EGW → Biblical Foundation
Select an Ellen White book from the sidebar to see each passage mapped to the Bible verses it amplifies, cites, or echoes.
Scripture Index
Ellen White & Bible Cross-Reference
Jeremiah 4:3
"For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."
"The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil must be broken up by deep repentance for sin. Poisonous, Satanic plants must be uprooted. The soil once overgrown by thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor. So the evil tendencies of the natural heart can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus. The Lord bids us by His prophet, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” “Sow to yourselves in righteousness; reap in mercy.” Jeremiah 4:3 ; Hosea 10:12 . This work He desires to accomplish for us, and He asks us to co-operate with Him. COL 56.2"
EGW directly quotes Jeremiah 4:3.
"The youth should be instructed in a similar way. From the tilling of the soil, lessons may constantly be learned. No one settles upon a raw piece of land with the expectation that it will at once yield a harvest. Diligent, persevering labor must be put forth in the preparation of the soil, the sowing of the seed, and the culture of the crop. So it must be in the spiritual sowing. The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil must be broken up by repentance. The evil growths that choke the good grain must be uprooted. As soil once overgrown with thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor, so the evil tendencies of the heart can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Christ. Ed 111.2"
Both passages use the metaphor of tilling the soil to represent spiritual preparation and the removal of negative influences. EGW elaborates on the idea of breaking up the 'garden of the heart,' which directly parallels Jeremiah's call to 'break up your fallow ground.'
"Many who were converted through the influence of the 1854 movement need to be converted anew. And now tenfold more labor is required to correct the wrong, distracting views which they have received from their teachers, and to lead them to receive the truth unmixed with error, than would have been necessary to bring them out in the first place upon the third angel's message. This class must unlearn before they can learn aright, else the poisonous weeds of error would grow rank and root out the precious seeds of truth. Error must first be rooted up, then the soil is prepared for the good seed to spring up and bear fruit to the glory of God. 1T 411.1"
Both passages use the agricultural metaphor of preparing the ground for planting. Jeremiah speaks of breaking up fallow ground and not sowing among thorns, while EGW speaks of rooting up error to prepare the soil for good seed. The connection is strong and meaningful.
Jeremiah 4:19
"My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war."
"“I am pained at my very heart,” Jeremiah exclaims as he beholds the desolations wrought during the closing scenes of earth's history. “I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.” Jeremiah 4:19, 20 . PK 726.4"
EGW directly quotes Jeremiah 4:19, 20.
"“I am pained at my very heart; ... I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.” Ed 180.4"
The EGW passage is a direct quote from Jeremiah 4:19.
"“I am pained at my very heart; ... I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.” Jeremiah 4:19, 20 . PK 538.1"
The EGW passage directly quotes Jeremiah 4:19, making it a clear and explicit allusion.
Jeremiah 4:20
"Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment."
"“I am pained at my very heart; ... I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled.” Jeremiah 4:19, 20 . PK 538.1"
The EGW passage directly quotes Jeremiah 4:20, making it a clear and explicit allusion.
Jeremiah 4:23
"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light."
"Of those times of transition, when the pride of man shall be laid low, Jeremiah testifies: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 4:23-26 ; 30:7 . PK 727.2"
EGW directly quotes Jeremiah 4:23-26 ; 30:7.
Jeremiah 4:23-26
"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger."
"Of those times of transition, when the pride of man shall be laid low, Jeremiah testifies: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 4:23-26 ; 30:7 . PK 727.2"
Ellen White directly references Jeremiah 4:23-26 in this passage.
The revelator foretells the banishment of Satan and the condition of chaos and desolation to which the earth is to be reduced, and he declares that this condition will exist for a thousand years. After presenting the scenes of the Lord's second coming and the destruction of the wicked, the prophecy continues: “I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” Revelation 20:1-3 . GC 658.2 That the expression “bottomless pit” represents the earth in a state of confusion and darkness is evident from other scriptures. Concerning the condition of the earth “in the beginning,” the Bible record says that it “wa…
Ellen White directly references Jeremiah 4:23-26 in this passage.
Jeremiah 4:25
"I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled."
"Of those times of transition, when the pride of man shall be laid low, Jeremiah testifies: “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down.” “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 4:23-26 ; 30:7 . PK 727.2"
The EGW passage directly quotes Jeremiah 4:25.