SDA Tests of a ProphetLower the Bar Far Enough and Anyone Qualifies
By
Seventh-day Adventists have devised their own unique set of tests that are tailor-made to convince others that Ellen White was a prophet of God. Under examination, it can be shown that most of these are not really tests at all. These so-called tests lower the bar so far that virtually anyone could be coronated as a prophet!
Test #1: Christ Came in the Flesh
The first test designed to substantiate Ellen White's claims is 2 John 1:7:
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
SDAs proclaim that since Ellen White believed Jesus came in the flesh, she passed this test of a prophet. The problem is that virtually every modern Christian prophet teaches that Christ came in the flesh; so, passing this test is a small hurdle indeed. Joseph Smith, Mary Baker Eddy, David Koresh, and countless other prophets pass this test. Even Muhammad taught Christ was a real flesh-and-blood human being. Therefore, this test, while valid, is of limited value because virtually any Christian believer could pass it.
Test #2: Predictions Come to Pass
Another test mentioned by SDAs is the test of future predictions. If a prophet makes a prediction about the future, and that prediction comes to pass, then supposedly that is evidence that person is a true prophet. However, this is only valid when combined with Deuteronomy 18:22, which says that a prophet cannot make a false prediction. Just making a true prediction about the future does not, in and of itself, prove one to be a prophet. Psychics often give vague prophecies about the future and, on rare occasions, they get lucky and the event occurs as predicted. If a psychic gets lucky on a prediction, does that mean he is a prophet of God?
Consider the case of the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. He made these prophecies in 1832, nearly 30 years before the start of the U.S. Civil War:
1. Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls...
3. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations against other nations in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.1
These prophecies were fulfilled with amazing accuracy. A Civil War between the Northern and Southern states did commence in the state of South Carolina. Does this prove Joseph Smith to be a prophet? Not unless he was also accurate in all of the other predictions he made. A prophet must be 100% accurate according to the Biblical rule.
Test #3: Inspirational Writings
Some SDAs point to books such as Desire of Ages and Steps to Christ as evidence of Mrs. White's prophetic calling. Even if Ellen White never plagiarized a single word from other authors, and even if Ellen White did not have a staff of talented writers that assisted her, the mere fact that she produced an inspiring book would never qualify her to be a prophet. If writing an inspiring book proved a person to be a prophet, then we would have untold thousands of prophets, because thousands of inspiring books have been written by Christian authors.
Some point to the fact that Mrs. White suffered a severe head injury when she was in the third grade, which forced her to drop out of school. They point to her later writings and proclaim: "How could someone with only a 3rd-grade education write such wonderful books?" Those asking this question are implying that Mrs. White must have received supernatural assistance in writing her books.2 Followers of the prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam, point to the writings of this illiterate man as evidence of his divine inspiration. They say, "How could an illiterate man write such wonderful works, such as the Qur'an, without divine assistance?" The truth is that Muhammad had secretaries who assisted him in writing.
Likewise, Mrs. White almost always had assistance with her writing. In the beginning, it was James White. Later, as their financial situation improved, she hired a professional staff to write her books, articles, and even her personal letters. She hired Marian Davis, who was formerly a professional writer, to assist her with her books. Her secretary, Fannie Bolton, was also involved in writing for Mrs. White for many years. As discussed in Test #3, Mrs. White also received substantial assistance in writing by copying from some of the top Christian authors of her era. While there is some debate as to the extent of material that was plagiarized from other authors, in some popular books critics suggest that up to 90% of the material may have been copied.
Whether or not Mrs. White had supernatural assistance in writing her books no one can know for certain. However, she had plenty of human assistance. Do her inspirational writings provide evidence of supernatural assistance? What if you were given permission to copy any material you wanted from the top Christian authors in the world and put them into a book? And what if you had a staff of competent editors and writers to assist you in this effort? Do you think you could put together an inspiring book? Of course, you could! Therefore, Mrs. White's inspiring books do not prove her to be any more of a prophet than you are!
