Friday: Further Thought – Revelation and Inspiration
Daily Lesson for Friday 30th of October 2026
Ellen G. White on Revelation and Inspiration
Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White was divinely inspired. Her writings, life, and ministry meet the criteria of a true prophet. She possessed the same quality of inspiration as Bible prophets, though she never considered her writings to be the same as Scripture. On the contrary, Ellen G. White always uplifted the Bible. But how did she herself understand God’s prophetic revelations to her and the process of her inspiration?
First, Ellen G. White always considered the Bible as the authoritative and infallible revelation of God. The Bible reveals God’s truth and His plan of salvation for the fallen human race. In that process, as we are learning, He uses prophets to communicate His messages.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
Second, Ellen G. White recognized that the process of inspiration involved divine-human interaction. God communicated His messages, but then the prophet would convey the divine instruction using his or her own words. As Ellen G. White put it: “It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. . . . The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God.”—Selected Messages, book 1, p. 21.
In relation to visions and prophetic dreams, Ellen G. White understood “thought inspiration” as a union of divine revelation and human experience. She wrote, “ ‘The Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and the human.’ ”—Selected Messages, book 1, p. 25. God used many ways to produce an understanding of His message in the mind of His messenger. These included picture representations, words, and thoughts that engaged all the prophet’s senses. Ellen G. White’s experience was similar to that of Bible writers.
Third, Ellen G. White noted that not all of her human experiences and communications were inspired. “There are times when common things must be stated,” she advised, “common thoughts must occupy the mind, common letters must be written and information given that has passed from one to another of the workers. Such words, such information, are not given under the special inspiration of the Spirit of God.”—Selected Messages, book 1, p. 39. It is important to realize this distinction as we read and relate to her writings and experiences, particularly her correspondence and diaries.
Knowing Ellen G. White’s understanding of revelation and inspiration helps us avoid extremes and read her counsels prudently with understanding.
The source of revelation and inspiration to the prophets was of course the Holy Spirit. Think of how God used a frail and sickly young lady with only a third grade education, because of her infirmity. Yet she was given visions and dreams and would be used of God to further establish his last days church. It reveals how God chooses those he uses. He chooses those that are dependent upon and committed to him. This way God will get the praise and glory.
It is important to appreciate that revelation and inspiration underscore that God is the source of Scripture, while human beings are His chosen instruments and agents in communicating His message. Revelation remains God’s initiative to make His thoughts, character and will known to humanity. 2 Peter 1:21 says, “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” God did not simply dictate information; He communicated divine truths through human messengers, working through their individual personalities, backgrounds and writing styles. As Ellen G. White explains in The Great Controversy that the Bible’s truths are divinely inspired, even though they are expressed through human language and human agency.
Inspiration is therefore the process through which the Holy Spirit guided the biblical writers as they communicated God’s revealed messages in written form. Ellen G. White herself inspired captures this relationship by explaining that the Bible is an infallible authority written by inspired men, but it is not God’s mode of thought and expression; rather, God communicates through human agents consistent with 2 Timothy 3:16, which declares that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The writers were not passive instruments or mere secretaries; they were actively involved in expressing God’s message under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thus, revelation originates with God, inspiration guides its communication through human writers, and the resulting Scriptures bears the divine authority despite being expressed through human language.
Revelation and inspiration occurred in many different ways in biblical times. Some had direct communication with God, others had visions and dreams, still others felt inspired to write words and songs in their own words, inspired by the Holy Spirit. God used different kinds of people, and messaging techniques to communicate. We understand something of many of the biblical prophets. They were not perfect. In fact some of them would have had difficulty if seeking membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Yet, their messages have come through to us and we can learn and apply those messages to us.
God does not necessarily choose prophets based on their curriculum vitae. We need to remember that when we talk about revelation and inspiration when we discuss the work and role of Ellen White. There are essentially three reactions to Ellen White and her messages
There are some valuable lessons to learn from our history. Hopefully we will have time to examine some of them in the next few weeks.
Thank you Maurice for bringing up this issue and I have to confess it is a mystery to me. The following statement is an example of Ellen White agreeing with Bible verses on a particular subject and yet providing additional insight.
and
From the pen of Ellen White:
So my question is:
What are her detractors saying about statements like this? Did she make this up? Is she making mistakes with this extra Biblical information? Is she trying to make a name for herself? Where do they think she gets these thoughts?
