The Great Visions of Ellen G. White Ellen G. White Copyright © 2018 Ellen G. White Estate, Inc. Information about this Book Overview This eBook is provided by the Ellen G. White Estate. It is included in the larger free Online Books collection on the Ellen G. White Estate Web site. About the Author Ellen G. White (1827-1915) is considered the most widely translated American author, her works having been published in more than 160 languages. She wrote more than 100,000 pages on a wide variety of spiritual and practical topics. Guided by the Holy Spirit, she exalted Jesus and pointed to the Scriptures as the basis of one’s faith. Further Links A Brief Biography of Ellen G. White About the Ellen G. White Estate End User License Agreement The viewing, printing or downloading of this book grants you only a limited, nonexclusive and nontransferable license for use solely by you for your own personal use. This license does not permit republication, distribution, assignment, sublicense, sale, preparation of derivative works, or other use. Any unauthorized use of this book terminates the license granted hereby. Further Information For more information about the author, publishers, or how you can support this service, please contact the Ellen G. White Estate at [email protected]. We are thankful for your interest and feedback and wish you God’s blessing as you read. i ii Roger W. Coon Foreword In December 1844, 17-year-old Ellen received a vision from God. It was the first of some 2,000 prophetic dreams and visions that would span the next 70 years of her life and form the basis for her personal testimonies, sermons, articles, and books. Roger W. Coon has selected 10 of Ellen White’s most significant visions and examines them in the greater light of their immediate historical context. The Great Visions of Ellen G. Whitewill: [U+2666] Build your confidence in God, His love for the church, and His special gift to His people. [U+2666] Illustrate how the process of inspiration worked in the life of Ellen White. [U+2666] Demonstrate how God used the Holy Spirit in Ad- ventism’s past to shape the growth and development of His church. [U+2666] Give you better understanding of the major doc- trines of the church and help you see the precise nature of Ellen White’s relationship and contribution to them. [U+2666] Help you grow in Christ and prepare for His coming. Roger W. Coon has served as an associate secretary of the Ellen G. White Estate since 1981. He is also an adjunct professor of prophetic guidance at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. Dr. Coon holds a Ph. D. in speech, with an emphasis in rhetoric and public address, from Michigan State University. He has served throughout the world as a preacher, pastor, evangelist, hospital chap- lain, foreign missionary, and author, but chiefly as an educator. He comes from a long line of preachers extending back more than 200 years into Scotland. He is the author of A Gift of Light, Ellen White and Vegetarian- ism, Heralds of New Light,and “Look a Little Higher.”Dr. Coon and his wife, Irene, live in Highland, Maryland. iv Acknowledgments “Pay each one his due,” the apostle Paul reminded the Christians of Rome nearly two millennia ago: “taxes to whom taxes are due; toll to whom toll is due; respect and honor to everyone who deserves them” (Romans 13:7, NAB). Such is not only an ethical Christian obligation, but a very special privilege as well, especially for writers. For as John Donne wrote in the seventeenth century, “no man is an island, entire of itself”: and as Tennyson had his character Ulysses confess in the nineteenth century, “I am a part of all that I have met.” Very rarely is a book the product of one man’s or of one woman’s creativity. Appreciation as well as credit is due especially to —the trustees of the Ellen G. White Estate, Inc., and more par- ticularly to its president and chairman, Kenneth H. Wood, and to the two executive secretaries whose tenure overlapped the development of the manuscript—Robert W. Olson and Paul A. Gordon—for providing both the time and encouragement for the development of this project. —fellow colleagues in the White Estate, who critically read various chapters in manuscript form, and who offered most helpful suggestions regarding potential