"The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones," says Ellen White in one of her most enthusiastic endorsements.
That same message which brought joy and comfort to so many a century ago still revives our spirit wherever it is proclaimed. In this brief overview we hope to answer some questions:
- "What was the message they brought us in the 1888 era?
- "Which elements in it elicited from Ellen White her profound gratitude when she heard it?
- "Have we as a church missed something special and refreshing that we need?
- "Why for a decade did she endorse the message with enthusiastic expressions at least 374 times?
- "Why did she say it was the clearest statement of justification by faith she had ever heard publicly presented?
- "What did she see in it that caused her to label it the "beginning" of the loud cry of Revelation 18, and initial "showers from heaven of the latter rain" that must go with the loud cry?
- "Did she seriously believe that the message would prepare a people for translation within her lifetime? If so, why?
Answers to these questions are evident in the 1821 pages of The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials. But the ultimate test of truth is the Bible itself. This compilation may be helpful to the busy reader in that it brings together in easily readable form ten of the essential elements of the 1888 message that make it unique, stated in the words of the 1888 "messengers" themselves, with biblical and Ellen White Support.
1888 Message Study Committee
Editorial Committee