Background
The controversy over the golden bowl continues to wax hot amongst professed friends of the faith who are being used by the enemy in an attempt to deliver a know out blow to the original artwork in the SRod message done under the direction of Brother Houteff. Ever since the original SRod study charts were brought back to their original estate in 2010 and made available by upa7.org questions arose from certain wide awake and astute brethren noticed that certain changes and alterations have taken place in the artwork since the death of Brother Houteff in 1955. One of the more dramatic alterations came at the hand of Don Adair who added a 7th tube to the golden bowl in an attempt to correct an apparent mistake or omission by the prophet. However, careful research as revealed in Part 1 in the video series entitled “The Golden Revised” that Brother Houteff was correct in showing only six of the seven tubes going up and over the rim of the bowl to draw out the oil. The reaction to this revelation created quite a stir amongst professed Davidians on Facebook at the time (July 2013) which remarkably found the older allegedly more studied believers fighting against what was plainly and consistently revealed in three different locations in the original SRod message (2 SR 270, 1 TG 14:18, 6 Tr 18) in perfect harmony with the 1944 large chart image showing only six tubes drawing oil out of the bowl. Rather these professed Davidians tended to defend Don Adair’s private interpretation which is still being replicated today by the Mt. Dale and Waco Associations or support a private interpretation done at the hand of a minion working for the false prophet Ariel Dacutanan living in the Philippines.
A New Private Interpretation Arises
Just recently (May 2016) an outrageous new uninspired interpretation of the golden bowl has arisen at the hands of Brian Albert Graham (BAG) and is being promoted over the internet by Robert Peralta through one if his websites, hearyetherod.wordpress.com and a Facebook discussion group he administers called “truth tellers”. Peralta even went so far as to post a comment on this website (link) and attempt to correct and convince us of his new found interpretation after admitting to being confused over the subject over the last few years and remaining silent until now. Being that he has actively taken to promoting this heresy at the hands of BAG we are obliged to response in defense of the original SRod message. We initially responded to this massive perversion of the original SRod message by posting a video on YouTube and Vimeo which plainly shows the logical absurdity of Graham’s and Peralta’s arguments and exposes them as teachers of falsehood in the name of the Rod.
In this post we will further address two egregious false interpretations that Robert Peralta has submitted in an effort to contradict the truth revealed in our video expose, as listed below. Also, we will expose how his insistence that there must be seven tubes drawing oil out of the bowl today destroys the entire lesson that the inspired SRod artwork is trying to communicate to God’s people, i.e., how does the golden vision apply to us today when the church is mixed with wheat and tares and how does it apply after the purification when there will only only pure wheat in the kingdom church (see Part 2 of the video series for a full explanation of this significant point).
Rob Peralta Claims . . .
- That the phrase “upon the top thereof” in Zechariah 4:2 means that all seven tubes are going up and over the rim of the bowl to draw out the oil.
- There is no written reference(s) from the Bible, SOP, or SRod to explain why only six of the seven tubes are drawing oil out of the bowl so therefore there must somehow be seven tubes going into the bowl because Brother Houteff says so.
“And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all [of] gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which [are] upon the top thereof:” — Zechariah 4:2
In the first instance Peralta is stepping in and telling Brother Houteff how to teach his message and further lifting the statement from the prophet Zechariah “upon the top thereof” out of context, an insidious practice used by teachers of falsehood throughout the ages and plainly warned against in the Rod (e.g., see Tract No. 7, pp. 41, 42). If one reads the verse in its proper context Zechariah is telling us that the bowl sets on the top of the candlestick and the seven tubes sit on the top of the seven candlesticks, not the seven tubes going over the top rim of the bowl as what Robert Peralta is trying to tell us. As it is plainly written the prophet Zechariah tells us that seven tubes sit on the top of the seven candlesticks of the golden lamp which is true, but the prophet did not reveal or explain what happened to the seven tubes in regard to how many of them actually went up and over the rim of the bowl to drawn out the oil. This angle of the truth was revealed in pictorial mode through the inspired artwork of Brother Houteff. By ignoring these facts Peralta stands guilty of a double offense against the Truth, first making Zechariah say something he didn’t and making it appear that Brother Houteff said that there are seven tubes drawing oil out of the bowl when he made no specific verbal explanation of why only six tubes are shown in his Holy Spirit inspired artwork. Which brings us to the next point regarding . . .
