Investigating Ellen G. White #12: Prophetess at War

The Adventist Claim and Our Response

If you’ve been around Adventist circles long enough, alam mo na agad ang linya: “Ellen G. White was a prophet, chosen by God to lead the remnant church in the last days.” Laging may kasunod pa. “Her writings are inspired, just like the Bible.”

Pero kapag sinimulan mong i-investigate nang maayos ang historical records, letters, at mismong mga writings ni Ellen White, ibang-iba ang makikita mo. She wasn’t merely a “humble messenger”; she was also a woman constantly fighting not only her critics, but even the very truths she claimed to defend.

Let’s go back a bit. The Adventist movement didn’t start with Ellen. It began with William Miller, a Baptist preacher who predicted Jesus would return sometime between 1843–1844. His followers, later called “Millerites,” spread across America, holding revival meetings and warning people about “the coming of Christ.”

But not everyone was convinced. In fact, Protestants had four solid reasons to reject Miller’s movement:

1. Jesus Himself said no one would know the day or hour of His return (Matt. 25:13).

2. Time-setting was viewed as a device of the devil.

3. Many prophecies hadn’t been fulfilled yet (e.g., Matt. 24:14).

4. Miller violated sound rules of biblical interpretation in his so-called “15 Proofs.” [2]

And they were right. When October 22, 1844, passed with no “Second Coming,” history called it The Great Disappointment.

The Birth of a Prophetess

Enter Ellen Harmon, a young woman from Maine, frail, sickly, and emotionally fragile. After the Great Disappointment, she claimed to have received visions “from God,” explaining that the event didn’t fail; it was just misunderstood.

According to her, Christ did enter a new phase of His heavenly ministry in the Most Holy Place on that date. That single “revelation” gave birth to what we now know as Seventh-day Adventism.

But here’s the twist: several letters and testimonies show that even in her own day, church leaders questioned the nature and origin of her visions. One letter from Chesnut Street United Methodist Church (June 3, 1988) exposed how Ellen’s early “trances” resembled the manifestations common among spiritualists and mesmerists in the 19th century. [1]

Kaya nga, kung “divine revelation” talaga ito bakit ito kapareho ng mga occult phenomena na tinuligsa mismo ng Biblia (Deut. 18:10–12)?

Ellen White’s “Divine” Temper

Kung susundan mo ang mga records, makikita mong hindi lang vision ang madalas kay Ellen White  meron din siyang matinding galit sa mga kumokontra sa kanya.

In Early Writings, she claimed that her critics were “agents of Satan.” [3] Sa isa pang pahina, sinabi niya na ang mga nagdududa sa kanya ay “under the influence of demonic spirits.” [4]

Now, pause tayo rito. That’s not prophetic humility that’s cultic control. Ang tunay na prophet ay tumuturo palayo sa sarili at patungo kay Cristo. Pero si Ellen? Baliktad. Lahat ng kumalaban, “tinamaan ng demonyo.”

Hindi rin ito isolated. Sa Testimonies, Vol. 4, sinabi niya: “Those who oppose the testimonies are rebelling against God Himself.” [6] That’s a dangerous claim because if you question her, you’re supposedly questioning God.

Sounds familiar? That’s exactly how modern cults operate.

Prophetess at War

Ellen White didn’t just write; she fought. Hard. Against anyone who dared to disagree. In Early Writings (p. 274), she declared that the Lord showed her how “some were in rebellion against the light” because they resisted her writings. [7] Later, she even described visions of angels withdrawing from dissenters, leaving them to Satan’s power. [8]

Is this the spirit of Christ or the spirit of fear and manipulation?

In Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, she went further, saying that those who reject her visions are “grieving the Holy Spirit.” [9] Again, notice the shift from “rejecting Ellen” to “rejecting God.” That’s not prophecy; that’s self-preservation.

The Contradiction in Revelation 19 and 20

Ellen White’s confusion extended even to her eschatology. She claimed in one vision that the “saints will spend a thousand years in heaven” and that “Satan will reign on earth” during that period. [10]

Pero kung titignan mo ang Revelation 19–20 mismo, walang ganoong sequence. Christ’s return, judgment, and the millennium are all part of one redemptive event, hindi hiwa-hiwalay na cosmic episodes.

At sa totoo lang, this entire “heavenly millennium” idea wasn’t even unique. It mirrored ideas already circulating in the 19th-century visionary movement, a blend of Millerite disappointment and spiritualist mysticism. Ellen White was simply repackaging the culture’s religious imagination into something that sounded “prophetic.”

Her War Against the World

Si Ellen White ay hindi lang nakipag-away sa mga kritiko. She also went to war with the world itself.

