The great controversy

October 14, 2023

The Great Controversy
by EG White

I was going to start a little study on this after I finished ‘What’s The Difference‘, but with everything that’s going on in the world today, with Israel, Gaza, and other nations, I figured it really can’t wait.

Good reads blurb:

“The Great Controversy is a novel by Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and held in esteem as a prophetess of God among Seventh-day Adventist members. In it, White describes the “Great Controversy theme” between Jesus and Satan, as played out over the millennia from its start in heaven, to its final end when the world is destroyed and recreated. Regarding the reason for writing the book, the author reported, “In this vision at Lovett’s Grove (in 1858), most of the matter of the Great Controversy which I had seen ten years before, was repeated, and I was shown that I must write it out.” The theme of the original small book was expanded first to a four-volume set of books (1870-1884) and then to a separate volume in 1888. The current, 1911 edition is also one of the five-volume Conflict of the Ages set. The 1884, 1888, and 1911 books incorporate historical data from other authors. Since 1957, the book has also been published under the title The Triumph of God’s Love.“

I’m not sure how I’m going to do this, but I know I need to. I was thinking of adding a link to the end of one of my posts, but I don’t think that will work. I think it needs to be a stand alone post, with a link to the chapter I’m sharing that day. I do know it will work itself out…

excerpts from the preface:

“This book, reader, is not published to tell us that there is sin and woe and misery in this world. We know it all too well. This book is not published to tell us that there is an irreconcilable controversy between darkness and light, sin and righteousness, wrong and right, death and life. In our heart of hearts we know it, and know that we are participators, actors, in the conflict.”

“The book opens with the sad closing scenes of Jerusalem’s history, the city of God’s chosen, after her rejection of the Man of Calvary, who came to save. Thence onward along the great highway of the nations, it points us to the persecutions of God’s children in the first centuries; the great apostasy which followed in his church; the world-awakening of the reformation, in which some of the great principles of the controversy are clearly manifest; the awful lesson of the rejection of right principles by France; the revival and exaltation of the Scriptures, and their beneficent, life-saving influence; the religious awakening of the last days; the unsealing of the radiant fountain of God’s word, with its wonderful revelations of light and knowledge to meet the baleful upspringing of every delusion of darkness.”

“Last of all, we are told of the eternal and glorious victory of good over evil, right over wrong, light over darkness, joy over sorrow, hope over despair, glory over shame, life over death, and everlasting, long-suffering love over vindictive hate.”

I’ve actually started rereading it again, having read it the first time in 2018 or 2019.

We have nothing to fear for the future
except as we shall forget
the way the Lord has led us
and His teaching in past history
~ Ellen G White

source: The Great Controversy (preface)

I think I’ll be sharing the PDF version, like I did here just now, every couple of days. They are long reads, but important, I think – another way for us to kind of understand what is going on.

hope you have a great day!
thanks for stopping by!!