The primary purpose of
The Shepherd's Rod
is to unlock the long-concealed mystery concerning the ever-challenging
and much discussed subject of the 144,000 (Rev. 14:1), with the central object
in view of bringing about among God's people that "thorough reformation"
foretold by the Spirit of Prophecy (Testimonies, Vol. 8, p. 251).
These truths, Divinely revealed, are of supreme importance to the church just
now because of the trying, sifting circumstances through which God's people
are soon to pass. Being vital concerns to salvation, they call for decided
action from ministry and laity alike to separate themselves from all
worldliness and to anchor themselves on the Solid Rock by obedience to all the
truth known to the church, if they would escape the forthcoming ruin that is
to take every sinner.
Its dominant doctrinal concern being the truth of the 144,000, and a
correct understanding of it being a life-and-death matter to all, the Rod
unfolds it from several different angles, each urging the Denomination to
prepare for the glorious deliverance of the saints and against the inglorious
destruction of the sinners as foretokened by the marking and the slaying
recorded in Ezekiel 9.
No new denomination is advocated;Seventh-day Adventist Denomination has been the
instrumentality of God since 1844 to carry on His work on earth, and that the
Rod adds "power and force" "to the third message." ?Early Writings, p.
277. Purporting to be the antitype of the first exodus, The Shepherd's Rod
takes its name from Moses' rod, the instrument through which the Lord
manifested His power in the deliverance of the children of Israel.
The Shepherd's Rod, the only Rod that has ever spoken, is
predicted and recommended in Micah 6:9:
"Hear ye the Rod, and [Him] Who hath appointed It."
If the Davidians think they have a
message, why are they not content to go their way and let others go
theirs? Why should they agitate their message in our church?
Tracing the church's history down
through the ages, we find that if all had taken the same position as
the questioner, the advancing Truth would never have reached the
church in any period. Had God's messengers at sundry times failed to
agitate their message in their own churches, how, then, would the
various reformatory messages have reached His people? Is He not
more interested in them than He is in the heathen? John the Baptist,
Jesus, and the apostles, all sacrificed their lives in order to take
their message to their own church. Why, then, should not the Davidians
do likewise?
"Against
these men [Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley],
persecution raged with relentless fury; yet they ceased not to declare
the truth. Different periods in the history of the church have each
been marked by the development of some special truth, adapted to the
necessities of God's people at that time. Every new truth has made its
way against hatred and opposition; those who were blessed with its
light were tempted and tried. The Lord gives a special truth for the
people in an emergency. Who dare refuse to publish it? He commands His
servants to present the last invitation of mercy to the world. They
cannot remain silent, except at the peril of their souls." --The
Great Controversy, p. 609.
Consequently, we dare not refuse to
publish the special Davidian truth for the church today.
If God has called you to be
really like Jesus, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and
humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience that you will not
be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by other
Christians; and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do
things which He will not let you do.
Other Christians and ministers,
who seem to be very religious and useful, may push themselves, pull
wires, work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it;
and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from
the Lord as will make you sorely penitent.
Others may boast of themselves,
of their work, of their success, of their writings, but the Holy
Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing; and if you begin it,
He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you
despise yourself and all your good works.
Others may be allowed to
succeed in making money, or have a legacy left to them; but it is
likely God will keep you poor, because He wants you to have something
far better than gold, namely a helpless dependence on Him, that He may
have the privilege of supplying your needs day by day out of an unseen
treasury.
The Lord may let others be
honored and put forward, and keep you hidden in obscurity, because He
wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory,
which can only be produced in the shade. He may let others be great,
but keep you small.
He may let others do a work for
Him and get the credit for it, bit He will make you work and toil
without knowing how much you are doing, and then to make your work
still more precious, He may let others get the credit for work which
you have done, and thus make your reward ten times greater when Jesus
comes.
The Holy Spirit will put a
strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for
little words and feelings, or for wasting your time and money,
which other Christians never seem distressed over.
So make up your mind that God
is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as He pleases with His
own. He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your
reason in His dealings with you; but if you absolutely sell yourself
to be His love slave, He will wrap you in a jealous love, and bestow
upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the inner
circle.
Settle it forever then, that,
you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have
the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hands, or closing
your eyes in ways that he does not seem to use with others. Now when
you are so possessed with the living God that you are in your secret
heart pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private,
jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life,
you will have found the vestibule of Heaven.
