Shepherd's Rod

The "Davidian" Seventh Day Adventists', or Seventh Day Adventists' who have accepted what is claimed to be additional truth entitled "The Shepherd's Rod Message", claims to be the up-shoot within the Seventh Day Adventist church. These Seventh Day Adventists' have considered themselves a part of the Seventh Day Adventist Church since about 1930 AD. The Shepherd's Rod is not the only doctrine which followers of the "Davidian" Seventh Day Adventist profess. They profess to believe in the King James Bible as their standard of faith, as well as a previous message held by the Seventh Day Adventist Church entitled "The Spirit Of Prophecy", written by Ellen G. White.

Doctrinal Overview

The name, "Shepherd's Rod," is derived from the title of a two-volume series authored by Victor Houteff, the author and proposed Prophet of this doctrine, in 1929. In the introduction of the Shepherd's Rod, Book 1, Houteff wrote:

"THIS publication contains only one main subject with a double lesson; namely, the 144,000, and a call for reformation. The object in view is to prepare God's people for the impending doom of Ezekiel's prophecy, chapter 9. There is no new doctrine taught, neither does it condemn the ones we have. The wonderful light between its pages shines upon a large number of scriptures which we have had no understanding of heretofore. The interpretation of these scriptures is supported entirely by the writings of Sr. E.G. White, that is termed the Spirit of Prophecy. This publication does not advocate a new movement, and it absolutely opposes such moves. It brings out a positive proof which cannot be contradicted that the Seventh-day Adventist church had been used by God to carry on His work since 1844."

In both volumes of his work, Houteff made references to verse 9 in the sixth chapter of the biblical book of Micah:

"The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it," and Micah 7:14.

"Feed Thy people with Thy rod, the flock of Thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel."

Houteff believed and taught that these Biblical interpretations explained such recognized points of discord within the Adventist Church such as the 144,000 and the great multitude of Revelation chapter 7, and the prophecies of Ezekiel 4, Daniel 2 and 7 and Revelation 12. Houteff further expressed that he had a duty to take his doctrinal findings in message-form to the Seventh-day Adventist Church only. Furthermore, V. Houteff never taught that anyone should be an "off-shoot" of the Seventh-day Adventist church; but instead a "movement within a movement" which was prophesied by the former Prophet of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Ellen G. White to take place.

Victor Houteff went on to publish additional volumes of his prophetic writings until his death in 1955. These publications contain, but are not limited to no fewer than 15 numbered tracts, five volumes of "The Answerer", two volumes of "Timely Greetings", (Volume 1 containing 52 books and Volume 2 containing 46 books), a series of usually monthly publications entitled "The Symbolic Code" containing many of Victor Houteff's Sabbath sermons given after believers in both "the Spirit of Prophecy" and "The Shepherd's Rod" messages were dis-fellowshipped and had to have private worship rather than begin a new church denomination. All included were questions and answers, recipes for healthful living, spiritual encouragement and admonition, letters from the field of their work in the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and many other practical Christian-living topics. He also published miscellaneous publications and public letters to the Leadrership of the Seventh Day Adventist Church (nine "Jezreel Letters"). All of these publications were distributed and mailed free of charge to the many thousands of recipients throughout the world. These volumes may still be obtained free of charge from "Davidian" organizations who continue in this work today, and are available for downloading on many Shepherd's Rod Message websites.

Key Fundamental Beliefs

In addition to belief in 28 out of the 28 fundamental tenets of faith held by Seventh-day Adventists, these Seventh Day Adventists' hold to the following extra beliefs:

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 at the hand of God, not themselves.

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 worldwide 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. 36 & 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 Gentiles.” 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 worldwide 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 short space," or "a little season" (Rev. 17:10; 20:3), one hundred years (Isa. 65:20), after the millennium in Heaven, after the Second Advent of Christ, 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).

History

In 1929, Victor Tasho Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant and Sabbath School teacher in the Los Angeles area, brought the message of the Shepherd's Rod to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was submitted in the form of a book also entitled The Shepherd's Rod. His claims were not accepted and were deemed by the leadership to contain doctrinal error incompatible with the previously accepted biblical standards. Because he refused to recant his beliefs and insisted upon teaching them to the membership he was disfellowshipped from the church.

