Ellen White Said She was not a Bible Scholar

Friday, January 10, 1873, Santa Rosa, California, Ellen White Diary Entry

“We rose early to prepare to go to San Francisco. My heart is inexpressibly sad. This morning I take into candid consideration my writings. My husband is too feeble to help me prepare them for the printer, therefore I shall do no more with them at present. I am not a scholar. I cannot prepare my own writings for the press. Until I can do this I shall write no more. It is not my duty to tax others with my manuscript.” Manuscript 3, 1873, p. 5.

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In stating that she was not a scholar, Ellen White implied that she was not a Bible scholar. That she was not a Bible scholar by man’s measure, is attested to by the fact that she did not know Hebrew and Greek. “In order to be an excellent Bible scholar, your Hebrew and Greek needs to be solid, without question.” http://patmccullough.com/wanna-be-a-bible-scholar/ And one might be tempted to believe that a prophetess should be an excellent Bible scholar! But is that the case with the minor and major prophets of Scripture?

I once stated that I was not a Bible scholar, meaning that I have neither taken doctoral studies in the Bible along with studying Hebrew and Greek. Satanic elements mocked me for making that statement in light of my professing to have a message from the Lord. It is interesting to note that when one entered the Temple or any Jewish synagogue, he was asked if he had a message from the Lord. If he did, he could give it. It was not a requisite to be a Biblical scholar.

 

Amongst the Hebrews, the Pharisees and Scribes were the Bible scholars of their day. Did that make them authorities on truth? What did Jesus call them? Did He not call them blind leaders of the blind? Were the minor and major prophets Biblical scholars? I think not. Were the fisherman disciples Biblical scholars? Nay except for Dr. Luke (possibly). There is no record that Jesus attended the schools of the Rabbis and the Pharisees and Scribes. Ellen White certainly was not educated with but a third grade education. There is no record that John the Baptist had a formal, scholarly education. William Foy and Hazen Foss were not Biblical scholars. http://www.whiteestate.org/books/pay/PAYAXA.HTML#sth7

 

We are told that the Holy Spirit can teach us all things. So what is regarded as a Biblical scholar in the eyes of most men is obviously not so regarded by God. Ellen White said that God would choose humble men who were led more by the unction of the Holy Spirit that the educational centers of the world.

 

Through Humble Instruments—“ In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from preaching the plain utterances of the Bible-- doctrines which they had been reluctant to present. They were impelled to zealously declare the truth and the danger which threatened souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning. Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed.

 

As the time comes for it [the message of the third angel] to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of Spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power,—all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these.”—The Great Controversy, 606 (1888).

 

It has been my experience that Biblical scholars are not usually humble men. Biblical scholars do not always interpret and accept the truth as the Bible teaches such. For example, there are many Biblical scholars who do not keep the Sabbath and the special doctrines of true Seventh-day Adventism. Indeed they choose to reject such doctrines as the Investigative Judgment and the truth about the Godhead which is so basic as a landmark of true Christianity. Most of them teach the Trinity Doctrine which sweeps away the entire economy of true Christianity, by denying the sacrifice that met the prescribed limit as a sacrifice at the time of the Incarnation.

 

Sanctuary Gone Atonement Gone -- "In a representation which passed before me, I saw a certain work being done by medical missionary workers. Our ministering brethren were looking on, watching what was being done, but they did not seem to understand. The foundation of our faith, which was established by so much prayer, such earnest searching of the Scriptures, was being taken down, pillar by pillar. Our faith was to have nothing to rest upon--the sanctuary was gone, the atonement was gone." E.G. White, The Upward Look, 152.

 

 "The darkness rolled away from the Saviour and from the Cross. Christ bowed His head and died. In His Incarnation He had reached the prescribed limit as a sacrifice, but not as a redeemer." E.G. White Manuscript Releases Volume Twelve, p. 409.