Emerging in 1930 from within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination ("the
church of the Laodiceans"), the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association has
ever been committed to the prophetic work (predicted in Isaiah 52:1) of
preparing the Laodicean church, the last with "the tares" among "the wheat,"
for the final proclamation of the gospel "in all the world." Matt. 24:14.
This Association, in common with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination,
holds ''certain fundamental beliefs, the principal features of which, together
with a portion of the Scriptural references upon which they are based," are
originally summarized as follows:
"1. That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by
inspiration of God, contain an all-sufficient revelation of His will to men,
and are the only unerring rule of faith and practice. 2 Tim 3:1517.
"2. That the Godhead, or Trinity, consists of the Eternal Father, a personal,
spiritual Being, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infinite in wisdom and
love; the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, through whom all
things were created and through whom the salvation of the redeemed hosts will
be accomplished; the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, the great
regenerating power in the work of redemption. Matt. 28:19.
"3. That Jesus Christ is very God, being of the same nature and essence as the
Eternal Father. While retaining His divine nature He took upon Himself the
nature of the human family, lived on the earth as a man, exemplified in His
life as our Example the principles of righteousness, attested His relationship
to God by many mighty miracles, died for our sins on the cross, was raised
from the dead, and ascended to the Father where He ever lives to make
intercession for us John 1:1, 14; Heb. 2:9-18; 8:1, 2; 4:14-16; 7:25.
"4. That every person in order to obtain salvation must experience the new
birth; that this comprises an entire transformation of life and character by
the recreative power of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:16;
Matt. 18:3; Acts 2:37-39.
"5. That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church and should follow
repentance and forgiveness of sins. By its observance faith is shown in the
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. That the proper form of baptism is
by immersion. Rom. 6:1-6; Acts 16:30-33.
"6. That the will of God as it relates to moral conduct is comprehended in His
law of ten commandments; that these are great moral, unchangeable precepts,
binding upon all men, in every age. Ex. 20:1-17.
"7. That the fourth commandment of this unchangeable law requires the
observance of the seventh day Sabbath. This holy institution is at the same
time a memorial of creation and a sign of sanctification, a sign of the
believer's rest from his own works of sin, and his entrance into the rest of
soul which Jesus promises to those who come to Him. Gen. 2:1-3; 1; Ex.
20:8-11; 31:12-17; Heb. 4:1-10.
"8. That the law of ten commandments points out sin, the penalty of which is
death. The law can not save the transgressor from his sin, nor impart power to
keep Him from sinning. In infinite love and mercy, God provides a way whereby
this may be done. He furnishes a substitute, even Christ the
Righteous One, to die in man's stead, making 'Him to be sin for us, who knew
no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.' 2 Cor. 5:21.
That one is justified, not by obedience to the law, but by the grace that is
in Christ Jesus. By accepting Christ, man is reconciled to God, justified by
His blood for the sins of the past, and saved from the power of sin by his
indwelling life. Thus the gospel becomes 'the power of God unto salvation to
every one that believeth.' This experience is wrought by the divine agency of
the Holy Spirit, who convinces of sin and leads to the Sin-Bearer, inducting
the believer into the new covenant relationship, where the law of God is
written on his heart, and through the enabling power of the indwelling Christ,
his life is brought into conformity to the divine precepts. The honor and
merit of this wonderful transformation belong wholly to Christ. 1 John 3:4;
Rom. 7:7; Rom. 3:20; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 John 2:1, 2; Rom. 5:8-10; Gal. 2:20; Eph.
3:17; Heb. 8:8-12.
"9. That God 'only hath immortality.' 1 Tim. 6:15. Mortal man possesses a
nature inherently sinful and dying. Eternal life is the gift of God through
faith in Christ. Rom. 6:23. 'He that hath the Son hath life.' 1 John 5:12.
Immortality is bestowed upon the righteous at the second coming of Christ,
when the righteous dead are raised from the grave and the living righteous
translated to meet the Lord. Then it is that those accounted faithful 'put on
immortality.' 1 Cor. 15:51-55.
"10. That the condition of man in death is one of unconsciousness. That all
men, good and evil alike, remain in the grave from death to the resurrection.
Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 5:28, 29.
