What is the truth about the three editions of Great Controversy?
The 1884 edition is excellent and fully inspired. It is shorter than the others, and many people like to read shorter books. The cost is also less. The 1888 edition is a completely new rewriting of the book, and more complete (an important point). She wrote it, so it is also fully inspired. But most of the added material is in the first, historical half of the book (more on Huss and Wycliff; more on the German, Swiss, French, Scandinavian, and English Reformation; all very helpful material). The second, last-days section is almost identical in both. Chapter 29 in the 1888 is better than the equivalent chapter in the 1884 (because there is more emphasis on the fact that the great controversy between Christ and Satan is fought over the law of God; read the two chapters together and see for yourself). The 1884 edition was written for our own people; God instructed her to write the enlarged edition for the world. Therefore, she omitted the three-page Satan monologue from it. (You will find
