How Many Elijah’s Today?

There is confusion in the midst of professed believers of the Shepherd’s Rod message over the topic of who is the antitypical Elijah the prophet and what is his message. Despite rather plain statements from the original writings of the Rod, ever since the death of Brother Houteff in 1955 there have arisen a string of prophetic office seekers who reinterpret the Rod and the SOP for their own gain as they want to be the Elijah for today. Thus confusion abounds as naive and poorly studied students follow the teachings of these rank impostors rather than study for themselves. Even more accountable are those Davidians who, on one hand do not believe these teachers of falsehood, yet they do not take open stand to oppose them and warn others according to the mandate found in Ezekiel chapter 3.

The purpose of the following article is to address some questions listed below and provide answers from the golden bowl that will serve as butter and honey to the honest seeker of Truth bearing in mind that only the wise shall understand while all others will perish, unless they repent and cease ye from these men whose breath is in their nostrils.

• Who is the Antitypical Elijah the prophet, the last for the SDA church today?
• What is the Elijah message today?
• Are they two Elijah’s to come?
• Elijah the Tishbite is a type of who?
• Who is the prophet of God in the antitypical showdown at Mt. Carmel?
• How is the Elijah message to be advanced today?

Who is the Antitypical Elijah the prophet, the last for the SDA church today?

“All may for a surety know both “the day” and the Elijah as he proclaims it, because to our surprise he will point out that every Bible prophet describes the day and also tells what the Lord would have us do while it is approaching and subsequently while we are going through it. All will see that no one but Elijah can proclaim the day.” — General Conference Special, p. 12

“Joel’s two chapters give us a most compact and vivid view of “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” From these alone we can clearly see what it is like. And as Elijah comes just before that day begins, he must necessarily be the one who is to interpret these prophecies of the day, and who consequently announces that the day is at hand.

This surely confirms the conclusion that since Elijah is to herald the great day, he can therefore be the only one who will rightly interpret the prophecies of the day, which are still mysteries to Christendom, and even to our own Denomination! Indeed, to reiterate, it is for this very reason that the prophet is sent. He is to unroll the scroll to explain what the day of the Lord is like, what the Lord will do then, and how we may survive His judgments. To re-emphasize the fact, let it be said again that being the last of the prophets Elijah is, therefore, the only one who can open to our understanding all the prophecies of the Scriptures pertaining to the great and dreadful day of the Lord — prophecies which heretofore have been only mysteries to all. Thus he is, as the Scriptures say, to blow the trumpet in Zion, and to sound an alarm in God’s holy mountain, in the church.” — General Conference Special, p. 19

“Since the promised Elijah is to be the last prophet to the church today, as John the Baptist was the last prophet to the church in his day, and since the last work on earth is the Judgment for the Living, the truth stands forth like the light of day that Elijah’s message is the message of the Judgment for the Living, the last, which in the very nature of the gospel is of far more importance and consequence than any other message ever borne to a people.”— General Conference Special, pp. 23, 24

“Here is a Rod which speaks; and its voice, the scripture points out, is the voice of God to His people. And since “The Shepherd’s Rod,” the publications which contain the message of “the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” is the only Rod that has ever spoken, then it is the “Rod” publications which the Lord demands all to hear.”— General Conference Special, pp. 35, 36

“Taking place in the end of the world, it perforce is the gathering of the people by Elijah’s message, the last Heaven-sent proclamation of the gospel, which is preached first to the church just before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5), and then to all the world during that long-expected day.” — Tract No. 9, p. 67

“This command to keep the law which Moses received in Horeb, is, according to the Scriptures, to all who are to be living in the great and dreadful day of the Lord—living when God sends to the world His last prophet, the antitypical Elijah: “Behold,” He says, “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Mal. 4:5” — Tract No. 13, p. 11

Conclusion: Brother Victor T. Houteff, the author of the tracts quoted above, is the last prophet Elijah since these very tracts and the rest of the original Shepherd’s Rod publications announces and explains the details of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

What is the Elijah message today?

