Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2010 A Comparative Analysis of the Kingdom of God in the Writings of George Eldon Ladd and Ellen G. White Changyoung Lee Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Changyoung, "A Comparative Analysis of the Kingdom of God in the Writings of George Eldon Ladd and Ellen G. White" (2010). Dissertations. 81. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/81 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author’s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE WRITINGS OF GEORGE ELDON LADD AND ELLEN G. WHITE A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Changyoung Lee April 2010 ABSTRACT A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THEWRITINGS OF GEORGE ELDON LADD AND ELLEN G. WHITE by Changyoung Lee Adviser: Peter M. van Bemmelen ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE WRITINGS OF GEORGE ELDON LADD AND ELLEN G. WHITE Name of researcher: Changyoung Lee Name and degree of faculty adviser: Peter M. van Bemmelen, Th.D. Date completed: April 2010 Since Seventh-day Adventist eschatology is often perceived as seriously deviating from other Evangelical eschatological views, it would be desirable and fitting to discover whether significant agreement or disagreement exists between Evangelical eschatological views in regard to the Kingdom of God. The purpose of this study was to make an analytical comparison of the concept of the Kingdom of God in the writings of two representative Evangelical voices, George Eldon Ladd, a well-known Baptist theologian, and Ellen G. White, a significant Adventist writer, in order to understand the similarities and differences that exist between the concepts of the Kingdom of God in these two traditions and to provide useful theological insights for framing a systematic theology of the Kingdom of God that would be of interest to both the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the wider Evangelical community. For this study, inductive, analytical, and comparative methods are used. After the introduction (chapter 1), chapter 2 covers the historical background of both writers, focusing on their biographical sketches and the theologians and theological traditions that influenced them. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with their concepts of the Kingdom of God. Finally, chapter 5 provides an analytical comparison of both writers‘ concepts on the Kingdom of God and conclusions with recommendations for further study. Three major conclusions have been reached in this study. First, one of the major reasons for Ladd‘s and White‘s theological similarities is that they accept the Bible as the only authoritative interpreter, using a historical-biblical method, and rejecting non- biblical philosophical presuppositions about the nature of God, history and revelation. Second, one major reason for their theological differences is that they use different approaches to interpret the Bible. Their concepts of the Kingdom of God have been heavily influenced by their uses of biblical sources from which they collect the data for the subject. White interprets the Bible within the great controversy theme, with comprehensive uses of both the Old and New Testaments focused on the restoration of God‘s sovereignty through revealing both His love and justice before His subjects in the universe. Ladd accesses the Scriptures with a predominant emphasis on the New Testament, his special field of study. Finally, the fact that there are differences in their views of the Kingdom of God indicates White‘s unique position in the concept of the Kingdom of God and the difficulty of a precise classification of that position. This study also shows that White‘s understanding could provide better alternatives to Ladd‘s theological approach in spite of the weak points in her systematization. © Copyright by Changyoung Lee 2010 All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Background of the Study .............................................................................. 1 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................. 7 Statement of Purpose .................................................................................... 8 Justification for the Study ............................................................................. 8 Scope and Delimitations .............................................................................. 11 Methodology ................................................................................................ 12 2. HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF G. E. LADD AND E. G. WHITE ...................................................................... 13 Historical and Theological Backgrounds of G. E. Ladd ................................ 13 Historical Background ............................................................................ 13 Theological Background ......................................................................... 17 Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976) .......................................................... 18 Oscar Cullmann (1902-1999) ........................................................... 22 Historic Premillenialism ................................................................... 25 Salvation-History in Biblical-historical Orientation ......................... 28 G. E. Ladd‘s Contribution to Evangelical Christians ............................. 30 Historical and Theological Backgrounds of E. G. White ............................. 34 Historical Background ............................................................................ 34 Theological Background ......................................................................... 44 Protestant Reformation ..................................................................... 44 Wesleyan (Methodism) Influence ..................................................... 48 Millerite Movement ........................................................................... 50 Bible Study and Prophetic Visions ................................................... 53 E. G. White‘s Contribution to SDA Literature ........................................ 61 Summary …….............................................................................................. 64 3. THE CONCEPT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN G. E. LADD .................... 66 Definition of the Kingdom of God ................................................................ 67 The Meaning of the Term ―Kingdom‖ ..................................................... 67 iii What Is the Kingdom of God? ................................................................ 69 The Kingdom of God: Reign or Realm? ................................................. 72 The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven ................................. 74 The Kingdom of God, Not of Humanity .................................................. 74 The Kingdom of the Son of Man ............................................................. 75 The Kingdom of Satan ............................................................................. 75 Who Is Satan? .................................................................................... 75 What Does Satan Do? ........................................................................ 76 The Kingdom of Satan ..................................................................... 77 Conflict between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan .. 78 Dual Aspects of the Kingdom of God ........................................................... 79 The Kingdom Is Tomorrow .................................................................... 80 The Kingdom Is Today ........................................................................... 85 The Kingdom Present as Dynamic Power ........................................ 86 The Kingdom Present as the Divine Activity ................................... 87 The Kingdom Present as the New Age of Salvation ......................... 88 Kingdom as Future and Present .............................................................. 91 Nature and Character of the Kingdom .......................................................... 93 The Mystery of the Kingdom ................................................................. 94 The Mystery of the Kingdom in Parables in Mark 4 and Matt 13 .......... 96 The Mystery of the Kingdom in Other Parables