8. Who Was That Young Man?

“I dreamed that a young man of noble appearance came into the room where I was, ... This same person has appeared before me in important dreams to instruct me from time to time during the past twenty-six years.” — Ellen White in Signs of the Times, Nov. 11, 1875

Seventh-day Adventists are taught that Ellen White was just as inspired as the Bible prophets, had the same quality of inspiration as the Bible prophets, and is therefore just as reliable a spokesman for God as were the Bible prophets. Notice these recent statements from officials in the White Estate and General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists:

“A lifetime of intimate connection with the work of Ellen White has convinced me that she was a true prophet in the highest sense — as real a prophet as Elijah or Nathan or Agabus.” — Robert Olson in Ministry, Dec, 1990, p. 18.

“Post-Biblical prophets (i.e. EGW) function much like (Biblical) prophets such as Nathan, Gad, Asaph, Shemaiah, Azariah, Eliezer, Ahijah, and Obed, Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Simeon, John the Baptist, Agabus, Silas, Anna, and Philip’s four daughters …” — Seventh-day Adventists Believe, p. 223, published by the Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1988.

S. Gifford’s book cover illustrates Ellen’s claim to God’s direction as she recorded her visions. She wrote: “As my pen hesitates a moment, the appropriate words come to my mind. … When writing these precious books, if I hesitated, the very word I wanted to express the idea was given to me” (3SM, pages 51–52). But, because  of her errors, today’s SDA leadership contradicts their own prophet by denying verbal inspiration! They quote her to support themselves: “Inspiration acts not on the man’s words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost is imbued with thoughts.” (1SM, p. 21). Thus these leaders contradict Ellen White, she contradicts herself, and they all contradict God’s Word (see Deuteronomy 18:18–19; Isa. 38:4; Psa. 119:160; 12:6).

Typical of this belief was a small book titled She Speaks for GOD. The cover depicts a supernatural hand guiding Ellen White’s hand as she writes (see next page). Not only is that picture significant as an illustration of the thinking of many conservative Seventh-day Adventists, but it also illustrates the intermediary position they have claimed for Ellen White. Notice what the author, Elder Steve Gifford stated:

“With the entrance of sin into the world, man could no longer communicate face to face with God. No longer could he effectively understand God, or comprehend God’s wishes for mankind. … The prophet (Ellen White), serving as God’s personal messenger, could break the communication barrier erected by sin, and effectively transmit God’s wishes to His people.” — She Speaks for GOD ..., pages 2-3, written in 1979.

Orthodox Christianity teaches that it is Jesus who broke the communication barrier (Hebrews 1:1-2; Ephesians 2:14). But as recently as June 4, 1992, the Adventist Review’s cover picture depicted a montage of Ellen White, Moses, John the Baptist, and Deborah (see photograph on page 89). In case readers missed the point, page 9 of the article specifically compared Ellen White’s prophetic role to that of Miriam, Aaron, Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Jesus.

More than just teaching Ellen White is equal to Bible prophets, Adventists repeatedly try to defend her errors by comparing her writings with the Bible, then suggesting her errors and her copying are no worse than the “mistakes” they have “discovered” in God’s Word:

“I don’t like to talk about mistakes in inspired writings. There are mistakes in the Bible, … I don’t like to talk about mistakes in Ellen White, either.”—Robert Olson, Ministry, Dec, 1990, p. 17.

For four decades I have heard the highest officials of the SDA Church proclaim the Bible’s supposed “errors” as they attempt to defend Ellen White’s mistakes. For example, one SDA leader was so zealous in defending Ellen White’s claim that Christ entered into the Most Holy Place on October 22, 1844, that when he was faced with Paul’s statement in Hebrews 9:12 contradicting Ellen White, that leader said, “The Apostle Paul was mistaken!” Such is the arrogance found within Seventh-day Adventism today — an arrogance that eagerly “nullifies the Word of God for the sake of (their) traditions” (Matthew 15:6). 

When we focus carefully on Ellen White’s writings we discover numerous examples of her contradicting Scripture, contradicting science, contradicting orthodox Christianity, contradicting herself, failing in her own prophecies and failing in her interpretations of the Bible’s prophecies. It is absolutely inexcusable for Seventh-day Adventists to justify gross errors in Ellen White’s writings by tearing down God’s Word!

