Introduction

The renowned writer and philosopher Mark Twain was once asked if he was bothered by those portions of the Bible that he did not understand. He replied, “No, the parts that bother me most are those I do understand!” A correct knowledge of the Bible is a problem to many people. But perhaps some, like the philosopher, understand more than they might wish they did.HPEGWW 1.1

To know what the Bible and the modern messenger are saying is important to every Seventh-day Adventist. We believe that we are a special people with a unique message for the world. This message includes acceptance of the prophetic gift in our midst. To reject or dissect that gift actually puts us in greater peril than if we had never heard of it. Ellen White once issued the following challenge:HPEGWW 1.2

God is either teaching His church, reproving their wrongs and strengthening their faith, or He is not. This work is of God, or it is not. God does nothing in partnership with Satan. My work for the past thirty years bears the stamp of God or the stamp of the enemy. There is no halfway work in the matter. The Testimonies are of the Spirit of God, or of the devil.—Testimonies for the Church 4:230.

It is clear that Ellen White saw no middle ground. Either she was speaking for God or she was not. She saw rejection of what she said as rejection of the Lord’s counsel.HPEGWW 1.3

One of the first problems that confronts us is that the more remote a writer is from those who read, the more need there is for rules of use to bridge the gap. This calls for what we formally term “hermeneutics,” a word from the Greek, meaning “to interpret, to explain.”HPEGWW 1.4

When we apply principles of hermeneutics in our study of the Bible and the writings of Ellen White, we need to ask such questions as: How do we correctly understand them? What are the principles by which they are to be read? What were the writers thinking about? Is there a context? What about cultural differences? Is the passage literal or mystical? Can the content be transferred to a contemporary situation? Do we need to understand it all before knowing the parts? Not all of these questions can be answered fully in this study. But we will especially focus on Ellen White’s understanding of what she has written, and also how we can understand it.HPEGWW 1.5