Therefore, as John was a messenger to God’s own people at that time, just so at this time the Elijah of Malachi’s prophecy represents a message which is to be delivered not to the world, but to the professed people of God. As John was their last prophet, his message was their final means to fit them for the Messiah’s appearing, for which cause said the Master, “If ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. (Matt. 11:14) Likewise, Elijah’s message of today must be to the professed people of God, and is to be their last means to fit them for Christ’s appearing at this time.” — Symbolic Code, Vol. 1, No. 4, pg. 5

“Question: Is the Shepherd’s Rod the Elijah Message or do we look for another?

Answer: If the SRod is the truth, and one accepts it with all one’s heart, and does the truth, the possibility of being lost would be identical to the possibility of Paul’s being lost for accepting with all his heart the message which Christ sent to him and of which he said, “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets.” (Acts 24:14.)

Moreover, as the SRod is the Elijah message (T.M. 475), it is impossible for anyone who accepts it and lives it to die, for the type demands translation. Thus it is that Elijah stands as a type of the 144,000. (D.A. 421.)” — Symbolic Code, Vol. 1, No. 9, p. 9

Conclusion: The Shepherd’s Rod message as it was originally published from 1930 to 1954 by the efforts of Brother V. T. Houteff is the one and only Elijah message. All other writings, publications, studies, presentations, etc. that have arisen since the death of Brother Houteff are counterfeits.

Are they two Elijah’s to come?

No. This is a false argument fabricated by Ariel Dacutanan and repeated by his followers in order to justify his claim to inspiration. That is, Brother Houteff was Elijah, John the Baptist and Ariel is Elijah the Tishbite who will never die with the message for today. However, this presumption plainly contradicts what the Rod teaches that Elijah the Tishbite is a type of the 144,000 as the next section will address. But first let us see what the original SRod has to say about such usurpers.

“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” — Deuteronomy 18:20-22

“Nevertheless, one’s only safety will be in the teaching of Elijah, for there will be no other voice of timely Truth and authority to whom one may turn. Any others will lead their victims blind-folded into perdition.”— General Conference Special, p. 8

“All these taking place at this particular time, and the prophecies now unfolded, prove that antitypical Zerubbabel must now be here, and that as he has started the work, he also must finish it. The fact that Inspiration takes the pains to tell who is to finish the work in itself is proof that there must be active usurpers of his office as there were of Moses’ office.”—Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14, p. 22

“This is the greatest danger of all — even of believers. Thus plain it is indeed that “we have more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world.” — “Review and Herald,” March 22 1887. To say the least, those who are within should know better than to tempt themselves to steady the ark, as though God had appointed them to take His place and to direct His prophet, coveting not only the prophetic office but God’s authority as well! What an insult, not only to one’s own intelligence but also to God Himself!”— General Conference Special, p. 42

“And while you may choose to keep the Sabbath commandment, you cannot inspire yourself with the Spirit of Prophecy — this Gift is bestowed upon the remnant by God Himself.”—Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 34, p. 23

“Prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says: ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.’ Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say: ‘You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message.'” — “Testimonies to Ministers,” pp. 475, 476.

There are two main points to note in these quotations: (1) that the message and messenger here mentioned are the very last; (2) that they are to restore all things, (3) that there is danger for some to make fools of themselves by daring to tell him how to teach his message — assuming to take God’s place!”—Jezreel Letters, No. 9, p. 1

Conclusion: For any to follow the grievous mistake of believing that there must be an Elijah the prophet today who will never die have not learned the lesson from one of the first first prophetic office seekers that arose after the death of Brother Houteff. This being of course, Ben L. Roden, the founder of the counterfeit branch who also made the claim that he was the Elijah the prophet who would never die. Remarkably many poorly studied Davidians who lived and worked in the presence of Brother Houteff at old Mt. Carmel fell into this snare. Yet, even thorough Roden died in 1978 proving him to be a false prophet, there are still many today who still follow and promote his writings. What a strange infatuation trusting ion the arm of a charismatic teacher of falsehood can be.

Elijah the Tishbite is a type of who?