“But when God said to His Son, “Let us make man in our image,” Satan was jealous of Jesus. He wished to be consulted concerning the formation of man, and because he was not, he was filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred. He desired to receive the highest honors in heaven next to God.”
Where do I find this in the Bible?
Charlie, the Bible does not specifically say that Satan wanted to be consulted about the creation of humanity. Genesis 1:26 gives the statement, “Let us make man in our image,” while Ellen White provides additional details concerning Satan’s reaction.
But that is an important distinction. A genuine prophet does not merely repeat what has already been written. Prophets may reveal additional information from God, provided it does not contradict Scripture. The biblical picture of Lucifer’s pride, jealousy, and desire for exaltation is found in Isaiah 14:12–14, Ezekiel 28:12–17, and Revelation 12:7–9.
Ellen White presented these additional details as revelation—“The Lord has shown me” and “I saw”—not simply as her interpretation of Genesis. Therefore, the question is not, “Where is every detail found in the Bible?” but “Is the claimed revelation consistent with the Bible and does it pass the biblical tests of a genuine prophet?”
I understand all that, the problem is these additional revelation get quoted as if they are from the Bible. I seen it more than once where a non SDA comes to church and hears these extra revelations and the response is always is my Bible does not say that and we can never get then to come back.
I think we would be wiser if we didn’t quote this extra information in our sermons. Our sermons should be based on the Bible. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong to quote Ellen White, but saying something like “One of my favorite authors perceived…” or whatever.
The information Ellen White adds to various Bible stories has value and can be a blessing. However, those details, in my opinion, are not crucial to understanding the story itself. If they were, God would have ensured they were in the Bible.
There is at least one significant factor as we relate to the writings of Ellen White. In fact it is mandatory to all of us as Christians. That fact is ; we have individually, the Divine mandate to scrutunise her writings and assess for ourselves weither or not they are supported by the sacred Scriptures. We hold it as self-evident that her writings are not on the same level as the Bible. This God-given right cannot be usurped by a religious organaization or views from the Seminary. Therefore we look forward to this Quarter’s Lesson for the tools of analysis; as we seek “to prove all things” and ” hold fast to that which is good.”
You wrote:
To “scrutinize” her writings, would mean to read them carefully. Correct?
And I agree 100%
Once we to read them carefully, we must either conclude that she was who she said she was – a messenger of God, or we must conclude that she was a liar and an impostor. She was one or the other.
You also wrote
Are there degrees of inspiration among genuinely inspired “messengers of God”?
Perhaps you mean this: Her writings cannot take the place of the Bible. We need to study our Bibles first and foremost because it is a collection of inspired writings that has been collected and tested by the people of God who came before us. It includes all we need for salvation.
But if God has been gracious to give us additional light, due to our dullness of understanding, are we not slighting His grace and mercy by not cherishing and walking by that light?
When Paul wrote, his writings had to be tested by the “Scriptures” that were written before he came on the scene. His writings could not take the place of the “Old Testament” inspired writers or of the first three gospels.
The principle I see is that God does not disagree with Himself. Thus the writings of all who claim to be inspired must be in harmony with recognized inspired writings that came before.
Inge, your comments about Paul and the Old Testament make me uneasy. They could easily appear to be saying that there is the potential to add to Scripture in the same way that the New Testament was added to the Old. However, I believe the canon is closed, and will be forever. If we are Protestants, we believe nothing, not church tradition, not a pope, not even Ellen White can stand between us and the Bible. It does have the highest authority. If we suggest otherwise, we definitely leave ourselves open to charges that we are like the Mormons with extra scriptures. We are also going against what Ellen White said herself.
As far as inspiration is concerned, there are not degrees of inspiration. You are right that a prophet is inspired or not, though that does not make them infallible. However, the degree of authority of a prophet does vary. The Bible has universal application and authority. Non-canonical prophets have more limited authority – centered on a particular place and time. In that sense there are levels of authority.
The best example I can use to explain this is that of laws. A country has many laws and all come from the authority of the government. However, criminal law is of much greater importance than parking bylaws. We instinctively know that. The parking laws do not lack authority, but were we to emphasize them to the degree of other laws, it would be insensible.
