Ellen claimed God purposefully orchestrated the false message that Millerites would know the exact day and hour of Jesus’ Coming; that God sent the Holy Spirit to lead people into the belief that Jesus would return in 1843, and then 1844. She claimed God sanctioned and designed the false belief in the time of Jesus' coming in order to lead to the Great Disappointment as a planned test for humanity. Scripture is clear that God does not reveal all truths at once and there are many mysteries within it. The mystery of the Messiah Himself was veiled throughout the Old Testament times, and wasn't fully revealed until His life, death, and resurrection. However, God sustaining a mystery to be later revealed is very different than God willfully deceiving humanity into a blatant lie and falsehood. Ellen claimed that God designed to deceive humanity to believe Jesus would return in 1843/1844, and then after the Great Disappointment, revealed that this was in fact false; but the date was actually changed to represent a different theological event entirely. The God portrayed within scripture, however, does not lie to humans in order to test them. Although God's truths may be gradually revealed, His truths do not contradict each other as His revelations proceed; God cannot lie. He is one "with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17.

 

Scripture:

 

• “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36

 

God Does Not Lie or Deceive:

 

• “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior.” Titus 1: 1-3

 

• “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.” Hebrews 6:17-18

 

• “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19

 

• “So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.” 1 Samuel 15:28-29

 

• “What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? Far from it! Rather, God must prove to be true, though every person be found a liar, as it is written: “So that You are justified in Your words, And prevail when You are judged.” Romans 3:3-4

 

• “The words of the Lord are pure words; Like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times. You, Lord, will keep them.” Psalm 12:6-7

 

• “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6

 

•  “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17

 

God Hates Dishonesty:

• "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren." Proverbs 6:16–19: 

 

• "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight." Proverbs 12:22:

 

• "A righteous man hates lying, but a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame." Proverbs 13:5: 

 

• "A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape." Proverbs 19:5

 

•  "...all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 21:8

 

• "You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another." Leviticus 19:11

 

• "Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds." Colossians 3:9

 

• "Therefore, putting away lying, 'Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,' for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25

 

• "‘Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor, and love no false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’ says the Lord.” Zechariah 8:17: 

 

• “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; he who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.” Psalm 101:7

 

• “You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” Psalm 5:6

 

 

Ellen G. White:

The 1843 Prophetic Chart, officially titled "A Chronological Chart of the Visions of Daniel & John" was designed in 1842 by Millerite preachers Charles Fitch and Apollos Hale to map out the mathematical calculations of William Miller's end-times prophecies. Ellen White asserted that this 1843 prophetic chart, which proclaimed the false date of the return of Jesus, was directed by God and that it was His plan to lead the Millerites to the false belief that the time was correct. According to Ellen's testimony, God had intentionally veiled a mathematical error in the figures of the chart in order to test believers via the Great Disappointment, to see whether they would be loyal or not. 

Prophetic charts: https://www.truthseeker.church/the-prophetic-chart-of-1843 

 

• “The message given by Miller and his associates announced the termination of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, of which the seventy weeks form a part. The preaching of each was based upon the fulfillment of a different portion of the same great prophetic period. Like the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented them from arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point in the prophecy. Therefore, though they proclaimed the message which God had committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment.” … “In explaining Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” Miller, as has been stated, adopted the generally received view that the earth is the sanctuary, and he believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary represented the purification of the earth by fire at the coming of the Lord. When, therefore, he found that the close of the 2300 days was definitely foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time of the second advent. His error resulted from accepting the popular view as to what constitutes the sanctuary.” … “Those who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time.” … “Yet God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their hearts. The message was designed for the testing and purification of the church. They were to be led to see whether their affections were set upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They professed to love the Saviour; now they were to prove their love.” … “The proclamation of a definite time for Christ’s coming called forth great opposition from many of all classes, from the minister in the pulpit down to the most reckless, Heaven-daring sinner. The words of prophecy were fulfilled: “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4.” … “Angels of God were watching with the deepest interest the result of the warning. When there was a general rejection of the message by the churches, angels turned away in sadness. God designed to prove His people. His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. Adventists did not discover the error, nor was it discovered by the most learned of their opponents. The latter said: “Your reckoning of the prophetic periods is correct. Some great event is about to take place; but it is not what Mr. Miller predicts; it is the conversion of the world, and not the second advent of Christ.” The time of expectation passed, and Christ did not appear for the deliverance of His people. Those who with sincere faith and love had looked for their Saviour, experienced a bitter disappointment. Yet the purposes of God were being accomplished; He was testing the hearts of those who professed to be waiting for His appearing.” The Great Controversy, (1911), 351-374 https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/132.1565#1603 