The worst possible denigration of God’s Word by Seventh-day Adventists came about when they rewrote the Bible (see pages 43-44), filled it with Ellen White’s words and published it as The Clear Word Bible. Seventh-day Adventists finally have a “bible” which agrees perfectly with Ellen White (see photographs on page 127)!

The Church’s leadership sometimes tries to justify Ellen White’s copying by slickly claiming Bible writers compiled their own materials:

“Biblical writers wrote in various ways. Many compiled and gathered their material over a period of time, such as the writers of Psalms and Proverbs. Even Luke, under inspiration, compiled his book from accounts of eyewitnesses to the events of Christ’s life. Ellen White also often drew upon her earlier written material for the development of most of her books.” — Paul Gordon, Adventist Review, November 12, 1992, p. 17.

SDAs assume that if Bible writers at times quoted from the writings of others, or drew on eyewitness reports, it is acceptable for Ellen White to “draw upon her earlier written material.” However there are two problems with their assumption. First, you’ll notice that there was no reference to the fact that “her earlier written material” had been voraciously stolen from the books of other authors!

Second, Adventists also are not told that, unlike Ellen White, Bible writers who quoted from other books specifically credited their sources (for example see 2 Chronicles 9:29; 2 Chronicles 12:15; Esther 10:2; Matthew 4:4; Titus 1:12). In other words, Bible writers had the integrity to say, “I got this part of my material from so-and-so’s book.”

But that is not what Ellen White did. According to the Church’s own Veltman study, Ellen White not only widely plagiarized others, but both she and her associates denied she had ever copied in order to encourage the myth that her writings came directly from God! All these facts are ignored as Seventh-day Adventists shrewdly claim Ellen White’s copying and her lies are “just like” the methods used by Bible writers as they compiled their information! One would expect this kind of defense from worldly lawyers trying to hide the truth, rather than from Church theologians and Church leaders claiming to teach the truth!

Latest edition to Seventh-day Adventism’s bibles is The Clear Word Bible by Dr. Jack Blanco. Printed by the Review and Herald Publishing Association in 1994, most SDAs accept The Clear Word Bible as an authentic Seventh-day Adventist Bible. But immediately after being linked to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and other cults which publish their own unique bibles, Church leaders withdrew their endorsements. The second edition’s title was changed to The Clear Word in an effort to present this book as simply a “commentary on the Bible.” However Ellen White’s words and thoughts are written directly into the biblical text without any footnotes or comments to identify them. As Review and Herald Editor William Johnsson wrote: “In no sense can (The Clear Word Bible) be considered an accurate translation of Scripture.” Nevertheless it was the Review and Herald’s best seller in 1995. 

Advertisements for The Spirit of Prophecy Study Bible indicate that this SDA Bible, unlike The Clear Word Bible which followed it, includes Ellen White’s references and comments in marginal notes. No Seventh–day Adventist can safely contradict Ellen White’s “comments” on Bible passages. Hundreds of pastors have been fired because their sermons, concepts, or teachings did not agree with “Sister White.” SDAs are inexorably linked to the cults by these unique “bibles.” 

Apparently these Seventh-day Adventists have spent so much time reading Ellen White that they are not aware of what God said in Jeremiah 23:30 — “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me!” Surely Seventh-day Adventists would not deliberately choose to be opposed by God simply because of their zeal to defend Ellen White! Or would they?

Again, the issue is not whether a true Bible prophet ever quoted from some one, for many did. The issue is whether one would ever steal the words of others, and then lie by denying he stole! And, more than that, be brazenly wicked enough to claim all he took from the writings of others came from God! The facts are, no Bible prophet ever stole materials from others. None ever claimed his material came directly from God when in fact that material came from another person’s books — for Bible prophets didn’t steal from others and they didn’t lie!

Therefore, are Seventh-day Adventists correct in asserting that Ellen White had the same inspiration and same integrity as the Bible prophets? No, the evidence is clear that neither the quality of her inspiration nor her integrity are like that of the true Bible prophets.

What about her visions and her conversations with angels? Do either of these compare favorably with the experiences of the Bible prophets and Bible writers? Let us spend a few moments examining the evidence, first as it regards the frequency of Ellen White’s visions, and then the number of conversations she had with angelic beings.

