Solid as a Rock

It was just a small card pressed into the hand of a young man at his baptism. On one side was a detailed picture of the image described in Daniel 2, standing on top of the world. Not long after receiving the card, the eager Bible student typed explanatory notes on the back side of the card. Little did 20-year-old Franz Hasel realize the important role that card would play in future events.

Two decades later the Second World War broke out. Hasel, now 40 years old and married with three children, was drafted into the army of Adolf Hitler. As a Seventh-day Adventist conscientious objector, he asked to serve as a medic, but was instead placed on the front lines building bridges for Hitler’s war machine.

Determined, by God’s grace, to be true to his faith, Hasel brought his Bible, along with the little card outlining the prophecy of Daniel 2, into the battle with him. As the war progressed, Hasel faced many challenges but remained true, eventually winning the confidence and admiration of many of his fellow soldiers, including his company commander.

As the German front pushed east, Hasel and company eventually found themselves deep into the Russian territory of the Soviet Union. But in spite of the demands of military life, Hasel was faithful in reading his Bible daily.

Bible Study In A War Zone

One day he was summoned to the commander’s office and told to bring his Bible with him. Dutifully he arrived at the appointed time and was surprised to find his supervising sergeant and lieutenant there as well. Without delay the commander began asking questions regarding various Bible teachings. Patiently Hasel answered the commander’s questions, showing him answers from the Bible texts. Eventually the commander was satisfied and exclaimed, “So you do know your Bible inside and out!”1

Now it was Hasel’s turn to ask some questions. Knowing that in civilian life the commander was a history professor, Hasel stated, “The Bible contains some prophecies with historical content that were written around 600 B.C. . . . I have always wanted to check them out with an expert in the field. Would you be willing to let me present them, and then give me your feedback on the accuracy of the facts?”

The commander readily agreed, and Hasel proceeded with the intriguing study found in Daniel 2, explaining how the different metals of gold, silver, bronze, and iron represented the kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

Astonished, the commander confirmed the historical accuracy of the ancient prophecy. He then asked about the meaning of the image’s feet. “Franz explained the 10 toes represented the 10 tribes of modern Europe. He described the characteristics of iron and clay that make it impossible for these two substances to stick together. With that, he brought the Bible study to a conclusion.”2

Fighting A Losing Battle

The commander was quiet for a moment, then asked, “What does it mean?” Praying for courage, Hasel explained, “The only conclusion a Bible student can come to is that the Führer cannot win this war. It will not be possible for him to unite Europe under his leadership and establish his 1,000-year Third Reich.” Pressing the point further, he added, “Sir, the Bible’s predictions have been proved accurate again and again. And if they’re accurate here, it means that we’re fighting a losing battle.”3

Everyone in the room was silent. Suddenly the commander stood up, announcing it was time for lunch, and asking to borrow Franz’s Bible. A week later the commander returned the Bible, telling Franz privately, “I appreciate what you shared with me. From now on we will no longer operate a third of our motorized vehicles. The gasoline rations thus saved I want you to store in drums and canisters so that when the end comes we will have enough fuel to get back home.”4

Based on the commander’s actions because of his belief in the accuracy of the interpretation of Daniel 2, and specifically of the image’s toes conveying the fact that Europe would never unite, the company had enough fuel for their retreat, saving the life of Hasel and several others, including the commanding officer who believed.

The Interpretation Is Sure

Let’s briefly review the end of that magnificent prophecy in Daniel 2, which so accurately describes the history of modern Europe, followed by the second coming of Christ: “And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure” (verses 42-45).

Friends, today we too are given the assurance that the “dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” The prophecies found in the books of Daniel and Revelation are absolutely reliable. By the accuracy of their fulfillment in the past, we can rest assured that what is predicted for the future will also be fulfilled. Let’s claim the beautiful promise given to us in 2 Chronicles 20:20: “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”

Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. Additional articles and commentaries are available from the president’s office on Twitter: @pastortedwilson and on Facebook: @Pastor Ted Wilson.

After the General Conference Session at Minneapolis in 1888, Ellen White was asked what she thought of the new light Ellet J. Waggoner and Alonzo T. Jones had presented. She responded, “Why, I have been presenting it to you for the last 45 years—the matchless charms of Christ. This is what I have been trying to present before your minds.”1 What did she mean by “the matchless charms of Christ,” and is there evidence that she presented them earlier in her ministry?

Emphasis In Her Early Ministry

Ellen White’s first use of the expression “matchless charms” in reference to Christ appears in a testimony in 1857. She wrote, “If Christ be in us the hope of glory, we shall discover such matchless charms in Him that the soul will be enamored. It will cleave to Him, choose to love Him, and in admiration of Him, self will be forgotten. Jesus will be magnified and adored,

Discovering the Spirit of Prophecy and self abased and humbled.”2 She used the similar expression “matchless depths of a Saviour’s love” several times throughout her early writings.

In 1852 she wrote about the happiness of children in the new earth: “They will look to the blessed Saviour who has given Himself for them, and, with admiration and love for Him who is smiling upon them, raise their voices and sing to His praise and glory, while they feel and realize the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.”3 In another article she described Christ’s sacrifice for their salvation. “He died that you might live. O What a sacrifice was this! The tongue of an angel cannot tell the ‘matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.’ ”4 It is interesting that these early expressions were all addressed to young people.

