Investigating Ellen White’s Angel

There is no better book of the Bible for Transitioning Adventists than Galatians. It is powerful, it is clear, and it answers the many questions we have.

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Gal. 1:6-9)

Not only did Paul include himself and companions in the curse of damnation if they changed the gospel from what he preached to the Galatians, but he includes “an angel from heaven”.

Martin Luther commenting on this verse said, 

Paul’s zeal for the gospel become so fervent that it almost leads him to curse angels. “I would rather that, my brethren, yes, the angels of heaven be anathematized than my gospel be over thrown.”¹

Scholars are divided on just what Paul meant regarding an “angel from heaven.” He appears to be so convinced of the trueness of the gospel he received directly from the Risen Christ that even a “true angel” could not change that gospel. If an angel tried to change the gospel, then that angel would be accursed. Others, and I agree, consider Paul may be referring to an “angel” who would masquerade as a true angel, as he taught the Corinthians,

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds (2 Cor. 11:14-15).

We should be very careful about any religion that is based upon “angel communications.” The track record for religions started by angels is not good.

The Shepherd of Hermas (AD 180-200) was recommended reading for early Christians. However, it does not speak of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

It is noteworthy in this context that the Shepherd of Hermas is based upon seven visions. In these visions, Hermas sees an “angel of repentance” and an “angel dressed as a shepherd.” It gives thirteen “Mandates,” several parables, and a number of visions, some of which in themselves may be good. However, salvation is portrayed to be by repentance and penance. In fact, the Shepherd of Hermas is used by the Catholic church as part of its support for their doctrine of penance. Here are a couple of paragraphs from this work.

Do you think, however, that the sins of those who repent are remitted? Not altogether, but he who repents must torture his own soul, and be exceedingly humble in all his conduct, and be afflicted with many kinds of affliction; and if he endures the afflictions that come upon him, He who created all things, and endued them with power, will assuredly have compassion, and will heal him; and this will He do when He sees the heart of every penitent pure from every evil thing: and it is profitable for you and for your house to suffer affliction now.²

“The time of luxury and pleasure is one hour. But an hour of torment has the power of thirty days. So if someone lives in luxury and is deceived for one day, and is tormented for one day, the day of torment is equivalent to a whole year. So, for as many days as someone lives in luxury, for that many years, he is tormented. You see, therefore” he said, “that the time of luxury and deception is very short, but the time of punishment and torment is long.”³

Even though there are many good and truthful things in the Shepherd of Hermas, the fact that salvation by grace through faith is not mentioned should raise red flags. Also, consider that this work moves toward the teaching of penance. It masquerades as a true gospel, but it is no gospel at all.

The Islamic prophet Muhammad claimed that the Archangel Gabriel was revealed to him and instructed him to begin writing the Quran. Here we see a non-Christian religion with a “different gospel which is not a gospel at all,” starting with the visit of the supposed Archangel Gabriel. We also note that Gabriel is the focus of much of Islamic art. There is no gospel of good news in Islam. It is based upon works.

In more modern times, Mormonism had its genesis with a vision of an angel.

Joseph Smith claims the Angel Moroni visited him beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith’s home in western New York; Latter-Day Saints believe the plates were the source material for the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith saw Moroni at least 27 times, according to 500 Little-Known Facts about Joseph Smith.⁴ Some claim to have documented 117 angel appearances to Joseph Smith.⁵

The angel Moroni is featured prominently in Mormon architecture and art.⁶

The “plan of salvation” in Mormonism is far removed from the gospel of grace through faith in Christ. They teach that what they are now, God once was and what God is now, they will become. Their Christ was the brother of Lucifer. Mormons teach a false gospel. 

If any man (or woman) Should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

“Gospel” comes from a word that means to evangelize: 

• …Making known God’s message of salvation with authority and power tell the good news, make known the gospel, evangelize.⁷

False gospels require the sinner to work for his own salvation, or for at least part of his salvation, such as faith in Christ plus good works. Unless one has a deep love of the truth, he cannot denounce error. In order to be clear in our thinking and words, one cannot speak of “truth” unless he can also speak of “error.” In the same way, one cannot define good without understanding evil. This is one of the problems we face in our culture today that is adrift in relativism with no clearly articulated norms. This is not the way it was for Paul. He knew he had the true gospel. He received it from the Resurrected Christ. He had seen its power to change lives. Therefore, we can sense his extreme disdain for anyone who would come in behind his proclamation of truth and seek to put his converts back under the law from which he came. It was indeed anathema, someone delivered over to divine wrath, a curse, one accursed as in a binding oath with dreadful consequences expected if not carried out. Dr. Lenski put it like this.