"11. That there shall be a resurrection both of the just and of the unjust.
The resurrection of the just will take place at the second coming of Christ;
the resurrection of the unjust will take place a thousand years later, at the
close of the millennium. John 5:28, 29; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:5-10.
"12. That the finally impenitent, including Satan, the author of sin, will, by
the fires of the last day be reduced to a state of non-existence becoming as
though they had not been, thus purging God's universe of sin and sinners. Rom.
6:23; Mall 4:1-3; Rev. 20:9, 10; Obadiah 16.
"13. That no prophetic period [meaning prophetic time-setting of the exact
date of Christ's coming] is given in the Bible to reach to the second advent,
but that the longest one the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14, terminated in 1844, and
brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.
"14. That the true sanctuary, of which the tabernacle on earth was a type, is
the temple of God in Heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8 and onward, and
of which the Lord Jesus, as our great high priest, is minister; and that the
priestly work of our Lord is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of
the former dispensation; that this heavenly sanctuary is the one to be
cleansed at the end of the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14; its cleansing being, as in
the type, a work of judgment, beginning with the entrance of Christ as the
high priest upon the judgment phase of His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary
foreshadowed in the earthly service of cleansing the sanctuary on the day of
atonement. This work of judgment in the heavenly sanctuary began in 1844. Its
completion will close human probation.
"15. That God, in the time of the judgment and in accordance with His uniform
dealing with the human family in warning them of coming events vitally
affecting their destiny (Amos 3:6, 7), sends forth a proclamation of the
approach of the second advent of Christ; that this work is symbolized by the
three angels of Revelation 14; and that their three-fold message brings to
view a work of reform to prepare a people to meet him at His coming.
"16. That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, synchronizing with the
period of the proclamation of the message of Revelation 14, is a time of
investigative judgment, first with reference to the dead, and secondly, with
reference to the living. This investigative judgment determines who of the
myriads
sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first
resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation. 1
Pet. 4:17, 18; Dan. 7:9, 10; Rev. 14:6, 7; Luke 20:35.
"17. That the followers of Christ should be a godly people, not adopting the
unholy maxims nor conforming to the unrighteous ways of the world, not loving
its sinful pleasures nor countenancing its follies. That the believer should
recognize his body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that therefore he
should clothe that body in neat, modest, dignified apparel. Further, that in
eating and drinking and in his entire course of conduct he should shape his
life as becometh a follower of the meek and lowly Master. Thus the believer
will be led to abstain from all intoxicating drinks, tobacco, and other
narcotics, and the avoidance of every body-and-soul-defiling habit and
practice. 1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 9:25; 10:31: 1 Tim. 2:9, 10; 1 John 2:6.
"18. That the divine principle of tithes and offerings for the support of the
gospel is an acknowledgment of God's ownership in our lives, and that we are
stewards who must render account to him of all that He has committed to our
possession. Lev. 27:30; Mal. 3:8-12; Matt. 23:23; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; 2 Cor.
9:6-15.
"19. That God has placed in His church the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as
enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4. That these gifts operate in
harmony with the divine principles of the Bible, and are given for the
perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, the edifying of the body
of Christ. Rev. 12:17; 19:10; 1 Cor. 1:5
"20. That the second coming of Christ is the great hope of the church, the
grand climax of the gospel and plan of salvation. His coming will be literal,
personal, and visible. Many important events will be associated with His
return, such as the resurrection of the dead, the destruction of the wicked,
the purification of the earth, the reward of the righteous, the establishment
of His everlasting kingdom. The almost complete fulfillment of various lines
of prophecy particularly those found in the books of Daniel and the
Revelation, with existing conditions in the physical, social, industrial,
political, and religious worlds, indicates that Christ's coming 'is near, even
at the doors.' The exact time of that event has not been foretold. Believers
are exhorted to be ready, for 'in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of
man' will be revealed. Luke 21:25-27; 17:26-30; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:9-11; Rev.
1:7; Heb. 9:28; James 5:1-8; Joel 3:9-16; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Dan. 7:27; Matt.
24:36, 44.
