What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "What is the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac about? I understand that it is a type of the sacrifice of Jesus. But why does God ask Abraham to kill him? And Abraham knows the commandment that he must not do that. This is contradictory."
Answer
According to the texts cited, Abraham himself recognized the apparent contradiction: he feared he might have been deceived, since God’s law forbids killing, and prayed for confirmation. Ellen White interprets the command as a test of his faith and an object lesson illustrating the gospel; Abraham trusted that God could even raise Isaac from the dead, and God stopped the sacrifice and provided a ram. The texts thus offer an interpretation grounded in faith, but no detailed philosophical explanation of how such a specific command relates to the universal prohibition.
Abraham saw the conflict with the commandment
»Satan was at hand to suggest that he must be deceived, for the divine law commands, “Thou shalt not kill,” and God would not require what He had once forbidden. […] In his doubt and anguish he bowed before God, and prayed as he had never prayed before, for some confirmation of the command if he must perform this terrible duty.«
A test of faith and a symbol pointing to the gospel
»The ram offered in the place of Isaac represented the Son of God, who was to be sacrificed in our stead. […] To impress Abraham’s mind with the reality of the gospel, as well as to test his faith, God commanded him to slay his son.«
Abraham trusted in God’s power
»Looking beyond that which was seen, he grasped the divine word, accounting that God was able to raise Isaac up even from the dead.«
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.
