Does Ellen White Deserve the Biblical Titles of Spirit of Prophecy or Testimony of Jesus?

By Dirk Anderson, 2001

Few claims within Seventh-day Adventism are more central or consequential than the assertion that Ellen G. White uniquely embodies the biblical titles “Spirit of Prophecy” and “Testimony of Jesus.” These expressions are not incidental phrases. They come directly from the book of Revelation and are used by Scripture to describe the nature of divine testimony and prophetic witness. To assign them to a single nineteenth-century individual is an audacious claim.

SDA theology teaches that the true remnant church is identified by two defining marks: obedience to the commandments of God and possession of the Spirit of Prophecy. In practice, this second mark has been equated exclusively with Ellen White—her visions, her writings, and her authority. Yet the crucial question is: does the Bible define the Spirit of Prophecy as a human prophet at all? Or has a biblical phrase been repurposed to legitimize a sect that depends upon it for their identification as the remnant?

This article examines whether Ellen White can rightly be identified with the “Spirit of Prophecy” or the “Testimony of Jesus” as those terms are defined by Scripture. Does the Bible support the SDA claim that these sacred titles belong to her? If the biblical definitions do not align with SDA usage, then the claim collapses, regardless of how long it has been repeated or how deeply it has been institutionalized.

Ellen White Defines Herself as the Spirit of Prophecy

In a compilation of Ellen White's writings entitled Loma Linda Messages, a letter she wrote on February 4, 1905, states:

The law of God and the Spirit of Prophecy go hand in hand to guide and counsel the church, and whenever the church has recognized this by obeying His law, the spirit of prophecy has been sent to guide her in the way of truth. Rev. 12:17: 'And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.' This prophecy points out clearly that the remnant church will acknowledge God in His law and will have the prophetic gift. Obedience to the law of God, and the spirit of prophecy has always distinguished the true people of God, and the test is usually given on present manifestations.¹

In the same book, Ellen White refers to herself or her writings as the "spirit of prophecy" more than 30 times. For example, when pointing a man to her own writings, she says...

Brother B.... Study the messages that God has sent to His people for the last sixty years through the Spirit of Prophecy.²

There is no doubt that Ellen White claimed the title of Spirit of Prophecy for herself and her writings. Even today, in SDA circles, the writings of Mrs. White are commonly referred to as the Spirit of Prophecy or the Testimony of Jesus.

SDA Algebra

Seventh-day Adventists use a clever formula to identify Ellen White as the Spirit of Prophecy. First, they teach that Revelation 12:17 uniquely identifies Seventh-day Adventists as the remnant who are loyal to God. One of the identifying marks of the remnant is that they have the "testimony of Jesus." They teach that Revelation 19:10 unlocks the meaning of the prhase testmimony of Jesus: "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." This provides the first half of the equation: Testimony of Jesus = Spirit of Prophecy.

Testimony of Jesus = Spirit of Prophecy = ?

According to SDA doctrine, the true remnant church must have a prophet. This argument was introduced as early as 1855. After its formation in 1863, the SDA Church recognized Ellen White as having the prophetic gift. For many years, the sect proclaimed that the prophetic gift must be active in the church—in other words, there must be a living prophet in the remnant church. Some of Ellen White's books—the forerunners to the Conflict of the Ages series—were entitled Spirit of Prophecy, and as noted above, Mrs. White and other SDA corporate leaders frequently referred to her testimonies (written or verbal) as the Spirit of Prophecy.

Testimony of Jesus = Spirit of Prophecy = Ellen G. White

Recall from the quote at the top of this page that Ellen White said, "the test is usually given on present manifestations." After Mrs. White's death in 1915, SDA corporate leaders were in a dilemma because they no longer had a living prophet. So, they redefined their previous teachings, and began teaching that Ellen White "lives on" through the writings of her books.

Does "Spirit of Prophecy" = "Gift of Prophecy"?