 

I don’t know of one Biblical scholar who teaches the truth concerning the Incarnation sacrifice in the heavenly Sanctuary which reached (satisfied) the prescribed limit as a sacrifice, which is directly related to the Testator Everlasting Covenant, to wit:

 

Hebrews 9:16

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

 

Hebrews 9:17

For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

 

Few men, let alone the so-called Biblical scholars, know that at His Incarnation, the Son of God died to something eternally, and it was that death that provided for the “greatest good, crowning gift” that heaven can bestow—the divestation of Christ’s former Holy Spirit Divine Nature from His humanity which was bequeathed to us.

 

“If man had made you the executor of his property, would you not closely study the will of the testator, that the smallest amount might not be misapplied? Your heavenly Friend has entrusted you with property, and given you His will as to how it should be used. If this will is studied with an unselfish heart, that which belongs to God will not be misapplied. The Lord’s cause has been shamefully neglected, when He has provided men with sufficient means to meet every emergency, if they only had grateful, obedient hearts.” {CS 328.4}

 

“Cumbered with humanity Christ could not be in every place personally, therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them to go to His Father and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit.” E.G. White, (Manuscript Releases Volume 14 (No’s 1081-1135) MR No.1084.

 

At His Incarnation, Christ divested His Divine Nature from His humanity and His Divine Nature became the independent Holy Ghost of His former Being. This is why the title Holy Ghost is not mentioned in Scripture until Matthew 1:18.

 

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 1:18.

 

So the Testator, the Son of God, sired Himself into the womb of Mary, and He became ever after estranged from His former state of DIVINITY ONLY. This was a sacrifice of all sacrifices associated with the Heavenly Sanctuary at the Incarnation. This provided the bequeathed gift of His Holy Spirit power as a regenerating agency and a cure for sin. Romans 1:5. Grace is the Holy Spirit says Ellen White.

 

"The apostle would call our attention from ourselves to the Author of our salvation. He presents before us His two natures, divine and human. . . . He voluntarily assumed human nature. It was His own act, and by His own consent. He clothed His divinity with humanity. He was all the while as God, but He did not appear as God. He veiled the demonstrations of Deity which had commanded the homage, and called forth the admiration of the universe of God. He was God while upon earth, but He divested Himself of the form of God, and in its stead took the form and fashion of a man (FOREVER). He walked the earth as a man. For our sakes He became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. He laid aside His glory and His majesty. He was God, but the glories of the form of God He for awhile relinquished. . . . He bore the sins of the world, and endured the penalty which rolled like a mountain upon His divine soul. He yielded up His life a sacrifice, that man should not eternally die. He died, not through being compelled to die, but by His own free will." E.G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 7a, p. 446.

 

"He (Christ) suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which WAS His." Desire of Ages, p. 25 1 Cor. 11:24-265, cf. John 6:53, 54, Titus 3:5, 6.

 

What death was ours? Was it three days and nights in a tomb? What death did He experience at His Incarnation? It was eternal death from His former HOLY SPIRIT ONLY BEING—HIS DIVINE NATURE ONLY—TO BE EVER AFTER COMBINED WITH HUMANITY. It took a little lady with a third grade education to figure that out!

 

One Spirit Eternal Spirit

 

Hbr 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the [ONE] eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

 

Jhn 4:24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.

 

“They have one God and one Saviour; and one Spirit—the Spirit of Christ” (9T p. 289)

 

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is; there is Liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17)

 

“They must have His grace, the Spirit of Christ, to help their infirmities, or they cannot form a Christian character. Jesus loves to have us come to Him, just as we are—sinful, helpless, dependent.” Faith and Works, p. 38.

 

“There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before man can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace [the Spirit of Christ] alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.” (ST, May 28, 1902, par. 3).

 

Our Dispositions Unchanged

 

     If you would be a saint in heaven you must first be a saint on earth. The traits of character you cherish in life will not be changed by death or by the resurrection. You will come up from the grave with the same disposition you manifested in your home and in society. Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny. Defects of character must be repented of and overcome through the grace of Christ, and a symmetrical character must be formed while in this probationary state, that we may be fitted for the mansions above.--13MR 82 (1891).  {LDE 1}

 

The Glory that the Father gave to Christ is given to us: “Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all his disciples, and give them the inspiration of his sanctifying spirit, and transfuse the vital influence from himself to his people . . . Christ is to live in his human agents, and work through their faculties, and act through their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to His will, they must act with His Spirit, that it may be no more they that live, but Christ that liveth in them. Jesus is seeking to impress upon them the thought that in giving His Holy Spirit He is giving to them the glory which the Father has given Him, that He and His people may be one in God.” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892, par. 4.