“It is at this time the 144,000 are marked, or sealed. Ezekiel 9 fits Elijah’s experience for this reason: The prophet, or the message is called, Elijah, “with the spirit and the power of Elijah.” The prophet Elijah thought all Israel had apostatized, and that he alone was left, but the Lord said He had 7,000 men that had not bowed a knee to Baal. “Seven” signifies a complete or perfect number, which stands as a symbol, in this instance meaning a complete number of thousands. The complete number of the very elect is 144,000. So we, too, like Elijah, think the whole church is drifted into the world (bowed a knee to Baal). Thus Elijah stands as a type of the 144,000 living, translated saints.” — Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 1, p. 47.1

Last of all the redeemed, the brave Elijah, with a glorious white mantle from his shoulders to his feet: A type and leader of the most wonderful company, though small in number. Being a special company, with a special experience a royal priesthood, the 144,000, in pure white, and a glorious mantle from their shoulders to their feet, with stars in their crowns. Rev. 14:5, “And in their mouth was found no guile: For they are without fault before the throne of God.” — Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 1, p. 50

Moreover, as the SRod is the Elijah message (T.M. 475), it is impossible for anyone who accepts it and lives it to die, for the type demands translation. Thus it is that Elijah stands as a type of the 144,000. (D.A. 421.)” — Symbolic Code, Vol. 1, No. 9, pg. 9

“This stirring hope of every Christian is beautifully foreshadowed in the translation of Enoch (Gen. 5:24), the translation of Elijah (2 Kings 2:11), and the resurrection of the multitude whom Christ led on high (Matt. 27:52, 53; Eph. 4:8) — a threefold typification in triple accord with God’s law of type that where there is type, there must also be anti-type.

Were there not, assuredly, in this connection to be an antitype (ascension of all the saints), then there would not have been a type (translation of Enoch and Elijah, and ascension of the multitude). The type would have been arbitrary, purposeless, and misleading.” — Tract No. 9, p. 72

Conclusion: Elijah the Tishbite is a type of the 144,000, the messengers who will proclaim the Elijah message (the original writings of the Shepherd’s Rod). As the type was translated without tasting death, so to will the antitype, the 144,000 living saints, be translated. Elijah the Tishbite is not a type of one man who arises after Brother Houteff, the true last day prophet who came in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Who is the prophet of God in the antitypical showdown at Mt. Carmel?

One of the primary arguments used by Ariel Dacutanan is the in the antitypical showdown at Mt. Carmel, as specified in the Timely Greetings Vol. 2, No. 41, p. 7, has to be a living prophet today since Brother Houteff is dead. However such shortsighted reasoning can be easily refuted when one makes use of all that the golden bowl has to say and realize that the living spirit of prophecy active in our midst today is the original published writings of Ellen White and Victor Houteff. The proper Rod understanding of the much confused phrase, “the living spirit of Prophecy” has been amply addressed in prior posts on this website. Detailed study outlines are included to prove the case from the golden bowl.

“Amos 1:2 — “The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.”

This scripture, you see, reflects the tragedy which took place on the top of Carmel in the days of Elijah. Here we are given the hint that there is to be another show-down between the prophet of God and the prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal in our day even boast that they are not inspired, that what they teach and preach is what they themselves discovered by deep study and research!. They even sneer at those who claim to be inspired of the Lord! They seem to think that God has forsaken the earth; that He cares not to send His Spirit as in former time; that men are now so wise that what the Spirit can do for them, they themselves can do even better.”— Timely Greetings Vol. 2, No. 41, p. 7

Ezekiel 9 fits Elijah’s experience for this reason: The prophet, or the message is called, Elijah, “with the spirit and the power of Elijah.” The prophet Elijah thought all Israel had apostatized, and that he alone was left, but the Lord said He had 7,000 men that had not bowed a knee to Baal. “Seven” signifies a complete or perfect number, which stands as a symbol, in this instance meaning a complete number of thousands. The complete number of the very elect is 144,000. So we, too, like Elijah, think the whole church is drifted into the world (bowed a knee to Baal). Thus Elijah stands as a type of the 144,000 living, translated saints.” — Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 1, p. 47

“The name of prophet also given to those called to instruct the people of God, though not directly inspired as a prophet in the highest sense (see. Ed 46).” — Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 2, p. 15

“God is represented in the person of His people.” — Tract No. 8, p. 103

“The closing words of Malachi are a prophecy regarding the work that should be done preparatory to the first and the second advent of Christ.” — “Southern Watchman,” March 21, 1905.

