Earlier text: PART TWO

Satan’s Plans Defeated.

In the sixth chapter of the second book of Kings is found a narration of an interesting incident; “The66 king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God [Elisha] sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.” Verses 8-10. It is evident from this account that Satan was working through the Syrians to destroy the Israelites, but the word of the Lord, by the prophet, exposed his Satanic work.

The character of the revelations given to Mrs. White has been, from the first, to warn the church of the devices and schemes of Satan, and to point out the way of escape from his wiles and snares. This has been apparent many times in the counsels and warnings sent to those in responsible places in the various institutions. From time to time words of caution have come, similar to this: If certain plans contemplated, or already entered upon, are carried out, it will be disastrous to the cause, and that such and such is a scheme of Satan’s suggesting. Then the proper course to pursue would be given, and, when followed, has saved the Lord’s servants from defeat, and His cause from disaster.

Dorchester Vision.

I call to mind a circumstance connected with Mrs. White’s first visit to Massachusetts, in the spring of 1845. She first met with the company67 in Dorchester in the spacious rooms of the home of Mr. Otis Nichols. A company of Adventist believers was in Boston, about seven miles from Dorchester, and a larger company was at Randolph, eight or nine miles in the opposite direction. Mr. Nichols was anxious that Miss Harmon (now Mrs. White) should have an opportunity to speak to each company. He met two of the leaders of the Boston company, Sargent and Robbins, who professed a great desire to hear Miss Harmon. Arrangements were made, and they promised to have the whole company together in Boston “the next sabbath” [Sunday] to hear her speak.

At family worship Saturday night Miss Harmon was shown in vision that there would be no meeting in Boston the next day; that the men who had expressed such a strong desire to hear her had made no appointment for her, but were going with their whole company to Randolph, and that she must go to that place, and meet both companies at the same time. It was also revealed to her that the Lord would manifest His power in their midst, and all present would have an opportunity to learn that the visions were of the Lord. Accordingly, she went early Sunday morning to Randolph, arriving just as the opening hymn was being sung. Great was the astonishment of that company when Mr. and Mrs. Nichols and Miss Harmon entered the room.

In the season of prayer, at the opening of the meeting, Miss Harmon was taken off in vision, while in a kneeling posture. Sargent and Robbins arose and declared her vision to be false, and from Satan, and said that if an open Bible were laid on her breast, it would at once bring her out of the vision.68 Mr. Thayer, the owner of the house, placed a large quarto, ten-pound Bible open upon her chest. Immediately after the Bible was laid upon her, she arose upon her feet, and walked into the middle of the room, with the Bible open upon her left hand, and lifted as high as she could reach, with her eyes steadily looking upward, and not upon the Bible. She continued for a long time to turn over the leaves with her other hand, and place her finger upon certain passages, and correctly utter their words with a solemn voice. Many present looked at the passages where her finger pointed, to see if she spoke them correctly; for her eyes at the same time were looking upward and not toward the book. She continued thus in vision all the afternoon until almost sunset,—over six hours,—the longest vision she has ever been known to have.

In exposing the schemes of Satan against the Lord’s work, this vision was in character like the one referred to above, in the days of Elisha and the king of Israel.

Prophetic Delineation of Character.

In the eighth chapter of Second Kings we find that the prophet “Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? So69 Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover; howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die. [By reference to verse 15 we see that he did not die of his disease, but Hazael killed his master.] And he [Elisha] settled his countenance steadfastly, until he [Hazael] was ashamed; and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and will dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.” Verses 7-13.

It seems from this record that Elisha had previously been shown in vision that Ben-hadad would be killed by one of his servants, who would then become king of Syria, and would do great evil to the children of Israel. After answering Hazael’s question about his master’s disease, the prophet gets a fair look at the countenance of this messenger, and, behold, he is the very one whom the Lord had shown him would be the future king of Syria.

