the Ellen White American Prophet book

[hch]

that's all?

 

do you feel a "prophecy" is a "promise"?

 

Hey Rudywoods,

 

Yes, but it is not intended for everyone.

 

'Many are called but few are chosen'

 

'The wise will understand,' etc.

 

and that is sad because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that WHOMSOEVER...

 

God made ample provision to get the promises to EVERYONE

 

Christian regards,

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

 

hch said:  

[a prophecy]  is not intended for everyone.

 

I agree with that statement.

[The Searcher]

It all goes back to the 1920's when a series of discussions of the gift of prophecy was put together by the GC.  By the time of this set of meetings, some outrageous understandings of the prophetic gift was being generally accepted which were out of keeping with the true gift.  Had the GC been more forthright in bebunking some of the myths which grew into SDA understanding, we would not now be having this discussion.  The GC at that time knew much of what is now coming out, and they did not address it because too many of the pastors believed many things which were not true about the gift.  And they decided that the church was not ready for a full understanding of the gift.  The result was that the gift was given a position in the church which was out of keeping with EGW desires.  Her words became the last word on the subject and people used her stuff out its context.  The greatest harm was from the compiliations which took snippets from here and there putting together a theme which would have been totally foreign to her.  I personally avoid the compiliations preferring the original writings.  And yes, there were different laws of usage of other writings, but I have found that in the main, she really took other's works, then put them into her style.  In other words, she re-worded and many times produced something which was different.  I was friends with one of the reviewers, and after reviewing her writings, he came out of it with a new appreciation of the prophetic gift.  That she re-wrote and re-worded does not surprise me.  As she became more capable of using the English language through reading she was able to find ways to better express what was shown her.  Let us be clear, we do not believe in EGW writing each word as dictated to her, nor do we accept that the Scriptures, in the main, were dictated to the prophets, rather, we believe prophets received visions and dreams from which they tried to present, using their own words, what they were shown.  Thus, when I perform biblical exegesis, I am in essence trying to understand what the writer was trying to convey to me when he wrote the vision. 

 

Personally, I see EGW as a prophet as was John, the Baptist.  John did not give us theology, he pointed to Christ.  He did not perform any miracles, and he did not write any books.  His job was to be the fore-runner to Christ.  Yet, Christ called him one of the great prophets.  Did the generation of Christ need a prophet, they had the scriptures?.  As Christ declared they had Moses and the prophets.  John was given out of the compassion of God for his people in order to prepare them for the Messiah.  Yet, the majority were not prepared.  So it was with EGW.  We did not need a prophet; we have the Scriptures, and they are able to be the authority for all belief and action.  Yet God gave to his church a prophet so that he might help our fledgling church to grow in the proper direction.  Everything we ever needed was in the Scriptures, but God took pity upon us and gave us a prophet to guide us.  Her job was to point us always to the great light of scriptures, and that is what she has done.  She was never given to us to develop doctrine or declare new truth; she was given to guide us to truth.  She was human also as were the prophets and John, the Baptist.  And the prophets did not understand many of the things which they conveyed to their hearers or readers.  John, the Baptist did not fully understand the mission of Christ as indicated by his sending of his disciples to Christ asking whether he was the Messiah or should they expect another.  I suspect EGW did not fully appreciate her work and what it represented.  She did her work, and it is our privilege to read it. 

 

But God never intended for EGW to be the last word of doctrine on any subject.  It is our work to let the Holy Spirit guide us to all truth.  WE NEED TO OWN IT, and that comes only through diligent study of God's word.  We must come to it as a child without any preconceived notion.  Rather, we are to be learners allowing the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and minds.  God gave to each of us a mind and an intellect in order to use them; he gave to us the laws of logic in order for us to think through what we read and hear.  And the Holy Spirit was given the task to convict us of truth.  EGW is not the final authority on truth; she was the lesser light pointing to the greater light of  God's truth.  And in this she did well.  The criticism comes from those who do not have a proper grasp of the work of a prophet and the work of EGW.  Rather, they seek to criticize in order to support their unwillingness to learn God's truth.  For me EGW was a prophet, but not in the vein of Scripture as given to us by men who were carried by the Holy Spirit.  She was given as a guide to direct a church as it grew into the vast organization it has become.  And at a time when we need God's guidance as given through her, her gift is being challenged.  And there is a reason.  Satan is about to pull off the greatest hoax in the history of mankind, and he does not want the writings of EGW to help expose him to the light of truth.  We are living in momentus times, and we need a prophet to help us through this time.  And God had compassion upon us to give us that prophet.