“The most damnable thing, however, is to proclaim as the true gospel something that is contrary to that gospel…Bad enough for his own soul for anyone to make this exchange but infinitely worse to make it one’s business to delude others into making this exchange. The divine gospel is branded as a lie, the lying gospel is offered as the truth; the double falsehood leads souls to destruction. Whoever is guilty of this crime, “let him be accursed!”⁸

We see Jesus using similar language of denunciation as He confronted the Pharisees: 

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in (Mt. 23:13).

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? (Mt. 23:33).

Who is your authority?

Sooner or later, every Adventist and transitioning Adventist must determine for themselves the inspiration and authority of Ellen G. White. There are still many conservative Seventh-day Adventists who see her writings as inspired by God with the same authority as Scripture. Many of these would not want to do an objective study for fear that it might weaken their faith in the Adventist message. I have a close friend who will not read any of my books or discuss anything to do with religion. This person says, “I know what I believe and do not want to be confused.”

In Adventism, Ellen G. White is still held to be a true “Messenger of God,” more than a prophet.⁹ In the current (2020) official “Fundamental Beliefs” of Adventism, her writings are said to “…speak with prophetic authority…”¹⁰

There are many former Seventh-day Adventists, and evangelicals for that matter, who have written extensively on the theological errors, contradictions with Scripture, and self-contradictions in the writings of Ellen White. I recently re-read Sydney Cleveland’s White Washed and was reminded of the plethora of material that completely undermines the authority of Ellen White. 

In the remainder of this presentation, we will focus on what influence Ellen White’s “angel” had on the formation and development of Adventism. Ellen G. White mentions her “accompanying angel” about 58 times. She uses, “said the angel” some 382 times; she writes, “I was shown” 1,491 and “I saw” 3,265 times. As these instances are often repeated in her books, the actual numbers listed above are probably about one third to one half of these. 

Officially, Adventists claim that Ellen White had over 2,000 visions from God during her lifetime.

• From 1844, when she 17, until 1915—the year of her death—she had more than 2,000 visions.¹¹

If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

Let us discover what Ellen White’s “accompanying angel” taught. We will evaluate these teachings in three ways. First, are these teachings in harmony with Scripture? Second, did the angel’s statements prove to be true? Third, and most importantly, do the statements of Ellen White’s “accompanying angel” proclaim a true gospel?

The Beginning of the Plan of Salvation.

Please read the following quote carefully. This teaching is the foundation for Adventist’s “great controversy” motif. Note the time of this communication took place after the entrance of sin.

The angels seemed to be intense while Jesus was communing with His Father. Three times He was shut in by the glorious light about the Father, and the third time He came from the Father we could see His person. His countenance was calm, free from all perplexity and trouble, and shone with a loveliness which words cannot describe. He then made known to the angelic choir that a way of escape had been made for lost man;[Note here that this event took place after man had sinned] that He had been pleading with His Father, and had obtained permission to give His own life as a ransom for the race, to bear their sins, and take the sentence of death upon Himself, thus opening a way whereby they might, through the merits of His blood, find pardon for past transgressions, and by obedience be brought back to the garden from which they were driven. Then they could again have access to the glorious, immortal fruit of the tree of life to which they had now forfeited all right.¹²

A few lines later, we have another statement from her angel.

Said the angel, “Think ye that the Father yielded up His dearly beloved Son without a struggle? No, no.” It was even a struggle with the God of heaven, whether to let guilty man perish, or to give His darling Son to die for them.¹³

Do these statements of Ellen white’s accompanying angel line up with the truth of Scripture?

Timing

• EGW: Plan of salvation inaugurated after the entrance of sin.
• Bible: He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world… (Eph. 1:4).

The Character of God the Father

• EGW: Jesus had to “plead” three times with His Father before He let Jesus give his life for human salvation.
• Bible: “For God [the Father] so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16).
• EGW: “It was even a struggle with the God of heaven, whether to let guilty man perish or to give His darling Son to die for them.”
• Bible: “Blessed be the God and Father … In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:3-6).

The nature of God—the Trinity

• EGW: Ellen White’s angel separates the Father and the Son in that one had to plead with the other. They are not always united in the way they think or feel.
• Bible: The Father and the Son always work together because they are both eternal and fully God. “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (Jn. 8:29).

The “Gospel”

• EGW: …and take the sentence of death upon Himself, thus opening a way whereby they might, [1] through the merits of His blood, find pardon for past transgressions, and [2] by obedience be brought back to the garden from which they were driven.
• Bible: “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly” (Gal. 2:21).
• Bible: For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Rom. 3:28).

