What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Explain for a public address the key details of Ellen White's first vision in December 1844 and what happened."
Answer
Ellen White's first vision took place in December 1844, about two months after the Great Disappointment on October 22, when 17-year-old Ellen Harmon was praying with four other women at the family altar. The Holy Spirit came upon her, and she was taken into a heavenly scene: She saw a narrow, elevated path on which the Advent people traveled to the heavenly city (New Jerusalem), led by Christ. A bright light at the beginning of the path was identified as the “midnight cry.” The journey was longer than expected; some lost sight of Jesus and fell away, but those who kept their eyes on Him and the city safely reached their destination. The vision confirmed that God had guided the Millerite movement and would continue to guide it, but later corrected the error that the door of mercy had already been closed to the world—it showed instead that a great work remained to be done before Jesus returns. This was the first of approximately 2,000 visions over 70 years.
Ellen White's own account of the vision
»While I was praying at the family altar, the Holy Ghost fell upon me, and I seemed to be rising higher and higher, far above the dark world. I turned to look for the Advent people in the world, but could not find them, when a voice said to me, “look again, and look a little higher.” At this I raised my eyes, and saw a straight and narrow path, cast up high above the world. On this path the Advent people were traveling to the city [New Jerusalem], which was at the farther end of the path.«
The context of the disappointment and the significance of the vision
»In December, 1844, barely two months after the disappointment, received a prophetic revelation from God. In this vision the Lord portrayed to her the travels of the Advent people to the New Jerusalem. While this vision did not explain the reason for the Disappointment, which explanation could and did come from Bible study, it gave them assurance that God was leading them and would continue to lead them as they journeyed toward the heavenly city. At the beginning of the symbolic pathway revealed to youthful Ellen was a bright light, identified by the angel as the midnight cry... In this vision she saw Christ as leading the people to the city of God. Their conversation indicated that the journey would be longer than they had anticipated. Some lost sight of Jesus and fell off the pathway, but those who kept their eyes on Jesus and the city reached their destination in safety.«
The specific circumstances in which the vision was received
»At this time I visited one of our Advent sisters, and in the morning we bowed around the family altar. It was not an exciting occasion, and there were but five of us present, all women. While I was praying, the power of God came upon me as I had never felt it before. I was wrapped in a vision of God's glory, and seemed to be rising higher and higher from the earth, and was shown something of the travels of the Advent people to the Holy City.«
Correction of the “shut-door” error through the vision
»Her first vision (December 1844) corrected the error held by those who had not repudiated their 1844 message and experience: the future was open, not closed, implying that a great work was yet to be done before Jesus returned.«
Details of the three groups seen and later clarification
»Ellen was shown three groups of people: (a) The living saints, 144,000 in number, who maintained their faith in the October 22 experience. (b) Former Millerites who looked upon the 1844 movement as a mistake... and (c) “The wicked world which God had rejected.” Ellen misinterpreted this vision. She correctly understood that the day of salvation for the latter two groups was past. For them, the door was shut. But she incorrectly concluded that no one could accept Christ after October 22... In her 1883 memory statement Ellen White said: “For a time after the disappointment in 1844, I did hold, in common with the advent body, that the door of mercy was then forever closed to the world. This position was taken before my first vision was given me. It was the light given me of God that corrected our error, and enabled us to see the true position.”«
A contemporary's testimony about the reception of the vision
»One morning in December 1844, while she was praying with four other women, the power of God rested upon her. At first she was lost to earthly things; then in a figurative revelation she witnessed the travels of the advent people to the city of God and the reward of the faithful. With fear and trembling this seventeen-year-old girl related this and succeeding visions to her fellow believers in Portland.«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
Why I built EGW Vision
Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
EGW Vision helps you find topics, statements, and quotes faster, especially when many original sources are not yet fully available in your language. The tool searches semantically, groups relevant content by topic, and presents matching results as clearly as possible in your language.
My hope is that this tool supports personal Bible study, strengthens trust in the original sources, and helps more people discover the message of these writings with clarity, depth, and joy.