There is still value in Ellen White’s counsels, but because the focus of her ministry was on the developing Seventh-day Adventist church of the 1850s to the early 1900s, we do have to be careful in our application. Many things she said were applicable to particular people and situations. Some may apply now, but we have to be careful. For example I have often heard people quote “Publications are to be distributed like the leaves of autumn” to emphasize that we should be handing out paper tracts, magazines and so on. Should you suggest otherwise, you are accused of going against the prophetess. I suspect, however, that if Ellen White was here she would emphasize that her statement was meant to promote the principle of sharing the message widely and might actually encourage us using more digital means to share truth. I don’t think she would put it on the level of a universal scriptural truth. The principle is what matters; the statement itself is not an equal truth to say one of Jesus statements in the Sermon on the Mount.
Anyway, that’s my take on it.
Christina, I appreciate your input and agree with the principles you shared, except maybe the idea that Ellen White’s writings do not have worldwide application. We could, after all, say something similar about much of the writing of Moses and the historical books of the Bible. While the specifics of Mosaic laws applied to a particular time and place, the principles are still valid. I believe the same is true of Ellen White’s “testimonies.”
Your comment re Paul and the Old Testament leaves me puzzled. Weren’t believers supposed to test Paul’s messages against the recognized Scriptures? Paul himself commended the Bereans, who studied to check whether what he taught agreed with existing Scriptures. (Acts 17:11)
Note that the Bereans “received the word with eagerness” and then studied to check whether what he preached was right. I believe we should have the same approach to the writings of Ellen White. While the “testimonies” were specifically adapted to the early Adventist church, the principles apply directly today, and I think we need all the divine help available.
We are re-reading the Testimonies and are currently on Volume 4, and I am constantly amazed at the relevance of these messages today. I believe someone new to Ellen White’s writings should start with books like Steps to Christ, Christ’s Object Lessons, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, and the Conflict of the Ages series, but then there’s also a goldmine in the “testimonies.” I think these had the least input from her literary assistants, and I’m often surprised at the beauty of the language and the turns of phrase, even while the writing is very direct – stepping on my toes every now and then.
For me, there’s also this: Ellen White’s writings gave me a deeper appreciation of Scripture, and that’s exactly what God intended by giving her to our church.
Thank you all for your valuable input. But so far no one has attempted to answer these questions:
“What are her detractors saying about statements like this? Did she make this up? Is she making mistakes with this extra Biblical information? Is she trying to make a name for herself? Where do they think she gets these thoughts?”
I have not read any of her detractors writings.
Michael, I confess that years ago I was exposed to many points made by Ellen White’s detractors on a Seventh-day Adventist discussion forum that is now defunct.
These charges were new to me, and thus I had to do a lot of studying to maintain my faith. The studying was good for me, and it did more of that than of reading the criticism. But I do not recommend purposely reading what detractors of Ellen White have to say.
Our minds work like this: We are influenced by what we choose to focus on. When we choose to focus on the Word of God and His love, our faith will grow, and we will become more like Him. When we choose on detractors of the Bible, we train our minds to look for inconsistencies and things we cannot understand. That feeds doubt, diminishes faith, and eventually leads to agnosticism.
You see, the same arguments that people use against Ellen White’s writings can also be used against the Bible. I will give one example: She is accused of plagiarism because she read and used the writings of others to fill in historical details in her writings. We see the same practice in the Bible. That led to the book title, Luke, a Plagiarist? (I don’t remember the lesson writer touching on this.)
The bottom line is this: Feed your faith, and it will grow. Feed your doubt/skepticism, and it will grow.
Hi Inge, There was not an option to reply to your answer to my questions about Ellen White’s detractors so I am posting it here. Thank you for sharing your experience. As I alluded to in my original question, the evidence in favor of her divinely inspired ministry to me is so overwhelming that it is incomprehensible how people can deny it. To me it is like denying reality which is actually similar to denying the existence of God. Thank you again for sharing and I believe there is wisdom in your comment about what we focus on feeding our thinking.
I do think Ellen White’s writings can bless non-Adventists. We know Steps to Christ and the Desire of Ages certainly have. When I say they are specifically for our church, I am thinking more that it wouldn’t be appropriate for someone to try to use the book “Education” to reform the American school system, for example. I don’t think Ellen White intended her counsels to function that way. She was concerned about the fledgling church and having an education system that contributed to the mission. Of course, I’ve never heard of anyone trying to use that book in that way. It would probably only be a risk in a country with a high percentage of Seventh-day Adventists.