sources and manuscript improve- ment. (Mistakes, errors, and evidence of poor reasoning or judgment should not, however, be chargeable to them!) —secretaries Dolores Wisbey, Lois Covarubbias, and Carol Pack, who worked their computer magic in word processing and formatting of materials for various successive reincarnations in print. —General Conference graphics designer Irv Heller, for his help- ful sketch illustrating Ellen White’s “platform” vision in chapter 3. —D. A. Delafield, who provided, in the pilot presentation of Testimony Countdown III, a splendid vehicle for field-testing ideas and materials in a live audience situation at the Takoma Park (Mary- v land) Seventh-day Adventist Church on 10 Wednesday evenings, January 16 through March 20, 1991. —printing craftsman Lee Belcher and his General Conference Duplication Services colleagues, who skillfully, promptly, and faith- fully prepared and printed the 10 chapters of this book week by week as individual audience handouts for those attending Testimony Countdown III over a period of nearly three months. —Raymond H. Woolsey, who took time from administrative responsibilities as vice president for book editorial at the Review and Herald to edit this manuscript. —and to my wife, Irene, who settled for less husband than was her due, during the long and lonely hours of writing, rewriting, and final editing, often between 2:00 and 6:00 a.m., during weekends, and over holidays. And so to all such, a hearty and fervent “Thank you!” Contents vii Contents Information about this Book . .i Foreword ............................................. iv Acknowledgments . .v Contents . vii How This Book Came to Be . xii Author’s Introduction . xii Chapter 1—The First Vision “The Path” December 1844 . xv Improbable Candidate for Prophet . xvii The First Vision Described . xviii God’s Purpose in 1844 . xix God’s Message Today . xx The Importance of Balance . xxi Conclusion . xxiii Notes and References . xxiv Chapter 2—The Randolph Vision “A Large Bible” Winter 1845-1846 . xxv Three Kinds of Problems . xxv Opposition of Sargent and Robbins . xxix Confrontation in Randolph . xxxi An Authentic Miracle . xxxiv Why Physical Phenomena? . xxxv Conclusion . xxxviii Notes and References . xxxix Chapter 3—The Heavenly Sanctuary Vision “The Reality” April 3, 1847 . xl A Significant Vision . xlii A Real Sanctuary . xliii Early Opposition . xlv Allegory Versus Reality . xlviii Conclusion . xlix Notes and References . .l Chapter 4—The “Rappings” And “Train Of Cars” Visions “The Menace” March 24, 1849/August 24, 1850 . li Birth of Modern Spiritualism . liii viii Contents ix Three Major Denominations . liv Vision of 1850 . lvii Further Counsel in 1854 . lix “Train of Cars” Metaphor . lx Spiritualism Today . lxi Ellen G. White’s “Spirit” Returns! . lxi Crowning Counterfeit . lxiii Conclusion . lxiv Notes and References . lxv Chapter 5—The Great Controversy Vision “The Theme” March 14, 1858 . lxvi Visit to Northwest Ohio . lxvii Adventism in Green Spring . lxix Problems at Gilboa . lxx Visit to Lovett’s Grove . lxxi The Curtain Lifted . lxxiii Return to Michigan . lxxv Satan Strikes in Jackson . lxxvii Book Title Chosen . lxxviii A Final Note . lxxix Notes and References . lxxx Chapter 6—The Civil War Vision “The Veil” January 12, 1861 .......................................... lxxxi A Spiritualist Discomfited . lxxxiii What the Prophet Saw . lxxxv Contemporary Public Opinion . lxxxvii Predictions Fulfilled . lxxxviii Second Civil War Vision . lxxxix An Incredible Revelation . xci Third Civil War Vision . xciii Role of Spiritualism . xciv Conclusion . xcvi Notes and References . xcvi Chapter 7—The Health Reform Vision “The Cure” June 6, 1863 .......................................... xcvii God’s Three Priorities . xcvii Background of the Vision . xcix Ten Categories of Counsel . .c x The Great Visions of Ellen G. White Contemporary Attitudes Toward Health . cvi A Unique Contribution . cix Scientific Corroboration . cx Conclusion . cxv Notes and References . cxv Chapter 8—The Nathaniel Davis Vision “The Exorcism” August 16, 1897 . cxvi A Recent Convert . cxviii The First Interview . cxx The Second Interview . cxxi An Amazing Experience . cxxiii Ellen White Appeals for Help . cxxv Daniells’ Visit With Davis . ..