Does Ellen White Pass the Biblical Tests of a Prophet?A Full Investigation, Now Published in One Place

By Dirk Anderson

You, our readers, asked for a fully-documented investigation into whether or not Ellen G. White passed the seven biblical tests of a prophet.

Because of the extent of the documentation, that investigation now lives on its own dedicated site, built for exactly this purpose:

→ Visit EllenWhiteFalseProphet.org

A new site supporting the research on nonegw.org.
It opens in a new tab — this page will still be here when you're done.

What follows on this page is the supporting evidence behind that investigation: the underlying documentation, organized by test, that this site has published over the decades. Use it to go deeper on any specific point.

Supporting Evidence, By Test

Test #1: Prophecies Must Be Fulfilled

A true prophet is right every time (Deuteronomy 18:22). The evidence below documents her failed predictions in detail.

• Failed Prophecies of Chris's Return
• The slavery prophecy — her prediction that slavery would revive in the South
• The rappings of the Fox Sisters — her prediction that Spiritualism would spread, and how the rappings were faked
• The Great Controversy — the source and nature of her end-time predictions
• The National Sunday Law — decades of predicted legislation that never arrived
• The San Francisco earthquake — examining the strongest claimed "hit"
• The 9/11 attacks — examining an outrageous claim

Test #2: A Prophet Cannot Have Falsehoods in Their Visions

God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). These pages document visions of hers that were quietly edited or contradicted by later teaching.

• The 1851 deletions — how the "shut door" material was removed from her republished visions
• The shut door of salvation — full documentation of the doctrine and its abandonment
• The sealing time — her early claim that the sealing had already begun
• The solar system vision — tall inhabitants of Jupiter and Saturn
• Satan's physical body — a vision later dropped from her published works

Test #3: A Prophet Cannot Steal the Writings of Others

God is against prophets who steal His words from their neighbors (Jeremiah 23:30). The scope of her literary borrowing is documented at length below.

• Extensive plagiarism — the full overview of her literary borrowing
• Walter Rea's The White Lie — the book that broke the story
• The Paraphrasing Prophet — Walter Rea examines Ellen White's plagiarism
• Patriarchs and Prophets — parallels with Alfred Edersheim
• Desire of Ages — copied from at least 23 sources
• Steps to Christ — assembled by Fannie Bolton from other authors
• The Great Controversy — the book an SDA scholar said would need a footnote on every paragraph
• Early Visions — parallels with William Foy
• Health Reforms — borrowed from the popular health reformers of her era
• Even her "I saw..." statements — phrases signaling vision were themselves copied
• Sketches From the Life of Paul — drawn from Conybeare and Howson
• Marian Davis — her bookmaker

Test #4: A Prophet Cannot Contradict the Word of God

"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

• Ellen White Contradicts the Bible — a full catalogue of documented contradictions, measured against her own stated standard

Test #5: A Prophet Must Bear Good Fruit

"Ye shall know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). This is the largest body of supporting evidence on the site.

• Her vast fortune — a prophet so unlike the biblical prophets
• The Investigative Judgment — bad doctrinal fruit
• The Shut Door — how many were lost as a result of her false visions?
• Remnant Theology (nonsda.org)
• The Sanctuary Doctrine (nonsda.org)
• The Sabbath as the Seal of God (nonsda.org)
• Sunday as the Mark of the Beast (nonsda.org)
• The National Sunday Law - False teaching has led many into paranoia
• Vegetarianism (nonsda.org)
• The cost to missionary families
• A harsh, critical, legalistic attitude
• "Under the influence of satanic agencies" — her language toward critics
• Rules and regulations — made her own people miserable with all her rules
• Forbidding Marriage
• Curtails sex within marriage
• Prohibits masturbation
• Was a hypocrite on not eating meat and not drinking alcohol

Test #6: A Prophet Must Encourage and Build Up Others

"He who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation" (1 Corinthians 14:3).

• D. M. Canright
• A. T. Jones
• A. F. Ballenger
• Dr. Kellogg
• Pastors who rejected Miller's 1844 date
• Her severity toward her own followers

Test #7: A Prophet Must Acknowledge Paul's Commands

"If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 14:37).

• Ellen White Contradicted Paul on unity of the faith
• Ellen White taught "another gospel"
• Ellen White's teachings on meat-eating contradict Paul's commandments

See Also

• Did she have more than a third-grade education?
• The "Big Bible" claim
• Contradictions
• The nature of Christ — promoted doctrinal purity or confusion?
• Confusing statements