How Ellen G. White Used the Scriptures

1. How Ellen G. White Used the Scriptures

2. Modes of Using Scripture • Direct Quotation, in which she narrates an event or discusses a passage of Scripture in context by quoting a portion of the passage: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.” The words of Mark are still more significant. He says, “Immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, temped of Satan; and was with the wild beasts.” “And in those days He did eat nothing.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 114.

3. Indirect Quotation, in which she narrates an event or discusses a passage of Scripture in context by rephrasing it, often using some of the same words: So with Elijah, who had stood undaunted before King Ahab, who had faced the whole nation of Israel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal at their head. After that terrible day upon Carmel, when the false prophets had been slain, and the people had declared their allegiance to God, Elijah fled for his life before the threats of the idolatrous Jezebel.—The Desire of Ages, p. 120.

4. Actual Conversation, in which she recounts a Bible incident in her own words but quotes conversation: Pointing to the stones which strewed the desert, and which had the appearance of loaves, the tempter said, “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Though he appears as an angel of light, these first words betray his character. “If thou be the Son of God.”—Desire of Ages, p.118.

5. Hypothetical Conversation, in which she either puts words of Scripture from an altogether different context on the lips of men or supernatural beings, or creates speeches for them more or less in her own words: The High honors conferred upon Lucifer were no appreciated as God’s special gift, and therefore called forth no gratitude to his Creator…. “Why,” questioned this mighty angel, “should Christ have the supremacy? Why is he honored above Lucifer?”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 37.

6. Amplification, in which she augments a Bible narrative by providing additional factual or circumstantial information such as eye witness might give, to illuminate the narrative by making it more vivid and meaningful: The Lord directed Moses to turn aside into a rocky defile, encamp beside the sea. It was revealed to him that pharaoh would pursue them, but that God would be honored in their deliverance. In Egypt the report was spread that the children of Israel, instead of tarrying to worship in the desert, were pressing to ward the Red Sea…. Their great men, recovering from their fears, accounted for the plagues as the result of natural causes….

7. The King himself, attended by the great men of his realm, headed the attacking army. To secure the favor of the gods, and thus insure the success of their undertaking, the priests also accompanied them…. The Hebrews were encamped beside the sea, those waters presented a seemingly impassible barrier before them, while on the south a rugged mountain obstructed their further progress.—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 283, 284.

8. Insight, in which she provides factual information beyond that which an eyewitness could give, in order to make clear the significance of the event: One of the most powerful of the angels, he says, has been banished from heaven. The appearance of Jesus indicates that He is that fallen angel. Forsaken by God, and deserted by man.—The Desire of Ages, p. 119. Through the gifts of the magi from a heathen country, the Lord supplied the means for the journey into Egypt and the sojourn in a land of strangers.—Ibid., p. 65.

9. General Biblical Principles applied to a specific Bible situation: [Abraham’s] conduct illustrates the inspired maxim, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 136. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.” Abraham had honored God, and the Lord honored him, taking him into his counsels, and revealing to him his purposes.—Ibid., p. 139.

10. Homily, in which she draws lessons from a passage of Scripture: Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when shepherds listened to the angels’ song…. To us in the common walks of life, heaven may be very near. Angels from the courts above all attend the steps of those who come and go at God’s command.—The Desire of Ages, p. 48. [Crossing the Red Sea] The great lesson here taught is for all time. Often the Christian life is beset by dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending ruin before, and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly, “Go forward.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 290.

11. Borrowing words, phraseology, and thought forms of scripture to express her own thought, without implying an attempt to explicate Scripture: God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which “angels desire to look,” and it will be their study throughout endless ages…. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which “seeketh not her own” has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly one is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach onto.

12. In the beginning, God was revealed in all the works of creation. It was Christ that spread the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. It was His hand that hung the worlds in space, and fashioned the flowers of the field. “His strength setteth fast the mountains.” “The sea is His, and He made it.” Ps. 65:6; 95:5.—The Desire of Ages, p. 19, 20.

13. Prophetic Fulfillment, in which she identifies a predictive prophecy with a specific historical situation of Bible times: That day completed the history revealed to Abraham in prophetic vision centuries before: “Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; afterward shall they come out with great substance.” The four hundred years had been fulfilled. “And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 281, 282.

14. Messianic Fulfillment, in which she applies an OT passage to the person and mission of Christ: The quiet homes of the city of David witnessed those scenes of horror that, six hundred years before, had been opened to the prophet. “In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 65.

15. Extended Application, in which she applies a Bible statement in a sense apparent from its original context or applies a Bible prediction to a historical situation not clearly evident from the immediate context: “Affliction shall not rise up the second time” (Nahum 1:9). In context, Nahum’s declaration, “He will make a full end; he will not take vengeance twice on his foes” (Nahum 1:9, RSV), specifically refers to the destruction of Nineveh, which god purposed to destroy so thoroughly that the process would never have to be repeated. But Ellen White applies Nahum’s prediction to the permanent annihilation of all evil at the end of the age, in a universal eschatological sense (see The Great Controversy, p. 504). The parallel is perfect: the permanent destruction of Nineveh mutely witnesses to the fact that one day God also will permanently annihilate all evil.

16. Conclusion Ellen White was God’s appointed messenger to the church in our day—even as the prophets of old represented Him to the covenant people in the long ago. Her role was to convey a message from God appropriate for our time. She considered it her task to direct men and women to the Bible as the inspired, authoritative Word of God, to apply its principles to the problems the church and its members encounter in the world today, and to guide them in their preparation for Christ’s return.

17. Perhaps the most noteworthy impressions resulting from this relatively preliminary sampling are: (1) The extent to which Ellen White’s own thinking and expression were bound up with the Bible, and (2) the great variety of ways in which she uses the Bible. Rightly understood Ellen White’s use of the Bible comports with sound, recognized principles of interpretation, which she sets forth at length. We may assume that she purposed to follow the principles she commended to others. When her voluminous use of the Bible is taken into consideration, her literary faithfulness to it is remarkable.