The ''Conflict of the Ages'' is a book series written by American

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

author

Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American author, and was both the prophet and a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husb ...

(1827–1915).

Overview

The books follow the supposed Biblical history of the world, with special focus on the conflict between Christ and Satan. The series starts with the pre-creation rebellion of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

in Heaven, then moves on to the creation of the earth, the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, the Old Testament, the birth and ministry of Jesus until His ascension, then the early Christian church, the Dark Ages, the Protestant reformation, the last days of earth's history, the

second coming of Christ The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven (which is said to have occurred about two thousand years ago). The ...

, the

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

, and the destruction of

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

and finally the recreation of earth and God's kingdom with man for eternity. This progression explains in detail the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) understanding of the conflict between Christ and Satan and their understanding of the Bible and much of world history. Mrs. White wrote the books based on her research of other authors and special information which she claimed to receive through visions from God. The books thus include unique insights and concepts not found in other works of the time.

Controversy

Some Seventh-day Adventists have viewed Ellen G. White's writings, in particular the Conflict of the Ages series, as authoritative, verbally inspired by God, virtually on par with the Bible. However, Ellen White herself did not hold those views: her son, W.C. White, wrote in 1912 "Mother never thought that the readers would take it as authority on historical dates or use it to settle controversy regarding details of history, and she does not now feel that it should be used in that way." Instead, Ellen White's purpose in writing the Conflict of the Ages series was to demonstrate God's love throughout the events of world history, and in so doing, defend the character of God.

History

The idea for the Conflict of the Ages series originated from an 1858 book written by Ellen White, titled Spiritual Gifts Vol. 1: The Great Controversy between Christ and His Angels, and Satan and His Angels. The success of the book led to plans for the book to be expanded into four volumes, titled The Spirit of Prophecy. The first volume was published in 1870, the last in 1884. By 1888, sales had been so great that the publisher informed Ellen White that they needed to completely reset the type for the book because the old type had worn out. The Great Controversy was rewritten for a wider audience, and was expanded to its current five volumes; the name "Conflict of the Ages" was applied to the series for the first time. Two of the volumes written during this era, Patriarchs and Prophets and The Desire of Ages, were written with the aftermath of the

1888 Minneapolis General Conference The 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session was a meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in October 1888. It is regarded as a landmark event in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Ch ...

in mind; the volumes succeeded in rooting legalism out of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Then in 1917, the series was completed for the last time. Citations were added to keep up with modern sourcing standards. This edition of the Conflict of the Ages was almost entirely overseen by the author Ellen White; the last two chapters of volume two, Prophets and Kings, were assembled from Ellen White's notes in order to complete the work.

Books

''Patriarchs and Prophets'' (1890)

Volume 1 covers from the rebellion of Satan in heaven to King

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

''Prophets and Kings'' (1917)

Volume 2 covers events from King

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

Malachi Malachi or Malachias (; ) is the name used by the author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh. It is possible that ''Malachi'' is not a proper name, because it means "messenger"; ...

''The Desire of Ages'' (1898)

Volume 3 covers the life and ministry of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

''Acts of the Apostles'' (1911)

Volume 4 covers from the

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...

John the Revelator John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian; ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:9 states that John was on Patmos, an Aegean island off the coast of R ...

Patmos Patmos (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where, according to Christian belief, John of Patmos received the vision found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. ...

.http://www.whiteestate.org/issues/last4books.html, see also

''The Great Controversy'' (1888/1911)

Volume 5 covers the 70 A.D. destruction of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, through Church History, to the end of sin and the recreation of the earth.

References

Sources

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External links

Online versions
from the

Ellen G. White Estate Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American author, and was both the prophet and a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husb ...

website
Connecting with Jesus
resources from the church in North America. These include free audio downloads of contemporary adaptations of the Conflict series {{Authority control Books by Ellen G. White 1858 books Seventh-day Adventist theology Seventh-day Adventist media