“The work of John the Baptist, and the work of those who in the last days go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah to arouse the people from their apathy, are in many respects the same. His work is a type of the work that must be done in this age. Christ is to come the second time to judge the world in righteousness. The messengers of God [144,000] who bear the last message of warning to be given to the world, are to prepare for Christ’s second advent, as John prepared the way for His first advent.” — “Southern Watchman,” March 21, 1905.

“ . . . in the hour of greatest peril, the God of Elijah will raise up human instrumentalities [144,000] to bear a message that will not be silenced.” — “Prophets and Kings,” p. 187.” — General Conference Special, p. 40 [brackets added]

“Thus the church under this name shall be as God before the people. The meaning here is the same as in Exodus 7:1, “And the Lord said unto Moses See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet” (servant). That is, “Thou shalt represent My person, and act like God by requiring obedience to thy commands, and by punishing disobedience with such punishment as none but God can inflict; to which end thou shalt have My omnipotent assistance.”— Shepherd’s Rod Vol. 2, p. 290

“Let now no one deceive himself by thinking that the Bible Itself is the active Spirit of Prophecy. Let us be God’s real people, logical thinkers, not bait hunters. The Bible, you know, without the human channel, is as inactive as though It were but ink and paper. Moreover, the Spirit, too, apart from man, is also inactive: He, too, works through the human agent. Hence, without an inspired interpreter the concealed prophecies (see, 2 TG 34:28-9, 2 SR 289) and the Spirit that unfolds them are inactive. Moreover, how could it be said of one particular group having the Spirit of Prophecy, when all the sects in Christendom have the Bible?”— Timely Greetings, Vol. 2, No. 24, p. 23

“Likewise, irrespective of considerations of personnel faults, frailties, and failings, Elijah’s message and movement will be the only God-sent ones, the only ones to fear, to love, to stand by, to live or to die for.”— General Conference Special, p. 9

“Moreover, we all know that the work of typical Elijah was to do away with the prophets and priests who served Baal instead of God, those who led ancient Israel into the greatest fallacy and folly of the day. Accordingly, the antitypical Elijah’s work, being in the spirit and power of typical Elijah, must therefore be similar to typical Elijah’s work-restoring Truth and righteousness, and bringing judgment upon the false prophets and teachers in the antitypical day which in itself is the separating of the chaff from the wheat — the work of the Judgment for the Living.” — General Conference Special, p. 30

“Since God is not experimenting, and since He means just what He says, there should be no doubt in your minds that the Scriptures concerning antitypical Elijah (he who is to awaken the church and to warn the Laodiceans of “the great and the dreadful day of the Lord”‘ make sure that he is one person. Of a surety, he is to have faithful helpers, but according to the prophet Nahum he will greatly make use of the printing press and will scatter his message by the postage stamp everywhere, as the leaves of autumn.”— General Conference Special, p. 34

Zech. 4:10 — “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”

The day this scripture is fulfilled, is the day in which the Lord of hosts starts a reformatory work in an apparently very small and insignificant way, and those who despise small and insignificant beginnings will at last rejoice and shall see that antitypical Zerubbabel is the one to direct the work along with all (seven) his helpers. They are the eyes of the Lord. What a momentous day! What a great people! Evidently they constitute the “stone” of Zechariah Three which we studied several weeks ago, and learned that it has seven eyes, complete spiritual vision. Obviously this is the stone that smites the great image of Dan. 2:45.”— Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 14, pp. 20, 21

“The schools of the prophets, established by Samuel, had fallen into decay during the years of Israel’s apostasy. Elijah reestablished these schools, making provision for young men to gain an education that would lead them to magnify the law and make it honorable.”–“Prophets and Kings,” p. 224.

The message which is to close the Gospel work, is the last of all gospel messages before the close of probation. It is the one which is to be brought by the anti-typical prophet Elijah (Mal. 4:5, 6), for he is to appear just before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” and is to restore all things. Matt. 17:11. Furthermore, as this last message is brought by Elijah of today, then the message which the ancient prophet Elijah carried to Israel of old must be a type of this last message, which is not only to restore all things but is also to bring the end of all wickedness, by changing the heart of the penitent (Ezek. 36:26), and by destroying all the impenitent. (Isa. 11:4.)

