- A Word to the Reader
-
-
- Introduction
- Chapter 4—The Primacy of the Word
- Chapter 5—Experiences in Receiving the Visions
- Chapter 6—Glimpses of How the Light Came to Ellen White
- Chapter 7—Presenting the Divinely Revealed Message
- Chapter 8—The Question of Influence
-
-
-
-
- Introduction
-
-
-
- Chapter 15—A Running Account of Ellen G. White's Experience in Writing on the Life of Christ in 1876
-
-
-
-
- Introduction
-
- The Completeness of Christ's Humanity
- Christ Descended to the Level of Fallen Humanity
- Was Christ Capable of Yielding to Temptation?
- God Sent a Sinless Being to This World
- Man Created With Sinless Moral Nature
- Sickness of Others Carried Vicariously
- Christ's Sinlessness Disturbed Satan
- Our Fallen Human Nature Connected With Christ's Divinity
- Tempted as Children Today Are
- What the Incarnation Accomplishes
- Satan Declared That Man Could Not Keep God's Law
- Real Meaning of the Incarnation
-
- Introduction
-
-
- A Statement Presenting the Historical Backgrounds
- Precious Promises Versus Gloomy Pictures
- Ellen White's Appraisal on the Closing Day
- Two Excerpts From Minneapolis Sermons
- Three Months After Minneapolis
- The Reception in the Field of the Message of Righteousness by Faith
- Need for a Proper Concept of Righteousness by Faith
- Chapter 22—Emphasis on Salvation Theme—1890-1908
-
-
-
- Introduction
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Introduction
-
-
-
-
-
- Chapter 42—Renting Our Churches to Other Denominations
-
-
- Chapter 45—Balanced Counsel on Picture-making and Idolatry
-
-
-
- Chapter 49—Can All Have the Gift of Prophecy?
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Introduction
-
-
- Misleading Messages Will Be Accepted by Many
- Steadfastness, but No Defiance
- Backsliding SDA's Unite With Unbelievers
- A Science of the Devil
- The Time of Apostasy is Here
- Angels Will Hold Four Winds Until After Sealing
- Satan and his Angels Mingle With Apostates
- The Work of Independent Teachers
- Evil Angels in the Form of Believers Will Work in Our Ranks
- Apostasies That Will Surprise Us
- Apostates Will Use Hypnotism
- “Unify, Unify”
-
- The Trouble Ahead
- A Law of Nations That Will Cause Men to Violate God's Law
- The World in Rebellion
- Many Children Will Be Taken Away
- The Final Conflict Will Be Short but Terrible
- When Persecuted Flee to Another Place
- Martyrdom God's Means of Bringing Many Into Truth
- Christ Stands by the Side of Persecuted Saints
- Merchants and Princes Will Take Their Stand
- Every Human Being Will Be Either in Christ's Army or Satan's Army
- Christ Mingles in the Ranks in the Last Conflict
- Our Lives and the Final Preparation
- A Vivid View of Coming Events
-
Section 11—Last-Day Events
Introduction
With the focus of Adventism on the return of Christ, the climactic last-day events associated with His second coming have ever been a theme of major interest to Seventh-day Adventists. It could not be otherwise, for Seventh-day Adventism sprang from a religious milieu, the Millerite Movement, which stressed eschatological events—the resurrection, the last judgment, the punishment of sin and sinners.3SM 380.1
The visions given to Ellen White at the outset of her mission brought the importance of the Seventh-day Sabbath prominently into view as the testing truth, which in the last days would divide the inhabitants of the earth into two classes—those who obey God and will be eternally saved and those who reject His law and will be eternally lost. The attitude of the individual toward the Seventh-day Sabbath would be the determining factor.3SM 380.2
The closing events of this earth's history highlighted the little 219-page Great Controversy published in 1858, and were the crucial, climatic issue of the great controversy depictions in the books bearing that title issued in 1884, 1888, and 1911.3SM 380.3
How carefully Adventists have studied the closing chapters of this book, and have thrilled at the inspired picture of what is before the church and the world! With no abating of interest they have scrutinized all the published Ellen G. White writings for kindred statements that might throw some added light on coming events. In this section we present for the first time a number of heretofore unpublished eschatological statements, which help to round out the picture of the final events of earth's history.3SM 380.4
As Sunday law issues intensified in the late 1800's and agitation for a national Sunday law in the United States increased, Ellen White wrote perceptively of “The Impending Conflict” in Testimonies for the Church 5:711-718, discussing the significance of the issues then facing Seventh-day Adventists, declaring that the church was not ready for the issue, and conjecturing that God might yet, “in answer to the prayers of his people, hold in check the workings of those who are making void His law” (p. 714).3SM 381.1
As the laws calling for Sunday observance in certain of the Southern States were enforced and Adventists were arrested, imprisoned, and forced to labor in chain gangs for not observing these laws, the Sabbath-Sunday issue took on greater significance and came in for earnest study at the 1889 General Conference session. Carefully reviewing the principles involved, Ellen White counseled caution in any action that might be taken by the delegates.3SM 381.2
Agitation for Sunday legislation gradually waned, but in succeeding years Ellen White kept the issues of the final conflict before church leaders. Times might have changed, so far as actual persecution for Sabbath observance was concerned, but the issues and the principles involved remained the same. Since Ellen White's death further changes have taken place, but we believe that the same principles and the same issues will be revived in the coming conflict, present appearances to the contrary notwithstanding.3SM 381.3
The major portion of this section includes eschatological statements which frequently parallel the presentation given in The Great Controversy, but which just as often provide new details and new insights. These materials have been divided into three main areas, namely:3SM 381.4
1. Lessons from meeting the Sunday law crisis of the late 1880s and early 1890s.3SM 381.5
2. General counsels appropriate for a people approaching the end.3SM 381.6
3. Involvements of “the last great struggle,” with the Sabbath-Sunday issue as the crucial factor.3SM 382.1
The reader will note that, while Ellen White calls our attention to trying experiences ahead, which will doubtless include martyrdoms, and predicts apostasies in our ranks, she also forecasts large accessions to the church and gives encouraging assurance of heaven's sustaining grace to God's loyal people.3SM 382.2