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Does Mrs. White Pass the Biblical Tests of a Prophet?

When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him. Deut. 18:22

Prediction #1: Jesus will return in June, 1845

Lucinda Burdick was a close friend of Ellen White in the mid-1840's. Mrs. Burdick was the wife of a pastor. She testifies of a prophecy Mrs. White made:

"During the year 1845 I met Miss Ellen G. Harmon several times at my uncle's house in South Windham, Me. The first of these meetings was in the month of May, when I heard her declare that God had revealed to her that Jesus Christ would return to this earth in June, the next month." (Lucinda Burdick, notarized letter, published in Limboline)

Pass or Fail?

Unless you think Christ came in June of 1845, this is an absolute failure. Now we know, according to Deut. 18:22, that we have nothing to fear from this prophet. She has proven to be wrong, thus indicating she does not speak for God. But if this is not enough evidence for you, let us go on...

Prediction #2: Jesus will return in September, 1845

Mrs. Burdick again testifies:

"During the haying season I again met her in company with James White at the same place, and heard my uncle ask her about the failure of the Lord to appear in June according to her visions. She replied that she had been told in the language of Canaan which she did not understand; but that she had since come to understand that Christ would return in September, at the second growth of grass instead of the first." (Ibid.)

Pass or Fail?

Did Christ return in September of 1845? Obviously not. That is two failures out of two attempts. Let us go on...

Prediction #3: Whites to be Thrown in Prison in 1846

Mrs. Burdick again testifies of statements made by Ellen White in 1846:

"Once, when on their way to the eastern part of Maine, she saw that they would have great trouble with the wicked, be put in prison, etc. This they told in the churches as they passed through. When they came back, they said they had a glorious time. Friends asked if they had seen any trouble with the wicked, or prisons? They replied, 'None at all.'" (Ibid.)

Pass or Fail?

Sister White "saw" they would have trouble with the wicked during their trip. However, when they returned, they reported no such thing. A prophecy does not get any more false than this! Continue reading, there is more...

Prediction #4: The Great Pestilence that Never Came

In 1849, Mrs. White penned these memorable words:

"What we have seen and heard of the pestilence [of 1849], is but the beginning of what we shall see and hear. Soon the dead and dying will be all around us." (Present Truth, Sept. 1849).

Pass or Fail?

The "pestilence" she was describing turned out to be a local phenomena, not a sign of the imminent end of the world. Not long after this prophecy was penned the pestilence ended and the United States entered a period of peace and prosperity that lasted for many years. She said "soon the dead and dying will be all around us." What does soon mean? It has been over 150 years! She said the dead would be around "us". That meant herself. She was saying the dead would be around her and others. This never happened in her lifetime. Another obvious prophetic failure.

Prediction #5: Jesus to come in "months"

In 1850 Sister White tells us what her angel told her:

"My accompanying angel said, 'Time is almost finished. Get ready, get ready, get ready.' . . . now time is almost finished. . . and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months." (Early Writings, pp. 64-67)

Pass or Fail?

What is your definition of "a few months"? Three? Five? Well, it has been 1,821 months since Mrs. White said only a "few months" remained. She was certainly saying there were not "years" left, because she said that what others had learned in "years", recent converts would have to learn in "months." This is yet another failure. But there is more...

Prediction #6: Some at 1856 Conference to see Jesus return

In 1856, while attending a conference, Mrs. White had a vision:

"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.'" Testimonies, Vol. 1, p. 131

Pass or Fail?

Everyone at this conference passed away generations ago. Not a single one was "alive" and "upon the earth to be translated at the coming of Jesus." This is Ellen White's most terrific prophetic failure.

Prediction #7: Earth to be depopulated soon

In 1864 Sister White wrote:

"The human family was presented before me, enfeebled. Every generation has been growing weaker, and disease of every form visits the human race.... Satan's power upon the human family increases. If the Lord should not soon come and destroy his power, the earth would soon be depopulated." Testimony #8, p.94, in Spiritual Gifts III-IV

Pass or Fail?

Again we find the word "soon". In 1864 she said the earth would "soon" be depopulated. Did that happen soon after 1864? Well, by 1900 there were 1.6 billion people. Today there are over 6 billion. Each generation is living longer, healthier, stronger, taller, etc.) This is nothing less than a spectacular failure.

Prediction #8: Slavery to Revive in the South

Here is another infamous prediction made by Mrs. White:

"Slavery will again be revived in the Southern States; for the spirit of slavery still lives. Therefore it will not do for those who labor among the colored people to preach the truth as boldly and openly as they would be free to do in other places. Even Christ clothed His lessons in figures and parables to avoid the opposition of the Pharisees." (Spalding, Magan Collection, page 21 and 2 MR #153, page 300)

Pass or Fail?

When was slavery ever revived in the Southern States? That's right--it never was revived, and it never will be revived again. Slavery is dead and gone. This is another prophetic debacle.

Prediction #9: Sick man to recover

In 1873, the editor of the Swedish edition of Advent Herald, Mr. C. Carlstedt, had become seriously ill with Typhoid fever. Mrs. White and others prayed for Carlstedt. On their way home from the meeting, Mrs. White remarked that the Lord was "present with his restoring power, to raise Carlstedt, whose sickness was not unto death, but to the glory of the Son of God." (Charles Lee, Three Important Questions for Seventh-Day Adventists to Consider)

Pass or Fail?

SDA minister Charles Lee was at the meeting and heard Mrs. White make the prediction. Unfortunately, Mrs. White was wrong. Carlstedt was dead within one week of her statement. A horrific failed prediction.

Did any of her predictions come true?

Mrs. White did make some vague predictions about crime worsening and cities becoming more polluted. These type of predictions are difficult to judge, because many other people of her day were saying the same thing. The problem is that if we considered everyone who made such generalized predictions to be prophets, then we would literally have thousands of prophets. General predictions about worsening crime and pollution simply do not substantiate a prophet's claims. A prophet must be measured on specific predictions and specific results.

What about the predictions in the Great Controversy?

What about the predictions of the papacy uniting with apostate protestantism? Some have suggested that the predictions written out in the Great Controversy, such as the United States in prophecy and enforced Sunday observance, appear to be coming to pass, and this proves Mrs. White to be a prophet.

Perhaps there would be some validity to this argument if Mrs. White had received the Great Controversy in vision from God. The truth is that the teachings of the Great Controversy all originated with other people. To learn the truth about the origin of the Great Controversy, click here.

What about the San Francisco Earthquake?

Mrs. White wrote the following in an unpublished manuscript in 1903:

"San Francisco and Oakland are becoming as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord will visit them. Not far hence they will suffer under His judgments."--Ms 30, 1903.

She was 50% correct on this prediction, because San Francisco was hit by an earthquake 3 years later in 1906. However, Oakland was not seriously damaged. Oddly enough, Mrs. White never made any attempt to personally go and warn the residents of San Francisco of the impending earthquake.

Where is the weight of the evidence?

Let us be generous and give Mrs. White credit for predicting the San Francisco earthquake, although the warning was only penned in a manuscript and not published until after the event. But if we give her credit for San Francisco, that would mean she made one out of ten predictions correct--about 10%. That would put her about equal with the psychics of today, who happen to get lucky about so often. However, she is far from matching the Biblical prophets, who were correct 100% of the time. In Bible times, you had to be correct 100% of the time, or else you risked losing your life. Given that, it is unlikely Mrs. White would have dared to proclaim herself the "spirit of prophecy" back in Bible times.