Well, my dear Willie and Edson and Emma, let us draw very nigh to God. Let us live daily as we would wish we had lived when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, and when everyone will be rewarded according to his works. . . . Tell Mary to find me some histories of the Bible that would give me the order of events. [Bold added.]

[IN THE PREPARATION OF THE DESIRE OF AGES SUCH WORKS WERE USED IN DETERMINING THE ORDER OF EVENTS. ON THIS POINT MARIAN DAVIS, WRITING TO THE MANAGER OF THE PACIFIC PRESS, STATED ON NOVEMBER 23, 1896, “IN THE ORDER OF CHAPTERS WE FOLLOWED ANDREWS’ HARMONY AS GIVEN IN HIS LIFE OF CHRIST. HE IS GENERALLY REGARDED AS THE VERY BEST AUTHORITY, AND IS QUOTED BY LEADING WRITERS. WE KNOW OF NO BETTER ARRANGEMENT THAN HIS.” SAMUEL J. ANDREWS, THE LIFE OF OUR LORD UPON THE EARTH, FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1862. THE 1891 EDITION WAS IN ELLEN WHITE’S LIBRARY. HIS “HARMONY OF THE GOSPELS” APPEARS ON PAGES XXII TO XXVII.--COMPILERS.]

I have nothing and can find nothing in the library here [Basel, Switzerland].--Letter 38, 1885, p. 8. {3SM 122.1} [Bold added.]

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By this statement the compilers acknowledge that Ellen G. White’s comments relating to the sequence of events of Passion Week are not the result of Divine inspiration from God to her, but that she relied on Marian Davis’ judgment in selecting the religious writings upon which her comments are based. It is Marian Davis’ statement that Samuel J. Andrews is generally regarded as the very best authority, is quoted by leading writers, and that she knew of no better arrangement than his. From this it can be positively concluded that Ellen White’s statements regarding the sequence of events of Passion Week are not the result of Divine inspiration, but are the result of taking editorial liberties with the writings of a protestant minister. It should further be noticed that his description of the sequence of events is nothing more than a restatement of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

I have in my possession a copy of the 1891 edition of the book The Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth, by Samuel J. Andrews. Most of what Andrews does is to review and analyze the writings of other scholars as they describe their understanding of the sequence of events of Passion Week. Andrews shows that these scholars differ widely in their beliefs regarding the sequence of events and that all of this is based on their bias from a Sunday keeping perspective. The only thing they share in common is that the resurrection was on Sunday morning. However, not one of them took the time to analyze the words in the Greek to determine the timing of these events. Ellen White followed Marian Davis who was following those who believe in Sunday sacredness as the basis for the time at which all these events must have taken place.

~ Gerald Brown, Ed.D.