Many are the instances witnessed by the writer, during70 the last forty-eight years, in which persons previously seen in vision have come before Mrs. White, persons whom she had never met face to face until she came into a public assembly where they were. She then would single them out from the audience, by describing their person or dress, and then give a delineation of their character, manner of life, etc., more clearly than their immediate friends and acquaintances could have done. This would be accompanied with kindly reproofs for the wrong-doers, or counsel for those needing it, or words of encouragement to those battling with the trials or discouragements of life.

Attention is called, in illustration of this, to a case connected with the first visit of Mrs. White to the state of Michigan, in the spring of 1853. Neither she nor her husband had ever been west of Buffalo, N. Y., until the day before their first meeting in Michigan, which was held in Tyrone, Livingston County. With scarcely an exception, all the believers in the state of Michigan were entire strangers to her. In this assembly she was taken off in vision, and was shown all the Seventh-day Adventists in the state, then about one hundred in number. In the view given her, testimonies were borne for some present, and for others who were in the state but not at the meeting. June 2, in Jackson, Mich., she wrote eight pages of foolscap paper, telling some of the things she had seen on this occasion. In this connection the writer is pleased to say that he has in his possession a written copy of this vision.

Among other cases described in that manuscript is71 the case of a woman who was trying to intrude herself among the believers. Mrs. White said the woman professed great holiness, that she had never met her, and had no knowledge of her, only what was shown to her in the Tyrone vision. This writing not only told of the woman’s mode of procedure, but what she would say when reproved. Mrs. White said, “She will put on a sanctimonious look, and say, ‘The Lord knows my heart.’” Mrs. White further said, “This woman is traveling about the country with a young man, while her husband, an old man [nearly twice as old as his wife], is at home, toiling with his hands to support them.” She said the Lord had shown her that “notwithstanding the woman’s pretension to holiness, she and the young man were guilty of violating the seventh commandment.”

From the Jackson meeting I was privileged to accompany Elder and Mrs. White to the other appointments of their four weeks’ visit in Michigan. I was a stranger in the state, but supposed we should see the woman at some of the meetings, as the appointments were so arranged that all our people in the state could attend some one of them. With the written document in my pocket, I watched with no ordinary interest, as we went from place to place, to see how this case would develop.

Developments at Vergennes, Michigan.

The appointments for the above meetings were in Jackson, Battle Creek, Bedford, Hastings, and Vergennes. The last-named place proved to be the one72 where the woman lived of whom Mrs. White had the view in the vision given at Tyrone. June 11 we drove forty miles to get to Vergennes. Our first meeting was to be held the next morning, two miles farther on from our lodging; and the woman described in the vision lived three miles still farther on.

At eleven o’clock, June 12, our meeting was opened. Mrs. White sat at the left end of the rostrum; I sat next to her; Elder M. E. Cornell sat next to me, and Elder White was at the right of the rostrum, speaking. After he had talked about fifteen minutes, an old man and a young man came in together, and sat down on the front seat, next to the rostrum. They were accompanied by a tall, slim, dark-complexioned woman, who took her seat near the door. As these persons came in, Mrs. White looked at them steadily for a minute or two, then raised her fan, and in a low whisper asked the writer if he noticed the persons who just came in. Said she: “Those are the ones the vision is about. When my husband closes his discourse, I will relate the vision, and you will see whether they are the ones.”

After a short discourse from Elder White, Mrs. White arose, and quoted the text, “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” She said it is not the Lord’s order to call a woman to travel about the country with any other man than her husband. Finally she said plainly: “That woman who sat down a short time ago near the door, claims that God has called her to preach. She is traveling with this young man who just sat down in front of the desk, while this old man—73 her husband, God pity him!—is toiling at home to earn money, which they are using to carry on their iniquity. She professes to be very holy—to be sanctified—but with all her pretensions to holiness, God has shown me that she and this young man are guilty of violating the seventh commandment.”

