"“I dreamed that I, with a number of others, members of the Battle Creek Church, was on board a train of cars. The cars were low—I could hardly stand erect in them. They were ill-ventilated, having an odor as though they had not been ventilated for months. The road over which they were passing was very rough, and the cars shook about at a furious rate, sometimes causing our baggage to fall off, and sometimes throwing off some of the passengers. We had to keep stopping to get on our passengers and baggage, or repair the track. We seemed to work some time and to make little or no headway. We were indeed a sorry-looking set of travelers. 1T 601.1"
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
The dream of a difficult journey with a struggling group of people can be seen as a parallel to the narrow way described in Matthew 7:14. The train journey represents the challenges and difficulties of following the path to salvation, while the broad way is easier but leads to destruction.
"“All at once we came to a turntable, large enough to take on the whole train. Brother and Sister White were standing there and, as I stepped off the train, they said: ‘this train is going all wrong. It must be turned square about.’ They both laid hold of cranks that moved the machinery turning the table and tugged with all their might. Never did men work harder propelling a handcar than they did at the cranks of the turntable. I stood and watched till I saw the train beginning to turn, when I spoke out and said, ‘it moves,’ and laid hold to help them. I paid but little attention to the train, we were so intent upon performing our labor of turning the table. 1T 601.2"
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;"
The EGW passage describes a symbolic vision of turning a train around, which can be interpreted as a call to repentance and conversion. This aligns with the message of Acts 3:19, which urges repentance for the blotting out of sins. The act of turning the train symbolizes a change of direction, mirroring the concept of conversion.
“When we had accomplished this task, we looked up, and the whole train was transformed. Instead of the low, ill-ventilated cars on which we had been riding, there were broad, high, well-ventilated cars, with large, clear windows, the whole trimmed and gilded in a most splendid manner, more elegant than any palace or hotel car I ever saw. The track was level, smooth, and firm. The train was filling up with passengers whose countenances were cheerful and happy, yet wore an expression of assurance and solemnity. All seemed to express the greatest satisfaction at the change which had been wrought, and the greatest confidence in the successful passage of the train. Brother and Sister White were on board this time, their countenances lit up with holy joy. As the train was starting, I was so overjoyed that I awoke, with the impression on my mind that that dream referred to the church at battle creek and matters connected with the cause there. My mind was perfectly clear in regard to my duty t…
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
The dream of transformation and newness in the EGW passage echoes the concept of being a 'new creature' in Christ, but the connection is not strong enough to be considered a direct allusion. The dream is about a literal transformation of a train, while the verse is about spiritual transformation.
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
The transformed train with happy passengers in the EGW passage shares a thematic similarity with the promise of no more sorrow or pain in Revelation 21:4. Both depict a future state of joy and perfection, but the connection is not direct or explicit.