As the schools of the prophets in Elijah’s time had fallen into decay and were in need of being reestablished, the schools of the prophets in our time likewise have fallen into decay, else the Elijah message of old could not be a type of the Elijah message of today. Moreover, as Elijah the type reestablished the schools of the prophets in his time, so Elijah the anti-type must do likewise in the day of his appearance. The word of God itself bears witness to this, for “before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” the message of Elijah is to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” Therefore the hearts both of parents and of children are not right toward each other, and are in need of the message rightly to educate them, otherwise there would be no need for it to turn the hearts of any.” — Symbolic Code, Vol. 5, Nos. 6-12, pg. 2

Conclusion: Thus we can see that those faithful messengers, striving to be one of or with the 144,000 who proclaim the entire and complete message of the SRod, without adding to or subtracting one jot or tittle, today represent the prophet of God. They are Elijah’s faithful helpers, the hands of Zerubbabel that will finish the work as specified, including the antitypical showdown at Mt. Carmel. The showdown is taking place today as we speak all around the world in homes everywhere through the medium of the internet, phone conversations, letters, personal visits, etc. between those who uplift the original SRod message and those who follow dung defiled writings of any man today.

How is the Elijah message to be advanced today?

Question: What serves as the mouth piece of Elijah?

Answer: “The foregoing prophecies are now becoming history, and this prophetic organ “The Symbolic Code,” proves to be the mouth piece of the Elijah message, leading hundreds of S.D.A.’s in the work of helping this message to restore the defunct and decadent institutes of the Christian religion; for, as it is written, “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things” (Matt. 17:11), and “in the time of the end, every divine institution is to be restored.” — “Prophets and Kings,” p. 678.).” — Symbolic Code, Vol. 2, No. 9, p. 2

“Since God is not experimenting, and since He means just what He says, there should be no doubt in your minds that the Scriptures concerning antitypical Elijah (he who is to awaken the church and to warn the Laodiceans of “the great and the dreadful day of the Lord”‘ make sure that he is one person. Of a surety, he is to have faithful helpers, but according to the prophet Nahum he will greatly make use of the printing press and will scatter his message by the postage stamp everywhere, as the leaves of autumn. He will not care what is done with his publications, but will make sure the they find their way into all hands, laps, pockets, yards or waste baskets throughout Laodicea. Here is what Inspiration Itself has to say concerning the prophet’s means of taking his message to the church:” — General Conference Special, p. 34

Conclusion: The Elijah message has always been, and continues today to be advanced through publication of the original Shepherd’s Rod publications which includes the Symbolic Codes, specifically the authorized Codes published by Brother Houteff himself (Vol. 1, No. 1 to Vol. 10, No. 2). Those who advance the teachings found in the unauthorized “New Codes” published by Florence Houteff (Vol. 10, No. 7 to Vol. 14, Nos. 11, 12) after the death of her husband and all subsequent modernized Codes published by various groups over the years should be considered as unauthorized counterfeits.

Search: “Elijah, Tishbite”

“Now the question: Is the ancient prophet Elijah himself to re-appear, or is some other, having the same spirit and power, to take his place?

John the Baptist’s statement that he himself was not the Elijah, and Jesus’ statement that John was the Elijah of that day, not of our day, clear three points:

(1) That John was not in any sense of the word fulfilling the mission of the Elijah who is to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, but that he, the last prophet to the church of his day, simply came in the spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare the way for the Lord’s first advent. So it is that the Elijah of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the last prophet to the church of this day, comes in the same spirit and power, to prepare the way for the Lord’s second advent.

(2) That as John was the Elijah of his day, yet not Elijah the Tishbite himself, then the promise of the prophet Elijah is not necessarily to be fulfilled in person by the ancient prophet himself.

(3) That as the Elijah of Christ’s first advent was one person, and also as the Elijah of Mt. Carmel of old was one person, not a multitude of priests, then by parity of reasoning the Elijah of today must also be one person, not a multitude of ministers.” — General Conference Special, pp. 31, 32