"This was a time of wonderful opportunity for the Jews. The highest agencies of heaven were working on the hearts of kings, and it was for the people of God to labor with the utmost activity to carry out the decree of Cyrus. They should have spared no effort to restore the temple and its services, and to re-establish themselves in their Judean homes. But in the day of God's power many proved unwilling. The opposition of their enemies was strong and determined, and gradually the builders lost heart. Some could not forget the scene at the laying of the cornerstone, when many had given expression to their lack of confidence in the enterprise. And as the Samaritans grew more bold, many of the Jews questioned whether, after all, the time had come to rebuild. The feeling soon became widespread. Many of the workmen, discouraged and disheartened, returned to their homes to take up the ordinary pursuits of life. PK 572.1"
"Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?"
The EGW passage discusses the Jews' reluctance to rebuild the temple, mirroring the sentiment expressed in Haggai 1:4. While not a direct quote, the theme is clearly present.
"During the reign of Cambyses the work on the temple progressed slowly. And during the reign of the false Smerdis (called Artaxerxes in Ezra 4:7 ) the Samaritans induced the unscrupulous impostor to issue a decree forbidding the Jews to rebuild their temple and city. PK 572.2"
"And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue."
Ellen White directly references Ezra 4:7 in this passage.