"EVIDENCE
PILED UPON EVIDENCE …
Till the Very End of Probation?"
Ellen White and Her Contemporaries
Confirm That God Sent a Precious Message of Light
and Truth to His People
Convened in the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference
Primacy of the Gospel Committee • January 2000
Compiled by Donald K. Short
"Evidence Piled Upon Evidence …
Till the Very End of Probation?"
The sixth and last paper was presented to the Primacy of the Gospel Committee in January 2000, which was but a few weeks before the final meeting February 8. This original compilation, arranged chronologically, brought to the Committee Ellen White's clear-cut convictions and positive statements regarding the message God sent to the church at the right time through Jones and Waggoner.
Unknowingly this sixth compilation presented at least five prior answers to subsequent charges in the Report's "Areas With Disagreement." Had this brief sixth paper been read for what it says, and the Ellen White citations accepted with the supporting statements of her contemporaries, there would have been no need for at least five paragraphs of objection.
Paragraph No. 1, "Application of Ellen White's Remarks Related to 1888" states there "is disagreement on how to understand many of Ellen White's remarks related to 1888 and how they apply to the condition of the Church today." There is no dispensationalism in the theological truths Ellen White brought to the Adventist church. Repeatedly she affirmed that the message of 1888 was "precious truth" and it "harmonizes perfectly with the light which God has been pleased to give me." But more than this, she proclaimed the 1888 message was "the third angel's message in verity" which is vital to the final call the Remnant Church makes to the world.
Paragraph No. 2, "Primacy of the Bible" states that "it appears" the "1888 Study Committee" reads scriptural evidence "through the theological understandings of Jones and Waggoner." Did they bring to the church questionable teachings? Does this infer that their theology was in error and that Ellen White failed to correct them? But this is tied to the next question …
Paragraph No. 3, "Ellen White's Endorsement of Jones and Waggoner" while recognized as "repeated endorsements" "did not mean she agreed with all their teachings." Read the record! With over 300 endorsements of the message and the messengers over a period of years it is futile to proclaim that there were "many areas in which Ellen White differs with Jones and Waggoner." Never did she caution the church to beware of them.
Paragraph No. 4., "Historical Accuracy." The nebulous charge is made against the 1888 Message Study Committee that, "At times we sense a lack of historical accuracy when claims are made about Jones and Waggoner. History must speak for itself …" Yes, let history speak for itself! In the fifty years since 1888 Re-examined was written and presented to the General Conference, there have been hundreds of pages of printed material made available and it should be very simple to point out specific statements that "lack historical accuracy." This should be done.
Paragraph No. 9, "Jones and Waggoner and the Reformers." Here the idea is expressed that "on the subject of justification by faith Jones and Waggoner should not be set against the great reformers. To do so would contradict both Waggoner and Ellen White."
This is a strange observation. When the citation is checked, (Waggoner, Gospel in the Book of Galatians, p. 70) it will be found that Waggoner was upholding the pure gospel in the context of the three angel's messages which he mentions twice on page 70. It will be seen in this sixth paper that Jones and Waggoner were never set against the Reformers. They were the Lord's messengers with "increased light," rejection of which involved the "sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." With evidence piled upon evidence, repeatedly Ellen White confirms the unique place they held and proclaims—"If you reject Christ's delegated messengers, you reject Christ."
Here is the sixth and final document:
"EVIDENCE PILED UPON EVIDENCE
… Till the Very End of Probation?"*
Introduction
Since the beginning of the Seventh-day Adventist Church when God called out a people to proclaim His final message, no event is of greater importance in their history than the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session. By private letter, public address and repeated articles in the Review, Ellen White for years continued to plead with the "brethren who occupy responsible positions" to heed the light and truth the Lord sent to His people in this notable session. Her burden was that they accept the evidence that the "Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones." She was emphatic that this message "God commanded to be given to the world" was the "third angel's message."
