[July 29, 1850, Oswego, New York]1 This is the date and place of the vision according to the title given in the source document. The date and place of this manuscript is not known, but it was probably written in Oswego, New York, within a few days of the vision.
“A Vision the Lord Gave Me in Oswego, July 29, 1850.” 1EGWLM 203.2
Portions of this manuscript are published in Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, pp. 10-13.
General exhortation; warnings against spiritualism; instruction on rebaptism; the cases of Richard Gorsline and R. R. Chapin. 1EGWLM 203.3
I saw some in Zion2 “Zion” here used in metaphorical sense to denote the people of God. Cf. Isa. 11:11, 12: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people. … And he shall … gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
Said the angel, Thou art upon the enchanted ground.4 An allusion to the allegorical “Enchanted Ground” found in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Of all the dangers awaiting Christian pilgrims on their journey, none are greater than those facing them in the Enchanted Ground, where the very air makes travelers drowsy, inviting a sleep from which there will be no awakening. See: John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, p. 209. The language of this paragraph seems to be a general reference to spiritualism. The “rappings” in the house of the Fox sisters in Hydesville, near Rochester, New York, had first started on March 31, 1848. See Ellen White's vision of March 24, 1849, for her earliest extant warning against the phenomenon (Ms 1, 1849 [Mar. 24]). It was not until November 1849, however, when the first public demonstrations of spirit contact took place in Corinthian Hall, Rochester, that spiritualism began to sweep the country “like a prairie fire.” This would harmonize well with Ellen White's statement here, some eight months later, that “the signs and mighty wonders of the devil have increased within a few months ten fold.” For one account of the rapid spread of spiritualism in 1849 and the early 1850s, see Paul Kurtz, The Transcendental Temptation, pp. 322-325.
I saw we must be daily rising and keep the ascendancy above the powers of darkness. I saw singing to the glory of God often drove the enemy away and shouting would beat him back and give us the victory.6 See: Appendix article “Ellen White and Religious Enthusiasm in Early Adventist Experience”; EGWEnc, s.v. “Ecstatic Experiences.” See also cautions in the vision of December 25, 1850 (Ms 11, 1850) against “unhealthy and unnecessary” excitement.
I was then pointed to Elijah. He was subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly. His faith endured the trial. Seven times he prayed before the Lord, and at last the cloud was seen. I saw we had doubted and wounded Jesus by our unbelief. God's people are rising, said the angel, never to fall again. Be careful said the angel, lest the branches be cut off and others are raised up in their stead. I saw some would bear fruit and work to the glory of God. I saw we must keep close to Jesus and fast and pray if we could not get the victory over the powers of darkness. 1EGWLM 204.2
I then saw Brother Gorsline [Richard Gorsline],7 Identity: Ellen White is probably referring to “R. Gorsline,” who is the only “Gorsline” mentioned in the Review during the period 1850-1863 for whom a first name is given. James White at a later date records that “Richard Gorsline” left a legacy to the church of $470.87. Census records for 1850 indicate a “Richard Gorsline” living in Oswego, New York, whose age corresponds with that found in Richard Gorsline's obituary in the Review. Taken together, these items indicate strongly that Ellen White is referring to Richard Gorsline of Oswego, New York. See: Search term “Gorsline” in Words of the Pioneers; Eld. James White, An Appeal to the Working Men and Women in the Ranks of Seventh-day Adventists, p. 52; 1850 U.S. Federal Census, “Richard Gorsline,” New York, Oswego, Oswego City, Ward 2, p. 170; obituary: “Richard Gorsline,” Review, July 19, 1864, p. 63.
Said the angel, Jesus’ work is almost finished in the sanctuary. It is no time to be stupid8 In the sense of “lethargic.” The loosing of the “four winds” (cf. Rev. 7:1) indicates the time when Christ's intercession has ceased, general probation has closed, and a “time of trouble” begins. “I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, then the seven last plagues will be poured out” (Ms 2, 1849 [Jan. 17]). See: EGWEnc, s.v. “Plagues, Seven Last,” “Time of Trouble.” See: EGWEnc, s.v. “Present Truth.”