As Mrs. White bore her testimony, there was an anxious looking toward Mrs. ——, the woman reproved, to see how she received it, and what she would say. Had she been innocent of the charge against her, it would naturally be expected of her to rise up and deny the whole thing. If guilty, and grossly corrupt, she might be none too good to deny it all, even though she knew it to be true. Instead of this, she did just what the testimony said she would do when reproved: she slowly rose to her feet, while every eye in the house was fixed upon her, and, putting on a sanctimonious look, said, “The Lord knows my heart,” and sat down without saying another word. She had said just what the written testimony said she would say, and said it in the same manner. In the practical working of the gift of prophecy this case compares, in kind, with that of Hazael before Elisha.

We have now made a comparison of Mrs. White’s visions with fifteen points mentioned in the Bible respecting the visions of God’s prophets and their practical working, and conclude that as “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets,” and as “like causes produce like results,” the results manifested in this case are a substantial proof that these visions are from the Spirit of the Lord, and are a token of the74 Lord’s care for the remnant church, which He is gathering out of the world in these last days.

Rules for Discerning True Prophets.

The prophet Isaiah, in speaking of the situation of affairs existing in the last days, says: “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples. And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him. . . . And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? to the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8: 16-20.

In this scripture attention is called to a people engaged in restoring the seal to God’s law—a people who are waiting upon the Lord, engaged in His service. They are looking for Him; that is, they are looking for His coming—this, too, in a time when spirits, professing to be spirits of the dead, are asking the people to seek to them. Some heed their call, and seek to the dead for knowledge; but the Lord invites His people to seek Him. That is virtually saying that if they seek to Him He will give them special instruction. They need not seek to the dead, who can give them no information; for “neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun;” and “the dead know not anything.” Eccl. 9: 6, 5.

Rule One.

In the above scripture a rule is given by which all communications are to be tested,—“If they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.” All communications from the Lord will speak in harmony with His Word and His law.

Applying this rule to the writings of Mrs. White, I would say that during the last forty-eight years I have carefully read her Testimonies, comparing them with the law of God and the testimony of the Bible, and I find the most perfect harmony between the two. Her instructions do not come in to give any new revelation to take the place of the Scripture, but rather to show us where and how, in these times, people are liable to be led astray, to be led from the Word. The position that the Testimonies of Mrs. White occupy can be best told in what she herself has written respecting them:—

“The Word of God is sufficient to enlighten the most beclouded mind, and may be understood by those who have any desire to understand it. But, notwithstanding all this, some who profess to make the Word of God their study are found living in direct opposition to its plainest teachings. Then, to leave men and women without excuse, God gives plain and pointed Testimonies, bringing them back to the Word that they have neglected to follow.

“The Word of God abounds in general principles for the formation of correct habits of living, and the Testimonies, general and personal, have been calculated to call their attention more especially to these76 principles. . . . You are not familiar with the Scriptures. If you had made God’s Word your study, with a desire to reach the Bible standard and attain to Christian perfection, you would not have needed the Testimonies. . . .

“The Lord designs to warn you, to reprove, to counsel, through the Testimonies given, and to impress your minds with the importance of the truth of His Word. The written Testimonies are not to give new light, but to impress vividly upon the heart the truths of inspiration already revealed. . . . Additional truth is not brought out, but God has, through the Testimonies, simplified the great truths already given, and in His own chosen way brought them before the people, to awaken and impress the mind with them, that all may be without excuse. . . .

“The Testimonies are not to belittle the Word of God, but to exalt it, and to attract minds to it, that the beautiful simplicity of truth may impress all. . . . If the people who now profess to be God’s peculiar treasure would obey His requirements, as specified in His Word, special Testimonies would not be given to awaken them to their duty, and impress upon them their sinfulness and their fearful danger in neglecting to obey the Word of God.”—Testimony for the Church No. 33, pp. 191-195.

Rule Two.—True Prophets.

In His Word the Lord has given explicit rules by which true prophets may be known. We have already learned that all true prophets will speak in harmony77 with the law of God and the testimony of His Word. By looking at the testimony of the apostle John, we find another rule describing the teaching of true prophets. He says: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1 John 4: 1-3.

Note carefully the foregoing scripture. It does not say that whosoever confesseth that Jesus Christ “did come in the flesh,” but “IS COME IN THE FLESH;” that is, that He comes, by His Spirit, and dwells IN US, in response to our faith. This, in fact, is the central truth of the gospel, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Eph. 3: 17; Col. 1: 27.

The practical theme found in all the writings of Mrs. White is the necessity of Christ as an indwelling Saviour if we would make any advancement in the heavenly way. Her writings teach the necessity of Christ first, last, and ALL the time. As an illustration of this fact, attention is called to her book, “Steps to Christ,” of which more than one hundred thousand copies have been sold in the English language, to say nothing of the thousands of copies in the eighteen foreign languages in which it is now printed. A Presbyterian minister having read the book, ordered over78 three hundred copies for his church-members and friends, and said, “This book was written by some one who is well acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rule Three,—False Prophets.

John gives a rule for detecting false prophets, which we designate as rule three. Speaking of the false prophets, the apostle says, “They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” 1 John 4:5. This shows that the teaching of false prophets will pander to the carnal heart, instead of exalting the self-denying and cross-bearing way. False prophets will teach “smooth things,” instead of exalting the “holy One of Israel.” Isa. 30:10, 11. Any one who reads even a few pages of Mrs. White’s writing can see that they are in the line of self-denial and cross-bearing, not of a nature to please a worldly, carnal heart.

Rule Four.

In tracing this subject still further, we will take, as a fourth rule, the words of the apostle James: “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.” James 5:10. When we read of the experiences of those ancient prophets, we learn that one of the greatest of their trials was to see Israel reject, or go contrary to, the plain testimonies borne to them. A brief study of those times will show at once the character of both true and false prophets. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Harken not unto the79 words of the prophets that prophesy unto you; they make you vain; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.” Jer. 23: 16.

There is nothing in the writings of Mrs. White to make the reader vain; but, as expressed by another, “I have received great spiritual benefit times without number from the Testimonies. Indeed, I never read them without feeling reproved for my lack of faith in God, lack of devotion, and lack of earnestness in saving souls.” Surely, then, the effect of Mrs. White’s Testimonies is vastly different from that of the teachings of false prophets, as described by Jeremiah.

The prophet tells us also how false prophets will teach: “They say still unto them that despise Me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.” Verse 17.

As to the nature of Mrs. White’s teachings in her Testimonies, I will quote the following words from a careful reader: “I have read all her Testimonies through and through, most of them many times, and I have never been able to find one immoral sentence in the whole of them, or anything that is not strictly pure and Christian; nothing that leads any one from the Bible or from Christ; but there I find the most earnest appeals to obey God, to love Jesus, to believe the Scriptures, and to search them constantly. Such nearness to God, such earnest devotion, such solemn appeals to live a holy life, can only be prompted by the Spirit of God.”

True and False Prophets Compared.

When considering the character of the Lord’s prophets in ancient times, the trait of faithfulness in reproving sins, even when surrounded with a vastly superior number of false prophets, is particularly noticeable. Their testimony is not withheld from those high in authority; even kings were not exempt from reproof, as is seen in the case of Elijah before Ahab.

Because of Israel’s departure from the true worship of God, the Lord brought famine upon the land. In response to Elijah’s petition, rain for the space of three years and six months had been withheld. Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.” And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab.” “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18: 1, 2, 17, 18.

Here we see that this true prophet of God was regarded as the one who had brought this trouble on the kingdom of Israel. Because he sought to correct the flagrant transgressions of Israel, and to arouse them to a sense of their sinfulness, they called him the troubler of Israel. In this account is seen the faithfulness of the prophet in reproving sins—in telling even the king of his wrongs, although for so doing the king might issue an edict causing him to be slain.