The record of the important place this 1888 General Conference holds in Adventist history has been made clear in an 1800-page four-volume publication by the White Estate, The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials. But the world church membership knows very little of this publication and likewise the tragedy of the historic 1888 session is virtually unknown. Because of leadership opposition the "light and truth" never clearly reached the membership.
This paper, arranged chronologically, brings together a few of the comments in recorded history which make clear Ellen White's convictions and judgments regarding 1888, as well as a few appraisals of her contemporaries. She spares no words to explain that there was a persistent effort to counteract the message God sent, even though leadership had "evidence piled upon evidence" that confirmed the message was from the Lord.
The quotations are beyond equivocation. Whether they are ever read or accepted will not alter their divine authority. The remnant church is faced with the question: Can the second advent take place while modern Israel remains ignorant, ignores and even defies their own history and rejects what the Lord wanted to do for His people over a century ago?
1888 — General Conference Session, Minneapolis
[Presented during the session]:
"When Elders A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner came to reply to their opponents, they stood side by side with open Bibles."—
E. J. Waggoner: (Read, Jer. 23:5,6)—"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
A. T. Jones: (Read, Eph. 2:4-8)—"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
E. J. Waggoner: (Read, Gal. 2:16-21)—"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
[They continued reading Bible texts:]
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 11:1-33).
- Waggoner: (Read, Rom. 1:14-17).
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 2:12-29).
- Waggoner: (Read, Gal. 3).
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 3).
- Waggoner: (Read, Gal. 5:1-6).
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 9:7-33).
- Waggoner: (Read, Gal. 2).
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 4:1-11).
- Waggoner: (Read, Rom. 5).
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 4:13-25).
- Waggoner: (Read, Rom. 6).
- Jones: (Read, Rom. 1:15-17).
- Waggoner: (Read, Rom. 8:14-19).
- Jones: (Ended with, 1 John 5:1-4).
"This was their answer without a word of comment, they took their seats. For the entire time of the reading there was hushed stillness over the vast assembly." (An Eyewitness Account, by R. T. Nash: Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis 1888, pp. 353, 354.)
1887, Feb. 10, E. J. Waggoner, The Gospel in the Book of Galatians. A 71-page printed "letter"/booklet handed to the delegates at the 1888 Session, in reply to Geo. I. Butler's, The Law in Galatians: (85 pp.):
"Your misapplication … I am sorry to see … And that is that in the so-called Jewish dispensation forgiveness of sins was only figurative. Your words plainly indicate that there was no real forgiveness of sins until Christ, the real sacrifice, was offered. If that were so, I would like to inquire how Enoch and Elijah got to Heaven. Were they taken there with their sins unforgiven? Had they been in Heaven for two or three thousand years before their sins were forgiven? The very fact that they were taken to Heaven is sufficient evidence that their sins were really pardoned. … no sham forgiveness. … It was expressly declared that if a soul should sin … he should offer his sacrifice and his sins should be forgiven him. … There was no virtue in the sacrifice, which was typical, yet the pardon was as real as any that has ever been given since the crucifixion. How could this be? Simply because Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (pp. 29, 30).
"If the 'great system of justification by faith' was not reached till the cross of Christ, pray tell me whether anybody was ever justified before Christ came, and if so, how? My reading of the Bible convinces me that 'the great system of justification by faith' was known as soon as sin entered the world. I read that 'by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous '" [Heb. 11:4] (pp. 54, 55).
"He [Christ] redeems none who were not in the condition which he was made. And since only the Jews were subject to the ceremonial law, your theory would make it that he came to save only the Jews. I am glad that a proper interpretation does not oblige us to limit the plan of salvation in this way. Christ died for all men; all men were under the condemnation of the law of God; and so he was made under its condemnation. By the grace of God he tasted death for every man." [Heb 2:9.] (p. 63).
1888, Oct. 9, Ellen White, letter to Mary, written early in the opening of the session:
"Elders Smith and Butler are very loath to have anything said upon the law in Galatians, but I cannot see how it can be avoided. We must take the Bible as our standard and we must diligently search its pages for light and evidence of truth" (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, p. 67; herein after referred to as 1888).