Between 1858 and 1864 Ellen White wrote four volumes titled Spiritual Gifts, which contain the earliest version of the great controversy theme. While the expressions appear infrequently in these

The Matchless Charms of Christ

As presented in Ellen White’s earlier writings writings, when used they continue to highlight the Christocentric focus of her writings. For example, we find these words of amazement: “I lay down the pen, and exclaim, O what love! What wondrous love! The most exalted language cannot describe the glory of heaven, nor the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love.”5

One of the most impressive descriptions in all of Ellen White’s writings of the sufferings and atoning death of Christ was first published in 1869.6 No one who carefully reads this chapter could ever think that Ellen White’s focus on the cross of Christ came to the fore only in the latter part of her ministry. Note this passage: “The scenes of Calvary call for the deepest emotion. . . . The length, the breadth, the height, the depth, of such amazing love we cannot fathom. The contemplation of the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love should fill the mind, touch and melt the soul, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character.”7

CONTINUED EMPHASIS, 1869 TO 1888

Because of the emphasis given to the 1888 General Conference Session, her Christocentric focus in the preceding decades has often been overlooked, even underrated. Consider these examples. From 1869: “We see beauty, and loveliness, and glory in Jesus. We behold in Him matchless charms.”8 In May 1870: “I recommend to you Jesus, my blessed Saviour. I adore Him; I magnify Him. Oh, that I had an immortal tongue, that I could praise Him as I desire! that I could stand before the assembled universe and speak in praise of His matchless charms!”9 In an earnest testimony to ministers: “They should keep before the mind the worth of souls, and the matchless depths of a Saviour’s love. This will awaken the soul so that with David they may say: ‘My heart was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned.’ ”10

In 1876 Ellen White published a series of articles about her early life, Christian experience, and labors. In describing her opposers following the disappointment of 1844, she observed, “Those who had little interest for the salvation of souls . could not comprehend the love of God in my soul that quickened my desire to help those in darkness to the same light that cheered my path.” Then she made this significant remark: “Could they also have seen what had been revealed to me of God’s matchless love for men, manifested in giving His only Son to die for them, they would not have doubted my sincerity.”11

The death of Ellen White’s husband, James White, in August 1881 brought grief and loneliness, but it only intensified her desire to trust more fully in Christ and to uplift Him before fellow Christians and unbelievers. At the funeral she spoke about the resurrection, saying, “I look to that morning when the broken family links shall be re-united, and we shall see the King in His beauty, and behold His matchless charms, and cast our glittering crowns at His feet, and touch the golden harp and fill all Heaven with the strains of our music and songs to the Lamb. We will sing together there. We will triumph around the great white throne.”12

Ellen White spent two years in Europe, from 1885 to 1887. Her sermons contain frequent appeals to the matchless charms of Christ. A few examples will suffice. Preaching at Grimsby, England, she urged the importance of Bible study: “You should search the Bible, for it tells you of Jesus. I want you to read the Bible and see the matchless charms of Jesus. I want you to fall in love with the Man of Calvary, so that at every step you can say to the world, ‘His ways are ways of pleasantness, and all His paths are peace’ (see Proverbs 3:17).”13 About a month later, at Nimes, France, she raised the question, “Shall we not work for the Master?” Answering her own question, she urged, “We must put our best intellect to work for the Master. We must confess Christ to the world in His matchless charms.”14

Conclusion

Ellen White’s writings were Christ-centered from beginning to end. She continually presented the matchless love of God manifested in Christ’s incarnation, ministry, suffering, atoning death, and the unspeakable gift of Christ’s righteousness for undeserving sinners. She exalted her Savior as the one altogether lovely, the Desire of all ages and all nations. For her it could all be summed up in the phrase “the matchless charms of Christ.” She was therefore fully justified when she said in 1889 that she had been presenting the matchless charms of Christ for the past 45 years. She continued to do so for another quarter century. And it was her desire, expressed in 1870, to do so for all eternity: “Oh, that I had an immortal tongue, that I could praise Him as I desire! That I could stand before the assembled universe and speak in praise of His matchless charms!”15

1 Ellen G. White, Sermons and Talks (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 1, pp. 116, 117.

2 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 1, pp. 162, 163.

3 In The Youth’s Instructor, October 1852.

4 In Review and Herald, July 25, 1854.

5 Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts (Battle Creek, Mich.: Seventh-day Adventist Pub. Assn., 1858), vol. 1, pp. 210, 211.

6 Now found in Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 200-215.

7 Ibid., p. 213.

8 In Review and Herald, Apr. 19, 1870. Toward the end of those remarks Ellen White called upon her hearers not to dwell upon their troubles and perplexities, but rather upon “the matchless charms of the loving Saviour, and His undying love for sinners” (ibid.).

9 In Review and Herald, May 31, 1870; also in Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 593.

10 Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 504.

11 In Signs of the Times, May 11, 1876.

12 Ellen G. White, In Memoriam: A Sketch of the Last Sickness and Death of Elder James White (Battle Creek, Mich.: Review and Herald Press, 1881), p. 43.

13 Ellen G. White manuscript 80, 1886, in Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 9, pp. 250, 251, retrieved from https://egwwritings.org/book/b14054.

14 Ellen G. White manuscript 39, 1886, in E. G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, p. 70, retrieved from https://egwwritings.org/ book/b14054.

15 Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 593.

Peter M. van Bemmelen, Th.D., is professor of theology, emeritus, at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. This article was adapted from a Festschrift for Hans LaRondelle in Christ, Salvation, and the Eschaton, published in 2009.