 

• "I have seen that the 1843 chart was directed by the hand of the Lord, and that it should not be altered; that the figures were as He wanted them; that His hand was over and hid a mistake in some of the figures, so that none could see it, until His hand was removed." Early Writings, p. 74 https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/28.475#476 

 

• “I saw that God was in the proclamation of the time in 1843. It was His design to arouse the people and bring them to a testing point, where they should decide for or against the truth. Ministers were convinced of the correctness of the positions taken on the prophetic periods, and some renounced their pride, and left their salaries and their churches to go forth from place to place to give the message.” … “Thousands were led to embrace the truth preached by William Miller, and servants of God were raised up in the spirit and power of Elijah to proclaim the message.” … “The preaching of definite time called forth great opposition from all classes, from the minister in the pulpit down to the most reckless, heaven-daring sinner. “No man knoweth the day nor the hour,” was heard from the hypocritical minister and the bold scoffer. Neither would be instructed and corrected by those who were pointing to the year when they believed the prophetic periods would run out, and to the signs which showed Christ near, even at the doors. Many shepherds of the flock, who professed to love Jesus, said that they had no opposition to the preaching of Christ’s coming, but they objected to the definite time. God’s all-seeing eye read their hearts. They did not love Jesus near. They knew that their unchristian lives would not stand the test, for they were not walking in the humble path marked out by Him. These false shepherds stood in the way of the work of God.” … “Ministers who would not accept this saving message themselves hindered those who would have received it. The blood of souls is upon them. Preachers and people joined to oppose this message from heaven and to persecute William Miller and those who united with him in the work.” … “The most devoted gladly received the message. They knew that it was from God and that it was delivered at the right time. Angels were watching with the deepest interest the result of the heavenly message, and when the churches turned from and rejected it, they in sadness consulted with Jesus. He turned His face from the churches and bade His angels faithfully watch over the precious ones who did not reject the testimony, for another light was yet to shine upon them.” … “I saw the people of God joyful in expectation, looking for their Lord. But God designed to prove them. His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. Those who were looking for their Lord did not discover this mistake, and the most learned men who opposed the time also failed to see it. God designed that His people should meet with a disappointment. The time passed, and those who had looked with joyful expectation for their Saviour were sad and disheartened, while those who had not loved the appearing of Jesus, but embraced the message through fear, were pleased that He did not come at the time of expectation.” … “I saw the wisdom of God in proving His people and giving them a searching test to discover those who would shrink and turn back in the hour of trial.   Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with sympathy and love upon those who had with sweet expectation longed to see Him whom their souls loved. Angels were hovering around them, to sustain them in the hour of their trial. Those who had neglected to receive the heavenly message were left in darkness, and God’s anger was kindled against them, because they would not receive the light which He had sent them from heaven. Those faithful, disappointed ones, who could not understand why their Lord did not come, were not left in darkness. Again they were led to their Bibles to search the prophetic periods. The hand of the Lord was removed from the figures, and the mistake was explained. They saw that the prophetic periods reached to 1844, and that the same evidence which they had presented to show that the prophetic periods closed in 1843, proved that they would terminate in 1844. Light from the Word of God shone upon their position, and they discovered a tarrying time—“Though it [the vision] tarry, wait for it.” In their love for Christ’s immediate coming, they had overlooked the tarrying of the vision, which was calculated to manifest the true waiting ones. Again they had a point of time. Yet I saw that many of them could not rise above their severe disappointment to possess that degree of zeal and energy which had marked their faith in 1843. Satan and his angels triumphed over them, and those who would not receive the message congratulated themselves upon their farseeing judgment and wisdom in not receiving the delusion, as they called it. They did not realize that they were rejecting the counsel of God against themselves, and were working in union with Satan and his angels to perplex God’s people, who were living out the heaven-sent message.” Early Writings, p. 232 https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/28.1161#1163  
  • Perhaps the most critical error in Ellen's statement above is the direct quote: "His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods" followed by, "God designed that His people should meet with a disappointment." This is a severe misunderstanding of the character of God, who does not lie, and does not willfully deceive those who love Him.