1888, Oct. 20, Ellen White, Sabbath Talk at the Minneapolis Session (Ms 8):
"Now, what we want to present is how you may advance in the divine life. We hear many excuses: I cannot live up to this or that. What do you mean by this or that? Do you mean that it was an imperfect sacrifice that was made for the fallen race upon Calvary, that there is not sufficient grace and power granted us that we may work away from our own natural defects and tendencies, that it was not a whole Saviour that was given us? or do you mean to cast reproach upon God? Well, you say, it was Adam's sin. You say, I am not guilty of that, and I am not responsible for his guilt and fall. Here all these natural tendencies are in me, and I am not to blame if I act out these natural tendencies. Who is to blame? Is God? Why did God let Satan have this power over human nature? These are accusations against the God of heaven, and He will give you an opportunity, if you want it, of finally bringing your accusations against Him. Then He will bring His accusations against you when you are brought into His court of judgment" (1888, p. 122).
1888, Oct. 24, Ellen White, Morning Talk, Minneapolis (Ms 9):
"Now I was saying what was the use of our assembling here together and for our ministering brethren to come in if they are here only to shut out the Spirit of God from the people? We did hope that there would be a turning to the Lord here. Perhaps you feel that you have all you want. …
"I have been talking and pleading with you, but it does not seem to make any difference with you. …
"Had Brother Kilgore been walking closely with God he never would have walked onto the ground as he did yesterday and made the statement he did in regard to the investigation that is going on. That is, they must not bring in any new light or present any new argument notwithstanding they have been constantly handling the Word of God for years, yet they are not prepared to give a reason of the hope they have because one man is not here. Have we not all been looking into this subject?
"I have never been more alarmed than at the present time" (1888, p. 151).
1888, Nov. 1, Ellen White, "Dear Brethren Assembled at General Conference":
"Dr. Waggoner has spoken to us in a straightforward manner. There is precious light in what he has said. … Truth will lose nothing by investigation, therefore I plead for Christ's sake that you come to the living Oracles, and with prayer and humiliation seek God. …
"I know it would be dangerous to denounce Dr. Waggoner's position as wholly erroneous. This would please the enemy. I see the beauty of truth in the presentation of the righteousness of Christ in relation to the law as the doctor has placed it before us. You say, many of you, it is light and truth. Yet you have not presented it in this light heretofore. Is it not possible that through earnest, prayerful searching of the Scriptures he has seen still greater light on some points? That which has been presented harmonizes perfectly with the light which God has been pleased to give me during all the years of my experience. If our ministering brethren would accept the doctrine which has been presented so clearly—the righteousness of Christ in connection with the law—and I know they need to accept this, their prejudices would not have a controlling power, and the people would be fed with their portion of meat in due season" (1888, pp. 163,164).
1888, Nov. 4, Ellen White, "Dear Daughter Mary" (Lt 82):
"I have had to watch at every point lest there should be moves made, resolutions passed, that would prove detrimental to the future work. … "I am grateful to God for the strength and freedom and power of His spirit in bearing my testimony although it has made the least impression upon many minds than at any period before in my history. Satan has seemed to have power to hinder my work in a wonderful degree, but I tremble to think what would have been in this meeting if we had not been here." (1888, pp. 182-184).
1888, Nov./Dec., Ellen White, Looking Back at Minneapolis (Ms 24):
"At Minneapolis … I discerned at the very commencement of the meeting a spirit which burdened me. …
"The Spirit of God was quenched. … There was, I knew, a remarkable blindness upon the minds of many. …
"When I stated before my brethren that I had heard for the first time the views of Elder E. J. Waggoner, some did not believe me. I stated that I had heard precious truths uttered that I could respond to with all my heart. …
"I insisted that there should be a right spirit, a Christlike spirit manifested, such as Elder E. J. Waggoner had shown all through the presentation of his views. …
"I knew the light which had been presented to us in clear and distinct lines. The brethren had all the evidence they would ever have that words of truth were spoken in regard to the righteousness of Christ. …
"My labors seemed to be in vain. There was a spirit upon our brethren that I had never met in them before" (1888, pp. 206, 208, 216, 219, 223, italics supplied).