It is a little known fact among Seventh-day Adventists that while Ellen White claimed to have had visions over a period of 71 years, the frequency of her visions dramatically decreased as she aged. This is exactly what medical doctors at the Battle Creek Sanitarium predicted would happen (see page 129). Researchers can verify the fact her visions dramatically decreased as she aged by simply noting the dates and number of her visions as presented in the Church’s own comprehensive Index to the Writings of E. G. White, volume 3, pages 2978-2984. Here is the Church’s own evidence condensed into chart form:

FREQUENCY OF EGW’S VISIONS

These statistics do not include the Church’s current claim that Ellen White had 2,000 visions during her lifetime. That claim is based solely upon Arthur White’s “estimate” and is totally unsupported by fact. Even Arthur White cannot provide any written documentation or dates for the missing 1,800 visions!

The facts indicate Ellen White actually had approximately 200 “visions” which she preserved in writing. The Church’s own documents, summarized by this chart, shows there was a very significant decrease in the frequency and number of Ellen White’s visions as she aged. But even though her visions decreased, her writings increased as she wrote out the contents of visions she had received much earlier in her career.

How did God bring the contents of those previous visions back to her memory? You might think Ellen would simply open her diary or journal and refresh her mind. But no, that would not be fitting for such a supernatural prophet! Most Seventh-day Adventists do not realize Ellen White claimed a new source of miraculous guidance and instruction:

EGW

• “The following night I dreamed that a young man of noble appearance came into the room where I was, immediately after I had been speaking. This same person has appeared before me in important dreams to instruct me from time to time during the past twenty-six years.” — Signs of the Times, Nov. 11, 1875, quoted in Counsels on Health, p. 465.
• “Some are ready to inquire Who told Sister White these things? They have even put the question to me: Did anyone tell you these things? I could answer them: Yes; yes, the angel of God has spoken to me.” — Testimonies, vol. 3, pp. 314, written in 1873.

Did you notice Ellen White recognized this young man as one she had seen before in “important dreams?” This was the person who, by 1875, had instructed her for some twenty-six years! She was well acquainted with this young man. She repeatedly referred to him as her “accompanying angel” — her familiar angelic guide in both visions and dreams:

EGW

• “I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, …” — Early Writings, p. 38, written in 1851.
• “My accompanying angel bade me look …” — Ibid., p. 45. “My accompanying angel.” — Ibid., p. 77.
• “Said my accompanying angel, …” — Ibid., p. 243.
• “The angel of God pointed …” — Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 306, written in 1879.
• “An angel of God was by my side …” — Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 68, written in 1882.
• “The angel that stood by my side …” — Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 92, written in 1909.
• “As received from my (angelic) instructor.” — Ibid., p. 94.

She was well acquainted with this “young man”— her familiar “angelic guide” in both visions and dreams who was at her side to guide, protect and instruct her in real life as well:

EGW

• “I already had one guardian angel attending me continually, but when necessary, the Lord would send another … “ — Testimonies, vol. 1, p. 67, written in 1867.
• “Angels of God … were around us, sustaining us every hour.” — Ibid., p. 616, written in 1867.
• “(Her son) found her (Ellen White) busily engaged in writing. She then told him that an angel of God had wakened her about three o’clock, and had bidden her go to the minister’s meeting and relate some things shown her at Salamanca.” — Life Sketches, p. 315, written in 1880.
• “‘Angels of God are in this room.’ The glory of the Lord was revealed. Light seemed to shine all through the house, and an angel’s hand was laid upon my head. From that time to this I have been able to understand the Word of God.” — Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 207, written in 1904.

Remember, Ellen White claimed her angelic encounters were in real life, as well as in visions and dreams. And those angels not only gave her information, but even cured her of the ignorance she had regarding God’s Word! Without question these angelic beings played a major part in Ellen White’s ministry throughout her lifetime.

Now let’s summarize the evidence:

1. Ellen White actually recorded 203 “divinely inspired visions” spread over the 71 years of her prophetic ministry (188 dated visions plus 15 undated). However on the basis of Arthur White’s estimates the Church now claims Ellen White had some 2,000 visions (see Seventh-day Adventists Believe …, page 224, © 1988, Review and Herald Publishing Association).
2. For more than 26 years one particular angel was her guide, protector, and instructor in vision, dreams and also in real life.

