My only contention with Ellen White is that she had misinterpreted certain passages in the Bible.
But in all fairness to these misinterpretations, I want to point something out that I came across some time ago.
Peter said, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."(Act 2:16-21 KJV)
But is this what Joel had really said?
Let's take a look:
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
(Joe 2:28-32 KJV)
Now then, Peter used the expression: "And it shall come to pass in the last days"
And Joel said, "it shall come to pass afterward"
Thus it appears that Peter is interpreting this passage in its totality as referring to the "last days", when Joel doesn't appear to be designating it as such. For, he didn't use the words "last days", but "afterword".
Now we know that it has been almost 2000 years since Peter referred to this passage in this way.
So could it be possible that he misunderstood it to some degree?
If so, then we would have evidence that a prophet can misinterpret a passage from the Bible and still be a prophet of God. If not, what could this then mean?
For, Peter obviously didn't quote Joel word for word. Thus this indicates that he superimposed meaning on the passage which reflected his current belief that he was living in the "last days".
Now then, those who accuse Ellen White of not having the gift of prophecy because she misinterpreted certain passages in the Bible would have to do the same with Peter in order to be consistent with their own belief. Of course, this isn't necessary, because all one has to do is admit that a prophet is still human, and therefore subject to error.
I think it's best to look at the core message that a prophet inculcates, as well as the lifestyle that that person promotes, before ruling out that that person doesn't have the gift of prophecy. If we look at the core message of Ellen White, as well as the lifestyle that she demonstrated, it is quite evident that she had the gift, even though she made mistakes at times.
But in all fairness to these misinterpretations, I want to point something out that I came across some time ago.
Peter said, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."(Act 2:16-21 KJV)
But is this what Joel had really said?
Let's take a look:
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
(Joe 2:28-32 KJV)
Now then, Peter used the expression: "And it shall come to pass in the last days"
And Joel said, "it shall come to pass afterward"
Thus it appears that Peter is interpreting this passage in its totality as referring to the "last days", when Joel doesn't appear to be designating it as such. For, he didn't use the words "last days", but "afterword".
Now we know that it has been almost 2000 years since Peter referred to this passage in this way.
So could it be possible that he misunderstood it to some degree?
If so, then we would have evidence that a prophet can misinterpret a passage from the Bible and still be a prophet of God. If not, what could this then mean?
For, Peter obviously didn't quote Joel word for word. Thus this indicates that he superimposed meaning on the passage which reflected his current belief that he was living in the "last days".
Now then, those who accuse Ellen White of not having the gift of prophecy because she misinterpreted certain passages in the Bible would have to do the same with Peter in order to be consistent with their own belief. Of course, this isn't necessary, because all one has to do is admit that a prophet is still human, and therefore subject to error.
I think it's best to look at the core message that a prophet inculcates, as well as the lifestyle that that person promotes, before ruling out that that person doesn't have the gift of prophecy. If we look at the core message of Ellen White, as well as the lifestyle that she demonstrated, it is quite evident that she had the gift, even though she made mistakes at times.