In Youth Instructor (July 12, 1904), she warned young people that “Satan controls the amusements of the world.” [11] On one level, okay lang ‘yan may wisdom naman. Pero sa kanya, halos lahat ng earthly joy ay “sinful” even music, laughter, and recreation.

That’s legalism in prophetic clothes.

Kaya hindi nakapagtataka kung bakit napaka-grim ng culture sa loob ng Adventism. Sa Great Controversy, tinawag niya ang mga hindi Adventist churches na “fallen Babylon.” [12] Sa Prophets and Kings, ang mga tumatanggi sa Sabbath ay “under the mark of apostasy.” [13]

She was not preaching Christ crucified — she was preaching Adventism glorified.

The Great Irony

Ironically, habang si Ellen White ay nilalabanan daw ang “Roman apostasy,” marami sa kanyang theology ay borrowed straight from medieval Catholic concepts.

Ang mismong ideya ng “investigative judgment,” for example, ay parang version ng purgatory — a heavenly process to determine who’s worthy of salvation. And her authoritarian leadership style resembled the very papal structure she condemned.

According to church historians, the title “pope” originally came from the Latin papa (father) and was used for various bishops during the 2nd–4th centuries. It didn’t refer to a universal head until much later. The first medieval pope was Gregory the Great (590–604), but he actually rejected the title. His successor, Sabinian (606 AD), embraced it, solidifying the papal role. [16]

So, while Ellen White accused Rome of inventing doctrines, she herself invented one that paralleled their system a moral irony only history could laugh at.

Even Her Own Scholars Questioned Her

By the late 20th century, even Adventist scholars started re-evaluating Ellen White’s legacy. One of the most respected, Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, admitted through his studies that Sunday observance had strong apostolic roots, not pagan origin. [17]

Many Adventists accepted his findings. Pero syempre, the ultra-conservatives went berserk. They accused him of being “a Jesuit infiltrator.” (Yes, seriously.) Yet none of them ever produced evidence against him or refuted his data.

So, sino talaga ang “deceiver” dito, the one who exposed error, or the prophetess who built an empire on visions no one could verify?

Ellen White’s Contradictions Multiply

Even within her own writings, contradictions piled up. In Testimonies, Vol. 9, she both condemned the world for being “too focused on social reform” and yet urged her church to engage in “practical Christianity” by helping the poor. [18]

Parang gusto niyang maging prophetess of balance, pero nauwi sa prophetess of confusion.

Sa Early Writings (p. 32), she once saw a vision of a “path to heaven” that only those who followed her light could safely walk on. [14] Pero later in Daniel and the Revelation (Uriah Smith, p. 159), her associate painted a different prophetic map. [15] So which is it? God’s revelation or Ellen’s revision?

A Pastoral Appeal to Seek the True Christ

Mga kapatid, the real issue here isn’t Ellen White’s personality; it’s the authority she claimed. If her writings are placed beside Scripture, and we see confusion, fear, and self-defense instead of the Gospel of grace, then we must do what Paul did with Peter: rebuke falsehood in love (Gal. 2:11–14).

Jesus warned, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” (Matt. 7:15)

Ellen White may have worn the robe of a prophet, but her teachings bear the marks of bondage, not freedom. She fought the critics, the churches, and even her own people, yet she never fought her own pride.

And if the so-called “Spirit of Prophecy” produces division, deception, and fear, then that spirit is not from the Christ who said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

Mga kaibigan, if you are still inside Adventism and you’re feeling the weight of trying to live up to “the prophet’s light,” remember this: Jesus is the true Light (John 8:12). You don’t need a 19th-century prophetess to interpret Him for you.

You just need the Word of God — clear, sufficient, and finished.

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Notes

[1] Letter to Mr. Keith Moxon, Chesnut Street United Methodist Church, June 3, 1988, courtesy of Robert K. Sanders (http://www.TruthorFables.com).
[2] Four reasons Protestants opposed William Miller: (1) Matt. 25:13, (2) time-setting from the devil, (3) unfulfilled prophecies, (4) Miller’s misuse of biblical interpretation.
[3] Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 233.
[4] Ibid., p. 254.
[5] Ibid., p. 116.
[6] Ellen White, Testimonies, Vol. 4, p. 13.
[7] Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 274.
[8] Ibid., p. 282.
[9] Ellen White, Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 444.
[10] Ellen White, Historical Sketches, p. 156.
[11] Ellen White, Youth Instructor, July 12, 1904.
[12] Ellen White, Great Controversy, p. 604.
[13] Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, p. 512.
[14] Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 32.
[15] Uriah Smith, Daniel and the Revelation, p. 159.
[16] Earle Cairns, Christianity Through the Centuries (1981), discussion on papal history.
[17] Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, email to “Free Catholic Mailing List,” Feb. 8, 1997.
[18] Ellen White, Testimonies, Vol. 9, pp. 232, 238.

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