How do these facts compare to the experience of genuine Bible prophets? First, did any Bible prophet have as many as 2,000 visions? The answer is a resounding No! As the chart on the next page makes clear not a single Bible prophet experienced anything even close to the 2,000 visions claimed for Ellen White, or even the 203 visions the facts actually indicate. And not even one Bible prophet had continuous visions over seven decades as Ellen White claimed was her experience. In fact, the grand total of all the visions mentioned in the Bible does not begin to equal the 203 visions Ellen White claimed for herself! Consider the Bible evidence on the next page:

FREQUENCY OF MAJOR BIBLE PROPHETS’ VISIONS

Total visions mentioned in the Bible: 42 Average per year: 0

Why do you think Ellen White’s experience was so different from that of Bible prophets? Could she have had a different source for her visions?

Now let’s consider Ellen White’s claim to have repeatedly held conversations with angels for some 71 years both in vision and in real life. Did anyone in the Bible have similar experiences? Did any Bible prophet have a special angel guide for more than three decades?

The facts are that out of the approximately 3,250 people mentioned by name in the Bible, only 29 ever spoke with an angel, or experienced an angel speaking with them, or had an angel appear to them! Here is the evidence:

FREQUENCY OF ANGELIC ENCOUNTERS IN THE BIBLE Person Encounters References

Total angelic encounters in the Bible: 45 (Ellen White claimed: 100s throughout her life)

The total Bible text, covering nearly 5,000 years of history and including every Bible prophet, records angels contacted only 29 people. In their entire lives, the majority of these 29 people had only one contact with an angel. This even includes Jesus Christ and his three-and-a-half years of earthly ministry. The simple fact is no one in the Bible compares to Ellen White in her claim to the frequency or duration of angelic encounters. The fact is she simply was not like any of the Bible’s genuine prophets! Remember, it was Ellen White who said:

EGW

• “My work for the past thirty years bears the stamp of God or the stamp of the enemy. There is no halfway work in the matter. The Testimonies are of the Spirit of God, or of the devil.” — Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 230.

How do you decide? God’s Word clearly tells you if prophets do not conform to the conditions, experiences, and teachings of the Bible, it is because there is no “light” in them. The Bible does not say they are “dim lights” or “lesser lights” — it says they have no light!

BIBLE

• “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light.” — Isaiah 8:20.

Do you agree with Ellen White’s claim in Colporteur Ministry, page 125, that her writings are “a lesser light to lead men and women to the greater light”? Does falsehood ever lead to truth? Would darkness ever come from God and lead to God’s pure light?

Out of the Body Experiences

There are two other little-known aspects of Ellen White’s ministry that you should also evaluate. Most supporters do not know she experienced OBEs: the spiritualistic phenomena of being taken out of her body and transported to other locations. Here is her recollection:

EGW

• “Nov. 3, 1890, while laboring at Salamanca, N.Y., as I was in communion with God in the night season, I was taken out of and away from myself to assemblies in different States, where I bore decided testimony of reproof and warning. In Battle Creek a council of ministers and responsible men from the publishing house and other institutions was convened, and I heard those assembled, in no gentle spirit, advance sentiments and urge measures for adoption that filled me with apprehension and distress.” — Life Sketches, p. 319.

Whenever SDAs encounter stories detailing the spiritualistic phenomena of an out of the body experience (OBE), they are quick to state it is a tool of the Devil. But what about the evidence that Ellen White claimed to have an out of the body experience herself? Does the fact this happened to Ellen White change the source of the phenomena?

Let’s compare Ellen White’s experience with the Bible. Did any Bible prophets have out-of-the-body experiences? No, they did not, not even once! Out of the body experiences are simply not part of Biblical truth. Consider the following evidence:

• Enoch was taken bodily from this world (Hebrews 11:5).
• Elijah was taken bodily up to heaven (2 Kings 2:1, 5, 10-11, 16-18).
• While in vision, Ezekiel was transported bodily by the Holy Spirit from his house to the temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:1, 3, 7, 14, 16).
• Philip was transported bodily by the Holy Spirit after his encounter with the Ethiopian (Acts 8:39-40).

Paul’s vision of the “third heaven” was so vivid that he tells us he didn’t know for certain whether he was there bodily or only in vision (Acts 12:1-5). But never does he even hint of an out of the body experience. The evidence is very clear that Bible prophets had visions, but no true Bible prophet ever had an out of the body experience. Nothing in Scripture sanctions the concept of “astral projection.”