Different Modes of Revelation
“The world’s history in prophecy is recorded first, in literal terms; second, in parabolical terms; third, in typical terms; and fourth, in pictorial terms. For the sake of brevity, and in the interest of facilitating comprehension, precluding the possibility of side-tracking, this silent messenger presents its message in the pictorial mode.” — Tract No. 12, p. 6
By stating that nowhere in the Bible, SOP, or the SRod does it state that only six tubes are drawing oil out of the bowl Peralta exposes himself not only as a private interpreter of the Bible but also as a novice who does not understand that there are different modes of revelation. He attempts to mislead his naive followers to believe that because Brother Houteff does not explicitly state in literal terms that there are only six tubes drawing oil out of the bowl then there must be seven because there are seven tubes connected to the seven candlesticks. Although Brother Houteff does not state in literal words that there are only six tubes drawing oil out of the bowl he does plainly show this to be the case via the pictorial mode of revelation, something Peralta either does not understand, or refuses to accept.
Because the plain viewing of the original SRod artwork depicting Zechariah’s vision of the golden bowl does not fit Rob Peralta’s new found support of B. Albert Graham’s outrageous private interpretation he goes to great effort of attack the character of the presenter of the “Golden Bowl Revisited” series of presentations and create prejudice against the logical and common sense effort to harmonize what Brother Houteff reveals in pictorial mode with the weight of evidence throughout the whole tenor of the Rod message. In this way he attempts to keep his blinded followers from carefully and prayerfully examining both sides of the story and weighing the evidences for themselves and decide who is teaching the truth and who is peddling the devil’s handbag of tricks. It is sad that Peralta’s effort to refute the presentations of upa7.org do not address the specific arguments being addressed but rather dismisses them by sleight of hand.
Further proof of Peralta’s work of deception arose after the Golden Bowl Revisited, Part 4: A Mirage Exposed” first appeared on Youtube. He quickly made a couple of comments attempting to refute the contents of the video which exposed the mirage of B. Albert Graham and the location of the alleged seventh tube in the original bowl image found in Tract No. 6, p. 18. We promptly replied to his additional private interpretations which are addressed above only to find that the next day his comments where deleted and he submitted heavily edited comments which conveniently removed our refuting of his initial comments. Needless to say we are not obliged to pander to this work of deception in his desperate effort to keep others from seeing his folly and did not approve his revised comments.
So brethren what is the conclusion of the whole matter? Whenever a controversy arises amongst God’s people somebody has to be right and somebody has to be wrong. In order for you the individual to decide for yourself you must carefully and prayerfully weight all of the evidence on both sides before firing for or against and this is your solemn obligation and responsibility before God to which you will be held accountable. To this end we have provided abundant evidences to prove the case why we believe we are right and B. Albert Graham and Rob Peralta are wrong and guilty of being teachers of falsehood in the name of the Rod in regard to how many tubes are drawing oil out of the golden bowl today. All of this information is publicly available via this website, whyperish.org. Should you have any additional questions, comments, or relevant information to share with us, please feel free to contact us anytime via email, phone, or make a comment below.
May God bless your search for all Truth as for hidden treasure and to cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils.
Addendum: Images showing enlarged area under the left hand pipe.
Almost predictably Rob Peralta is attacking the truth like a mad man with his latest assault charging that we have tried to hide certain marking details in the chart image from Tract No. 6, p. 18. Below is the substance of his attack quoted from the May 20th post on his website, https://hearyetherod.wordpress.com/2016/05/20/a-missing-tube/
“From what we can gather it stems from a select few brethren (namely from Eric Edstrom of UPA7.org and Shepherd’s Rod Speaks.org) who have promoted mis-construed ideas and false assumptions based on altered Charts. Even some have claimed to show “digitally enhanced” views of Zech. 4 yet they strangely do not clearly show the two tubes under that left pipe as shown above by the original Chart. And their “enhancements” deceptively leave out certain markings made by the prophet as shown in the original.
