I was presented with the condition of the current degeneration of the human family. Each generation has been weakening more, and humanity is afflicted by every form of sickness. Thousands of poor mortals with deformed bodies, sickly, frayed nerves and dark mind, are dragging a miserable existence. The power of Satan grows over the human family. The Lord would not soon come and destroy his power, and it would not be long before the earth was depopulated. "
Contrary to what has been questioned, Ellen G. White argues that Christ will destroy at His coming the power of Satan to cause disease before all the diseases the devil disseminates depopulate the world.
10. Questioning. Ellen G. White predicted that the lords of the slaves of their day would experience the seven last plagues described in the book of Revelation (First Writings, 276). All the masters of the slaves of their time are already dead.
Answer. The text only states: "I saw that the slave lord will have to answer for the salvation of his slaves whom he has kept in ignorance; And the sins of the slaves shall be visited upon the Lord "(First Writings, 276). The phrase merely describes that the slave masters will be accountable to Christ at His coming, just as every sinner will have to do it.
11. Questioning. Ellen G. White prophesied that she would be alive when Jesus returned (Early Writings, 15-16).
Answer. In the passage mentioned in Early Writings (14-16), Ellen White describes a vision she had about the coming of Christ. He does not mention that he would be alive at the second advent of Jesus. Daniel, Paul, and John also described visions of Christ's return in the clouds of heaven without this meaning that they would live to see what God revealed to them in vision.
12. Questioning. Ellen G. White sometimes made specific predictions that involved certain people. One of them was the Adventist pioneer Moses Hull. In 1862, Hull was in the process of losing his faith in Adventism. It seems that the White couple gave up arguing with him, and Ellen G. White prophesied of the terrible future that awaited him if he would no longer be part of the people of the advent: "If it continues the way misery and misery begin, Wait. The hand of God will bind you in a way that will not please you. His wrath will not slumber "(Testimonies for the Church, v. 1, 431). This never happened. Despite the warnings of Ellen G. White, he abandoned Adventism. According to witnesses, "Mr. Hull remained well for many long years to an advanced age and nothing of what was predicted happened" (D.M. Canright, Life of Mrs. E. G. White, The Standard Publishing Company, 1919, 234).
Answer. Moses Hull was a competitive spirit Adventist who liked to engage in discussions about religion with people of other faiths. He raised doubts about faith in Christ. Ellen G. White warned him that if he continued this attitude, he would ruin his life. The text continues with a message of hope for Hull: "But now [God] invites him. Now, right now, He asks Him to return to Him without delay, and He will graciously forgive and heal all his apostasies "(Testimonies for the Church, 1: 431). Unfortunately, Hull did not heed the call to change his life, eventually abandoned Christ and became an adept of spiritualism. Hull may not have been poor, but the prediction was faithfully fulfilled, for he became spiritually miserable for having exchanged the Word of the living God for the messages of the world of the dead.
Dudley Marvin Canright, the original author of this attack on Ellen G. White, was a former Adventist pastor. James and Ellen G. White prepared him to become a minister of the gospel. Unfortunately, Canright began to feed the ambition of becoming a famous preacher. Ellen G. White warned him of the dangers of feeding pride and vanity. Canright eventually left the Adventist Church and was appointed pastor of another Christian denomination, becoming a scathing critic of Adventist doctrine and the person of Ellen G. White.
13. Questioning. Ellen G. White stated that Brother Carl Carlstedt's "infirmity" was not for death, but for the glory of God "(Carl Carlstedt was gravely ill with typhoid fever and it seemed that he would not live much longer). He died two days later. (Charles Lee, Three Important Questions for Seventh-Day Adventists to Consider, 1876).
