Ellen Gould Harmon White (1827–1915)

The whole of sacred history is centered on one individual, Jesus Christ, either through the prophecies and sacrificial meanings of the Old Testament or the good news of His life and message in the New. The Desire of Ages is the seminal work of Ellen G. White’s Conflict of Ages series in which the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is examined in great detail to show the love of God for man. Through over 800 pages of wonderful, engaging writing the 33 years of show more when the Son of God walked shoulder-to-shoulder with man.

The Desire of Ages is not a strict chronological retelling of the Gospels; instead it is a more in-depth look into the life and teachings of Christ to reveal the love of God for man. Yet, while White focuses on Christ’s mission to save man and show the true nature of God she does not shy away from explaining the challenges Jesus faced during His ministry. The Messianic expectations of Jewish culture before, during, and after Christ’s life were fully explained by White and how throughout His ministry it hindered his efforts to turn hearts to the Father. Alongside the cultural expectations was the hatred of the religious establishment that saw Jesus as a threat to their authority even though mean thought He might be the Christ. And finally the hardest burden Christ dealt with was His disciples whose earthly expectations and resulting disappointment continually saddened their Teacher.

The Desire of Ages is the central volume of the five-book Conflict of Ages series just as Christ is the central pillar of sacred history. For many, including myself, Ellen White’s book on the life of Christ is best spiritual book on His life outside of the Bible because of the in-depth perspective she writes and expounds upon. At the end of the book as heaven rejoices at Jesus triumphant ascension to rejoin His Father as our mediator, White reveals how the disciples returned to Jerusalem just as joyously knowing Christ reigned with His Father. Through the Acts of the Apostles the good news of Christ would begin to be spread around the world. show less

If you're a current or former Seventh-day Adventist, you've definitely heard of Ellen White. Her influence in helping shape the Adventist Church was immense. And devout Adventists quote her often--for good or for ill. The Conflict of the Ages series is her foray into biblical history and commentary.

Some of the commentary is quite good, while other troubling parts of the Bible are skipped over completely. Not surprising, but very disappointing. I was really hoping for commentary on Deborah's show more judgeship, for example.

I should also add that part of my baggage with Patriarchs and Prophets comes from hearing people talk about how much they loooooove reading White. Some might call me sacriligious, but I do not feel this way after reading the first book in the series. There are several reasons that have more to do with style and presentation of content than the actual content itself. I found it informative, but not as much as I was expecting. 2.5 stars. show less

How did Israel go from building Solomon’s magnificent temple as the center of true worship to humiliating exile to celebrated restoration to eventual not being prepared for the coming of Christ? In Prophets and Kings, Ellen G. White’s commentary highlights the impact of individuals who instead of staying true to God’s law went their own way resulting in terrible consequences not only for themselves but those they governed even as God rose up honest men to confront and induce them to show more return to him. This 750 page book on sacred history shows the state of ‘the House of Israel’ came to be as it was at the time of Christ’s time on Earth.

The highpoint of the nation of Israel was at the beginning of Solomon’s reign with the building of the Temple, in her writing White highlights how the nation was fulfilling the covenant only for its own King to turn from God to disastrous results. Through the latter part of Solomon’s reign, the beginnings of his son Rehoboam’s reign in Judah and Jeroboam’s reign in Israel the seeds of Israel’s captivity were sown with turning away from God to idolatry. Throughout the time of the divided kingdom, White illustrated God’s continual effort to turn His people back towards him through the intercession of prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, and Jeremiah only to see a remnant remain true. As White relates, after the restoration Israel had turned away from idolatry only to added legality and tradition onto God’s law making it burdensome to those wanting to follow Him and setting the stage for culture when Christ came.

Prophets and Kings is the second in the five-book Conflict of Ages series, but it was the last written publication by Ellen White in her life. Not only did White illuminate sacred history from Solomon’s time to the restoration after the Babylonian Captivity, she also used her pen to give comfort to believers today as Christian await the Second Coming of Christ even though the world seems to grow darker just like it appeared to God’s remnant as Israel was taken into captivity. Yet after finishing this book, sacred history is still awaiting Christ’s first coming, The Desire of Ages. show less

How does a Christian explain the actions of the God of the Old Testament to an unbeliever or answer questions of their own when comparing God in the Old and New Testaments? In Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen G. White gives an insightful commentary of events from the fall of Lucifer in Heaven through to the end of David’s reign over Israel. Over the course of 800 pages, she shows how throughout the ages that a conflict between right and wrong, truth and error has been played out through the show more lives of those individuals in the Old Testament.

From the start, White answers why God permitted evil to exist in the first place and then proceeded to show how sin separated man from God with the resulting evils that followed. Throughout the book, White shows that every major Biblical individual has sinned and the terrible consequences that have resulted not only immediately but over the course of years, if not centuries and millennia. Also the actions of the nation of Israel as a whole are painfully shown throughout as falling short of their covenant with God made at Sinai.

However, not every Biblical story is written on over the course of time covered in this book was touched upon. The stories of many of the judges and of Job were either not touched up or just mentioned, not because they were not important but because of White’s framework of giving a clear picture to the conflict between God and Satan from its beginnings in Heaven to its finish before the Creation of the New Earth.

Patriarchs and Prophets is the first in the five-book Conflict of the Ages series, written by Ellen White. After reading it you’ll have a clearer understanding of why God allowed evil to exit and of His actions throughout the early Old Testament. Yet, after finishing this book the whole story isn’t complete and I hope you’ll feel the need to read what happens next. show less