 

The Glory that the Father gave to Christ is given to us: “Jesus is waiting to breathe upon all his disciples, and give them the inspiration of his sanctifying spirit, and transfuse the vital influence from himself to his people . . . Christ is to live in his human agents, and work through their faculties, and act through their capabilities. Their will must be submitted to His will, they must act with His Spirit, that it may be no more they that live, but Christ that liveth in them. Jesus is seeking to impress upon them the thought that in giving His Holy Spirit He is giving to them the glory which the Father has given Him, that He and His people may be one in God.” Signs of the Times, October 3, 1892, par. 4.

 

“Christ gives them the breath of His own Spirit, the life of His own Life.” Desire of Ages, p. 827, par. 3.

 

“The Holy Spirit is the breath of life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues the receiver with the attributes of Christ.” Desire of Ages, p. 805.

 

“They have one God and one Saviour; and one Spirit—the Spirit of Christ—is to bring unity into their ranks.” Testimonies, Vol. 9, p. 189.

 

Our Security: “Christ has made every provision for us to be strong. He has given us His Holy Spirit, whose office is to bring to our remembrance all the promises that Christ has made, that we may have peace and a sweet sense of forgiveness. If we will but keep our eyes fixed on the Saviour and trust in His power, we shall be filled with a sense of security; for the righteousness of Christ will become our righteousness.” My Life Today, p. 45.

 

In Kellogg’s apostasy, the Sanctuary and the Atonement were rendered as GONE:

 

Sanctuary Gone Atonement Gone -- "In a representation which passed before me, I saw a certain work being done by medical missionary workers. Our ministering brethren were looking on, watching what was being done, but they did not seem to understand. The foundation of our faith, which was established by so much prayer, such earnest searching of the Scriptures, was being taken down, pillar by pillar. Our faith was to have nothing to rest upon--the sanctuary was gone, the atonement was gone." E.G. White, The Upward Look, 152.

 

Kellogg’s Living Temple swept away the entire Christian economy by teaching that the Holy Spirit presence of Christ was in everything of nature—pantheism. This is the same thing as saying that the Holy Spirit third person of the Godhead and the Incarnation sacrifice involved in bequeathing this “highest good, crowning gift that heaven can bestow” was extant from time eternal, and that is not true. Kellogg believed that the Holy Spirit of God permeated all things—including man, without the Heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement at the Incarnation, which was the prescribed limit of a sacrifice of the Testator according to the Everlasting Covenant. By the gift of the Holy Spirit as a result of the Incarnation sacrifice, man is given grace (which Ellen White defines as the Holy Spirit) for obedience, Romans 1:5. For man to be invested with the Holy Spirit Divine Nature of Christ gift, he must accept Christ, be born again, and obey God by faith in and love for Christ, as evinced by obedience to all His commandments out of a motive of love for God, rather than being automatically permeated by the Holy Spirit of God, which belief negates the Heavenly Sanctuary/Atonement sacrifice required by the Incarnation death of the Testator to His Divine ONLY Nature forever.

 

The third person to the godhead became that third person at the Incarnation when Christ’s Holy Spirit Divine Nature was divested from His humanity and became independent to the personality of His humanity. The Holy  Spirit of the Son of God was extant from eternity, but not as a third person. For until the Incarnation, there were only two persons to the Godhead. Did that Holy Spirit aid in working out the plan of salvation? Sure it did, but not as a third person until the Incarnation.

 

Omit the heavenly Sanctuary Incarnation sacrifice which met the prescribed limit of the Testator’s sacrifice (eternal death to something) before the cross, and you sweep away the entire Christian economy by doing away with the Sanctuary sacrifice in heaven, without which the sacrifice on the cross would have been to no avail because there would have been no cure for sin. The cross provided pardon from sin or redemption.

 

—rwb