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The centrality of the Bible “Search the Scriptures carefully to see what is true. . . . The truth can lose nothing by close investigation. Let the Word of God speak for itself, let it be its own interpreter. Our people, individually, must understand Bible truth more thoroughly, for they certainly will be called before councils; they will be criticized by keen and critical minds. It is one thing to give assent to the truth, and another thing, through close examination as Bible students, to know what is truth. The centrality of the Bible “Many, many will be lost because they have not studied their Bibles upon their knees, with earnest prayer to God that the entrance of the Word of God might give light to their understanding. . . . The Word of God is the great detector of error; to it we believe everything must be brought. The Bible must be our standard for every doctrine and practice. . . . The centrality of the Bible “We are to receive no one’s opinion without comparing it with the Scriptures. Here is divine authority, which is supreme in matters of faith. It is the word of the living God that is to decide all controversies.” (1888 Materials 38-40, 44, 45, written August 5, 1888 to “Brethren Who Shall Assemble in General Conference”) The Second Coming of Christ The Second Coming of Jesus was of central importance to Ellen White from the time of her conversion in the Millerite experience in the 1840s. The reality of the nearness of the Advent dominated her life and shaped her writing career. The Second Coming of Christ “The Second Coming is a focal point of truth in the Bible, it is the climax of salvation in Christ, it signals the beginning of the end of the great controversy between good and evil, it is a supreme expression of God’s love, it is the point of the three angel’s messages, and it provides an incentive for Christian living. The Second Coming left no part of Ellen White’s thinking unaffected.” (George Knight, Meeting Ellen White, pp. 117-118) Th