One of the biggest troubles in Davidia in the period of the enemy’s effort to deliver a knock out blow is the insidious variety of modernism (Answerer Book, No. 3, pp. 54-58) that has taken hold of many who take it upon themselves to remodel the Rod, add or subtract from its teachings, and/or plagiarize it without giving credit to its author.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.”— John 12:32
Most recently there has been certain individuals who have taken the liberty to post entire sermon addresses originally published in the Timely Greetings by our beloved prophet Brother Houteff all over Facebook but have chosen to leave out the published content that identifies the author found in the subheading in each address, e.g.,
TEXT OF ADDRESS BY V. T. HOUTEFF
MINISTER OF DAVIDIAN 7TH-DAY ADVENTISTS
SABBATH, AUGUST 3, 1946
MT. CARMEL CHAPEL
WACO, TEXAS
Furthermore, they even fail to give proper citation the source of the content, e.g. “Timely Greetings, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 3-15.” So the question arises, is this lawful? Should we site the sources we quote when witnessing in the name of the Shepherd’s Rod message? What are the reasons some have given to hide the prophet’s name? Is it because of the reproach that is often associated with the names “V. T. Houteff” and “The Shepherd’s Rod”? By the grace and mercy of God we hope to address this important issue and show the path that God would have us to take so as to stand blameless before all men and most of all to the sight of our most Holy God.
We take the stand that if one desires to publish an entire sermon address given by Brother Houteff and published in the Timely Greetings that they should publish every word without addition nor subtraction which includes the subheading identifying the author of the message and the time and place it was originally delivered. Furthermore, we believe that the original source should be cited. A summary of the reasons why are listed below.
- If Brother Houteff identified himself as author of the sermon addresses published in the Timely Greetings then by whose authority have any of us to do otherwise?
- Failure to identify the true author of the Timely Greetings sermon address creates confusion as it appears that the one posting the message is the author, especially to those in the audience who do not know the difference.
- The Holy Bible states that if any man shall take away the words of this book of this prophecy (Rev. 22:19) that his name will be taken out of the book of life. Does this include the inspired writings of God’s last day prophets?
- Quoting the entire bodies of work and failure to identity the original author amounts to plagiarism which is a form of thievery and robbery, not only in the sight of men, but most of all in the sight our to our Most High God.
- The Holy Bible tells us to give credit to whom it is due when the power is in our hands to do so (Proverbs 3:27).
- Posting a sermon address and not identifying who published it is a form of deception. The mother church continually charges Davidians of this very thing, why give them the privilege to dishonor God’s Present Truth believers?
- Failure to cite the author of the Shepherd’s Rod is defrauding Brother Houteff of his entitlement which rightfully belongs to him as God’s true last day prophet to be distinguished from a myriad of counterfeits. Defrauding your brother is a serious sin against God for whom will He avenge (1 Thess. 4:16).
If the law of the land is in strict adherence in enforcing copyright laws to give proper citation to an author’s original work, how much more should we Present Truth believers who have the highest Biblical knowledge and as supposedly keepers of all of God’s commandments be living above the law? Can we present ourselves blameless before all men if we fail to give credit where credit is due? Since Brother Houteff placed his name and copyright on all of the numbered tracts, Timely Greetings sermon addresses, the Shepherd’s Rod Vols. 1 and 2, and other miscellaneous literature, by whose authority have we to remove it? How can we say that we love God if we fail to acknowledge and give credit to our beloved prophet Brother Houteff for the work that God has entrusted through his labors, publishing the Shepherd’s Rod message, especially when his name is on it? Whenever we give Biblical testimony from our Brother and Lord Jesus do we hide the fact that it came from Him by hiding His name?
Were Jesus and the Apostles Ashamed to Name the Prophets When They Quoted Them?
Jesus quoted Esaias: Luke 4:17-21, Luke 16:31, Mt. 13:14, Mt. 15:7-9; Mk. 7:6, 7
Jesus quoted Moses: Mt. 19:8; Mk 1:44, 7:10, 10:3, 12:26; Lk 5:14; 24:44; Jn 6:32; 7:19.
Jesus quoted Moses and all the prophets: Luke 16:29-31; 24:27
John the Baptist cited Esaias: Matt. 3:3, Luke 3:4; Jn 1:23
The apostle John cited Esaias: John 12:38-41
The apostle Matthew cited Esaias: Mt. 4:14-16; 8:17; 12:17-21
The apostle Paul cited Esaias: Romans 9:27-29; 10:16, 20; 15:12
The physician Luke cited Moses: Luke 20:28
The apostle Paul cited Moses: Rom. 10:19; Heb. 9:19, 20
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father’s, and of the holy angels.”— Luke 9:26
How can we bring others into the fold of the Shepherd’s Rod message when we ourselves are ashamed to proclaim the true author divinely called by God named Victor T. Houteff? Hiding his name is deceitful and God is not pleased. Should we not instead be shouting it to the hilltops, to the mountains, to the valleys, and throughout the whole world with harps and timbrels? We have to do our best in accordance to the mandate of our most Holy God and He will do the rest.
