Chapter 5—Some Later Comments—1899 and 1901

“God had faithful witnesses to whom He committed the truth, and who preserved the Word of God. The manuscripts of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures have been preserved through the ages by a miracle of God.”—Letter 32, 1899.EGWCVB 5.5

“The Lord speaks to human beings in imperfect speech, in order that the degenerate senses, the dull, earthly perception of human beings may comprehend His words. Thus is shown God’s condescension. He meets fallen human beings where they are. The Bible, perfect as it is in its simplicity, does not answer to the great ideas of God, for infinite ideas cannot be perfectly embodied in finite vehicles of thought. Instead of the expressions of the Bible being exaggerated, as many people suppose, the strong expressions break down before the magnificence of the thought, though the divine penman selected the most expressive language through which to convey the truths of higher education. Sinful beings can only bear to look upon a shadow of the brightness of heaven’s glory.”—Lt 121, 1901 (Selected Messages 1:22). EGWCVB 5.6