However out of the body experiences are well-known by spiritualists, Hindus, practitioners of transcendental meditation and New Age religions. Spiritualists refer to out of the body experiences as “astral projection” or OBEs. Here is an example of a spiritualist’s out of the body experience:

“I knew my wife Eileen, for quite a number of years before we married and she frequently used to talk to me about her out of body experiences. These were of the usual kind and on some occasions I was able to verify that something paranormal had, in fact, occurred. For example, she went to bed one afternoon, saying that she would see what our friend, who was away on a holiday in Cornwall, was doing. When she woke up, she was able to give an accurate description of a rock plant, which our friend was photographing, the details of the surroundings, also of a gentleman who was with him. All this was subsequently confirmed (when he returned).” — Miracles, A Parascientific Inquiry into Wondrous Phenomena, by D. Scott Rogo, © 1982, The Dial Press, pages 92, 93.

The Scent of Roses

Another aspect of spiritualistic phenomena is the strong scent of rose perfume that sometimes accompanies spiritualistic visions even though no roses grow in the vicinity. For example, consider the experience of four Catholic children as they “communicated” with the “Virgin Mary” while in vision:

“As the priest looked on, the townsfolk tested the girls during their absorption (visions). ‘The most painful pinpricks, the roughest shaking, even burns and so on were quite incapable of arousing them from their rapture,’ one witness subsequently reported. Some of the villagers tried shining bright lights into the children’s eyes, but the visionaries didn’t even blink. … The appearances (of the Virgin Mary) began taking place in a small pine grove at the top of a small hill next to the village church. … Rosaries and religious medals the girls had been given during the (visions) occasionally smelled of roses when handed back to their owners. … Visitors found the entire area of the pine grove saturated with the odor of roses, though none were growing there. Pieces of bark and roots taken from the trees retained this odd perfume even after being transported back to the United States.” — Miracles, A Parascientific Inquiry into Wondrous Phenomena, by D. Scott Rogo, © 1982, pages 240, 242.

George Butler claimed Ellen White experienced the identical phenomena. Not an eyewitness himself, and writing three decades after the fact, Butler repeated what he had been told by others:

“(In vision her) eyes are always wide open, and seem to be gazing at some far-distant object. … The brightest light may be suddenly brought near her eyes, or feints made as if to thrust something into the eye, and there is never the slightest wink or change of expression on that account.” — Ellen G. White and Her Critics, Francis D. Nichol, pages 53, 54, written in 1951.

C. C. Crisler, also repeating what others had told him, wrote:

“At the home of Brother Hicks, where she was entertained, she was visited by an old lady who was violently opposed in her Christian life by her husband. This interview lasted an hour. After this, weary, weak, and perplexed, (Ellen White) thought to retire to her room and pray. Climbing the stairs, she knelt by the bed, and before the first word of petition had been offered she felt that the room was filled with the fragrance of roses. Looking up to see whence the fragrance came, she saw the room flooded with a soft, silvery light. Instantly … the perplexity and discouragement of mind vanished, and hope and comfort and peace filled her heart. Then, losing all consciousness regarding her surroundings, she was shown in vision many things …” — Life Sketches, p. 310, (this occurred in the summer of 1890).

Neither of these men were eyewitnesses. More than that, you will not find any Bible prophet smelling roses before, during, or after visions as Ellen White did. However you will discover many references to the smell of roses in psychic phenomena and spiritualism. You will not find a single Bible prophet experiencing astral projection (having an out of the body experience), but Ellen White claimed she did, and her report is identical to what spiritualists commonly encounter!

Ellen White and Demonic Forces

Now, let us ask the questions Seventh-day Adventists find unthinkable: is it possible Ellen G. White was involved with demonic forces? Remember, she was “often conscious of the presence of angels” as she wrote her books, specifically as she wrote the Great Controversy:

“While writing the manuscript of The Great Controversy, I was often conscious of the presence of the angels of God. And many times the scenes about which I was writing were presented to me anew in visions of the night, so that they were fresh and vivid in my mind.”– Letter 56, 1911 (see Colporteur Ministry, p. 128).

We know now, from the research of Walter Rea and Fred Veltman, that the Great Controversy was practically copied wholesale from other authors — even many of the pictures in Great Controversy were copied! Yet Ellen White said “angels of God” were present as she wrote the manuscript. Would God’s angels really stand by approvingly while she stole from other authors and claimed it was her own writing?