Test #4: Supernatural Manifestations
Some SDAs point to supposed supernatural events that were purported to have occurred in some of Mrs. White's earlier visions as evidence she was a prophet. For example, there are reports of her holding up heavy objects with supernatural strength. However, none of the Biblical prophets performed supernatural feats of strength while in vision. Only one prophet, Daniel, was said to be strengthened (Daniel 10:18–19). However, there is no indication that he performed supernatural feats of strength. Whether or not Mrs. White exhibited the same characteristics as Daniel is a matter of great debate, but SDA General Conference President A. G. Daniells cuts right to the heart of the matter:
Now with reference to the evidences: I differ with some of the brethren who have put together proofs or evidences of the genuineness of this gift, in this respect — I believe that the strongest proof is found in the fruits of this gift to the church, not in physical and outward demonstrations. For instance, I have heard some ministers preach, and have seen it in writing, that Sister White once carried a heavy Bible — I believe they said it weighed 40 pounds — on her out-stretched hand, and looking up toward the heavens quoted texts and turned the leaves over and pointed to the texts, with her eyes toward the heavens. I do not know whether that was ever done or not. I am not sure. I did not see it, and I do not know that I ever talked with anybody that did see it. But, brethren, I do not count that sort of thing as a very great proof. I do not think that is the best kind of evidence. If I were a stranger in an audience and heard a preacher enlarging on that, I would have my doubts. That is, I would want to know if he saw it. He would have to say, No, he never did. Then I would ask, "Did you ever see the man that did see it?" And he would have to answer, "No, I never did."
Well, just how much of that is genuine, and how much has crawled into the story? — I do not know. But I do not think that is the kind of proof we want to use. It has been a long time since I have brought forward this sort of thing — no breath in the body, and the eyes wide open. That may have accompanied the exercise of this gift in the early days, but it surely did not in the latter days...3
None of us were present at the visions, so we must rely on eyewitness reports of those who were there. Not every eyewitness concluded that they were witnessing supernatural manifestations while Mrs. White was in vision. Some believed they were witnessing a health condition. For example, SDA physician M. G. Kellogg was present during her visions and wrote:
I have seen Mrs. White in vision quite a number of times between 1852 and 1859, in every instance she was simply in a state of catalepsy.4
It is easy to understand how people unfamiliar with the symptoms of catalepsy might mistakenly interpret a cataleptic attack as some type of supernatural display:
Symptoms include: rigid body, rigid limbs, limbs staying in same position when moved, no response, loss of muscle control, and slowing down of bodily functions, such as breathing.5
SDAs claim that Mrs. White's cataleptic-like manifestations were also present in Biblical prophets, but an examination of the evidence will indicate otherwise. Since Ellen White lost strength and collapsed to the ground in a cataleptic-like seizure, SDAs try to portray Daniel's loss of strength as proof that Biblical prophets experience the same (Daniel 10:8, 16–17). The Biblical record mentions approximately 70 prophets. Only three are described as fainting or falling to the ground: Balaam, Daniel, and Saul (Numbers 24:4; Daniel 10:8–17; Acts 9:8).
Similar to cataleptics, Ellen's eyes were wide open during her seizures. SDAs point to Balaam's eyes being wide open during vision as proof that Ellen was having a true vision (Numbers 24:3–4). However, Balaam was a false and disobedient prophet, so what proof is that? There is no evidence any of the other prophets in the Bible had visions with their eyes open.
Another point mentioned by Daniells is that some claimed that Mrs. White did not breathe in vision. As noted above, halted breathing is an indicator of a cataleptic seizure. SDAs point to Daniel's comment about having no "breath left in me" (Daniel 10:17) as proof of Ellen's gift. However, Daniel was the only prophet to make such a statement, and there is no evidence that Daniel was breathless while the vision ensued. Daniel's breathlessness appears to take place after the vision. After the vision, Daniel felt so weak that he said: "I can hardly breathe" (Daniel 10:17 NIV).
With so many magicians in the world, it would not make any sense to have a test based upon a display of "supernatural" powers. Even Pharaoh's magicians were able to perform a few miracles similar to some that Moses performed.6 Biblical prophets were not judged upon whether they could perform supernatural feats but upon their prophetic word and their character. SDA historian J. N. Loughborough wrote:
The workings of "signs" and "wonders," and even miracles, is insufficient evidence of a true prophet; for in other portions of the Scriptures we learn that even Satan himself will work miracles in the last days through his false prophets.7
Perhaps the strongest statements against trusting in signs and wonders come from the pen of Ellen White herself:
Let none cherish the idea that special providences or miraculous manifestations are to be the proof of the genuineness of their work or of the ideas they advocate.