It seems there has been some so-called “enhancements” to the Zech. 4 Chart that for one reason or another deviates from the original two tubes tucked under the left pipe, and in it’s place put a space and/or the bowl outline where there is neither in the original Chart. So much for “enhancements”!” — Rob Peralta
This man is getting desperate to continue to justify his erroneous private interpretation of the Rod artwork. The image we show at the 9:39 mark in the video uses a yellow highlight for the sole purpose the show the area where Peralta imagines the missing tube is entering the bowl. The alleged marks covered by the yellow highlight that he claims are part of the missing pipe are simply artifacts from the lower quality image found in Tract No. 6. Bear in mind that these tracts were printed by the tens of thousands from zinc printing plates which wore out over time and needed replacing. Today this would be equivalent to taking a photocopy of an original image and then making another photocopy of the copy and repeating the process over several dozen times. Comparison of the original with the last photocopy will shown obvious deterioration in quality and the introduction of artifacts (marks that otherwise do not appear in the original that can arise from ink blots, hair, dust, shadows, etc.)
The only way to prove this is to compare the image in Tract 6 with that of other images of the golden bowl found elsewhere in the Rod, for example the original found in Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 2, p. 270 or the large temple chart published in 1944. That is exactly what we did in the next slide that appears and the 10:05 mark and you plainly see with this much higher quality image none of the allege “marks” that Peralta claims are part of the missing pipe (the area circled in red). We are going to attach enlarged images of this portion of the bowl under the left hand pipe that Peralta claims holds the missing tube from the 5th candlestick from 2SR 270, 6 Tr 18, and the large chart for all to see at the bottom of this post (see above). Peralta proves once more that he is peddling a mirage because he clings to a low quality image of the bowl coming from Track No. 6 that has printing artifacts rather than exercising the Godly weight of evidence principle and comparing all that was published by the prophet. Why not use the image from 2 SR? Because it does not contain the artifacts that Peralta so desperately imagines to be the missing tube.
We prepared to take this to the highest court in heaven to prove our case in defense of the original SRod message. upa7.org has digitally scanned the entire original SRod artwork from multiple sources and is willing to provide high resolution scans to any independent party properly skilled in digital image software who wishes to do the forensic investigation to prove that we have not tampered with the graphic line content of these images one jot or tittle.
Having seen various originals as they are found with Brother Eric via Gods providence with my own eyes i am amazed that anyone, including Brother Peralta, would not see that there simply must be good reason for Christ to show us each detail through his prophets. Once again men desire to speak for the prophet Victor Houteff and completely lose sight of the FACT that they are trying to speak for Christ and not Victor.
To reiterate: i have been with Eric during a trip that led us to find further original copies of charts to continue to establish what was ACTUALLY PRINTED AND DIATRIBUTED by Brother Houteff during his lifetime of service as the prophet of God. I and Eric have held in our hands documents, money, charts, and tracts that were kept by secular entities that did not know what they had and was delighted that we were so happy and blessed to see, handle and note the differences between what Adair and others have been claiming were accurate and at one time we did think some of those same things.
But not now. And not ever again. God wants His name and His Truth magnified and He has decided to do this NOW. Eric is not being made famous or rich. Neither am i. Neither is his family. We are trying to pass on the blesaings of God,and just as it was in every age, satan is fighting against the Truth being restored.
God be Praised,and God alone. Amen.
Hello brother Scot,
What we cannot ignore are TWO facts. One, the original Tract six booklets are clear in themselves and need no interpretation or alterations. Two, the prophet NEVER discusses one iota bout six tubes anywhere.
What we DO have is clear and unmistakable- Let us read–
The Seven Golden Tubes
“If the “golden bowl” is that which contains the inspired interpretation of the Scriptures or the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, and the lamps or churches are supplied with oil from the bowl through the seven golden tubes, then the ministry is represented by the tubes, whose duty is to feed the entire church with the inspired Word of God only.
This fact also is proven by the “Spirit of Prophecy,” as we read: “The golden oil represents the Holy Spirit. With this oil God’s ministers are to be constantly supplied, that they, in turn, may impart it to the church.” — Id.,p. 188. Note, the seven tubes (Ministry) draw the oil from the golden bowl, not direct from the olive trees (Scriptures).
This divinely illustrated lesson is too plain to be misunderstood, or its meaning misconstrued.” (SRod, vol. 2, p.285)
We see clearly Inspired words– “the lamps or churches are supplied with oil from the bowl through the seven golden tubes.
So let us stand firmly on the Word of God as spoken by the prophet and not get side tracked on rabbit trails that neither inspire us (only brings confusion) nor grounds us in the intended Zech. 4 symbolism and it’s lesson.
We have seen brother Edstrom’s interpretation of why “he” thinks there is a discrepancy (six tubes versus seven) and it is totally without clear Rod references to back it up. Only based on his own surmising and then put forth as the reason why brother Houteff drew six tubes instead of seven.