1889, April, Ellen White, "My Dear Brethren" (Lt 85):
"I must speak to you in reference to the meetings at Minneapolis. I at one time decided to leave the meeting because I saw and felt the strong spirit of opposition that prevailed. …
"I had decided not to remain longer in Minneapolis … a person of tall, commanding appearance brought me a message and revealed to me that it was God's will for me to stand at my post of duty. …
"I listened to words uttered that ought to make every one of those ashamed who uttered them. …
"Said my guide, 'This is written in the books as against Jesus Christ. This spirit cannot harmonize with the Spirit of Christ, of truth. They are intoxicated with the spirit of resistance and know not any more than the drunkard what spirit controls their words or their actions. This sin is peculiarly an offense to God. This spirit bears no more the semblance to the Spirit of truth and righteousness than the spirit that actuated the Jews to form a confederacy to doubt, to criticize and become spies upon Christ, the world's Redeemer.' …
"The voice of prayer was seldom heard, but criticism and exaggerated statements and suppositions and conjectures and envy and jealousy and evil surmising and false accusing were current. Had their eyes been opened they would have seen that which would have alarmed them, the exulting of evil angels. And they would have seen also a Watcher who had heard every word and registered these words in the books of heaven" (1888, pp. 277, 278).
1889, June, Ellen White, (Ms 30):
"I felt it my duty to give a short history of the meeting and my experience in Minneapolis. … I stated that I stood nearly alone at Minneapolis. … In their blindness they could not discern spiritual things. … I stated that the course that had been pursued at Minneapolis was cruelty to the Spirit of God … [they] would—unless they were changed in spirit and confessed their mistakes—go into greater deceptions … They had been privileged to hear the most faithful preaching of the gospel, and had listened to the message God had given His servants to give them, with their hearts padlocked. They … used all their powers to pick some flaws in the messengers and the message, and they grieved the Spirit of God" (1888, pp. 353, 354, 359, 360, 368).
1889, Sept. 3, Ellen White, Review and Herald:
"The present message—justification by faith—is a message from God. …
"The enemy of man and God is not willing that this truth should be clearly presented; for he knows that if the people receive it fully, his power will be broken. …
"It is perilous to the soul to hesitate, question, and criticize divine light. Satan will present his temptations until the light will appear as darkness, and many will reject the very truth that would have proved the saving of their souls" (RH 9-3-1889).
1890, Feb. 7, Ellen White, (Ms 56):
"I believe without a doubt that God has given precious truth at the right time to Brother Jones and Brother Waggoner. …
"We claim that God has given us light in the right time. And now we should receive the truth of God—receive it as of heavenly origin" (1888, pp. 566, 567).
1890, Mar. 11, Ellen White, Review and Herald:
"We have been hearing his voice more distinctly in the message that has been going for the last two years, declaring unto us the Father's name. …
"We should not be found quibbling, and putting up hooks on which to hang our doubts in regard to the light which God sends us. …
"For nearly two years we have been urging the people to come up and accept the light and the truth concerning the righteousness of Christ, and they do not know whether to come and take hold of this precious truth or not" (RH 3-11-90).
1890, Apr. 1, Ellen White, Review and Herald:
"Some of our brethren are not receiving the message of God on this subject. …
"We inquire, Is it not time that fresh light should come to the people of God, to awaken them to greater earnestness and zeal? …
"Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel's message, and I have answered, 'It is the third angel's message in verity.' …
"To our brethren who are standing in this self-confident, self-satisfied position, who talk and act as if there is no need for more light, we want to say that the Laodicean message is applicable to you" (RH 4-1-90).
