TEST #1: Prophecies Must be Fulfilled When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deut. 18:22) A prophet does not have to make predictions in order to be a prophet. A prophet is defined as somebody who interprets or passes on the will of a deity. (Encarta Dictionary) Typically, however, Biblical prophets do make predictions about future events. These predictions help to establish the claims and validity of a prophet because knowledge of future events surpasses human ability and resides in the domain of omnipotent power. Jeremiah writes that… ...when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him. (Jer. 28:9) When a prophet first arises, he may not be believed by the people at first, but when his predictions start coming to pass, then people begin to have faith and confidence in that prophet. However, any prophet can get lucky and make a guess about the future which, by chance, comes to pass. Therefore, the Bible places a much more stringent test upon the prophet. Moses told the people to keep a score card. If the prophets predictions come to pass, then keep on eye on him. If the prophet ever fails, even once, then ignore him. He is not a true prophet. Why? Because anyone can make a lucky guess but only God can get the future right every single time. This is what differentiates Gods prophets from all the other false prophets in the world. This is what sets them apart. This is how we can identify a true prophet of God. Gods prophets are correct about the future 100 percent of the time. It is that simple. Now, let us examine some of the predictions made by Ellen White. As soon as you begin analyzing Mrs. Whites predictions, something becomes immediately evident. Most of Mrs. Whites specific predictions were made early in her career, and virtually every single one of them failed to come to pass. The further she progressed in life, the less predictions she made, and if she did make a prediction, it was usually something vague and ambiguous, such as crime will worsen, cities will be more polluted, or the earth will become more and more corrupt. It appears that Mrs. White learned from her early failures, and was more careful in later predictions to make them obscure and ambiguous enough so that she could not be accused by her detractors of making false predictions. With that in mind, let us now examine some of the predictions she made. Remember to keep score because a true prophet of God will never make a false prediction, not even one. Prediction #1: Jesus will return in June, 1845 Lucinda Burdick and Ellen Harmon [White] were close friends during the mid-1840s. Mrs. Burdick, the wife of a pastor, had many opportunities to hear Mrs. Whites prophecies. (Can you trust Lucinda Burdick? Click here.) The following is Mrs. Burdicks eyewitness testimony of a prophecy Mrs. White made: During the year 1845 I met Miss Ellen G. Harmon several times at my uncles house in South Windham, Me. The first of these meetings was in the month of May, when I heard her declare that God had revealed to her that Jesus Christ would return to this earth in June, the next month. (Lucinda Burdick, notarized letter, published in Limboline) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! Ellen Harmon said God revealed to her that Jesus would come in June of 1845. This is a failed prophecy. Prediction #2: Jesus will return in September, 1845 Mrs. Burdick again testifies: During the haying season I again met her in company with James White at the same place, and heard my uncle ask her about the failure of the Lord to appear in June according to her visions. She replied that she had been told in the language of Canaan which she did not understand; but that she had since come to understand that Christ would return in September, at the second growth of grass instead of the first. (Ibid.) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! Did Christ return in September of 1845? Obviously not. Prediction #3: Whites to be Thrown in Prison in 1846 Mrs. Burdick again testifies of statements made by Ellen White in 1846: Once, when on their way to the eastern part of Maine, she saw that they would have great trouble with the wicked, be put in prison, etc. This they told in the churches as they passed through. When they came back, they said they had a glorious time. Friends asked if they had seen any trouble with the wicked, or prisons? They replied, None at all. People in all the churches soon began to get their eyes open, and came out decidedly against her visions (Ibid.) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! It is obvious that the very people she told her vision to thought she was describing an imminent imprisonment that would occur on their trip to the east. That is obvious from the facts that (1) the people specifically asked them about the imprisonment when they got back, and (2) when they found out there was no imprisonment, they came out decidedly against her visions. This failed prophecy was enough to convince the people in the Maine churches she was a false prophet, and it should be enough to convince us today! We could stop right here and know that, according to Deut. 18:22, we have nothing to fear from this prophet. She has proven to be wrong, thus indicating she does not speak for God. But let us be careful. The Bible warns us not to accept anything on the voice of just one eyewitness. Can Mrs. Burdicks story be corroborated in any way? Mrs. White made several statements about the imminent return of Christ in the 1840s and 1850s which would seem to validate Mrs. Burdicks statements. It does appear that in the early days of her career Mrs. White had a bad habit of predicting the return of Christ. So let us turn to the writings of Ellen White. Prediction #4: The Great Pestilence that Never Came In 1849, Mrs. White penned these memorable words: What we have seen and heard of the pestilence [of 1849], is but the beginning of what we shall see and hear. Soon the dead and dying will be all around us. (Present Truth, Sept. 1849). Pass or Fail? FAILURE! The pestilence she was describing turned out to be a local phenomenom, not a sign of the imminent end of the world. Not long after this prophecy was penned the pestilence ended and the United States entered a period of peace and prosperity that lasted for many years. She said soon the dead and dying will be all around us. What does soon mean? It has been nearly 160 years! She said the dead would be around us. That included her. She was saying the dead would be around her. This never happened in her lifetime. Another prophetic failure. Prediction #5: Jesus to come in months In 1850 Sister White tells us what her angel told her: My accompanying angel said, Time is almost finished. Get ready, get ready, get ready. . . . now time is almost finished. . . and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months. (Early Writings, pp. 64-67) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! The context of this statement is undeniable. New converts will have to learn the doctrines in a few months because now time is almost finished. The reduction in learning time is not because new converts are smarter than the older ones, nor is it because the Adventists developed an accelerated learning course. No, the context clearly states the reason they will have to learn quickly: time is almost finished. What is a reasonable definition of the phrase a few months? Three? Five? If your friend called you up and said, Ill be over to visit in a few months, when would you expect him? Three or four months, perhaps six at the most? Well, as of the end of 2006 it has been about one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two months since Mrs. White said only a few months remained! She was certainly saying there were not years or decades left, because she said that what earlier converts had learned in years, recent converts would have to learn in months. How can this failure be explained? Perhaps this is yet another case of her misunderstanding what her angel said. Perhaps her angel spoke in the language of Canaan again! Prediction #6: Some at 1856 Conference to see Jesus return Finally, Mrs. White concluded a 10-year string of failures predicting the return of Christ with a notorious statement that, unlike the previous failures, got widespread attention. She made this statement at a church conference in 1856 and it received notoriety because it was published in her Testimonies to the Church and many church members read it. Mrs. White describes her vision: I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus. Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 131 Pass or Fail? FAILURE! Everyone at this conference passed away generations ago. Not a single one was alive and upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus. After this prophecy utterly failed the church was in quandary as to what to do with this statement. It was finally decided to declare this to be a conditional prophecy even though there were no conditions stated or implied in the prophecy (unlike conditional Biblical prophecies which always had the conditions stated explicitly or implicitly in the passage--for a further discussion on conditional prophecy, click here). A review of Mrs. Whites 1856 statement indicates there are no conditions stated explicitly or even implied in the prophecy. Mrs. White simply says that some of those at the conference will be alive when Christ returns. There is no condition such as If you work hard, and give lots of offerings, then Christ will return... The prophecy was never understood as conditional during Mrs. Whites lifetime. It was only after the last person attending the conference died that the brethren were forced to come up with the explanation that the prophecy was conditional. Prediction #7: Earth to be depopulated soon Mrs. White continued her unbroken string of failed predictions in 1864 when she wrote: The human family was presented before me, enfeebled. Every generation has been growing weaker, and disease of every form visits the human