Charles Lee, a former Adventist pastor, reports in his book that he went along with James and Ellen White, Uriah Smith, and another man to visit Carl Carlstedt, the editor of the Adventist Magazine in Swedish who was sick with typhoid fever. Lee reports having heard her praying to the Lord, "there present with His restorative power, to erect Carlstedt, whose sickness was not unto death, but unto the glory of God." Lee also said that when leaving the house, Ellen revealed that she believed Carlstedt would have his health restored again. Lee traveled to Chicago, and the following day received a letter informing him that Carlstedt had died.
Unfortunately, only Lee's version of the incident and the prayer that Ellen G. White would have done for him is recorded. Neither Ellen, her husband Tiago, Uriah Smith or the other person present wrote about the episode. As the other witnesses to the visit to Carlstedt did not record what Ellen G. White said, we can not be sure that Lee was accurate in reporting what Mrs. White said in her prayer. But even if Ellen G. White really did say what Charles Lee said she said, we need to understand that a prophet is not inspired by God in everything he says. For example, the prophet Nathan in the Bible gave David a wrong direction and had to rectify himself (2 Sam. 7: 1-17); An old prophet from Bethel misled a prophet from Judah, leading him to disobey God, and then was used by him to rebuke and condemn him (1 Kings 13 11-32); Elijah, in a moment uninspired by God, desired death (1 Kings 19: 4); The apostle Peter acted contrary to his own teaching, and was rebuked by Paul (Gal 2: 11-14). Of course, not everything Ellen G. White spoke of in her ordinary conversation was God-breathed, and it might be that she really believed in Carlstedt's recovery, without receiving any message from God about what would happen to him.
14. Questioning. Although she predicted the destruction of San Francisco, she made no mention of earthquake and fire as possible causes. In the same prophecy (see Manuscript 30, 1903), it included the city of Oakland, which was virtually untouched by the tremor that destroyed San Francisco in 1906. Later she wrote about Oakland: "San Francisco was visited with harsh judgments, but Oakland Was mercifully preserved "(Evangelism, 296).
In Manuscript 30, 1903, Ellen G. White spoke of the need to evangelize the great cities of the west coast of the United States and to establish in them institutions that promote a healthy lifestyle. She stated that "San Francisco and Oakland are becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will punish them. The time is not far off when they will suffer His judgments. " She did not specify in this text what kind of punishment would be expected for both cities. She also mentioned divine punishment for some of the largest cities in the United States, who were tolerant of crime, sexual exploitation, drug and alcohol trafficking, and gambling at that time. Since, on April 18, 1906, the city of San Francisco was tragically destroyed by an earthquake, the fact is pointed out as a prediction of Ellen G. White that was fulfilled.
Concerning Oakland, she appealed to the evangelization of large cities, where ungodly prosperity flourished: "San Francisco was visited with rigorous judgments, but Oakland has been mercifully spared hitherto. The time will come when our work in these places will be shortened; Therefore, it is important that diligent efforts be made now to proclaim to their inhabitants the Lord's message to them "(Evangelism, 404). Just as the wicked Nineveh was mercifully spared by God in the days of Jonah (John 3:10; 4:11). Although the prophet announced his destruction to a specific date (John 3: 4), God also mercifully spared Oakland, despite Of Ellen G. White to have announced that divine judgments were about to fall upon the city.
Ellen G. White's claim to have been inspired by God is very serious, and it is expected that people who do not want to accept the message she has taught will question the authenticity of her prophetic gift. However, careful reading of each of his statements and knowledge of how divine inspiration worked in the biblical prophets dispels doubts about the validity of his prophetic calling.
At a time when there are so many religious leaders claiming to have the gift of prophecy and revelation, and claiming to be "apostles," "prophets," "Levites," and "priests," it is wise to see who is truly inspired by God. As we have seen, in all fourteen cases, the attacks on Ellen G. White were not enough to disqualify her as an authentic bearer of the gift of prophecy promised in the Bible to people at the time of the end (Luke 2: 28-32; 2: 17-21; Rev 12:17; 19:10). The gift of prophecy operated in her with the same characteristics presented in the prophets described in the Bible.
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