Push Back Against Ellen White is a Last Day Sign?

by Mike Colburn | Sep 22, 2024 | Adventism, Articles, Ellen G. White, End Times | 0 comments

“Be careful how much you study; you might study yourself right out of the SDA Church!”

What an interesting perspective on biblical studies, especially on researching the SDA Church’s history and the writings of Ellen G. White. Time has proven this statement to be more accurate than I thought. As a former Seventh-day Adventist, some have asked how it all went down…

It’s pretty simple, but yet the details are very involved… (You can watch my detailed testimony here. Thanks, Peter Dixon, for the platform!) I literally studied myself out of the church. I exegeted myself out!

It’s interesting when you begin to question the acclaimed prophetess of the Seventh-day Adventist Church! Ellen knew this would happen and tried her best to control and manipulate her followers, and by extension, the ENTIRE ADVENTIST CHURCH, into the future through her writings. Let me explain.

Ellen White wrote the following concerning Satan’s attack on the testimonies in the last days:

“Satan is … constantly pressing in the spurious—to lead away from the truth. The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony.” —Letter 12, 1890.^[1]

On the very next page of this book, but coming from a different letter written in the same year, Ellen writes the following:

”There will be a hatred kindled against the testimonies which is satanic. The workings of Satan will be to unsettle the faith of the churches in them (her writings), for this reason: Satan cannot have so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and bind up souls in his delusions if the warnings and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God are heeded.” —Letter 40, 1890.^[2]

The Testimonies were vital to Ellen White. So much so that she would go on to write the following about these writings:

“It is Satan’s plan to weaken the faith of God’s people in the Testimonies. Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our position, then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures, and then the downward march to perdition. When the Testimonies, which were once believed, are doubted and given up, Satan knows the deceived ones will not stop at this; and he redoubles his efforts till he launches them into open rebellion, which becomes incurable and ends in destruction.” ^[3]

This statement should make anyone shutter! Ellen clearly believed that anyone who questions her writings will eventually, through the work of the Devil, will be launched into direct rebellion against God and will ultimately end in destruction. LOSS OF SALVATION!

Is it any wonder that members of the Seventh-day Adventist church rarely publicly question Ellen White’s writings? I remember being questioned multiple times as the Head Elder of the local Adventist Church whether I was indeed a Christian because I questioned whether Ellen’s writings had inconsistencies.

Despite any public denials at multiple levels of its organization, the SDA Church is actively engaging in actions involving respected leaders and educators. (Conrad Vine is an excellent present-day example of this.) In some cases, these actions (by the church) directly contradict, and even outright defiance of, Ellen White, whom the church continues to acknowledge publicly as a prophet and God’s messenger, fulfilling the “spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).

What’s most concerning is that many SDA leaders, including pastors and scholars, know they are being deceptive by not revealing how they genuinely feel about Ellen White. I personally experienced this in my own conversations with SDA Pastors, Elders, Conference Leaders, and Scholars. Many of these leaders will uphold Ellen’s writings in the pulpit and in public conversations but privately admit that they have problems and can’t really be held as divinely inspired.

If you are familiar with traditional SDA thought and terminology, there’s a deeply embedded fear when it comes to questioning Ellen White beyond certain boundaries. Ellen White herself issued warnings about this, along with severe consequences. Few are willing to challenge the messenger of God, fearing they might fall into doubt and eventually be labeled as agents of Satan. After all, Ellen White warned that such skepticism leads to an “incurable” state that ends in destruction. This fear could be why there is a quiet, gradual distancing from Ellen White, as many church members still believe that questioning her is as severe as questioning the Bible.

Ellen White was clear that her ministry had no middle ground—it was either from God or from the devil. She established this standard herself. By picking and choosing which parts of her writings to accept, some church members are, by default, labeling her prophetic ministry as coming from Satan.

The individuals within the SDA Church who challenge Ellen White’s authority—whether they are reformers or activists—must either be completely right or completely wrong; there’s no room for compromise. No matter the final outcome, it’s clear that the SDA faith is on a path toward dramatic and permanent change, never to return to its founding principles.

I personally owe a huge amount of gratitude to the work of Myles Christian, E.J. “Thunder” Lauriston, Dr. Steve Daily, and many others, who have worked tirelessly to shed honest light on the issues within the church!

Many Adventist leaders who still hold ranks inside the church have brought the church to this point through deceit and manipulation—not to uphold traditional SDA values but to reshape the church’s public image and avoid being branded a cult that follows a prophetess rather than the Bible. Yes, I am calling the Church out! Yes, I am calling for honesty! Yes, I am demanding that the church listen and recant from the teachings that damage the larger Body of Christ! The writing is on the wall, and much like Babylon’s downfall, once it appears, the outcome is inevitable.

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. (Re 18:4–5)

In Christian Love,