Dear Elder Fagal, Thank you for your excellent answer to my question. Now I must narrow my question to a specific quote on a specific page. I am sure you are very familiar with this quote. What year was it written? In reference to this quote, have you checked the US Census 2000 web page to see how many people were alive in year 2000 in the US who were 110 years of age or older? The count was over 3000. I had no idea there were that many that old. Did you?

Thanks for your time and information,
God Bless,
Brother ___________

Prophets and Kings, page 605, paragraph 1 Chapter Title: In the Days of Queen Esther The trying experiences that came to God's people in the days of Esther were not peculiar to that age alone. The revelator, looking down the ages to the close of time, has declared, "The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17. Some who today are living on the earth will see these words fulfilled. The same spirit that in ages past led men to persecute the true church, will in the future lead to the pursuance of a similar course toward those who maintain their loyalty to God. Even now preparations are being made for this last great conflict.

Dear Brother ___________,

Thanks for your follow-up message. I did not find an earlier published source for this statement, and I don't have the technology here to try to trace it to one of Mrs. White's letters or manuscripts. This may not be a fruitful quest, anyway. I'll tell you why I think that this is so.

First, haven't we already seen that the dragon *is* making war with the remnant? While we have not suffered much persecution here in this country (exceptions would include the Tennessee chain gangs in the 1880s, if I remember correctly, with Adventists in them for violation of Sunday), Adventists in other countries cannot say the same. How about Latin America, Communist Russia, and parts of China today? Or how about parts of Southeast Asia today? Adventists have experienced persecution for their faith in these places. Hasn't the dragon made war on them?

Second, we are on shaky ground when we try to use statements such as this to judge how near we may be to the final events and the second coming. In 1856 Mrs. White had a vision that her critics love to jump on, in which an angel told her that some who attended a Conference in Battle Creek that year would be alive when Jesus came. Some Adventists kept track of those who were present, believing that Jesus would surely come before the last of them died. But the last was W. C. White, who died in 1937. We believe, based on other things Mrs. White said, that this promise was conditional upon God's people fulfilling the task that He had for them. For more information, look at these two documents on our website: http://www.WhiteEstate.org/issues/1856visn.html http://www.WhiteEstate.org/issues/delay.html

I hope this may be useful to you. Thank you for writing again, and God bless!

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William Fagal, Director
Ellen G. White Estate Branch Office
Andrews University
Berrien Springs, MI 49104-1400 USA
Phone: 616 471-3209
FAX: 616 471-2646
Website: www.WhiteEstate.org or www.egwestate.andrews.edu
E-mail: egw@aubranch.egwestate.andrews.edu