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Believe His Prophets

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    Chapter 15—My Attitude on the Life and Work of Ellen G. White

    I wish to give you my own conception of the writings of Ellen G. White, and the philosophy that comes out of the writings as I see it today. Perhaps if I quote several texts of Scripture I can best explain my own personal reactions to the great mass of instruction. The first text is Daniel 7:18, which says:BHP 291.1

    “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.”BHP 291.2

    Now as I have read the Conflict of the Ages Series, and many of the other volumes, I have come to the conclusion that what Mrs. White wants me to do, above everything else, is to be one of the saints of the Most High. That seems to be her primary objective. Her appeal to me is to be among those who will stand before the throne of God, to be among the overcomers who will develop a character worthy of a place in God’s kingdom.BHP 291.3

    I put with that the twenty-second verse of the same chapter:BHP 292.1

    “Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”BHP 292.2

    The twenty-seventh verse says:BHP 292.3

    “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”BHP 292.4

    Four times in this chapter we have mention of the everlasting kingdom and the kind of people to whom the kingdom will be given. The fourteenth verse:BHP 292.5

    “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”BHP 292.6

    Reading through the Bible and the many volumes and articles prepared by Ellen G. White, I find there stands out in all of them the thought of the everlasting kingdom. This seems to be held before God’s people here in this world as the great objective, and in the seventh chapter of Daniel four times the thought is mentioned that this kingdom is to be given to the saints. Three times out of the four it is preceded by the thought of a judgment that must come before the second coming of Christ and the establishment of the kingdom. Therefore, God has set up a judgment by which He will determine who is ready to enter into His kingdom, and who shall be called “the saints of the most High.”BHP 292.7

    This sets before me personally my great objective, namely, the everlasting kingdom. It gives me the basis of judgment, the standard by which God will determine whether or not I am qualified to enter into that kingdom and spend eternity with Him. Put with it now the sixth chapter of Matthew, the thirty-third verse:BHP 293.1

    “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”BHP 293.2

    There is nothing more important to me as a Christian than the kingdom of God and the preparation necessary that I might be called one of the saints of God. It is first and primary in my life. Therefore, I allow the thought of the kingdom to take possession of me—my mind, my heart, my body. Everything is wrapped up in that one purpose—to be ready for the kingdom.BHP 293.3

    Now I put with that 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:BHP 293.4

    “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”BHP 293.5

    This text gives us a list of the people who will not be found in God’s kingdom. “And such were some” of us until we were washed, until we were sanctified or made whole, until we were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. It is this experience that every one of us must enjoy before we shall be qualified for a place in God’s kingdom.BHP 293.6

    He tells us again the kind of people who will not be there, and I suppose it must be important, for several times in the New Testament we have this list enumerated in order that we make no mistake. Here is Galatians 5:19-21:BHP 294.1

    “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”BHP 294.2

    The Bible sets before us the kind of men and women whom God does not want in His kingdom. It likewise sets before us the kind of men and women whom God does want in His kingdom:BHP 294.3

    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Verses 22-24).BHP 294.4

    So if you and I would cultivate these virtues, these characteristics, found in the kind of people that God wants in His kingdom, we must do it by crucifying the lusts of the flesh.BHP 294.5

    Something will have to come into our lives that will help us to appreciate the fact that the kingdom of God is all-important; then everything else will fade into insignificance. Nothing will I allow to stand between me and His kingdom. I must reach that place in my thinking in order that I may appreciate the writings of the Spirit of prophecy. They are designed to help me put the kingdom of God first, and to put out of my life all these other things that are not tolerated in His kingdom.BHP 295.1

    With that thought in mind I should like you to read one more passage, 2 Peter 3, beginning with the tenth verse:BHP 295.2

    “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”BHP 295.3

    My dear friends, when I completed my intensive study of this subject, the Spirit of prophecy, I stopped on that verse. It seems to me that if I can understand the meaning of that verse in relationship to all the Ellen G. White writings, there is nothing that I will hold back from God when He makes clear to me just what He expects of me in order that I may have a part in His kingdom. That becomes my duty and my pleasure.BHP 295.4

    This was the verse that appeared in the Washington Post at the time of the explosion of the first atom bomb, when a whole city was wiped out of existence, when buildings and material things seemed to disappear into nothingness. The artist who draws the cartoons for the Post drew a picture of the earth going into pieces, and in the background he wrote the words of this text, “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” It was a very impressive cartoon to appear on the front page of the Washington Post, and be placed in thousands and thousands of homes. It gave Seventh-day Adventist ministers a text for the sermon to be preached on the Sabbath following that terrible experience.BHP 296.1

    Recently I have had placed in my hand several confidential business service letters. They deal with the question of the atomic bomb and atomic power. Two paragraphs are sufficient to give me a reason for thinking more seriously about the kind of person I am today, and the kind of person I ought to be in order that I may have a place in God’s kingdom. President Eisenhower has voiced his fears and apprehensions for this old world of ours. His special message before the United Nations made it clear that there is only one alternative to peace, and that is man-made self-annihilation.BHP 296.2

    I want to emphasize what you already know: The people of the world today are greatly concerned over the atom. The future may be a golden age for the men who know how to control themselves, but you and I know that it is not to be golden until after there has been black and bleak destruction. When we think of these things, and try to keep them in mind, then we begin to understand the meaning and the significance of the writings of Ellen G. White. For they are designed to help us know where we are today in this world’s history, and the kind of men we ought to be in the light of the fact that we are living in the very last days. It is God who sends the messages to mold and fashion, to hew and shape us after the divine similitude and according to the heavenly pattern and standard. That, my friends, is what I should like to emphasize.BHP 297.1

    May I bring to you a few more of the interesting things contained in the writings? Since I have carefully and thoughtfully made my decision that nothing shall stand between me and God and His kingdom, far be it from me to allow tea or coffee or any article of diet to keep me out of the kingdom of heaven. That is what the writings of the servant of the Lord have come to mean to me.BHP 297.2

    When some of our people get all fussed up and terribly exercised about what they should eat and what they should not eat, I am constrained to think that they are still fighting a battle within, that they have not yet fully surrendered to the Lord Jesus, and that they have their eyes fixed on the wrong thing. If we understand the kingdom of heaven, if we understand the times in which we are living, if we understand the nearness of the end of time, if we understand what kind of men and women God wants in His kingdom, there is nothing that we will not sacrifice or give up in order that we may be that kind of men and women.BHP 298.1

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