Said the angel, Can ye stand in the battle in the day of the Lord? Ye need to be washed and live in newness of life. (Then I saw those whose hands are now engaged in making up the breach and are standing in the gaps11 An allusion to the theme of restoration and, in particular, the restoration of true Sabbath observance, found in Isaiah 58:12: “Thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” As early as 1846 Sabbatarian Adventists saw their task as that of restoring long-neglected truths, including the Sabbath, before the Second Advent. See: P. Gerard Damsteegt, Foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Message and Mission, pp. 138, 139, 250-253. Damsteegt notes that “the phrase ‘the Sabbath and the shut door’ was frequently used” at this time “to identify the specific theological position of Sabbatarian Adventists.” See also his discussion of the integration of Sabbath, shut door, and sanctuary in the visions of Ellen White after 1849. See: Ibid., pp. 153-155; introductory article “The ‘Shut Door’ and Ellen White's Visions”; EGWEnc, s.v. “Shut Door.” See: EGWEnc, s.v. “Baptism.”
Said the angel, Will ye sink and let others take the stars to your crown? I told the angel I could not endure to see any in Israel sinking. Thou Advocate, save the purchase of Thy blood. What more can we do for Thee? Oh, that we had more to give to the lovely Jesus; more to render to Him for His merciful kindness unto us. We will do anything, we will go anywhere, only lend us strength from the Sanctuary. 1EGWLM 205.3
The angel said, Some tried too hard to believe; faith is so simple ye look above it. Satan has deceived some and got them to looking at their own unworthiness. I saw they must look away from self to the worthiness of Jesus and throw themselves just as they are, needy and dependent and unworthy, upon His mercy and draw by faith, strength and nourishment from Him. 1EGWLM 206.1
Said the angel, The desolations of Zion are accomplished. I saw he took away the first and established the second, that is, those who were in the faith would become rebellious and be purged out and others who had not heard the Advent doctrine and rejected it would embrace the truth and take their places.14 It is of interest that the affirmation, some paragraphs earlier, of “the faith of the shut door and keeping the commandments of God” is followed by this recognition of accessions to the movement of those “who had not heard the Advent doctrine and rejected it.” This highlights the need for careful analysis of how Ellen White and others used the term “shut door.” See: Introductory article “The ‘Shut Door’ and Ellen White's Visions”; EGWEnc, s.v. “Shut Door.”
Said the angel, Will ye lack faith? Climb up; take hold; never let go of the promises of God, for they are sure. Ye have been discouraged too quick. 1EGWLM 206.3
I begged strength of the angel as I saw I must come back to this world. I covenanted to live unto God. I begged of the angel not to let me feel again the awful anguish of seeing some in Israel sinking. He said strength should be given me to endure all that God should lay upon me. 1EGWLM 206.4
I then saw Brother Chapin [Roderick R. Chapin]15 Identity: Although several persons with the surname “Chapin” appear in the Review during the 1850s, all seven mentions of “Chapin” for whom first names are given during the period before 1852 are of “R. R. Chapin.” Therefore it is likely that this is the person Ellen White is addressing. By 1854 R. R. Chapin had joined the oppositional “Messenger Party” and several of his letters appear in The Messenger of Truth signed “R. R. Chapin, Greece, New York.” The 1850 census for Greece lists his name as “Roderick Chapin.” See: Search term “Chapin” in Words of the Pioneers; Joseph Bates, “From Bro. Bates,” Review, Aug. 15, 1854, p. 6; R. R. Chapin, “Who Are the Remnant,” The Messenger of Truth, Oct. 19, 1854, p. 2; 1850 U.S. Federal Census, “Roderick Chapin,” New York, Monroe County, Greece, p. 153. There is no indication here or elsewhere of the nature of the “darkness” that R. R. Chapin had been involved in. It may be that Chapin's problems in 1850 were similar to those that led to his break with the movement in 1854, which included the rejection of Ellen White's visions. See: EGWEnc, s.v. “Messenger Party.”
This is written in haste. Excuse bad writing. 1EGWLM 207.1