Visions of Anna Phillips
85
The Mingling of the Sublime and the Ridiculous
I have received from God the warning which I now send to you.
Anna Phillips should not have been given the encouragement she has
had; it has been a great injury to her—fastened her in a deception. I
am sorry that any of our brethren and sisters are ready to take up with
these supposed revelations, and imagine they see in them the divine
credentials. These things are not of the right character to accomplish
the work essential for this time. Childish figures and illustrations
are employed in describing sacred, heavenly things, and there is a
mingling of the sublime and the ridiculous. While the work has an
appearance of great sanctity, it is calculated to ensnare and mislead
souls
[90]
Various things will appear claiming to be revelations from God,
but which flow from the imagination of a conceited and deceived mind.
We had to meet these things in our early experience. There were
youth and children as well as those of mature age who claimed to
be led and taught of God, having a special message to declare. They
were springing up on every side, having the truth on some points, and
error upon other points. For years the message from God came to me,
“Believe them not, for they lead into false paths. God hath not sent
them.”—
Letter 4, 1893
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Test All So-Called Visions
As the report has been quite widely circulated that Sister White
has endorsed what has been written and circulated as revelations from
God to Miss Anna Phillips, I feel that it is my duty to speak. I have
not endorsed these productions. Warnings have been given to me
in reference to them, that they will most certainly mislead. Woven
in them will be statements that will lead to extremes, and to wrong
actions on the part of those who accept them. It would be well for
our brethren and sisters to move more cautiously, in accordance with
the light given them. They should test these so-called visions before
accepting them, and presenting them in connection with the light God
has given me. I see that our people are in danger of making grave
blunders and premature movements. God says of these prophets that
are springing up, “I have not sent them, and yet they ran. Believe them
not.”