Christ coming to earth in 1843—first Angel’s Message.

• I saw that God was in the proclamation of the time in 1843. It was His design to arouse the people and bring them to a testing point, where they should decide for or against the truth. Ministers were convinced of the correctness of the positions taken on the prophetic periods, and some renounced their pride, and left their salaries and their churches to go forth from place to place to give the message. But as the message from heaven could find a place in the hearts of but few of the professed ministers of Christ, the work was laid upon many who were not preachers. Some left their fields to sound the message, while others were called from their shops and their merchandise. And even some professional men were compelled to leave their professions to engage in the unpopular work of giving the first angel’s message.¹⁴

Christ coming to earth on October 22, 1844—Second Angel’s Message.

• At the call, “The Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,” the waiting ones “arose and trimmed their lamps;” they studied the Word of God with an intensity of interest before unknown. Angels were sent from Heaven to arouse those who had become discouraged, and prepare them to receive the message…. The churches in general closed their doors against this message, and a large company of those who received it withdrew from their connection. In the providence of God, this proclamation united with the second angel’s message, and gave power to that work.¹⁵

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary in 1844, the Seventh-day Sabbath and the Shut Door of Mercy—Third Angel’s Message.

• The “third angel’s message” came after the disappointment of October 22, 1844. The Adventists again reinterpreted the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 to apply to the cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary, where they discovered the Law of God with emphasis on the Sabbath. Ellen White’s accompanying angel had some very strong and direct words about the truthfulness of early Adventist teaching.

Ellen White’s angel said the destiny of souls hangs on the acceptance of the three angel’s messages.

• I saw a company who stood well-guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps, —the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, “Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received.” I was again brought down through these messages, and saw how dearly the people of God had purchased their experience. It had been obtained through much suffering and severe conflict. God had led them along step by step, until He had placed them upon a solid, immovable platform.¹⁶

Of all the religious movements, none can match the integrity of the three angels’ messages.

• Of all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844. Even now, after the lapse of nearly half a century, [written in 1888] all who shared in that movement and who have stood firm upon the platform of truth, still feel the holy influence of that blessed work, and bear witness that it was of God.¹⁷

Please evaluate the above quotes on the first, second, and third angel’s messages.

• EGW: Christ was to come in 1843.
• EGW: Christ was to come in 1844
• EGW: The heavenly sanctuary cleansed on October 22, 1844.

These all proved to be in error:

EGW: No religious movements “have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844.

Fact: Probably no religious movements were filled with more error than the early Adventist teaching.

Ellen White’s accompanying angel said “the man of sin”—Pope—changed the Sabbath to Sunday.

• This my accompanying angel informed me represented all the heavenly host looking with reverential awe toward the law of God which had been written by the finger of God. Jesus raised the cover of the ark, and I beheld the tables of stone on which the ten commandments were written. I was amazed as I saw the fourth commandment in the very center of the ten precepts, with a soft halo of light encircling it. Said the angel … The fourth commandment has been trampled upon; therefore we are called upon to repair the breach in the law and plead for the broken down Sabbath. The man of sin who exalted himself above God, and thought to change times and laws, brought about the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. In doing this he made a breach in the law of God. Just prior to the great day of God, a message is sent forth to warn the people to come back to their allegiance to the law of God which antichrist has broken down. Attention must be called to the breach in the law.^18,19

Ellen White’s accompanying angle confirmed the “shut door of mercy [1844-1851].²⁰

• I saw that the mysterious signs and wonders and false reformations would increase and spread. The reformations that were shown me were not reformations from error to truth. My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it; for the time for their salvation is past.²¹

Ellen White’s angel said the ’44 “believers” who still kept Sunday had to be baptized in the faith of the shut door of mercy and keep the Sabbath.

• Said the angel, “Can ye stand in the battle in the day of the Lord? Ye need to be washed, and live in newness of life.” Then I saw [that] those whose hands are now engaged in making up the breach and are standing in the gaps, but that have formally since ’44 broken the commandments of God and have so far followed the pope as to keep the first day instead of the seventh, would have to go down into the water and be baptized in (1) the faith of the shut door and (2) keeping the commandments of God, and (3) in the faith of Jesus [who is] coming to sit on the throne of His father David, and to redeem Israel. I also saw [that] those who have been baptized as a door into the professed churches will have to be baptized out of that door again, and into the faith mentioned above; and all who have not been baptized since ’44 will have to be baptized before Jesus comes, and some will not gain progress now until that duty is done, and then they must live anew unto God and serve Him faithfully.”²²

We should note that this was written by Ellen G. White in 1850. It is clear that Ellen White and her angel were still holding the shut door of mercy teaching. We ought also to recognize that this statement was “hidden” in the Ellen G. White estate vault for 137 years! During this time, the Adventist church leaders denied that Ellen White taught the shut door of mercy longer than a few months after October 22, 1844. They also claimed that she never had a vision supporting the shut door of mercy. When I was doing the research for this article, it was the first time I discovered that Ellen White insisted people be baptized “in the faith of the shut door.”