All who want a “Thus sayeth the Lord” to back things up will not buy it.
It is Robert Peralta who is ignoring the facts by clinging to a low quality image of the golden bowl from Tract No. 6, p. 18 containing printing artifacts to insist the private opinion of B. Albert Graham (alias Brian Willsson) while failing to acknowledge what is plainly revealed in the higher quality images of the bowl found in 2SR 270 and the 1944 large chart. Also Peralta’s false charge that Part II of the video series on “The Golden Bowl Revisited” is based on the opinions of some man without any references from the Rod is totally bogus for anyone who uses their liberty of conscience to investigate for themselves. Therein is found a solid logical Rod referenced explanation based on the weight of evidence why Brother Houteff showed only six tubes drawing oil out of the bowl as it applies in the period prior to Ezekiel 9 versus the period after purification wherein all seven, the complete ministry of the 144,000 will be getting their doctrines from the bowl.
Which brings us to the conclusion that Peralta at this point can only tear down that which he does not agree with, but offer nothing logical in its place that harmonizes with all that is published in the Rod. It seems that he is hell bent to keep anyone from investigating for themselves as his explanation of the Rod artwork of the golden bowl will be exposed for what it is, a mirage. Not only is this a mirage, but their untenable position creates considerable theological tension with the rest of the Rod message if, as Peralta and Graham allege, that there are seven tubes taking oil out of the bowl today. How can they reconcile this with the fact that the ministry in the SDA church and amongst professed Davidians today are not getting their doctrines from the bowl as evidenced by every wind of doctrine blowing in the church with hardly anyone seeing eye to eye? Are all the ministers today getting their doctrine brother, sister from the golden bowl? Will there ever be a point in time when all the ministry will speak the same thing, if so, when? How does the golden bowl vision apply to us today in contrast with the kingdom after the purification?
I would like to comment that I have taken the time to watch all the videos from Part 1- to – Part 4 of “The Golden Bowl Revisited” series by upa7.org and find them quite enlightening. I have also read all the comments made. I will try to write this as a story telling type of approach that even a child can understand. Therefore, I will not use any references as I expect that the interested readers of this presentation have already understood this matter. However, if anyone needs a reference, please let me know.
By the grace and mercy of God based upon my understanding of the SRod message, I must exert that this “6 tubes” not “7 pipes” of the original SRod Artwork that God has divinely given to His only true prophet, Brother Victor T. Houteff is based upon the “weight of evidence.” Meaning that it can only be fully understood if a true practicing DSDA has read and studied the entire original SRod message from 1 SR -to- 10 SC 2. This artwork showing “6 tubes” cannot be compared to the “7 pipes” of Zechariah 4 SRod Basic Studies written in 2 SR 283 – to – 290 as it is a point by point, word for word study, again, not from the weight of evidence.
Conclusively, the “6 tubes” artwork is what we call, in other words, the “summary” of the original SRod message as a whole in picture mode, put together by the author as he expressed his thoughts upon the end from the beginning of Mother Laodicea. What a remarkable work of art with such significance of meaning only God can bestow to His true and last porter/prophet, Brother Victor T. Houteff, as for example:
1) The “candlestick all [of] gold” = purified church which is yet future.
2) The 144,000 are pure without guile in their mouth, and in perfect unity.
3) Seven symbolizes completion
4) Six = incomplete = the number of man
5) Not all in Laodicea has heard what is in the Golden Bowl thus far, very few ministers (tubes) actually get their doctrine from the bowl, including DSDA ministers.
6) Today most DSDA’s are not teaching and practicing everything in the SRod message thus far.
7) In the Kingdom, all the 144,000, will have the knowledge of God, and will be in unity. Only then will the purified ministry be getting all their doctrines from the bowl. At that time it would be appropriate for the prophet and author of the SRod message to update the artwork showing all seven tubes drawing oil out of the bowl. It is not wise for us to tamper with what God’s prophet has revealed for us today or interpret his artwork to suit our own preconceived ideas.
Therefore, in order for anyone to understand this “6 tubes” presentations as researched by upa7.org, they must read, study, and understand the entire original SRod Message that God has bestowed to Brother Victor T. Houteff, again, from 1 SR – to 10 SC 2, and, not give hear to any private theories coming from Brian Willsson or any other man/woman.