Or, is it possible Ellen White was mistaken in believing those angels had come from God? Could they have actually been evil angels? Let’s look deeper into this question: Did Ellen White ever detect the presence of evil angels surrounding Seventh-day Adventist believers? Yes. She said Satan and his evil angels were present at:

• Church meetings and camp meetings (Testimonies, vol. 5, page 155; Testimonies, vol. 4, page 246);
• Church school playgrounds (Councils to Teachers, page 350); Meetings where the Gospel is preached (Christ’s Object Lessons, page 44);
• Even at the Lord’s Supper (Desire of Ages, page 656).

According to Ellen White, no place was too mundane or too sacred for demonic spirits to be present. In fact, Ellen White once wrote to Elder Moses Hull: “I saw a cloud of evil angels surrounding you” (Testimonies, vol. 1, page 427). But, did Ellen White ever detect the presence of evil angels surrounding her? Yes, she tells us her room was once filled with legions of evil angels:

“Legions of evil angels were in that room, and if I had not clung by faith to the Lord, I do not know what might have become of me. I would not call anyone, I said, ‘This must be between me and these evil spirits.’” — Manuscript 25, 1910, quoted in Ellen White, by Arthur L. White, vol. 6, p. 284.

There is no doubt that Ellen White frequently referred to the presence of evil spirits and evil angels in her life. She claimed these demonic beings tried to take her life to prevent her from fulfilling her ministry. She said she definitely was familiar with the presence of both good and evil angels in her life. For more than 26 years, one particular angel was her guide, her protector, her instructor in vision and dreams as well as in real life!

However, since many of the messages Ellen White received from her angel guide contradicted the Bible, and many of the prophecies he communicated to her did not come true, is it possible that he had not been sent from God? And since Ellen White herself recognized that evil angels sometimes surrounded her, is it possible that she did not always correctly identify those spirits? Could she have been deceived into thinking her “young man of noble appearance” was sent from God when in fact he was a dark spirit masquerading as an angel of light? If so, how would God judge Ellen White’s work as the “Spirit of Prophecy”?

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” — 2 Corinthians 11:13-15?

What every believer in Ellen White needs to clearly understand is that her spirit guide encouraged her to add to the Scriptures. Not only did he contradict God’s Word, he went far beyond the Bible by adding to Scripture. Joseph Smith (Mormons), Charles Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses), Mary Eddy (Christian Scientists) and Ellen White (SDA) are all responsible for this same error entering their respective churches.

Orthodox Christianity teaches that the Bible—the “canon of Scripture”—has been completed and closed for nearly two thousand years. The Bible is the determiner of truth and the definer of practice and faith. No additions or contradictions to the Word of God are acceptable to orthodox Christianity. No true prophet can ever be allied with the forces of darkness. No true believer will ever deprecate God’s Word the way Ellen White did, and the way many of her followers are doing.

BIBLE

• “ ‘The Word of the Lord stands forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you.’ “ — 1 Peter 1:25.
• “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” — Proverbs 30:5, 6.
• “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” — Revelation 22:18, 19

So who was Ellen White’s “young man”? According to the evidence could he have been sent from God? No. Then who sent him? Perhaps the best answer is: he was sent by the forces of darkness.

Are you comfortable thinking this “young man,” who repeatedly contradicted God’s Word, was Ellen White’s invisible companion and mentor for three decades? Do you think the result of this union with the forces of darkness could benefit you? Or can you now turn away from the half-truths, errors, and outright contradictions of Seventh-day Adventism? Consider what God’s Word says:

“What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” – 2 Corinthians 6:14

“See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.” — Luke 11:35

White Washed. Copyright © 2011 by Sydney Cleveland. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2011. Revised and enlarged 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2011. All Scripture quotations—except where otherwise noted—are from Holy Bible, New International Version, © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. Life Assurance Ministries, Inc.

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Sydney Cleveland

Sydney Cleveland was an Adventist Pastor for 11 years. During an extensive study of Ellen G. White’s writings, he discovered that she contradicted the Holy Bible, gave many false prophecies, was mean-spirited, and didn’t even follow her own teaching.

White Washed is a comprehensive look at Ellen White’s prophecies, practices and publications. Sydney Cleveland examines her claims of inspiration, her dreams and visions, the doctrines she endorsed, her personal practices which opposed her teachings, and the effects of her claims on the Seventh-day Adventist church. This book is a well-documented overview of the little-known reality about Ellen White and her long service to Adventism.

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