Agreement With Prior Revelation

The teachings of the new prophet must not contradict that which was taught by older, established prophets. Each succeeding prophet must agree with the cumulative teachings of preceding prophets. However, there is an important distinction that must be made here: There is a difference between “new light” and contradiction with “old light.” New light is information that goes beyond that which was provided by earlier prophets, but does not contradict it.HONL 13.3

Several years ago an Adventist college student who was serving as a student missionary in Indonesia became disenchanted with Ellen White and her writings. Eventually he left the church. In a “Here I Stand” manifesto which he sent to his former associates in Southeast Asia, the young man cited as one of his reasons for abandoning Ellen White that she taught things that are not in the Bible.HONL 14.1

Of course she does! The New Testament writers provide information not found in the Old. This young man failed to recognize the significant distinction between extrabiblical teachings (information not explicitly found in Scripture) and antibiblical teachings (those that are contrary to what is taught in Scripture).HONL 14.2

A careful examination of the writings of Ellen white on the subject of “new light” suggests two points worth noting: (1) “new light” will continue to come to God’s people who are willing to study and search for truth; and (2) new light never disagrees with old light. If a new prophet never gave us anything beyond that which had already been revealed, then he would simply be restating old truths, and a non-prophet could do that just as well.HONL 14.3

Let it be said loud and clear that a number of the ideas that have floated around in Adventism during the past half dozen or so years, highly touted as “new light,” are neither “new” (they have been voiced by others over the years) nor are they “light”–unless, tragically, it was light that had gone out in darkness. See Matthew 6:23.HONL 14.4

Ellen White provides a wealth of illuminating extrabiblical material in her writings. It neither disagrees with or contradicts what the Bible teaches, but goes beyond it. And in going beyond, it illuminates and amplifies our understanding of what the Bible says. For example, in four very brief verses of Scripture (Matthew 27:51-53; Ephesians 4:8) we find eight facts that identify the persons whom Jesus raised to life subsequent to His own resurrection. A careful examination of half a dozen relevant passages in the Ellen White writings reveals an additional ten facts, none of which contradict Scripture, but all of which enlarge our understanding of just who those interesting persons really were.HONL 14.5

Indeed, when Mrs. White revised some of her books for presentation to the general public, she deleted certain extrabiblical details so that the reader would not be distracted by seeing unfamiliar material associated with the biblical narrative.HONL 15.1

Marian Davis, chief of Mrs. White’s literary assistants, wrote about this to Edson White in 1895:HONL 15.2

Since these books are sent out without explanation as to the authority by which the author speaks, it was thought best to avoid, as far as we could, statements for which the Bible seems to furnish no proof, or which to the ordinary reader appear to contradict the Bible. Better to give the reader what they will accept and profit by than to excite criticism and questioning that will lead them to discredit the whole.... Sister White says that Christ was twice crowned with thorns, but as the Bible mentions only the second crowning, it was thought best to omit the first, or rather to give the second instead of the first. ^{28Letter, Marian Davis to James Edson White, December 22, 1894, in Robert W. Olson’s, “How the Desire of Ages Was Written,” unpublished monograph (Washington, D.C.: Ellen G. White Estate, Inc., May 23, 1979), 30, 31.}

For the same reason, many statements such as “I saw,” “the angel said,” etc., which indicate that certain information was provided in a vision, were deleted from works prepared for a wider audience for the same reason: to avoid unnecessary distraction and controversy.HONL 15.3

Isaiah taught us how to distinguish between true “new light” and that which is mere counterfeit. “To the law and to the testimony,” he said, “if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20.HONL 16.1

The Hebrews divided the Old Testament into three divisions: (1) the Law (the first five books of Moses), (2) the Prophets (“testimony”), and (3) the sacred writings. Isaiah meant that if a new prophet teaches something that disagrees with the old established prophets, it is not new light; indeed it is no light.HONL 16.2

Jesus added the final postscript when He told Nicodemus that the ultimate condemnation was not that men were in moral and spiritual darkness. The condemnation was, rather, that when genuine light came along, men chose to remain in darkness rather than follow the light to truth and salvation. See John 3:19-21.HONL 16.3