Victor Houteff founded the Universal Publishing Association in 1934. In 1935, he established his headquarters outside Waco, Texas, calling it Mt. Carmel Center. Up to 1942, his movement was known as the Shepherd's Rod, but when Houteff found it necessary to formally incorporate so members could claim conscientious objector status, he named his association the General Association of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists. The term "Davidian" refers to the restoration of the Davidic kingdom. Houteff directed "Davidian" Seventh Day Adventists' to evangelize the Adventist church exclusively. "Davidians" as well as other Seventh Day Adventists' believe the Bible contains prefiguring types. Adventists' that have accepted the additional message of "The Shepherd's Rod" believe that 1 Cor. 10:11 teaches that the history of ancient Israel is a figure/type of what will happen within the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and with the 144,000 after the church is purified by God.

Succession

Victor T. Houteff died in 1955, and his organization was fractured by dissension caused by the many claimants to his position as the spiritual head of the "Davidian" Seventh-day Adventist movement despite the fact that Victor T. Houteff stated in a publication entitled "General Conference Special" that "No other voice of timely truth and authority" would become available after "The Shepherd's Rod" message, and that "Any others will lead their victims blind-folded to perdition." (General Conference Special pg. 8)

The leading claimant despite Victor Houteff's publication was Benjamin Roden a businessman from Odessa, Texas. 
Roden called on Houteff's widow Florence, the vice president of GADSDA to step aside and let him take over. 
Samuel Licayan, Andrew Johnson,  the self-named Ben David and Fred Steed were also contenders for Houteff's office. 

Florence Houteff established herself as head of the DSDA movement and formed an Executive Council of Elders. Conducting in-depth studies of the Bible, and her late husband's Shepherd's Rod Message, Mrs. Houteff and her Council came to the conclusion that the Forty-Two Months period prophesied in Revelation 11:2 would begin in early 1956 and end in 1959, at which point in time, the Adventist Church would be purified by the events foretold in Ezekiel 9. Then, she further taught, a Davidic Kingdom would be set up in the state of Israel followed by the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies concerning the final harvest of the earth, and the ingathering of the great multitude mentioned in Revelation 7:9,10, 13-17.

Believing that the end of time was imminent, Mrs. Houteff and her council began a campaign to evangelize across the U.S., Canada, the West Indies, and western Asia. The campaign included publicity stunts such as equipping cars with signs that read, "Hear Ye The Rod," a Biblical reference (Micah 6:9) to "The Shepherd's Rod" Message. The cars also were outfitted with loudspeakers which blared the Rod Message in sermons to passersby.

As a publishing organization, the GADSDA, under Mrs. Houteff's direction, printed massive amounts of doctrinal literature which was meant for dissemination in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

In 1957, Mrs. Houteff sold most of the property which had comprised the Mount Carmel Center, established by her husband in Waco, Texas. She and about eight hundred of her followers, moved to Elk, Texas where they purchased 942 acres, twenty miles east of the town, and formed what she styled, "The Mt. Carmel Center." At this time her publications were urging all believers in the Shepherd's Rod Message, (known as Davidians) to forsake their property, homes, and possessions, and assemble at Mt. Carmel Center to await the soon return of Jesus Christ, in His Second Coming.

In 1958, Elder Martin James Bingham, ordained minister, former secretary to Victor Houteff, one of the original founders of the first Mt. Carmel and the generally acknowledged number three in the GADS Association published in his small periodical, The Timely Truth Educator, an issue now known as, The Last Mile Home, in which he refuted Mrs. Houteff's forty-two months doctrine, pointing out that since the "Gentiles," mentioned in Revelation 11:2 were not currently "treading the city of Jerusalem under foot," the forty-two months could not have begun.

During the 1950s, Jerusalem was occupied entirely by only the Israelis and the Jordanians, both with some claims to the land of Palestine. According to the late Elder Bingham, "This is a simple, self-evident fact-that the Gentiles must OCCUPY Jerusalem for the duration of their final forty-two months of treading, or ruling the city-is the one and only key to our correct understanding when these forty-two months begin."-The Last Mile Home, pages 12,13.