race.... Satans power upon the human family increases. If the Lord should not soon come and destroy his power, the earth would soon be depopulated. Testimony #8, p.94, in Spiritual Gifts III-IV Pass or Fail? FAILURE! Again we find the word soon. In 1864 she said the earth would soon be depopulated. Did that happen soon after 1864? Well, by 1900 the earths population had soared to 1.6 billion people. Today there are over 6 billion. By 2050 there may be 25 billion people on the planet. Because of better nutrition, advances in medicine, and improved living conditions, each generation is living longer, healthier, stronger, and taller. Diseases which once ravaged mankind have been eliminated or rendered harmless by powerful medications. Sadly, all that Mrs. White could foresee in the future was darkness, disease, and death. Had she truly had divine foresight she would never have made this statement. Prediction #8: Slavery to Revive in the South Here is another infamous prediction made by Mrs. White: Slavery will again be revived in the Southern States; for the spirit of slavery still lives. Therefore it will not do for those who labor among the colored people to preach the truth as boldly and openly as they would be free to do in other places. Even Christ clothed His lessons in figures and parables to avoid the opposition of the Pharisees. (Spalding & Magan Collection, page 21 and 2 MR #153, page 300) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! Was slavery ever revived in the Southern United States? Of course not! Since the Civil War ended it has been a federal crime to engage in slavery. Since the end of the Civil War there have been a few criminal operations that engaged in slave-labor, but when they are discovered by authorities, they are shut down and the owners are jailed. Slavery was permanently abolished and it will never be revived again in the United States. Any person can choose to live and work any place they want to. Thanks be to God, slavery is dead and gone. This is another prophetic debacle. More on this subject--> Prediction #9: Slave Masters to Suffer Seven Last Plagues Here Mrs. White predicts that slave masters will experience the seven last plagues described in the book of Revelation: I saw that the slave master will have to answer for the soul of his slave whom he has kept in ignorance...the master must endure the seven last plagues and then come up in the second resurrection and suffer the second, most awful death. (Early Writings, p. 276) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! This prophecy was given in the context of the slavery then existing in the United States. We have calculated that the oldest slave masters in the United States died in the early 1900s, nearly 100 years ago! Prediction #10: Sick man to recover In 1873, the editor of the Swedish edition of Advent Herald, Mr. C. Carlstedt, had become seriously ill with Typhoid fever. Mrs. White and others were called to his bedside to pray for Carlstedt. On their way home from the prayer meeting, Mrs. White remarked that the Lord was... present with his restoring power, to raise Carlstedt, whose sickness was not unto death, but to the glory of the Son of God. (Charles Lee, Three Important Questions for Seventh-Day Adventists to Consider) Pass or Fail? FAILURE! Charles Lee, who at that time was a Seventh-day Adventist minister, was at the prayer meeting and was a witness to Mrs. Whites prediction. Sadly, Mrs. White was dead wrong. Carlstedt was dead within one week of her statement. A horrific failed prediction. Prediction #11: Rappings will increase Mrs. White claimed she saw in vision from God the rappings of the Fox Sisters and others would increase: I saw that soon it would be considered blasphemy to speak against the rapping, and that it would spread more and more, that Satans power would increase and some of his devoted followers would have power to work miracles and even to bring down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Early Writings, p. 59. Pass or Fail? FAILURE! This prophecy was a marked failure. Even though the Spiritualism movement increased in popularity for a short period during the mid-1800s, it eventually died down. The movement was already on the decline prior to the Fox sisters admission in 1888 that the rapping was faked, and after their deaths in the 1890s it continued to decline. Today, if you were to ask almost anyone about rapping they would think you were talking about a form of music, not a form of communicating with the dead. Rapping has completely vanished from the public awareness. We have seen no evidence it was ever considered blasphemy to speak against the rapping. The entire Spiritualist movement fizzled out in the 1920s after popular magician Harry Houdini exposed numerous popular mediums as fakes and frauds. For a more detailed discussion of Spiritualism, the Fox Sisters, and the modern New Age movement
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 14:09:23 +0000
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