1891, Mar., Ellen White, General Conference of 1891 (Ms 30):
"In the fear and love of God I tell those before whom I stand to-day that there is increased light for us, and that great blessings come with the reception of this light. And when I see my brethren stirred with anger against God's messages and messengers, I think of similar scenes in the life of Christ and the reformers. The reception given to God's servants in past ages is the same as the reception that those to-day receive through whom God is sending precious rays of light. The leaders of the people to-day pursue the same course of action that the Jews pursued. …
"In this our day men have placed themselves where they are wholly unable to fulfill the conditions of repentance and confession; therefore they cannot find mercy and pardon. The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit does not lie in any sudden word or deed; it is the firm, determined resistance of truth and evidence.
"The Lord has been calling his people. In a most marked manner he has revealed his divine presence. But the message and the messengers have not been received but despised. … In rejecting the message given at Minneapolis, men committed sin. They have committed far greater sin by retaining for years the same hatred against God's messengers, by rejecting the truth that the Holy Spirit has been urging home. By making light of the message given, they are making light of the word of God. Every appeal rejected, every entreaty unheeded, furthers the work of heart-hardening, and places them in the seat of the scornful" (1888, pp. 911, 913, 914).
1892, Sept. 1, Ellen White, Appeal to Heed the Message to the Laodiceans (Lt 19d):
"God's people have evidence piled upon evidence; they have truth powerful and convincing. Shall it be kept in the outer court, so that it does not sanctify the soul? …
"Now, although there has been a determined effort to make of no effect the message God has sent, its fruits have been proving that it was from the source of light and truth. Those who have cherished unbelief and prejudice … have stood to bar the way against all evidence. …
"Should the Lord's messengers, after standing manfully for the truth for a time, fall under temptation, and dishonor Him who has given them their work, will that be proof that the message is not true? No, because the Bible is true. … "One matter burdens my soul: The great lack of the love of God, which has been lost through continued resistance of light and truth, and the influence of those who have been engaged in active labor, who, in the face of evidence piled upon evidence, have exerted an influence to counteract the work of the message God has sent. I point them to the Jewish nation and ask, Must we leave our brethren to pass over the same path of blind resistance, till the very end of probation? …
"Evidence has been piled upon evidence, but they have been unwilling to acknowledge it" (1888, pp. 1021,1024,1025,1029, italics supplied).
1892, Nov. 22, Ellen White, Review and Herald:
"The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth" (RH 11-22-92).
1893, Jan. 9, Ellen White, Put Away Differences (Lt 77).
"Those who opposed Brethren Jones and Waggoner manifested no disposition to meet them like brethren, and with the Bible in hand consider prayerfully and in a Christlike spirit the points of difference. This is the only course that would meet the approval of God, and His rebuke was upon those who would not do this at Minneapolis. …
"We know that Brother Jones has been giving the message for this time—meat in due season for the starving flock of God. …
"The conference at Minneapolis was the golden opportunity for all present to humble the heart before God and to welcome Jesus as the great Instructor, but the stand taken by some at that meeting proved their ruin. They have never seen clearly since, and they never will, for they persistently cherish the spirit that prevailed there, a wicked, criticizing, denunciatory spirit. Yet since that meeting, abundant light and evidence has been graciously given, that all might understand what is truth. …
"They will be asked in the judgment, 'Who required this at your hand to rise up against the message and the messengers I sent to my people with light? … And afterward when evidence was piled upon evidence, why did you not humble your hearts before God, and repent of your rejection of the message of mercy He sent you?' The Lord has not inspired these brethren to resist the truth. He designed that they should be baptized with the Holy Spirit, and be living channels of light to communicate the light to our world, in clear, bright rays" (1888, pp. 1122, 1125, 1126, italics supplied).
1894, Apr. 14, Ellen White, (Lt. 20):
"God designed to work mightily by his Holy Spirit in that Minneapolis meeting, for all who would submit their way and their will to him. …
"After we left Minneapolis, the battle had to be fought over and over again. Time was lost, souls lost, lives imperiled, all because men felt sufficient in themselves, and were not careful to keep the way of the Lord. The testing process is going on with every individual. Every movement is made before the whole heavenly universe. Whatever position men occupy, just as soon as they lift up their souls unto vanity they are left to make their own way without the help of God. He cannot co-operate with them" (1888, pp. 1229,1230).
