By Robert K. Sanders [i]
Compare the deletions from the 1888 and the 1911 editions of The Great Controversy and see how adding one word changes the meaning and the theology of those that give authority to Ellen G. White's books.
Great Controversy Chapter, A Warning Rejected (1888 Edition)
...the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14 announces the fall of Babylon, must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the Judgment, it must be given in the last days, therefore it cannot refer to the Romish Church, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries. (Page 383)
Great Controversy Chapter, A Warning Rejected (1911 Edition)
...the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14 announces the fall of Babylon, must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the Judgment, it must be given in the last days, therefore it cannot refer to the Romish Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries. (Page 437 and Page 383 on the Centennial Edition, published in 1950.)
Note: In the 1888 edition, Ellen claimed that in Revelation 14 Babylon does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church. She applies Babylon to religious bodies—the Protestant churches. In the 1911 edition, she adds "alone," which changes the meaning to now include the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Protestant Churches. So when a Seventh-day Adventist teacher would teach that the Roman Catholic Church was Babylon from Revelation 14, he would be contradicting The Great Controversy, 1888 edition.
When Ellen changed her wording and added "alone" in the 1911 edition, the teacher would now be in harmony with Ellen. This is exactly what happened in the 1919 Bible Conference.
W. W. Prescott: No, but they did involve quite large details. For instance, before "Great Controversy" was revised, it was unorthodox on a certain point, but after it was revised, it was perfectly orthodox.
C. M. Sorenson: On what point?
W. W.Prescott: My interpretation was, and I taught for years in (The Protestant Magazine) and I taught it for years that Babylon stood for the great apostasy against God, which headed up in the papacy which included all minor forms, and that before we come to the end, they would all come under one. That was not the teaching of "Great Controversy." "Great Controversy," said that Babylon could not mean the Romish church, and had made it mean that largely and primarily. After the book was revised, although the whole argument remained the same, it said that it could not mean the Roman Church alone—just one word added.
F. M. Wilcox: That helped you out.
W. Prescott: Yes, but I told W. C. White I did not think anybody had any right to do that. And I did not believe anybody had any right to use it against me before or afterward. I simply went right on with my teaching.
More Great Controversy Deletions
Great Controversy 1888 edition, page 439:
"This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the establishment of the papacy, A. D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time when the papacy was abolished and the pope made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled,"....
Great Controversy 1911 edition, page 501:
"This period, as stated in preceding chapters, began with the establishment of the papacy, A. D. 538, and terminated in 1798. At that time the pope was made captive by the French army, the papal power received its deadly wound, and the prediction was fulfilled,"....
Note: In the 1888 edition, Mrs. White states that the "papacy was abolished" in 1798. This is untrue as the papacy has never been abolished. In the 1911 edition, the phrase about the papacy being abolished was removed. Also, both versions state that the papacy was terminated which is not true.
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