Again, in the twenty-first chapter, when, through the conniving of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, Naboth had been slain, and Ahab had gone down to take possession of his vineyard, “the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee; because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.” Verses 17-20. Here we see that the king regarded the prophet of God as his enemy, when in truth he was his best friend. Elijah was only seeking the king’s good by kindly, yet faithfully, and at the risk of his own life, pointing out his errors.

In like manner those reproved through the Lord’s Testimony given by Mrs. White have sometimes regarded her as their enemy because she plainly told them of their faults and dangers. In the words of a careful observer of her Testimonies from the first, we read: “In the matter of plain and faithful dealing, without fear or favor, I desire to bear witness that there has been no lack. If base and evil motives were the controlling power in this work, flattering words would fill the place of searching testimonies and faithful82 reproofs. Plainness of speech, faithful reproofs for wrong, words of compassion and encouragement for trembling souls who feel their need of the Saviour, and for the erring who seek in humility to put away their faults,—these are the things that have entered largely into her labors. The testimony of Mrs. White, reproving wrongs in the case of many persons whom she had seen in vision, has been borne with great faithfulness, and with the most excellent effect.”*

A striking instance of the course of the true and the false prophets is recorded in the twenty-second chapter of 1 Kings. Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were about to engage in a warfare against the king of Syria. In response to the king of Judah’s request that they inquire of the Lord, Ahab had four hundred false prophets brought in. Their testimony was full of flattery, boasting as if the victory were already gained. In response to Jehoshaphat’s inquiry whether there was another prophet, Ahab said, “There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.”

When Micaiah came in, he faithfully, yet kindly, told the king the fate of himself and his army, although knowing well he subjected his own life to the wrath of the king, and indeed the king gave immediate command to an officer concerning him: “Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction83 and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Harken, O people, every one of you.” Verses 27, 28.

Often has the writer heard Mrs. White advise persons as to what they would do, and they would protest that they never would do it. She would say, “If you do it not, the Lord has not spoken by me.” Notwithstanding their protest, they did do, at last, the thing they had solemnly declared they would never do.

Rule Five.—True Prophecies Are Fulfilled.

There is a statement made by Moses relative to the true and to the false prophets, found in the eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, which, in our consideration of rules for discerning true and false prophets, may be designated as rule five. He says: “And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? when a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Verses 21, 22.

The same thing is also found in the following scriptures: “Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?” Lam. 3:37. Of the prophet Samuel it was said, “All that he saith cometh surely to pass.” 1 Sam. 9:6. “When the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.”84 Jer. 28:9. Our Saviour said of His predictions: “I speak not of you all; I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, he that eateth bread with Me hath lifted up his heel against Me. Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am He.” John 13:18, 19. These scriptures, and others of similar nature, might be quoted to show that when the time comes for an event to take place which has been mentioned by a true prophet, the very thing predicted is there; and such fulfilment is one of the strong proofs that he is a true prophet of God.

It is now over forty-eight years since the writer first saw Mrs. E. G. White in prophetic vision. During these years many prophetic statements have been made by her relative to things that would take place. Some of these predictions relate to events already fulfilled, and some are in process of fulfilment, while others are still future. As to those relating to the past or present events, I know not of a single instance of failure.

Before noticing some of the predictions made during these forty-eight years, it may be well to note some that were made previously, which were in print in 1852.

Before me lies a book published by Joseph Bates, in January, 1849, entitled, “A Seal of the Living God.” In the book is an account of a vision given to Mrs. White in the home of Otis Nichols, Dorchester, Mass., on the evening of Nov. 18, 1848. At that time there was a condition of war, rioting, and confusion, which85 began on the 22d of February of that year, in the city of Paris, France, and had spread to over thirty of the principalities, states, and governments of Europe. Modern Spiritualism began its “rappings” at Hydesville, New York, about the same time that the stir among the nations began. The First-day Adventists claimed that this stir among the nations was the rally to the battle of the great day of the Lord, and that the “rapping spirits” were the spirits of devils going forth to gather the nations, as predicted in Rev. 16: 14, and that the Lord was immediately coming.