The “Lord” [more authority than just an angel] showed Ellen White how to shame those who were changing their theology.

• The Lord showed me that he, James, must take the testimonies that the leading Adventists published in ’44, and republish them and make them ashamed. He is now doing that work.²³

Ellen White’s accompanying angel said the third angel’s message should engross the whole mind.

• I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, “Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind, the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention”.²⁴

Ellen White’s angel instructs people to disregard the teachings of Scripture and unite on the third angel’s message.

• The light of heaven then rested upon me, and I was soon lost to earthly things. My accompanying angel presented before me some of the errors of those present, and also the truth in contrast with their errors. These discordant views, which they claimed were in harmony with the Scriptures, were only according to their opinion of Bible teaching; and I was bidden to tell them that they should yield their errors, and unite upon the truths of the third angel’s message.²⁵

Ellen White’s angel tells the early Adventists how to get ready for the second coming.

• Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel’s message. Said the angel, “Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever yet died.” I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but little time in which to do it.²⁶
• My accompanying angel cried out with awful solemnity, “Get ready! Get ready! Get ready! For the fierce anger of the Lord is soon to come. His wrath is to be poured out, unmixed with mercy, and ye are not ready. Rend the heart, and not the garment. A great work must be done for the remnant.”²⁷

We observe that to get the Adventists ready for Christ to come, the angel stressed that “a great work must be done for the remnant.” To get them ready, the angel focused on the message of the “third angel” of Revelation 14:9,10 which is a description of those who receive the mark of the beast. In context, the “work” EGW said needed to be done for Adventists was twofold. First, they were to keep the Sabbath of the fourth Commandment. In this way they could avoid the mark of the beast referenced in Revelation 14:9,10. Second, they were to overcome every temptation and develop a character after the similitude of Christ.²⁸ We note there is no mention of salvation by grace through faith. Note the different emphases between Ellen White’s angel and the Bible.

EGW: “Get ready, get ready, get ready.”

Bible: “For this reason, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will” (Mt. 24:44).

Bible: “Therefore, be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. (Mt. 24:42).

Bible: “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. (Mt. 25:13)

If one is counting on perfectly keeping the Sabbath and gaining the perfection of Character to be ready for Christ to come, there is no point at which one can say he or she is ready. We all continue to sin.²⁹ However, if one is counting on the righteousness of Christ that is “in Christ” and imputed to us by faith,—the message of Paul’s gospel—then one can “be ready” all the time. What a difference! Rather than allowing the description of the mark of the best and the seventh-day Sabbath to “engross the whole mind, the whole attention” we would do well to focus on who we are “in Christ”—saved, forgiven, redeemed, adopted into the family of God, and now qualified to receive our inheritance in light! 

Ellen White’s angle said she and others would be alive when Jesus came.

• I was shown the company present at the Conference. Said the angel: “Some food for worms, some subjects of the seven last plagues, some will be alive and remain upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus.”³⁰ 
• Because time is short, we should work with diligence and double energy. Our children may never enter college.³¹
• It is really not wise to have children now. Time is short, the perils of the last days are upon us, and the little children will be largely swept off before this.³²
• In this age of the world, as the scenes of earth’s history are soon to close and we are about to enter upon the time of trouble such as never was, the fewer the marriages contracted the better for all, both men and women.³³
• The hour will come; it is not far distant, and some of us who now believe will be alive upon the earth, and shall see the prediction verified, and hear the voice of the archangel and the trump of God echo from mountain and plain and sea to the uttermost parts of the earth.³⁴

Ellen White’s angel tells how to deal with adultery.

• Those who break the seventh commandment should be suspended from the church, and not have its fellowship nor the privileges of the house of God. Said the angel, “This is not a sin of ignorance. Those who break the seventh commandment should be suspended from the church, and not have its fellowship nor the privileges of the house of God. Said the angel, “This is not a sin of ignorance.”

