Chapter 6—Vision Concerning Dependence Upon Ecstatic Experiences
In December, 1850, while at Paris, Maine, attending a conference where all present sensed the deep need of the outpouring of the Spirit of God, Ellen White was given a vision:CEESDAH 7.2
“We were united in praying last evening for the Spirit of the Lord to fall upon us. God heard our earnest cries. I was taken off in vision. I saw how great and holy God was. Said the angel, ‘Walk carefully before Him, for He is high and lifted up and the train of His glory fills the temple.’ I saw that everything in heaven was in perfect order.... [The matter deleted is unrelated to the present topic.]
“Said the angel, ‘Behold ye, and know how perfect, how beautiful the order in heaven; follow it.’ ...
“I saw that the exercises were in great danger of being adulterated, and their former opinion and knowledge governing in a measure their exercise, therefore implicit confidence could not be placed in these exercises. But if anyone was lost to everything around him, and he should be in the state that Paul was in, whether in the body or out of the body, he could not tell, and God communicate to him through His angels, there would be then no danger of mistake.
“I saw that we should strive at all times to be free from unhealthy and unnecessary excitement. I saw that there was great danger of leaving the word of God and resting down and trusting in exercises. I saw that God had moved by His Spirit upon your company in some of their exercises and their promptings; but I saw danger ahead....
“I saw that the burden of the message now was the truth. The Word of God should be strictly followed and held up to the people of God. And it would be beautiful and lovely if God’s people should be brought into a strait [place], to see the workings of God through exercises of visions.”—Manuscript 11, 1850.
The paragraph that follows reiterated the baleful effect of depending upon ecstatic experiences or exercises, especially when searching out sound doctrine:CEESDAH 7.3
“I saw in our conference meeting, some laid out the work that God was to give exercises, and rebels were to be purged out in the meeting. Then the honest, conscientious ones began to tremble. ‘I am afraid [that] I shall be purged out,’ and they take their minds from Jesus, and fix them upon themselves and others, and the meeting leaves them lower than it found them. I saw that we must try to lift our minds above self and have them dwell upon God, the high and lofty One.”—Ibid.
The significance of this vision given on December 24, 1850, cannot be overrated. It is a key document. The believers were praying for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, possibly hoping for some physically observed demonstration. The records of the time show an acceleration in ecstatic experiences.CEESDAH 7.4
Coming to the point, she was shown that in the ecstatic experiences (or exercises) there was grave danger of adulteration, the former opinion of the individual involved “governing in a measure their exercise.” This being the case, implicit confidence could not be placed in such experiences.CEESDAH 7.5
But there was one means of communication upon which dependence could be firmly grounded, and that was the visions that God gave to the prophets—here “there would be ... no danger or mistake.”CEESDAH 7.6
She was shown the possible negative effects of “unnecessary” excitement and that there was a grave danger of disregarding the Word of God and “trusting in exercises.” She was shown that there were genuine experiences in which there were charismatic exercises, but that there was danger ahead.CEESDAH 7.7
In this vision the Word of God was magnified. When God’s people found themselves in a difficult place He would give guidance and instruction through the visions.CEESDAH 7.8