Clarifying Biblical Truth

Ellen White never claimed that her writings were to supersede the Bible. ^{7The Great Controversy, vii.} She saw that her “first duty” was “to present Bible principles” and if there was no “decided, conscientious reform” she would “appeal to them personally.” ^{8Letter 69, 1896, cited in Selected Messages 3:30.} In fact, her “Testimonies” would not have been needed “if you had made God’s Word your study with a desire to reach the Bible standard and attain Christian perfection.” ^{9Testimonies for the Church 5:665. See Selected Messages 3:29-33}MOL 170.6

Further, she never claimed infallibility, always emphasizing that “God alone is infallible.” ^{10Letter 10, 1895, cited in Selected Messages 1:37. See p. 376.} She was always open to the unfolding of truth. Progressive truth, for her, would not contradict previously revealed truths but expand it. ^{11“The truths of redemption are capable of constant development and expansion. Though old, they are ever new, constantly revealing to the seeker for truth a greater glory and a mightier power. In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new.... He who rejects or neglects the new, does not really possess the old.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 127, 128.}MOL 170.7

Correcting contemporary errors in Christian thought became an essential part of setting forth Biblical principles. Ellen White would say: “It has been given to me to correct specious errors and to specify what is truth.” ^{12Letter 117, 1910, cited in Selected Messages 3:32. “God has ... promised to give visions in the ‘last days’; not for a new rule of faith, but ... to correct those who err from Bible truth.” Selected Messages 3:29 “Besides the instruction in His Word, the Lord has given special testimonies to His people, not as a new revelation, but that He may set before us the plain lessons of His Word, that errors may be corrected, that the right way may be pointed out, that every soul may be without excuse.” Letter 63, 1893, cited in Testimonies for the Church 5:31. See also Early Writings, 78. The Review and Herald, August 5, 1893.}MOL 170.8

In her primary concern that the Bible be seen as the Christian’s only rule of faith and practice, she felt compelled to emphasize that, in some instances, what had been understood for centuries to be “Bible truth” might be merely “floating germs” and the “rubbish of error.” ^{13“Error could not stand alone, and soon would become extinct, if it did not fashion itself like a parasite upon the tree of truth. The traditions of men, like floating germs, attach themselves to the truth of God, and men regard them as part of the truth.... And as traditions pass on from age to age, they acquire a power over the human mind. But age does not make error truth.” Letter 43, 1895, cited in The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 5:1094.}MOL 171.1

In addition to correcting these “floating” theological germs that permeated conventional Christianity in the nineteenth century, she was shown that some basic Christian truths had lain dormant from the first century. These truths were to be recovered and placed within the larger framework of the “everlasting gospel” that was to be preached in its fullness at the end of time. ^{14“Great truths that have lain unheeded and unseen since the days of Pentecost are to shine from God’s Word in their native purity. To those who truly love God the Holy Spirit will reveal truths that have faded from the mind, and will also reveal truths that are entirely new.” The Review and Herald, August 17, 1897.
“As the end approaches, the testimonies of God’s servants will become more decided and more powerful, flashing the light of truth upon the systems of error and oppression that have so long held the supremacy. The Lord has sent messages for this time to establish Christianity upon an eternal basis, and all who believe present truth must stand, not in their own wisdom, but in God, and raise up the foundations of many generations.” Letter 1f, 1890, cited in Selected Messages 3:407.
“Gems of thought are to be gathered up and redeemed from their companionship with error; for by their misplacement in the association of error, the Author of truth has been dishonored. The precious gems of the righteousness of Christ, the truths of divine origin, are to be carefully searched out and placed in their proper setting, to shine with heavenly brilliancy amid the moral darkness of the world. Let the bright jewels of truth which God gave to man, to adorn and exalt His name, be carefully rescued from the rubbish of error, where they have been claimed by those who have been transgressors of the law, and have served the purpose of the great deceiver on account of their connection with error. Let the gems of divine light be reset in the framework of the gospel.” The Review and Herald, October 23, 1894, p. 1.
“If we do our very best to present the truth in its stirring character, crossing the opinions and ideas of others, it will be misinterpreted, misapplied, and misstated, to those who are entertaining error, in order to make it appear in an objectionable light. There are few to whom you bring the truth, who have not been drinking of the wine of Babylon. It is hard for them to comprehend the truth, therefore the necessity of teaching it as it is in Jesus.” The Review and Herald, June 3, 1890, p. 338.}MOL 171.2

Because of these self-perceptions as God’s messenger to assist in clarifying Biblical truth, Ellen White and her contemporaries understood that her counsel was on a higher level than that of other Bible students. Her involvement in the formation of Seventh-day Adventist doctrine was perceived as normative.MOL 171.3