21. That the millennial reign of Christ covers the period between the first
and the second resurrections, during which time the saints of all ages will
live with their blessed Redeemer in Heaven. At the end of the millennium, the
Holy City with all the saints will descend to the earth. The wicked, raised in
the second resurrection, will go up on the breadth of the earth with Satan at
their head to compass the camp of the saints, when fire will come down from
God out of Heaven and devour them. In the conflagration which destroys Satan
and his host, the earth itself will be regenerated and cleansed from the
effects of the curse. Thus the universe of God will be purified from the foul
blot of sin. Rev. 20; Zech. 14:1-4; 2 Peter 3 :7- 10.
"22. That God will make all things new. The earth, restored to its pristine
beauty, will become forever the abode of the saints of the Lord. The promise
to Abraham, that through Christ he and his seed should possess the earth
throughout the endless ages of eternity, will be fulfilled. The kingdom and
dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven will be given
to the people of the saints of the Most High whose kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Christ, the Lord, will
reign supreme and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea will ascribe blessing and honor and
glory and power unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb
forever and ever. Gen. 13:14-17; Rom. 4:13; Heb. 11:8-16;
Matt. 5:5; Isa. 35; Rev. 21:1-7; Dan. 7:27; Rev. 5:13." -- Year Book of the
Seventh-day Adventist Denomination, 1940 Edition, pp. 5-8.
IN ADDITION to these fundamental tenets of faith held in common with the
Seventh-day Adventists, the Davidian Association holds:
1. That the prophetic gift in the Seventh-day Adventist church (through the
medium of which the church was brought forth in 1844 and nurtured and
preserved for seven decades) ceased its manifestation in 1915 and was not
remanifested until 1930, and that this cessation and this remanifestation are
paralleled by the cessation of the prophetic gift in the Old Testament and the
remanifestation of it in the New.
2. That the present manifestation was timed to the 430-year prophecy of
Ezekiel 4, and that it is the "addition" anticipated in Early Writings, p.
277.
3. That it was manifested anew in the closing work for the church to effect
the sealing of the 144,000 servants of God (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 266), and
to give power and force (Early Writings, p. 277) to the Three Angel's Messages
(Rev. 14:6-11) so that the 144,000 might be empowered to accomplish the
closing work for the world, and to gather all their brethren out of all
nations (Isa. 66:19, 20; Rev. 18:4).
4. That the destruction of the tares from among the first fruits of the living
(Matt. 13:30, 48, 49; Ezek. 9:6, 7) results in the purification of the church.
5. That immediately thereafter, the angels let loose the four winds (Rev.
7:1-3), whereupon ensues the time of trouble and Michael's standing up to
deliver from it, all whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Dan.
12:1).
6. That the angels' letting loose the four winds to blow over the four corners
of the earth (Rev. 7:1), does not anticipate a World war but rather a world
wide decree enforced throughout Babylon by the image-beast, and that then no
one may buy or sell save he who worships "the image." Rev. 13:15-17.
7. That subsequently, the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7) for the 144,000,
the sons of Jacob, logically develops on their way home (Gen. 32:1, 24) to the
land of their fathers (Ezek. 36:28; 37:21, 25).
8. That the foregoing epochal event shall cause the 144,000 to have their
names changed as did their father, Jacob (Gen. 32:28), and as a body receive a
new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name (Isa. 62:2).
9. That these events shall ultimate in the setting up of the Kingdom (Dan.
2:44; Isa. 2:1-4; Mic. 4; Ezek. 37), wherein the 144,000, those who follow the
Lamb "withersoever He goeth" (Rev. 14:4), shall stand with Him on Mt. Zion
(Rev. 14:1), and there "receive the forces of the GentiIes. " Isa. 60:5, 11.
10. That with this sequence of events will ensure the Loud Cry of the angel
that lightens the earth with his glory (Rev. 18:1), as the other Voice cries,
"Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues." Rev. 18:4.
11. That in response to this call, many nations will say: "Come, and let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob and He
will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go
forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Mic. 4:2.
12. That the Voice will cease to cry when all the saints shall have been
gathered out of all nations. Then shall "the days come, saith the Lord God,
that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for
water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to
sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek
the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." Amos 8:11, 12.
13. That then will follow the dissolution of the world-wide organization of
the image of the beast (Rev. 19:1-3), the close of the investigative judgment
of the living (Rev. 15:5-8), the end of probationary time (Rev. 22:11), and
the pouring out of the seven last plagues upon the wicked (Rev. 16).
