Prophets have never been popular. From Enoch to Isaiah, from Elijah to John the Baptist, from Moses to the apostle Paul, they easily qualify as the least liked of God’s servants. And when the final pages are penned in the controversy with evil, Ellen Gould White may prove to have been the least popular and most reviled of them all.

The attacks on her authority never seem to let up. Efforts to reveal the “hidden history” of debates regarding Ellen White’s reliability, the utterly false claim that she didn’t want her writings used to settle doctrinal controversy—a claim easily demolished by her own, very clear statements to the contrary [1]—continue to resound from the lecterns of classrooms and workers’ meetings, echoing from pulpits and social media platforms. Books with an aim to marginalize the modern prophet’s authority get handed out for free to those entrusted with the guardianship of the Lord’s flock.

Some appear not to realize that honest inquirers and truth-seekers, prepared to test with Berean diligence the claims of Ellen White’s often-subtle detractors by the facts of history and the inspired consensus, still occupy many of the pulpits and pews of the church. These diligent ones will not suffer the loss of their church’s divinely-crafted heritage to the speculations of fallible scholars and the experience-driven spirituality that values peace of mind over true peace with God.

The Testimony of Sacred History

But the thoughtful student of Scripture is constrained to ask, in the face of these efforts to reduce a prophet’s authority: When in the sacred past have God’s people—or anyone else, for that matter—ever prospered by setting aside the counsel of a prophet?

Those who rejected Enoch’s and Noah’s message of coming divine judgment were swept into oblivion by the waters of the Flood (Gen. 7:21). The Israelites who rebelled against the leadership of Moses were swallowed by the earth and consumed with fire (Num. 16:28-35). The high priest Eli was rebuked by a prophet for honoring his wicked sons above the Lord (I Sam. 2:29), and was warned of devastating consequences if reform did not occur (verses 30-34)—consequences which later followed because the prophet’s warnings went unheeded (I Sam. 4:15-22).

Ahijah’s prediction that the house of Jeroboam would be destroyed because of disobedience was fulfilled to the letter (I Kings 14:7-16; 15:27,29). Elijah’s forecast of doom for the dynasty of Ahab come to pass exactly as foretold (I Kings 21:21-22; 22:34-37; II Kings 9:20-37; 10:20-28). Isaiah instructed Judah’s King Ahaz not to unite with Assyria against the combined forces of Syria and northern Israel (Isa. 7). The disregard of this counsel brought disaster to God’s people, which only eventual and direct divine intervention was able to reverse (Isa. 37:36). Jeremiah urged repentance on the part of King Jehoiakim, but the latter took the prophet’s scroll, cut it up, and threw it in the fire (Jer. 36:21-23). The king would eventually be dragged to death and given a donkey’s burial outside of Jerusalem (Jer. 22:18-19). The same prophet would counsel King Zedekiah to surrender to the Babylonians so that he and his sons would live (Jer. 38:17-18). But Judah’s last king set aside Jeremiah’s entreaties, and following his capture by Nebuchadnezzar was forced to see his sons executed, after which his eyes were put out (Jer. 52:10-11).

The dismissal of the prophetic word brought results of a no less hurtful nature in the New Testament. Herodias, the wife of Herod Antipas with whom the latter had committed adultery in order to marry, exulted in triumph when the head of John the Baptist was brought to her on a platter [2]. The Bible doesn’t recount the fate of this evil woman and her husband, but the Jewish historian Josephus says they were exiled to Spain, where they died in poverty and disgrace [3].

In Ellen White’s day, it was no different. The rejection of her counsel by John Harvey Kellogg and his associates brought about the fiery destruction of the Battle Creek Sanitarium [4] and ten months later, the Review and Herald Publishing Association [5].

The Canonical Distinction

It may come as a surprise to some that the Bible makes no authoritative distinction between the testimonies of those prophets that were later canonized by the church, and thus made a part of the Bible as we know it, and the testimonies of those prophets that were not later canonized. The Bible narrative gives no indication that the authority of such later-canonized prophets as Moses, Isaiah, and the New Testament apostles was any different in their day than that of non-canonical prophets like Deborah, Nathan, Elijah, and John the Baptist.

Imagine David (a canonical prophet, no less), after being rebuked by the non-canonical prophet Gad for having numbered Israel (II Sam. 24:11-14), insisting to Gad that because he was a non-canonical prophet, his counsel need not be taken with the same gravity as if one such as Moses were standing before him!

The only difference between a canonical and a non-canonical prophet is that of function. The Bible is the source of all truth revealed to humanity. No new truth was revealed to the Seventh-day Adventist Church through the testimony of Ellen White. The latter is simply an elaboration on the Biblical message. Ellen White described her relationship to the Bible as follows:

Additional truth is not brought out, but God has through the Testimonies simplified the great truths already given [6].

A prophet is not authoritative because he or she is first canonical. Rather, a prophet becomes canonical because he or she is first authoritative. It can’t be stated often enough: God does not have junior prophets. When one is invested with the prophetic gift, the counsel delivered through such a one is of divine origin, not human. When Zedekiah called Jeremiah into the courtyard of the prison seeking his advice, he didn’t ask for his best opinion or analysis of the present situation. Instead he asked, “Is there any word from the Lord?” (Jer. 37:17).

Too bad, as we noted earlier, Zedekiah didn’t listen to that word. But at least he understood theoretically that the counsel of Jeremiah was not his own, that in fact the God of Israel—not some fallible mortal—was speaking through His servant.

Conclusion

The historical record is clear. To reject the guidance of a prophet means only one thing—unqualified disaster. To be sure, not everyone who disobeys the prophetic word meets the fate of an Eli, a Jezebel, a Jehoiakim, or a Zedekiah. But enough examples from the Sacred Record bear witness that such a course on the part of professed believers can be as ruinous in the here-and- now as in the by-and-by.

The apostle Peter, recounting his and his fellow disciples’ viewing of the transfigured Lord, declared the sovereignty of prophetic utterances over even the sublime experiences of such as himself and the other apostles:

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts (II Peter 1:16-19).

The written prophetic testimony, in other words, transcends even the sublime experience of audibly hearing God’s voice—for indeed, only through the written Word can we know the difference between God’s voice and a counterfeit (Isa. 8:20). Prophecy is the “more sure word,” above and beyond scholarly judgment and the believer’s experience.

Any effort to marginalize or reduce the authority of that Word, be the latter canonical or otherwise, is a sure path to apostasy and damnation. Nowhere does the Sacred Story bear witness to the slightest wisdom in ignoring or rejecting a prophet’s message. Such a course can only end in spiritual calamity and the loss of eternal life.

REFERENCES

1. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 78; Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 655-656,665; Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 32; Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, pp. 98-99; Colporteur Ministry, p. 126; Gospel Workers, p. 302.

2. ----The Desire of Ages, pp. 222,223.

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_Antipas

4. Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Early Elmshaven Years, 1900-1905 (Washington, D.C: Review and Herald Publishing Assn, 1981), pp. 148-150.

5. Ibid, pp. 223-225.

6. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 665.

Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan