The Development of the Seventh-day Adventist Understanding of Ellen G. White's Prophetic Gift ...

406 Pages·2016·1.18 MB·English

by  Theodore N. Levterov

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Dissertations Graduate Research
2011
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Theodore N. Levterov
Andrews University
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Levterov, Theodore N., "The Development of the Seventh-day Adventist Understanding of Ellen G. White's
Prophetic Gift, 1844-1889" (2011). Dissertations. 83.
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/83
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ABSTRACT

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
UNDERSTANDING OF ELLEN G. WHITE’S
PROPHETIC GIFT, 1844-1889

by

Theodore N. Levterov

Adviser: George R. Knight
ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH

Dissertation

Andrews University

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Title: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
UNDERSTANDING OF ELLEN G. WHITE’S PROPHETIC GIFT,
1844-1889

Name of Researcher: Theodore N. Levterov

Name and degree of faculty adviser: George R. Knight, Ed.D.

Date completed: October 2011
Topic
This study is a historical investigation examining the development of the Seventh-
day Adventist understanding of Ellen White’s prophetic gift between 1844 and 1889.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate and analyze the stages of the
development of the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of Ellen G. White’s prophetic
gift from 1844 through 1889 from a historical perspective only. This research is not a
theological study and therefore it is beyond its scope to judge, to prove, or to disprove the
prophetic gift of Ellen White. It starts with 1844 when Ellen White claimed to have
received her first vision and finishes with 1889 when the major essential arguments for
and against her prophetic gift were in place.
Sources
This research examined published and unpublished primary sources and
documents related to Ellen White’s prophetic gift from 1844 to 1889. Secondary sources
were only used for background or historical context. The primary documents included
periodicals, books, tracts, letters, and manuscripts written against or in defense of Ellen
White. The majority of the sources were found in the General Conference Archives, the
Ellen White Estate Office in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Center for Adventist
Research at Andrews University.
Conclusions
The study identified four general stages in the development of the Seventh-day
Adventist understanding of Ellen White’s prophetic gift. Stage one covered the period
from 1844 to 1850 during which the Sabbatarian group established some initial
arguments for its acceptance of Ellen White’s claim of having the gift of prophecy. Stage
two examined the years from 1851 to 1862 during which the movement developed a
more systematic biblical reasoning for the validity of the modern display of the gift of
prophecy and saw it as one of the identifying marks of God’s true people. In stage three,
from 1863 to 1881, Ellen White’s prophetic gift became a part of the Seventh-day
Adventist statement of beliefs. The denomination also clarified questions related to the
relationship between Ellen White’s writings and the Bible. Stage four, from 1882 to
1889, refined Adventism’s understanding of Ellen White’s prophetic gift in relation to the
doctrine of inspiration and questions of suppression and plagiarism. By the end of 1889
Seventh-day Adventists had developed their major arguments for their belief in Ellen
White and were convinced that she possessed the genuine gift of prophecy.
Andrews University
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
UNDERSTANDING OF ELLEN G. WHITE’S
PROPHETIC GIFT, 1844-1889

A Dissertation
Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy

by
Theodore N. Levterov
October 2011
© Copyright by Theodore N. Levterov 2011
All Rights Reserved
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST
UNDERSTANDING OF ELLEN G. WHITE’S
PROPHETIC GIFT, 1844-1889

A dissertation
presented in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

by

Theodore N. Levterov

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE

________________________________ ________________________________
Faculty Adviser, Director of Ph.D./Th.D. Program
George R. Knight Thomas Shepherd
Professor Emeritus

________________________________ ________________________________
Jerry Moon          Dean, SDA Theological Seminary 
Professor/Chair Church History    Denis Fortin 
Department 

________________________________  
Denis Fortin 
Dean / Professor of Theology 

________________________________
Woodrow Whidden 
Professor of Historical Theology  

_______________________________ ________________________________ 
Gerhard Pfandl,         Date approved  
Biblical Research Institute, General  
Conference of Seventh‐day Adventists
TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Background of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Scope and Delimitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Justification of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Review of Related Research. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Methodology and Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Design of the Study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii

Chapter

1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND EARLY ATTITUDES TOWARDS
CHARISMATIC AND VISIONARY EXPERIENCES AMONG
MILLERITES AND SABBATARIAN ADVENTISTS UP TO 1850. . . . . 1

Religious Background of Charismatic and Visionary Experiences in
the Mid-nineteenth Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Second Great Awakening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 
The Camp Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Methodism and the Holiness Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
New Religious Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Millerite Attitudes towards Charismatic and Visionary Experiences. . . 25
Millerite Attitudes towards Charismatic and Visionary
Experiences before the Great Disappointment . . . . . . . . . . . 25 
Millerite Attitudes towards Charismatic and Visionary
Experiences after the Great Disappointment . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Introduction to Ellen G. White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Ellen Harmon and Early Sabbatarian Adventist Attitudes towards
Charismatic and Visionary Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Ellen Harmon’s First Vision and Initial Self-Understanding of
Her Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Initial Sabbatarian Perspectives on Charismatic and Visionary
Experiences and Ellen Harmon’s Prophetic Gift. . . . . . . . . . 56
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
ii i
2. THE PROPHETIC GIFT ACCEPTED BUT NOT PROMOTED,
1851-1862 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Opposing Views of Ellen White’s Prophetic Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Historical Overview of Opposition to Ellen White’s
Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Specific Objections Raised against Ellen White’s Prophetic Gift . . 84
Sabbatarian Adventist Responses to Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Historical Overview of Sabbatarian Adventist Responses to
Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 
Sabbatarian Adventist Responses to Specific Objections . . . . . . . 100
Responses to Objections through General Conference
Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Ellen White’s Self-Understanding of Her Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . 135
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

3. THE TURNING POINT: THE GIFT OF PROPHECY BECOMES
A PART OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST STATEMENT
OF BELIEFS, 1863-1881 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Opposing Views of Ellen White’s Prophetic Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Historical Overview of Opposition to Ellen White’s
Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 
Specific Objections Raised against Ellen White’s Prophetic Gift . . 164
Seventh-day Adventist Responses to Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Historical Overview of Seventh-day Adventist Responses to
Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 
Seventh-day Adventist Responses to Specific Objections. . . . . . . 199
Responses to Objections through General Conference
Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Ellen White’s Self-Understanding of Her Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . 242
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

4. A FURTHER REFINEMENT OF THE ADVENTIST UNDERSTANDING
OF ELLEN G. WHITE’S PROPHETIC GIFT, 1882-1889. . . . . . . . . . . 261

Opposing Views of Ellen White’s Prophetic Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Historical Overview of Opposition to Ellen White’s
Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 
Specific Objections Raised against Ellen White’s Prophetic Gift . . 271
Seventh-day Adventist Responses to Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Historical Overview of Seventh-day Adventist Responses to
Objections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 
Seventh-day Adventist Responses to Specific Objections. . . . . . . 294
Responses to Objections through General Conference
Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Ellen White’s Self-Understanding of Her Prophetic Gift . . . . . . . 318
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
iv