 

• “I was shown the interest which all heaven had taken in the work going on upon the earth. Jesus commissioned a mighty angel to descend and warn the inhabitants of the earth to prepare for His second appearing.” … “I saw the angel of God watching with the deepest interest His professed people, to record the character which they developed as the message of heavenly origin was presented to them.” … “I saw the disappointment of the trusting ones, as they did not see their Lord at the expected time. It had been God’s purpose to conceal the future and to bring His people to a point of decision. Without the preaching of definite time for the coming of Christ, the work designed of God would not have been accomplished. Satan was leading very many to look far in the future for the great events connected with the judgment and the end of probation. It was necessary that the people be brought to seek earnestly for a present preparation.” Early Writings, p. 245 https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/28.1218#1219 

 

• “When the time passed at which the Lord’s coming was first expected,—in the spring of 1844,—those who had looked in faith for His appearing were for a season involved in doubt and uncertainty.” … “As early as 1842 the direction given in this prophecy to “write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it,” had suggested to Charles Fitch the preparation of a prophetic chart to illustrate the visions of Daniel and the Revelation. The publication of this chart was regarded as a fulfillment of the command given by Habakkuk. No one, however, then noticed that an apparent delay in the accomplishment of the vision—a tarrying time—is presented in the same prophecy.” … “So it was believed that Christ, our great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October, was regarded as the time of the Lord’s coming. This was in harmony with the proofs already presented that the 2300 days would terminate in the autumn, and the conclusion seemed irresistible.” … “Like a tidal wave the movement swept over the land.” … “It bore the characteristics that mark the work of God in every age.” … “Of all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844. Even now, after the lapse of many years, all who shared in that movement and who have stood firm upon the platform of truth still feel the holy influence of that blessed work and bear witness that it was of God.” … “The work did not stand in the wisdom and learning of men, but in the power of God. It was not the most talented, but the most humble and devoted, who were the first to hear and obey the call. Farmers left their crops standing in the fields, mechanics laid down their tools, and with tears and rejoicing went out to give the warning. Those who had formerly led in the cause were among the last to join in this movement. The churches in general closed their doors against this message, and a large company of those who received it withdrew from their connection. In the providence of God this proclamation united with the second angel’s message and gave power to that work.“ … “But again they were destined to disappointment. The time of expectation passed, and their Saviour did not appear.” … “In like manner Miller and his associates fulfilled prophecy and gave a message which Inspiration had foretold should be given to the world, but which they could not have given had they fully understood the prophecies pointing out their disappointment, and presenting another message to be preached to all nations before the Lord should come. The first and second angels’ messages were given at the right time and accomplished the work which God designed to accomplish by them.” … “They dared not deny that the power of the Holy Spirit had witnessed to the preaching of the second advent, and they could detect no error in their reckoning of the prophetic periods.” … “God thus, as we believe, has tested His people, has tried their faith, has proved them, and seen whether they would shrink, in the hour of trial, from the position in which He might see fit to place them; and whether they would relinquish this world and rely with implicit confidence in the word of God.” The Great Controversy, p. 391 https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/132.1774#1774