At that time the few who had begun to observe the seventh-day Sabbath had just discovered, from the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation, a “sealing message,” which must go forth to prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord. These few said, “The last great battle can not come yet; for here is a sealing work to prepare a people to stand in that great day.” Mr. and Mrs. White and Mr. Bates were the three public laborers who were then teaching the Sabbath truth and the “sealing message.” They, with the few who had already accepted the message, were among the very poor of the world.

On the evening already mentioned, these laborers and other brethren met at Otis Nichols’ home, to pray the Lord to guide them in publishing the “sealing message” to the world. As they prayed, Mrs. White was taken off in vision. While in vision, she said of the Sabbath truth: “It is the seal! That truth arises, and is on the increase, stronger and stronger. It is coming up! It arises, commencing from the rising of86 the sun. Like the sun, at first cold, it grows warmer and sends its rays. The angels are holding the four winds. It is God that restrains the powers. The angels have not let go; for the saints are not all sealed. When Michael stands up, this trouble will be all over the earth. They [the winds of war, etc.] are just ready to blow. There is a check put on because the saints are not sealed. Yea, publish the things thou hast seen and heard, and the blessing of God will attend.”

At the time that vision was given, it did really look as if the nations of the world would soon be in a “whirlwind” of war. Of the situation, United States Senator Choate said: “It has seemed to me as if the prerogatives of crowns, and the rights of men, and the hoarded-up resentments of a thousand years, were about to unsheathe the sword for a conflict in which blood shall flow, as in apocalyptic vision, ‘to the bridles of the horses.’”

In a few months the nations were all quiet again; but this change came on so unexpectedly that Horace Greeley, in speaking of it in the New York Tribune, said, “It was a great wonder to politicians what started all that turmoil of the nations, but a greater wonder still what stopped it all so suddenly.”

After coming out of the vision already spoken of, Mrs. White said to her husband: “I saw that you must begin to print a paper, small at first; but as you send it out to the people, they will read it, and will send you money with which to print it. It will be a success from the first. From that small beginning it [the87 publishing work] was shown to me as streams of light that went around the entire world.”

The few believers had faith in that prediction, but were without money to begin the work. Many prayers were offered to God to open the way. In June, 1849, the way opened, Mr. White having opportunity to mow forty acres of grass with a hand-scythe. With the money thus obtained, in July, 1849, he printed the first number of a small paper entitled Present Truth. During 1849-50 eleven numbers of this paper were printed. In No. 5 we read this statement, which was written by Mr. White: “The money our readers have sent in has been more than enough to print the paper. With the remainder we have met the expenses of Mrs. White and myself as we went from place to place to hold meetings.” So it was a “success from the first.”

How from that “small beginning” has the published truth “gone round the world”! At the present time Seventh-day Adventists have a score of publishing houses in different parts of the world. In these houses over seventy steam-power presses are used. This truth is issued from these offices in thirty-nine of the leading languages of the world. The literature of the denomination in these languages consists of 1,081 different books, pamphlets, and tracts, and in these are 93,293 pages of reading matter. They also issue fifty-two weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, and quarterly journals, beside forty-eight conference papers, issued in the interest of conference and colporter88 work. Each one of the conference papers is about the size of the first paper, Present Truth. Up to January, 1899, over nine million dollars worth of the books had been sold. Publishing houses, sanitariums, schools, and missions are established twice around the world—both north and south of the equator. That prediction which looked “preposterous” to our opponents in 1848, is surely in a well-advanced state of fulfilment in 1901.

True Prophecies.

When, in ancient time, the Lord revealed to the people the nothingness of their idols and the untruthfulness of their false prophets, He sent through His prophet these words: “Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and show us what shall happen; let them show the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods [that is, know that ye have divine power to open the future to us]; yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.” Isa. 41:21-23.

