The “Shut Door” and Ellen White's Visions

Merlin D. Burt^{*Merlin D. Burt, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Adventist Research and the Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office at Andrews University.}1EGWLM 41

Among the earliest and most persistent criticisms of Ellen White is that she was connected to the shut-door teaching during the first years of her prophetic experience. From 1866 (with the first published critics on the shut door) to the present day, the legitimacy of her visions has been repeatedly challenged because of their apparent support of shut-door views after 1844.^{1B. F. Snook and William H. Brinkerhoff, The Visions of E. G. White, Not of God (Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Cedar Valley Times, 1866); H. E. Carver, Mrs. E. G. White's Claims to Divine Inspiration Examined (Marion, Iowa: published at the “Hope of Israel” Office, 1870); William Sheldon, The Visions and Theories of the Prophetess Ellen G. White in Conflict With the Bible (Buchanan, Mich.: W.A.C.P. Association, 1867); Miles Grant, The True Sabbath: Which Day Shall We Keep? An Examination of Mrs. Ellen White's Visions (Boston: Advent Christian Publication Society, 1874); A. C. Long, Comparison of the Early Writings of Mrs. White With Later Publications (Marion, Iowa: Advent and Sabbath Advocate, 1883); D. M. Canright, Seventh-day Adventism Renounced After an Experience of Twenty-eight Years: By a Prominent Minister and Writer of That Faith (Kalamazoo, Mich.: Kalamazoo Pub., 1888); idem, Life of Mrs. E. G. White, Seventh-day Adventist Prophet: Her False Claims Refuted; E. S. Ballenger, Facts About Seventh-day Adventists (Riverside, Calif.: E. S. Ballenger, c. 1949); Dale Ratzlaff, Cultic Doctrine of Seventh-day Adventists (Glendale, Ariz.: Life Assurance Ministries, 1996). Major treatment on the shut door includes: Merlin D. Burt, “The Historical Background, Interconnected Development, and Integration of the Doctrines of the Sanctuary, the Sabbath, and Ellen G. White's Role in Sabbatarian Adventism from 1844 to 1849”; P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, pp. 104-124; Herbert E. Douglass, Messenger of the Lord: The Prophetic Ministry of Ellen G. White, pp. 500-512, 549-569; Ingemar Lindén, 1844 and the Shut Door Problem; Francis D. Nichol, Ellen G. White and Her Critics, pp. 161-252; Robert W. Olson, “The ‘Shut Door’ Documents”; Rolf J. Poehler, “‘… And the Door Was Shut’: Seventh-day Adventists and the Shut-Door Doctrine in the Decade After the Great Disappointment.”}1EGWLM 41.1

The term shut door is a biblical expression taken from Matthew 25:10 and Revelation 3:7. It was used by Millerite Adventists to describe the end of human probation during a brief period just prior to the second coming of Jesus. It is important to remember that Ellen White's early experience is inseparably linked to the Millerite movement. Her first vision came in December 1844 as Millerite Adventists were divided over how to interpret the October 1844 disappointment. The majority, under Joshua V. Himes, concluded that the October date was incorrect. They looked for a future date to fulfill the time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. A minority of disappointed Millerites remained committed to the October 1844 date, concluding that the prophetic time period had been fulfilled.1EGWLM 41.2

All of the principal founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including Ellen White, eventually adopted the minority view. The minority group came to be known as shut-door Adventists because they based their initial explanation for the disappointment on the Matthew 25:1-13 parable of the Bridegroom, which they interpreted as a heavenly wedding. Consequently, they may be referred to as Bridegroom Adventists because their initial interpretation of Matthew 25 involved more than just the idea of a shut door.1EGWLM 41.3

Key to understanding this topic must be an examination of the progression of shut-door thinking from 1844 to 1852, with particular focus on the Bridegroom branch of the movement and those who became Sabbatarians. Helpful also is an examination of the progression of Ellen White's own understanding, and particularly the role her visions played in changing the meaning of the shut door. Such a study would be incomplete if it did not also briefly consider some implications concerning divine or special revelation in regard to Ellen White's visions and the shut door.1EGWLM 41.4