I have a most earnest desire that you shall enter the city of God, not as a culprit barely pardoned, but as a conqueror. My brother, will you think of this? If you are true and humble and faithful in this life, you will be given an abundant entrance. Then the tree of life will be yours, for you will be a victor over sin; the city whose builder and maker is God will be your city. Let your imagination take hold upon things unseen. Let your thoughts be carried away to the evidences of the great love of God for you. In contemplating the object of which you are in pursuit, you will lose the sense of pain brought by the light afflictions that are but for a moment. 8T 125.1 Paul's Experience Copenhagen, July 17, 1886 Paul was a man who knew what it means to be a partaker of Christ's sufferings. You have no need that I repeat the history of his trials. His life was one of constant activity, notwithstanding he was subject to many infirmities. He was continually followed by the hatred and malice…
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Ellen White directly references Romans 8:18 in this passage.
"For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
EGW's phrase "abundant entrance" directly echoes 2 Peter 1:11. The context of striving for a place in God's kingdom further strengthens the connection.
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."
EGW mentions the "tree of life" and being a "victor," which directly alludes to Revelation 2:7, promising the tree of life to those who overcome. The connection is clear and intentional.
"For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
EGW's reference to "the city whose builder and maker is God" is a direct allusion to Hebrews 11:10. The wording is nearly identical, indicating a clear connection.