14. That under the seventh plague, the hosts arrayed for the battle of
Armageddon will fight with, and will be decimated by, the armies of Heaven
(Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 406), and that Christ shall appear in all His glory,
destroy the remaining wicked, resurrect the righteous dead (1 Thess. 4:15-17),
and usher in the millennium (Rev. 20:5).
15. That for a little season (Rev. 20:3), a hundred y9ars (Isa. 65:20), after
the millennium, the wicked shall live again and then finally be destroyed by
fire (Rev. 20:9), whereupon all things shall be renewed, and God's original
plan shall proceed to perfect fulfillment in an uninterrupted eternity of
heavenly joy (Rev. 21:4).
On the one hand I find your literature
teaching its believers not to leave the ranks of the Mother church,
while on the other hand I find it causing no end of trouble to the
church. How do you reconcile your precept with your example? Why
not devote your time to evangelistic efforts, bringing erring souls to
the knowledge of the Truth, and let the church alone?
Assuredly we do believe that this is no
time to be pulling apart, but indeed to be pressing together.
And the message which we are bearing to the church, not only does not
contain any doctrine or teaching which would warrant our leaving her
ranks to become a separate cult, but does on the contrary absolutely
forbid our doing so. For these reasons, we have from the
beginning steadfastly refused, even in the face of abusive treatment,
to leave the Mother church.
So far as we are concerned, therefore,
existing controversy and schism is the responsibility of the
Denomination's leading brethren, and none of ours, for we are only
carrying out the Lord's express precept and example never to sacrifice
Truth. And they themselves admit that we should obey God rather than
men. Upon them, therefore, rest the heavy guilt of repeating the
tragic folly of the Jews in Christ's time, by rejecting the message of
the hour, "entering not in themselves" into the expansion of Truth,
hindering those who would enter in, and casting out those who do enter
in.
So, to devote our time to evangelizing
the world while neglecting the church, would be a criminal act, one of
highest treason both to God and to His people. The church must
first be saved from her Laodicean condition of being "wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." She, not the world, is
just about to be spued out. She "is the only object on earth on which
He bestows His supreme regard."-Testimonies to Ministers, p. 15.
Think, though, what an eternal joy it
would be for Him to fit her up and use her to His glory, rather than
to have to forsake her! So before raising up another as a last
resort, He is trying to save her, and He will save her, as He
promises:
"Satan
will work his miracles to deceive, he will set up his power as
supreme. The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall.
It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out. The
chaff is separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible
ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who
have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their
testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain
of sin, without guile in their mouth. The remnant that purify
their souls by obeying the truth gather strength from the trying
process, exhibiting the beauty of holiness amid the surrounding
apostasy...."
"The great issue so near at hand will
weed out those whom God has not appointed, and he will have a pure,
true, sanctified ministry prepared for the latter rain." -B-55-1886,
( See 1SM:380)
Were the Lord-Who Himself when upon
earth spent all His time in the exclusive endeavor to save His lost
church then-to send us to the world rather than to His lost church
today, He would not only be bringing in the innocent to perish with
the guilty, but would also be completely reversing His own practice
and contradicting His own orders to his apostles that they preach
present truth to the church first (Matt. 10:5, 6).
In mercy and in consistency with His
eternal procedure, therefore, He purposed that "while the
investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of
penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is
to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin among
[His] people upon earth." This is her special work. "Then
the church which . . .at His coming [He] is to receive to Himself will
be ?a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing.' "-The Great Controversy, p. 425
"The
Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth,"
furthermore says the Spirit of Truth, "because of the church-members
who have never been converted, and those who were once converted but
who have backslidden. What influence would these unconsecrated members
have on new converts? Would they not make of no effect the
God-given message which His people are to bear?" -Testimonies, Vol.
6, p. 371.
Yes, the honest heathen must and will
be evangelized, but "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt.
10:6) must be sought first. How thankful, therefore, and how
cooperative they ought to be, and will be, when they discover that
rather than being rich and increased with goods, and in need of
nothing, they are actually "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked"?in need of everything; and that the Lord is waiting
for them to wake up to the fact so that He can make them what they
ought to be
For these reasons, God says now to work
within the Laodicean congregation rather than without. And what He
says, that He means, and we dare not disobey, regardless what men may
say or do.