I thank and praise God for the extensively researched presentations on the golden bowl explaining amongst other thing why “6 tubes” are shown taking oil out of the bowl in the original SRod artwork. May God continue to guide, lead, and direct these efforts that point us to all Truth and encourage us to each study these important details out for ourselves. May the God-given talents to upa7.org continue to be used to the glory of God, even until the kingdom come, is my prayers in the name of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
Should anyone needs further explanations, please feel free to contact me.
Happy Sabbath Brother Robert! I hope you are having a good Sabbath day and have had a good week.
I fear that you are not willing to see the weight of evidence against your position and I am not one to insult a brother so please see that I mean you no harm. SR2 pg.270 shows the exact same chart in 1932 as does Tract #6 pg.18 and 1TG #14 pg.18. Over and over again the same chart was placed in the message by the Prophet Victor Houteff. It does not matter what you say or what I say. This is pure FACT. Therefore it is very clear why Eric and I have NEVER seen any other chart during the time spent serving God as our Lord has chosen to correct EVERYONE in Davidia, including us, as to what was published. I’m sure your familiar with the mantra like quote that we all in Davidia proclaim- :Teach ONLY that which is PUBLISHED”.
I do not pretend to know you Brother Robert, and if by chance you have some personal quarrel with someone then deal with that elsewhere. But here we have one aim: to serve Christ. That means we are to obey and follow Him. If you choose not to believe what has been shown to so many of us around the world, fine. That’s your business. But apparently that is not good enough for you. If it were, you would cease propagating your viewpoint and discouraging others from their God given right to investigate for themselves while maintaining a sense of respect and Christian kindness.
We have a work to do that is 2 fold here and it will be done regardless of your opinions. You can avoid the truth but you will not escape it. No one ever has or will.
How can we harmonize what was shown in the 4th chapter of Ezekiel (read SR Vol.1, pp. 114-133) with the vision of Zechariah chapter four? Here is a clue from the Rod.
Seven–Perfect Number
In this prophecy we find there are only six portions, and only six steps have been made. Luther, Knox, Wesley, Campbell, Miller and White. The number “six” is not a perfect number. It is evident then, that there is still another portion to follow, and a step to climb. “Seven” is the perfect, Biblical number. The question is, Why was not the seventh portion included in this prophecy? Because the six were polluted; defiled with man’s preparation, man’s thoughts, and plans have been injected and followed, which, in God’s sight are as “dung.” It is not to be so with the seventh, for it is the last; it must be pure. This last portion, pure and undefiled, is represented by the angel of Rev. 18:1, “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.” It is at this time that Isaiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled. Isa. 52:1, 2: “Awake, awake: put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the Holy City: For henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion [God’s pure church].” — Shepherd’s Rod, Vol. 1, p. 126.2
Hello upa7.org,
“He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” 1 Timothy 6:4-5
What is going on here upa7.org !!! Robert Peralta cannot see the Truth presented clearly as the crystal sea by upa7.org. You, upa7.org has done your very best to present the Truth to lead Robert Peralta out of his “hallucination” and his “mirage” of one more tube. Robert Peralta is under a curse of Revelation 22 of adding that he cannot see God’s “6 tubes” message. Robert Peralta shows that he has not read half of the SRod message. Have you Robert Peralta? Have you read half of the SRod message? Brother Philip is right that only those who read the entire SRod will understand this “6 tubes” artwork. Robert Peralta’s lack of knowledge make him narrow minded so he fulfills 1 Timothy 6:4-5. It is so true that Robert Peralta is “hallucinating” to see the “mirage” of one more tube added in hallucination by Brian Willson who rather use the artifacted reprint chart rather than the Original colored clear chart straight from the hands of Brother Houteff. Robert Peralta is a lover of additions and subtractions to God’s message. He cannot see danger to lead innocent and unread people like him astray from God.
It is sad to say but you, upa7.org members and any who sees the Truth presented in “6 tubes” dipping oil from the Golden Bowl you upa7.org must obey God to avoid, separate, and withdraw from Robert Peralta who teaches contrary to the doctrines that God teaches us.
Please upa7.org please stop right here. avoid, separate, withdraw from Robert Peralta. Obey God not man please do not approved anymore of Robert Peralta’s false charges, and false reasoning or if you do, you will be held accountable to God for leading people astray from His true message. For God sake please stop right here. STOP NOW !!! Just pray for Robert Peralta that one he will stop his foolishness.
May God be our teacher and our guide to lead us to all truth.