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Ellen White vs. Holy Bible
LYNN WUNISCHE
"To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this WORD, it is because there is no Light in them," Isaiah 8:20.
Patriarchs & Prophets (all emphases are mine)
ADDITIONS TO SCRIPTURE
Here's a Bible trivia quiz: What type of fruit grew on the forbidden "Tree of Knowledge"? Any student of the Bible should know that the only correct answer is, "We don't know because the Bible doesn't tell us." Therefore, any other answer is pure speculation. Now speculation itself is harmless, even enjoyable; but when speculation gets passed off as historical fact, and worse yet, "The Word of God," then you have crossed the line into embellishment. But the Bible warns us,
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." Deut. 4:2.
"Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar." Prov. 30:6.
Do you like a challenge? Good Here's some challenges for you. Try to find these teachings in the Bible. If these things are not in the Bible, then how can a "prophet of God" say these things while claiming that "Additional truth is not brought out?" (Testimonies, vol. 5, pg. 665).
If these seem nitpicky, remember, we're not talking about an ordinary preacher or Bible commentator, or even just any prophet of God, but the "Spirit of Prophecy". (Note: Your pagination may be different - Ellen White books are republished with so many changes in pagination, it's hard to keep up with them all.)
Chapter/page: 3/53 - "The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold...The angels had cautioned Eve...But the serpent continued, in a musical voice, with subtle praise of her surpassing loveliness..."
The Bible simply says, "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made..." Gen 3:1.
The word for subtil simply translates, "crafty, prudent, subtil."6/80-81 - "Seth...resembled Adam more closely than did his other sons...For some time the two classes remained separate. The race of Cain, spreading from the place of their first settlement, dispersed over the plains and valleys where the children of Seth had dwelt; and the latter, in order to escape from their contaminating influence, withdrew to the mountains, and there made their home."
8/108 - after the flood: "Everywhere were strewn the dead bodies of men and beasts. The Lord would not permit these to remain to decompose and pollute the air, therefore he made of the earth a vast burial-ground. A violent wind which was caused to blow for the purpose of drying up the water, moved them with great force, in some instances even carrying away the tops of the mountains, and heaping up trees, rocks and earth above the bodies of the dead. By the same means the silver and gold, the choice wood and precious stones, which had enriched and adorned the world before the flood, and which the inhabitants had idolized, were concealed from the sight and search of men, the violent action of the waters piling earth and rocks upon these treasures, and in some cases even forming mountains above them...The mountains, once so beautiful in their perfect symmetry, had become broken and irregular...Where once had been earth's richest treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, were seen the heaviest marks of the curse. And upon countries that were not inhabited, and those where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more lightly."
10/120 - speaking of the tower of Babel: "Lightnings from heaven, as an evidence of God's displeasure, broke off the upper portion of the tower, and cast it to the ground."
15/174 - of Ishmael: "...In his latter days he repented of his evil ways, and returned to his father's God."
19/207 - "And Jacob, well content with the spiritual blessings of the birthright, resigned to the elder brother the inheritance of their father's wealth..."
23/266 - referring to the plagues of Egypt: "These flies were large and venomous; and their bite was extremely painful to man and beast."
29/336 - "Again the sinless inhabitants of other worlds beheld the results of Satan's apostasy... The Sabbath institution...was observed by all the patriarchs, from creation down."
30/349 - Speaking of the ark of the covenant: "Sometimes a light fell upon the angel at the right, to signify approval or acceptance, or a shadow or cloud rested upon the one at the left to reveal disapproval or rejection."
31/361 - "Nadab and Abihu would never have committed that fatal sin, had they not first become partially intoxicated by the free use of wine."
43/472-477 - Most of this chapter is based on pure speculation. There's too much to reprint here. Read it for yourself; then read the Bible and see if you can find any of this.
There's nothing wrong with speculation, but it should be presented as speculation, not as historical fact. Ellen White is a Bible commentator, and a poor one at that, but she is no prophet of God. As F. D. Nichol (author of Ellen G. White and Her Critics) put it so well, "Where the Scripture record is so brief we must be slow to dogmatize." pg. 319. And, I might add, Where the Scripture record is silent, we must not dogmatize at all.
MIS- "QUOTES"
Chapter/page:32/365 - "And Christ Himself says, 'Think not that I am come to destroy the law...Verily I say unto you,' - making the assertion as emphatic as possible, - 'Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.'"
Unlike in many of her "quotes", here at least, she indicates that something is missing from the quote. So let's see what's missing and how it changes the meaning:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, [or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For] verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matt. 5:17-18.
CONTRADICTIONS TO SCRIPTURE
Chapter/page: 4/66 - "Adam and Eve...In their remorse and anguish they pleaded that the penalty might not fall upon Him whose love had been the source of all their joy; rather let it descend upon them and their posterity."
The Bible reveals that Adam & Eve were never so noble. On the contrary, they were both quick to pass the blame. Gen. 3:12-13.
14/167 - After the destruction of Sodom: "Lot dwelt but a short time in Zoar. Iniquity prevailed there as in Sodom...Not long after, Zoar was consumed, as God had purposed."
Here she has called God a liar who said in Gen. 19:21, "I will not overthrow this city...the name of the city was called Zoar."
15/174 - "The wife of Lot was a selfish, irreligious woman, and her influence was exerted to separate her husband from Abraham, But for her, Lot would not have remained in Sodom."
The Bible is clear on why they separated. Gen. 13:6-9, "And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together...And Abram said unto Lot...separate thyself, I pray thee, from me..." Lot's wife is not mentioned.
23/258 - "But Moses had shown his people that obedience to God was the first condition of deliverance; and the efforts made to restore the observance of the Sabbath had come to the notice of their oppressors." See next note.
32/363 - "The failure of Abraham's descendants to keep this pledge, as shown in their disposition to form alliances with the heathen and adopt their practices, was the cause of their sojourn and bondage in Egypt."
The verses concerning the reasons for going into Egypt and returning are listed here. Not once does scripture mention that this was to be a punishment to the Israelites, nor was there any condition given for their release. Gen. 15:13-16, "...they shall serve them 400 years... But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again."
28:15 - "...I am with thee...and will bring thee again into this land..."
46:3-4 - "I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will surely bring thee up again..."
Throughout Exodus, the reasons given repeatedly for the bondage and the release are for God's glory. Exo. 3:7-22; 4:21-23; 6:1-8; 7:1-16; 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13-16; 10:1-2; 11:9; 12:12; 14:4.
43/477 - Speaking of Moses: "Then, like a tired warrior, he lay down to rest." Compare with Deut. 34:7, "...his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."
73/761 Appendix - "AGAIN: CHRIST IS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD....HE WAS REVEALED TO THEM AS THE ANGEL OF JEHOVAH, THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST, MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL."
Never at any time is Christ called "the angel of Jehovah," or "Michael the archangel."
SELF-CONTRADICTIONS
3/55-56 - Here you have two contradictions: "The serpent plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree, and placed it in the hands of the half-reluctant Eve." "Without a fear she plucked and ate."
22/242 - "The Israelites...had kept themselves a distinct race, having nothing in common with the Egyptians in customs or religion..."
Where did they learn Baal worship from? Here, she contradicts both scripture and herself. In ch. 23/260, speaking of the time before Egyptian bondage, she says,
"...because of Israel's departure from him, - because of their disposition to marry with heathen nations, thus being led into idolatry, - that the Lord had permitted them to become bondmen..."
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