M.J. Bingham continued to voice his doctrinal opposition to Mrs. Houteff's teachings, in his monthly publication, The Timely Truth Educator, using the Bible, and her late husband's own teachings against her. He pointed out that, according to the Leviticus, or Davidian Constitution, Mrs. Houteff and her Executive Council of Elders had no authority to act unless a general session of the Association was first called, and a successor to the presidency chosen.

Mrs. Houteff had never claimed the Presidency of the Association which her husband had held. Instead, without convoking a plenary session of the General Association, she simply remained the vice-president, and ruled with the aid of her picked council. Brother Bingham now took her to task for not following the constitutional guidelines of the Association, which she herself had assisted in drafting.

Dubbing himself, "A 100% Shepherd's Rod Believer," M.J. Bingham continued to agitate against Mrs. Houteff's prophecies, rebutting her doctrines, in numerous publications, letters, and sermons, until 1959 when time proved her incorrect. She and 850 of her followers were left high and dry, in a profound disappointment which rivaled that of the Millerite Movement, a century before.

In 1962 Florence Houteff decided to disband the GADSDA. She and what remained of her Executive Council divided the assets of Mt. Carmel Center amongst themselves and left Texas. Ten years later, Mrs. Houteff, then in her early fifties, re-married and re-joined the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Pastor Bingham refused to abandon the "Davidian" Seventh-Day Adventist movement, a movement whose structure he had spent most of his life in building. With former members of GADSDA from the West Indies, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Indonesia, he formed an Executive Council, and called the still loyal members of the old Association to a session in Los Angeles, California. H.G. Warden, a former Adventist minister, was elected vice-president. The "Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association" was formed. It existed from 1962-1965. Then, Elder Warden and most of the council abandoned the DSDA, and as it began to splinter into factions. Don Adair, a former protégé of Elder Bingham, formed "The General Association of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists". Other "Davidian" Seventh Day Adventist theologians followed his lead, creating their own groups. It was thus left to Pastor Bingham to place together the fragments of the DSDA, which, during the next twenty years of his life, he proceeded to do, traveling across the U.S., Europe, and the West Indies to teach "The Shepherd's Rod" Message.

In 1970, Pastor Bingham moved his "Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association" east from California. Its headquarters is now located near Exeter, Missouri at Bashan Hill, and is today led by Pastor Bingham's widow, Mrs. Jemmy E. Bingham.

Today

In the 21st century, groups of Seventh Day Adventists' that have accepted "The Shepherd's Rod" message continue to base the summary of their beliefs on Houteff's statement that,

"The Shepherd's Rod contains either all Truth, or there is no Truth in it."

Many still believe his message to be the last till the establishment of the Davidic kingdom. All of the existing "Davidian" Seventh Day Adventists claim to be proprietors of Houteff's legacy, while others strangely, like the Branch Davidians that gained notoriety during the Waco Siege in 1993, believe that they will continue to receive "new light," or inspiration from God.

Leaders of some "Davidian" Seventh Day Adventist associations include Don Adair, Tony Hibbert, Wanda O'Berry, and Jemmy Bingham.

References

• Tarling, Lowell R. (1981). "The Davidian Seventh-day Adventists". The Edges of Seventh-day Adventism: A Study of Separatist Groups Emerging from the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1844–1980). Barragga Bay, Bermagui South, NSW: Galilee Publications. pp. 113–24. ISBN 0 9593457 0 1. Also "Fragments of the Shepherd's Rod", 125–42

External links

• Mt. Carmel Center, Salem SC (Adair)
• DSDA association Mountaindale NY (Hibbert)
• Shepherd's Rod Information Center NC
• Shepherd's Rod Davidian SDA Web Center
• Fundamental Beliefs of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists
• Advance Truth Laymen's Movement
• The Branch Davidians/Shepherd's Rod—Who Are They? from the Biblical Research Institute; by George W. Reid
• Branch-Davidian History, Setting the Record Straight Original Publications of The BRANCH Message from 1955 to 1985, before the takeover by Vernon Howell (David Koresh) in 1984 at New Mt. Carmel, Waco, Texas.
• shepherdsrod.org - Information and History from an SDA perspective