In light of the following statement, made by Ellen White and taken from the book, Messenger of the Lord, by Herbert Douglass, about "some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus", what about the two references from the Bible that say the same thing?? 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17. 15. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with the the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Corinthians 15:51. Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be= changed-- Paul wrote these statements and I would take it that he may have thought Jesus would return in his lifetime.
I think this is a valid observation and a helpful insight. If we are to reject Ellen White as a "false prophet" for her statement, won't we also have to reject Paul on the same grounds?
At a Battle Creek conference on May 27, 1856, Ellen White was given a vision of two ways and what it means to travel in either: character, in life, in dress, and in conversation. Then she made= observation that has intrigued church members for more than a century: shown the company present at the conference. Said the angel, Some worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and re= upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.
"http://www.whiteestate.org/books/mol/#note
It may indeed be helpful to note the differing destinations of the two ways. However, it seems to me that this does not remove the problem some people see in this statement from Mrs. White. She says she was shown the company *at that conference,* and the angel indicated that some [among them] would be "alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus." I do not see that this is a general statement, saying merely that there will be some people who will choose the right path and will be alive on the earth to see Jesus come. The natural way to take her statement, I think, is that some of *the people at the conference* she was shown would be alive at that time. This did not happen. The "conditional prophecy" line of evidence presented on the web site offers what I think is a credible explanation for this.
Thank you for helping us think through how best to respond to those who are troubled by this statement from Mrs. White. God bless!
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William Fagal, Director
Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI 49104-1400 USA
Phone: 616 471-3209
FAX: 616 471-2646
Website: www.WhiteEstate.org or www.egwestate.andrews.edu
E-mail: [email protected]