...false prophets will arise; there will be false dreams and false visions; but preach the Word, be not drawn away from the voice of God in His Word. Let nothing divert the mind. The wonderful, the marvelous, will be represented and presented. Through satanic delusions, wonderful miracles, the claims of human agents will be urged. Beware of all this.
There is a disease of the spiritual faculties when a man or woman fancies that he sees things which do not exist. He is intoxicated with an illusion as verily as the liquor drinker becomes intoxicated by using strong drink.8
Test #5: Was Years Ahead of Science
Another claim put forward is that Mrs. White's understanding of health was years ahead of science. Contrary to popular myth, Mrs. White brought few, if any, new health reforms to the world. Other popular health reformers were promoting most, if not all, of her teachings on health before she adopted and began teaching them.9
Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, the prophet Muhammad, and various New Age gurus have all given their followers health reforms that supposedly originated from divine revelations. Today their followers all claim that these health reforms are only now being validated by science and that this is evidence of divine guidance. The Mormons even claim that they now live 8 to 11 years longer than others because of following Joseph Smith's health reforms. The truth is that initiating a health reform is no proof of prophethood. Thousands of reformers have initiated various health reforms over the centuries of human history. Are these health reformers thus prophets because they started a successful health reform? Of course not!
Test #6: Maintains Unity in the Church
Another claim is that the writings of Mrs. White help to keep the SDA sect unified by resolving theological differences over Bible passages, thus helping to maintain "the unity of the brethren." Those making this claim must acknowledge that this unity means that one's individual view of a particular Biblical topic must be brought into subservience to Ellen White's view. If one fails to bring their view into subjection to Ellen White, then that individual is ostracized by the sect. This seems a heavy price to pay for unity and elevates the role of Ellen White to the chief interpreter of the Bible, a role not too far different from that of the Pope.
In reality, the writings of Ellen White stifle investigation into the true meaning of Scriptures because a good SDA cannot study a Scripture and come to a conclusion that is different from the official position as enunciated by Ellen White.
While some measure of unity on Biblical interpretation is attained by strictly adhering to the dictates of Ellen White, this does not always translate into unity within the sect. In fact, over the years, many have testified about the lack of unity within the SDA Church. Likely, a large part of the disunity seething under the surface in today's SDA Church is directly related to Ellen White.
One ongoing controversy revolves around Ellen White's role and authority in the sect. There is debate regarding the degree to which her writings were inspired, if at all. Some members do not believe all of her testimonies are inspired, and there is constant bickering amongst this group over which ones to follow and which ones to ignore. On the opposite side of the spectrum are devotees to Ellen White who believe she was God's mouthpiece of truth and that all her dictates should be followed. For over a century, these two groups have been bitterly feuding with each other over the degree of inspiration of Ellen White and her writings.
Another source of disunity is the writings of Ellen White themselves. The Bible, although written by dozens of authors over a period of more than 1,000 years, displays a surprising continuity throughout. In contrast, the writings of Ellen White, written by one author over 75 years, display a surprising number of contradictory and confusing statements. Mrs. White wrote over 100,000 pages — about 100 times more pages than are found in the Bible — and there are plenty of contradictions to be found on almost any subject by anyone who takes the time to look.10
These contradictory and confusing statements are a continual source of irritation between various factions within the sect. Controversies are raging over the nature of Christ, last-day events, dress and entertainment, sports, diet, the Investigative Judgment, jewelry, sexuality, education, and countless other issues. If anything, the disunity in the SDA Church is magnified by the presence of such a large body of "authoritative writings" that contain so many seemingly irreconcilable contradictions.
Conclusion
While SDAs have attempted to portray Ellen White as inspired in the same manner as the Biblical prophets, the evidence is lacking. The "tests" the sect uses to convince others that she was a prophet could be passed by virtually anyone, including rival prophet Joseph Smith. However, the seven true Biblical tests of a prophet demonstrate that Mrs. White could not have qualified as a Biblical prophet of God.