1895, May 1, Ellen White, Rejecting the Light, (Lt 57, [TM 89, et seq.]):
"The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. … This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel's message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure. …
"I would speak a warning to those who have stood for years resisting light and cherishing the spirit of opposition. How long will you hate and despise the messengers of God's righteousness. …
"If you reject Christ's delegated messengers, you reject Christ" (1888, pp. 1336, 1337, 1341, 1342).
1895, A. T. Jones, General Conference Bulletin,1895:
"Wherein, then, was Adam the figure of Christ?—In this: That all that were in the world were included in Adam; and all that are in the world are included in Christ. In other words: Adam in his sin reached all the world; Jesus Christ, the second Adam, in his righteousness touches all humanity. …
"The question is, Does the second Adam's righteousness embrace as many as does the first Adam's sin? Look closely. Without our consent at all, without our having anything to do with it, we were all included in the first Adam; we were there. All the human race were in the first Adam. What that first Adam, what that first man, did, meant us; it involved us. …
"Jesus Christ, the second man, took our sinful nature. He touched us 'in all points.' He became we and died the death. And so in him, and by that, every man that has ever lived upon the earth, and was involved with the first Adam, is involved in this, and will live again. There will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. Every soul shall live again by the second Adam, from the death that came by the first Adam. … Therefore, just as far as the first Adam reaches man, so far the second Adam reaches man. The first Adam brought man under the condemnation of sin, even unto death; so the second Adam's righteousness undoes that, and makes every man live again" (pp. 268, 269).
1896, Jan. 16, Ellen White, "To Brethren Who Occupy Responsible Positions" (Lt 6):
"On many occasions the Holy Spirit did work, but those who resisted the Spirit of God at Minneapolis were waiting for a chance to travel over the same ground again, because their spirit was the same. Afterward, when they had evidence heaped upon evidence, some were convicted, but those who were not softened and subdued by the Holy Spirit's working, put their own interpretation upon every manifestation of the grace of God, and they have lost much. They pronounced in their heart and soul and words that this manifestation of the Holy Spirit was fanaticism and delusion. They stood like a rock, the waves of mercy flowing upon and around them, but beaten back by their hard and wicked hearts, which resisted the Holy Spirit's working. Had this been received, it would have made them wise unto salvation; holier men, prepared to do the work of God with sanctified ability. But all the universe of heaven witnessed the disgraceful treatment of Jesus Christ, represented by the Holy Spirit. Had Christ been before them, they would have treated him in a manner similar to that in which the Jews treated Christ" (1888, pp. 1478, 1479, italics supplied).
1896, June 6, Ellen White [written from Australia] (Lt 96):
"An unwillingness to yield up preconceived opinions, and to accept this truth, lay at the foundation of a large share of the opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message through Brethren Waggoner and Jones. By exciting that opposition, Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost. The light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory was resisted, and by the action of our own brethren has been in a great degree kept away from the world" (1888, p. 1575 [1SM 234, 235]).
1897, Feb. 10, J. S. Washburn, letter to Ellen White:
"Brother Waggoner has been misrepresented and worked against in an underhanded way. … Brother Waggoner has been cruelly misrepresented and treated as a dangerous man who needed to be watched and suspicion cast upon about all he said or taught—I mean by the leaders. … I know that the doctrine which they and you teach is life and salvation to me" (Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis 1888, p. 302).
1902, Apr. 14, A. G. Daniells, letter to W.C. White:
"God has put his seal of approval upon the message that came at Minneapolis, and I can not understand how a man can proclaim his unbounded confidence in the Spirit of Prophecy, and reject the Minneapolis message" (Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis 1888, p. 321).
