The Blood of the Prophets
“Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets” (Matt. 23:28-31).
What do Jesus’ words have to say about the attitude that many have had toward the prophets? What lesson can we draw from these words for ourselves?
Despite all the evidence for the integrity and validity of Ellen White’s ministry, even among us there are those who are, in a sense, spilling “the blood of the prophets.” Among us, as in ancient Israel, there are those who in various ways, subtle and sometimes not so subtle, are working to destroy confidence in the prophetic ministry of Ellen White. It has been that way from the beginning, and we can be sure it will be right up to the end, as well. Just about every charge leveled against her and her works are similar to the charges leveled against the prophets of old and against the Word of God itself.
Reasons for these attitudes vary (see Friday’s lesson). Some people have elevated her writings to a level that is inappropriate, and so others have reacted to that, sometimes going too far in response. Others have a false understanding of how inspiration works, and because her writings do not fit that understanding, they have turned against them. Some speak, perhaps, out of ignorance; others, perhaps, from mean-spirited hostility. Fortunately, we aren’t to judge motives or hearts. We simply have to be able, as Peter wrote, “to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Pet. 3:15). In the end, each one of us will have to make a choice, ourselves, regarding the voices we listen to and believe.
| What is your own attitude about the writings of Ellen White? Why do you hold them? Think through your reasons for those attitudes. Are you open to change, if need be? |
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