The word "spirit" in Revelation 19:10 comes from the Greek word pneuma, which, according to Strong's, means a current of air, breath, or spirit. The word is used 386 times in the New Testament and it never refers to "gift." If it does not mean the gift of prophecy, then what does it mean? In 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 the Bible says the Holy Spirit is the source of spiritual gifts. One of those gifts is the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 12:10). Therefore, the phrase "Spirit of Prophecy" is a reference to an actual spirit—in this case the Holy Spirit—and not the gift itself. It refers to the giver of the gift—and not the human recipient of the gift.⁴

Who Has the Spirit of Prophecy?

Seventh-day Adventists may still claim that Ellen White had the prophetic gift through the work of the real Spirit of Prophecy (the Holy Spirit) but to make such a claim she must pass the biblical tests of a prophet. There is significant evidence that Mrs. White failed most or all of those tests. Thus, she cannot rightly be said to even have the prophetic gift.

Even if SDAs are convinced that Mrs. White passed the tests, the SDA Church has not had a living prophet in over years. That puts it in the exact same position as all other commandment-keeping Christian churches who do not have a living prophet. Other Christian churches follow the writings of the 24 deceased prophets in the Bible, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Apostle John. How is the SDA Church different from any other Christian church in this regard? Is the SDA sect superior because they follow the writings of 25 deceased prophets instead of 24?⁹ Does the assertion that SDAs have one more prophet than most other churches prove that they are the only church with the Spirit of Prophecy?

Even Ellen White described her writings as a "lesser light" pointing to the writings of the 24 Biblical authors who had the real Spirit of Prophecy.¹⁰ In fact, she admitted that her writings were not even necessary:

If you had made God's word your study, with a desire to reach the Bible standard and attain to Christian perfection, you would not have needed the Testimonies.¹¹

So then, how important is that 25th prophet? Mrs. White implies she is not even necessary so long as one follows the writings of the other 24 prophets. That being the case, how can the SDA Church claim to be the sole church having the Spirit of Prophecy, when they only have one more deceased prophet than most other churches? And that one prophet said her writings merely pointed to the writings of the other 24 and she was not needed if believers would study the other 24!

Biblical Definition of the "Testimony of Jesus"

The SDA definitions of "Testimony of Jesus" and "Spirit of Prophecy" are contrived to support their theory that they are the one true people of God. But what does the Bible really teach? In Revelation 12:17, the word, "Testimony" (Greek marturia) comes from a root word which, in its various Greek forms, means "testifying," "testimony," "witness," and "martyr."

The phrase "Of Jesus" could be understood in two ways:

• The testimony came from Jesus. This stresses Jesus as the source of the testimony.
• The testimony is about Jesus. This stresses that Jesus is the subject of the testimony.

Notice how the apostle John understood the meaning of the word "testimony" (marturia):

This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony [marturia] is true (John 21:24).

In this verse, John explains that his gospel is a testimony about Jesus. Therefore, the Gospel of John is the "testimony of Jesus."

Next, notice how John uses marturia to describe the testimony of the believer concerning Jesus:

...for this is the witness [marturia] of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness [marturia] in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record [marturia] that God gave of his Son. And this is the record [marturia], that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1 John 5:9-11).

In these verses, those who believe on Jesus have the marturia, the witness or testimony of Jesus, in them!

Next, how is the "testimony of Jesus" used in Revelation?

[John] Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony [marturia] of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw (Rev. 1:2).

In this verse John says he bore witness of three things:

1. The Word of God
2. The Testimony of Jesus Christ
3. The things that he saw (in vision)

John goes on to say in verse 9:

I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony [marturia] of Jesus Christ.

Notice the two reasons that John gives for being imprisoned on the isle of Patmos:

1. The Word of God
2. The Testimony of Jesus

It was John's testimony about Jesus that resulted in his being imprisoned. Notice something else: John had the "Testimony of Jesus" when he was on Patmos. That was somewhere between 65 AD and 100 AD. So, the "Testimony of Jesus"—the "Spirit of Prophecy"—manifested in the ministry of John over 1,700 years before the birth of Ellen Harmon.