The Bereans did test Paul’s teachings against Scripture, though that would only be the Old Testament. None of the gospels had been written when Paul visited Berea. Jesus’ oral teachings may have been known – it’s hard to say how quickly they spread broadly to the Gentile world. The gospels and the New Testament epistles were really written simultaneously and in fact a number of Paul’s letters were written before any gospel had been written. So it would not be accurate that Paul’s letters were tested by the gospels or vice versa. I don’t think the authority of the New Testament books stand or fall on how they agree with other books. John is very different from the gospels that came before his with a very distinct focus, but we wouldn’t say that it was not authoritative for that reason.
Regardless, it was not the testing process that made any of the writings Scripture. God guided the church to determine which books would make up the New Testament. Some were accepted as authoritative earlier than others and there were likely books that were accepted for a time that eventually were not. We know some of Paul’s letters have been lost – if it was crucial they be part of Scripture, God would have ensured they be preserved. They were inspired, but today they are not part of scripture. As Christians, we have to trust God oversaw the process of determining the canon. He led in the formation of the New Testament just as He did with the Old Testament.
It is in that sense that I give the Bible the highest authority and agree with Steve that Ellen White’s writings are not on its level. This is not about inspiration but priority. Nothing else can have that priority.
Humans have a tendency to think that what comes later is better. “The Old Testament is inspired but the New Testament is better” say many evangelical Protestants.” The Bible is inspired but Ellen White is just as important” say some Seventh-day Adventists. In fact I heard a devotee of Ellen White (and yes, he’s employed by the church) actually say “The Bible is a sword, but in these times we need an bazooka”, suggesting that Ellen White’s writings were even more important than the Bible. But just as the evangelicals are wrong to throw out the OT, we are wrong when we try to elevate Ellen White’s writings to the level of the Bible. That’s what I believe and I will always question those who say otherwise.
Christina – I appreciate your sentiment not wanting to elevate any other writings above Scripture. On my long journey as a Christian since childhood, always seeking deeper Truth, looking to explore aspects of many different denominations to find it, I discovered only one constant – finding/discovering God’s Truth beyond denominational differences.
There is only one God and one Savior – His Son Jesus Christ. God’s Truth remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. When Truth is seen through the lens of individualized denominations, narrowing its ‘perception’ on differences instead on God’s simple, inspired, universal Truth – His Love for mankind – that ‘Faith and Love’ can devolve into a point of contention.
she was inspired by the Holy Spirit and we can trust the words as Spirit of Prophecy.
Another important thing to remember is that the prophets were God’s penmen, not God’s pen. It’s not like the Holy Spirit tapped them on the shoulder and told them to take a memo while it was dictated to them. So while the information was provided by the Holy Spirit, the message was recorded in the prophet’s own words. Automatic writing was not employed, for by doing so the mind of the prophet would be bypassed. God doesn’t bypass a person’s mind to convey a message, but works through it.
Satan will work in such sneaky ways of bypassing a person’s prefrontal lobe. Often through TM (transcendal meditation), hypnosis, or mind altering substances. This breaks down the mental barrier protecting a person from making wrong decisions or involuntarily accepting false information. Many cults have been theorized as originating from this method. Many rock music songwriters have admitted that “something” took over their hand and they started writing, not knowing what they were writing. They had in effect become the devil’s pen.
When the Holy Spirit uses a person to convey a message He uses and enhances their natural abilities, but He doesn’t dictate or bypass their ability to process and convey the message given. Inspiration works through the mind of the prophet, not their hand. Yes, God chooses and uses imperfect people because that is all that are available.
This lesson is very interesting and comprehensible. I understand how God uses our natural abilities to communicate his messages; versus the opposite, that alters our mind to contaminate us.
Balance is something that can be rare lately. Balance does not mean not taking principles seriously, but it means avoiding extremes.
In our reading of the companion book the Gift of Prophecy by Dr. Anna Galeniece, page 46.1 this week, we are wondering if there would be someone or two, who would be so kind as to give us a clearer understanding as it relates to true prophets, specifically the words vertical and horizontal receiving and sharing messages from God.