I'd Like to KnowSeason 2023Sep 12, 2023
Ellen White and the Bible?
Questions answered
2 questionsIn this episode
1
My question is with regards to Daniel 7:22 and GC 660.4. I am reading through The Great Controversy in the evenings, and couldn’t find a satisfactory answer to this question. “Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given (margin: made in favor of) to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom (Daniel 7:22 KJV). It was my understanding that this refers to the Father entering the Most Holy Place in 1844, and that the margin was the better translation. However, Ellen White appears to use this verse in a totally different way in The Great Controversy 660.4. In the way that she uses it, it makes it appear that the coming of the Ancient of Days is the 2nd Coming (which we know from Acts 3:20 and 7BC 950 that the Father doesn’t come at the 2nd Coming). Furthermore, she appears to be clearly applying Daniel 7:22 to the millennial judgment and not the investigative judgement. “During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points to this judgment as an event that follows the second advent. “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5. Daniel declares that when the Ancient of Days came, “judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” Daniel 7:22. At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” “They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4, 6. It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, “the saints shall judge the world.” 1 Corinthians 6:2. In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death (GC 660.4). In light of this apparent contradiction, my questions are the following: • Does Daniel 7:22 refer to the coming of the Father into the MHP and the investigative judgment, or does it refer to another coming of the Father and the millennial judgment? • Is the translation “judgment was given to the saints” or “judgment was made in favor of the saints” the better translation? • It seems hardly possible that sister White could have misapplied this verse in The Great Controversy book (the greatest of her works), but could this be possible? If so, how do we reconcile this with our understanding of the inspiration of Ellen White?
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