Next, notice Revelation 6:9:

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony [marturia] which they held.

The martyrs were slain for two reasons:

1. The Word of God
2. Their testimony [marturia], presumably about Jesus

The SDA Church teaches that among these martyrs were those who died in the 1,260-year reign of the papacy, which is claimed by them to have started in 538 AD and ended in 1798 AD. Again, these martyrs had the "testimony" long before Ellen Harmon was born.

From the context of Revelation chapter 12, the testimony of Jesus clearly refers to the word of testimony of those who "loved not their lives unto the death":

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony [marturia]; and they loved not their lives unto the death. ... And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony [marturia] of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:11, 17)

Revelation 19:10:

...I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony [marturia] of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony [marturia] of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Here we find that John's "brethren" also had the marturia, or testimony of Jesus. The marturia is here described as the Spirit of Prophecy, which inspires one to testify about Jesus Christ. Here are some alternate readings of the last part of Revelation 19:10:

The prophetic spirit proves itself by witnessing to Jesus. (New American Bible)

Testimony to Jesus is the spirit which underlies Prophecy. (Weymouth New Testament)

Those who bear testimony to Jesus are inspired like all the prophets. (New English Bible)

The purpose of all prophecy and of all I have shown you is to tell about Jesus. (Living Bible)

The last reference to marturia is found in Revelation 20:4:

...I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness [marturia] of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

This verse parallels Rev. 6:9. Again, the two reasons for martyrdom are given:

1. The Word of God
2. The witness [marturia] of Jesus.

Testimony of Jesus Found in the New Testament

Throughout the New Testament the "testimony of Jesus" refers to the believer's personal witness about Jesus Christ. Rather than being the prophetic utterances received from Jesus, the testimony of Jesus is the believer's personal testimony about Jesus. The "testimony of Jesus" is found in the writings of the New Testament, whose writers personally knew Christ and bore witness to Him. Furthermore, John explains that the testimony of Jesus is found in the heart of all those who accept and believe in Jesus as the Son of God:

He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness [marturia] in himself (1 John 5:10).

Therefore, the "testimony of Jesus" cannot be used to uniquely identify the SDA Church as the remnant church of Bible prophecy. Revelation clearly teaches that John had the "testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 1:9), the martyrs had it (Rev. 6:9), and John's brethren had it (Rev. 19:10). None of these ever knew Ellen White, so it could not refer directly to her.

In Hebrews, the Bible teaches that: "The Holy Spirit also testifies to us" about Jesus and the New Covenant (Heb. 10:25 NIV). Therefore, in addition to the apostles and martyrs, the Holy Spirit has the "testimony of Jesus." This testimony is spoken by the Holy Spirit via his servants.

The Holy Spirit's role is to guide believers into truth and show them the future:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come (John 16:13).

Notice that it is the Holy Spirit who will show believers "things to come." This is the Spirit of Prophecy. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prophecy, not any human. Believers who have the gift of prophecy can manifest the Spirit of Prophecy by hearing the Holy Spirit speaking of "things to come" and then sharing those things with other believers. However, believers must "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thes. 5:21). Therefore, it is incumbent on believers to test Ellen White's prophetic word and reject all false prophecies and contradictions to God's word.

Conclusion

When the Bible defines the "testimony of Jesus" as the believer's witness about Christ—not a human prophet's visions—it dismantles the SDA claim that out of the three billion Christians on earth, the "Spirit of Prophecy" is confined to a single woman who is no longer even living. The truth is that the Spirit belongs to God alone, not to a denomination or a deceased writer. Every believer who bears witness of Jesus has that same Spirit. By her own admission, Ellen White said her writings were a "lesser light" pointing to Scripture. The greater light—the true Spirit of Prophecy—is still exactly where it has always been: The Holy Spirit manifesting in the Word of God (Holy Bible) and the hearts of those who follow Christ, not in the rants of a delusional 19th-century prophetess.