1904, Dec. 12, Ellen White, "A Call to Repentance"—Review and Herald:
"God says to his people to-day, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Will they heed the reproof? …
"Leaving the first love is represented as a spiritual fall. Many have fallen thus. In every church in our land, there is needed confession, repentance, and reconversion. The disappointment of Christ is beyond description. Unless those who have sinned speedily repent, the deceptions of the last days will overtake them. Some, though they do not realize it, are preparing to be overtaken. God calls for repentance without delay. So long have many trifled with salvation that their spiritual eyesight is dimmed, and they can not discern between light and darkness. Christ is humiliated in his people. …
"The message to the Laodicean church reveals our condition as a people" (RH 12-12-04).
1910, Jan. 21, A. G. Daniells, letter to W. C. White:
"Brother White, you and I know full well, that those brethren [Jones and Waggoner] brought light in the laws and covenants, and on righteousness by faith instead of works. The Spirit of Prophecy later endorsed some of the new views they presented. In Patriarchs and Prophets, we find the most positive statements regarding the new covenant, and they contradict the former teaching of our brethren on this subject. … All our leading brethren were absolutely wrong on the vital question regarding the new covenant. They took the position that it had no force and efficacy whatever until the death of Christ. Whereas, the Patriarchs and Prophets on page 370 and 371 tells us that the new covenant was made with Adam, repeated to Abraham, and ratified by the blood of Christ at his death" (Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis 1888, p. 325).
1926, A. G. Daniells, book authorized by the Ministerial Association Advisory Council, Des Moines, Iowa, October 22,1924, Christ Our Righteousness:
"How sad, how deeply regrettable, it is that this message of righteousness in Christ should, at the time of its coming, have met with opposition on the part of earnest, well-meaning men in the cause of God! The message has never been received, nor proclaimed, nor given free course as it should have been in order to convey to the church the measureless blessings that were wrapped within it" (Christ Our Righteousness, p. 63).
1931, C. McReynolds, a statement—"Experiences While at the General Conference in Minneapolis":
"I am sorry for any one who was at the Conference in Minneapolis in 1888 who does not recognize that there was opposition and rejection of the Message that the Lord sent to His people at that time. It is not too late yet to repent and receive a great blessing" (Manuscripts and Memories of Minneapolis 1888, p. 342).
CONCLUSION— "… Till the Very End of Probation?"
The foregoing some thirty citations are taken from several hundred in the historical account. It is a record that will remain in the archives of the Adventist church no matter what is done with it now or later, nor however much longer we are in this world. The time that stretched into years following the 1888 Minneapolis meeting did not lessen Ellen White's concern for what the Lord tried to do in sending His people a special message of light and truth. As time went on it only added to her pointed rebukes. Four years after the session she proclaimed her convictions: "One matter burdens my soul: … [the] continued resistance of light and truth … in the face of evidence piled upon evidence."
She had the terrible concern that modern Israel might be as blind as ancient Israel, and as she often did, compares them with "our brethren," our leadership: "I point them to the Jewish nation and ask, Must we leave our brethren to pass over the same path of blind resistance, till the very end of probation?"
The "end of probation" is supremely important in Seventh-day Adventist thinking. There is a terribly sobering inference in her question, "blind resistance, till the very end of probation?" She proffers a reply: "If ever a people needed true and faithful watchmen, who will not hold their peace, who will cry day and night, sounding the warnings God has given, it is Seventh-day Adventists" (1888, p. 1025).
Ellen White could not hold her peace, and repeatedly sounded "the warnings God has given." Nothing can nullify or take the place of her counsel or supersede the "message" of the "messengers." Today we are faced with accepting or rejecting her counsel as from the Lord, thereby deciding whether she was dealing with eternal realities. The responsibility resting upon the Primacy of the Gospel Committee is awesome—as the "very end of probation" is pending.
End of Section Six — The Sixth Paper — Compiled in January 2000
Primacy of the Gospel Committee • Final Meeting Pending at Loma Linda
February 8, 2000
See Appendix E for covering letter, January 10, 2000
*From Ellen White's letter written in Australia to the General Conference President, September 1,1892 (1888 Materials, pp. 1020-1032).
Read Section #7 — History Bears Witness
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