Bible: “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more’” (Jn. 8:10-11).

Ellen White saw that God would not acknowledge an untidy person as a Christian.

• I saw that God would not acknowledge an untidy, unclean person as a Christian. His frown was upon such. Our souls, bodies, and spirits are to be presented blameless by Jesus to His Father, and unless we are clean in person, and pure, we cannot be presented blameless to God.³⁵

Bible: Jesus healed a blind beggar in (Mk. 10:46), Jesus healed the from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs (Luk 8:27).

Ellen White’s angel said England would declare war against the US.

• Said the angel: … This nation will yet be humbled into the dust … When England does declare war, all nations will have an interest of their own to serve, and there will be general war, general confusion. England is acquainted with the diversity of feeling among those who are seeking to quell the rebellion. She well knows the perplexed condition of our Government; she has looked with astonishment at the prosecution of this war—the slow, inefficient moves, the inactivity of our armies, and the ruinous expenses of our nation. The weakness of our Government is fully open before other nations, and they now conclude that it is because it was not a monarchial government, and they admire their own government, and look down, some with pity, others with contempt, upon our nation, which they have regarded as the most powerful upon the globe. Had our nation remained united it would have had strength, but divided it must fall.³⁶

Conclusion

We must ask ourselves: did Ellen White’s “accompanying angel” tell the truth? Are the teachings of Ellen White’s “accompanying angel” in harmony with the truths of Scripture? Last, and most importantly, do the teachings of Ellen White’s angel teach a true gospel?

If we answer these questions with “no,” then how do we relate the teachings of Ellen White and her angel to Paul’s statement in Galatians 1:8,9?

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! (Gal. 1:8-9).

You make the call. †

Sources:

1. Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Translated by Theodore Graebner, (St Louis: Concordia 1963), p. 17.
2. “Parable 7” in Shepherd of Hermas, (Grand Rapids, MI, The Apostolic Fathers, 1989), p.252.
3. Ibid. p. 250.
4. Wayne Lewis, Jana Cox, Lee Nelson, 500 Little-Known Facts About Joseph Smith: (Amazon.com: Books), 2014.
5. Ibid.
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Moroni
7. Bible Works 10, “εὐαγγελίζω.” 
8. R.C.H. Lenski, Commentary on the New Testament, Galatians (Peabody, MA, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 1998, ©1934) p. 40.
9. Graeme S. Bradford, More than a Prophet, (Berrien Springs MI, Biblical Perspectives, 2006).
10. See Fundamental Belief No. 18, “The Gift of Prophecy.”
11. General Conference Ministerial Department, Seventh-day Adventists Believe, (Silver Spring, MD), p. 224.
12. Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 126.
13.  Ibid., p. 127.
14. Ibid., p. 232.
15. Ibid.
16. White, Early Writings, 1858, p. 258, 259.
17. White, The Great Controversy, 1888, p. 401.
18. White, Life Sketches, p. 237.
19. See Dale Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Christ, (Camp Verde, AZ, LAM Publications, 2019) for evidence that the early Christians were worshiping on Sunday long before AD 321, when Adventists teach the Sabbath was changed to Sunday.
20. See Ratzlaff, Cultic Doctrine, Chapter, “The Swinging Door.”
21. White, Early Writings, p. 45.
22. White, Manuscript 5, 1850. Manuscript Release No. 18, 1302 from a vision in Oswego NY, (Washington DC, Ellen G. White Estate, 1987). 
23. White, Letter 8, 1850, p. 1. (To Arabella Hastings, August 4, 1850.), Manuscript Release No. 5, 202. (Washington DC, Ellen G. White Estate, 1972).
24. Ibid., p. 118.
25. White, Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 111.3, (originally written in 1848), (Nampa, ID, Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2002).
26. White, Early Writings, p. 64.
27. Ibid., p. 119.
28. “When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.” White, Christ Object Lessons, p. 69.
29. See Rom. 6:23.
30. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p 131,132, (1856).
31. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 159, (1872).
32. White, Letter 48, 1876.
33. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 366 (1885).
34. White, Review and Herold, July 31, 1888.
35. White, Selected Messages, Book 3, p. 274.
36. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 260.

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Dale Ratzlaff

Dale Ratzlaff (1936–2024), was the founder of Life Assurance Ministries and Proclamation! Magazine. He served as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor for 13 years, seven at Monterey Bay Academy where he taught Bible. He and his wife Carolyn left the Adventist church in 1981 when he realized he could no longer teach the investigative judgment with a clear conscience. He has authored several books on Adventism that are available through his website, SabbathInChrist.com.

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