It is apparent from this text that the power to predict future events, and the fulfilment or failure of such prediction, was a rule strictly applied “aforetime” in deciding who were true prophets of God, and who were the false prophets inspired only by the “lying spirits” (1 Kings 22:22) of Satan. This being a89 good rule for those in olden times, why not as good for the “latter days,” when false prophets are to arise to deceive if possible “the very elect”? We will therefore apply the test to predictions made by Mrs. White concerning Modern Spiritualism, in the years 1849-50.

That of the former date reads: “I saw that the mysterious knocking in New York and other places was the power of Satan, and that such things would be more and more common, clothed in a religious garb so as to lull the deceived to more security, and to draw the minds of God’s people, if possible, to those things, and cause them to doubt the teachings and power of the Holy Ghost.”

At the time of this vision there was only the “rapping” manifestation. Questions were asked, and the answer of “yes” or “no” was given by either two or three “raps.” The greater part of the people regarded the “rappings,” as they were then called, as trickery, or sleight-of-hand performance. At that time the idea was not even suggested that “spirit rappings” would assume to be a religious organization, as it has since done, with its titles of “Rev. ——, pastor of the First Spiritualist Church of ——,” etc.

In the vision of Aug. 24, 1850, we read: “I was shown that by the rapping and mesmerism, these modern magicians would yet account for all the miracles wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ, and that many would believe that all the mighty works of the Son of God when on the earth were accomplished by the same power.”

It is since that vision was given in 1850 that Spiritualists have taught, both in their oral instructions and in their printed books and papers (what they did not teach previously to that date), that all the miracles of Christ were wrought by the power of mesmerism, and that He was only a “well-developed medium.”

Another statement is given, taken from supplement to “Experience and Views,” page 3, first printed in 1853: “I saw the rapping delusion—what progress it was making, and that if it were possible, it would deceive the very elect. Satan will have power to bring before us the appearance of forms purporting to be our relatives or friends now sleeping in Jesus. It will be made to appear as if these friends were present, the words that they uttered while here, with which we were familiar, will be spoken, and the same tone of voice that they had while living will fall upon the ear. All this is to deceive the saints and to ensnare them into the belief of this delusion.”

At the time this vision was given, the mode of communicating with the spirits was by calling over the letters of the alphabet, and spelling out the communication, and by a “rap” the spirits designated the letter wanted. No one had, at that date, heard of a case of what has been so much talked of during the last thirty years,—the “*materializing of spirits;” that is, the spirit assuming a bodily form, shaking hands with people, and talking with them in tones that they claim to recognize as the exact tone of voice of a dead relative or friend.

It was about the years 1857-58,—four years after91 Mrs. White had put in print that the spirits would assume the forms of dead friends,—that mediums claimed to see their friends and to hear them speak. It was when the writer was holding a series of meetings in Assyria, Michigan, in March, 1858, that he first met a medium who claimed that she had actually seen her dead friends.

While the Scriptures were being quoted, showing that the dead are unconscious, and that the “rapping spirits” are spirits of devils instead of spirits of the dead, a great power from Satan came upon this medium, who arose in the audience, and in a stentorian tone said: “I don’t care anything about your Bible texts that ‘the dead know not anything,’ and that the spirits are ‘the spirits of devils,’ I know what I have SEEN. I HAVE SEEN MY GRANDMOTHER, and TALKED with her. I know just how my grandmother looked; she had a wart on her cheek. I know how she walked, too; she wore a pair of old slippers down at the heel, and ‘scuffed’ them on the floor when she walked. The first I heard of her coming was the ‘scuffing’ of the slippers. I looked up, and there was my grandmother. I talked with her for half an hour. Don’t you think I knew her voice? You need not talk this Scripture to me. I KNOW I have seen my grandmother.” Mesmerized by the spirit of Satan, no doubt she saw the resemblance of her grandmother.

In the light of this rule for testing prophets, what can we say of the predictions made through Mrs. White concerning Spiritualism? She stated, when it was not here, what would be done. The thing predicted92 came. That is, according to the Bible, proof of divine inspiration in the vision.

Continue reading: “All This Came.”