Is There Any Sound argument to Not Cite the Rod When Quoting From it?
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:”— Isaiah 1:18
Let us carefully examine one principle argument that was posted on the Facebook group, “Truth Tellers” as quoted below.
“We are told to be:> “Wise as serpents but harmless as doves” by Jesus Himself who told folks after He healed them to “not tell who it is that did this unto you.” & VTH in 1950 & from then on: did also publish the Rod without that label & his real full name on the tracts put out right up to his death in 1955, so he applied the example Christ began, so that our Mother & her children would at least read the Messages without the block of their prejudice against the title & name: Shepherd’s Rod & Victor T. Houteff. He invented a pen name even in the Jezreel Letters, & wrote under the title “Director of the Laman’s Movement”, & sent those messages to the GC brethren then. The Truth of the message is what we are to get to our Mother, brothers & sisters, any way we can get them to read it, especially by following the lead & example by Jesus & His chosen Messenger. . . .”
Wise as serpents, harmless as doves
There are several flaws to the reasoning of the above statement. The use of the verses “wise as serpents but harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16) and “And he charged them that they should tell no man” (Mark 7:36, 8:30) as a justification to plagiarize the Rod and hide the name of the author when his writing is quoted is an usurping application of the text. In today’s context a proper application of these verses would involve how we are to witness in behalf of the Rod, especially as we visit churches and seek to make friends, gather names and addresses, and awaken an interest in Bible studies. Then it would be wise not to openly proclaim that you are a Shepherd’s Rod or mention the name of Victor Houteff at the onset. Clearly this could arouse unnecessary prejudice and should be carefully and tactfully handled, hence to be “wise as a serpent”. However, if someone presses to know who the author of the message is after they have been given a chance to hear its claims during a systematic Bible study, then one would be obliged to tell them whether they hear or forebear (Eze. 3:11).
Don’t go tell anybody applies to the Rod?
The analogy of using Jesus example of telling certain people He had just preformed a healing miracle and to not go and tell others is not in harmony with what we are instructed in the Rod. Jesus requests were specific verbal communications given for a specific reason to specific individuals. Do we have any similar specific instruction from the Rod that Brother Houteff told us not to include his name on the Rod publications that already bear his name? No we do not, thus to presume such a conclusion is dangerous and amounts to an unwarranted addition to the message.
Did Victor Houteff remove his name from the tracts?
The claim that Victor Houteff from 1950 up until his death in 1955 did not put his name on the Tracts (Nos. 1-15) or the Timely Greetings has no basis in Truth. It implies that the people who give such a reason have not read the entire Rod message nor understand it for themselves. However, if anyone can prove such claims we are willing to denounce our stand. For your information we have digitally scanned original copies written by our beloved prophet V. T. Houteff himself of all of these pieces of literature that were published in this time frame and they all include the copyright and his name as in prior editions. In fact, the Timely Greetings Vol. 1 and some issues of Vol. 2 were revised and copyrighted in 1953-54. Every single one of these sermon addresses includes the date, person, and place the sermon was given unaltered from the first editions that were published from 1946 to 1948. Thus the claim of the “Truth Teller” administrator that Brother Houteff removed his name from the tracts applying the example of Christ after 1950 has been tried and found wanting.
Can we use Brother Houteff’s pen name anywhere we please?
It is true the Brother Houteff used pen names such as “V. H. Jezreel, H. B., Director of S. D. A. Layman’s Movement” when he wrote the Jezreel Letters. It is affirmatively acceptable for the prophet to do such since he himself is the author and was the one who wrote the letters originally and did not quote from anybody else’s writing. If Brother Houteff, or any author, wrote something, be it a book, a tract, a pamphlet, etc. they have the authority to use their proper name, use a pen name, or decide to not use their name at all. However, if anybody other than the original author uses what they wrote in a citation then to be lawful under the law of the land and in the sight of our Holy God requires them to cite the author of the work. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. If we quote the Jezreel letters then it would be appropriate to use the pen name of Brother Houteff. On the other hand, to use his pen name or the title “Director of S. D. A. Layman’s Movement” to identify a Timely Greetings sermon address when the author used his proper name, V. T. Houteff. would amount to deception. Who knows who is the “Director of the S. D. A. Laymen’s Movement” anyway? Is he alive today? It could be anybody. There is counterfeit literature that has been published by one offshoot Davidian Association in the 1970’s and 80’s which used this very title thereby adding to the confusion. Only if the author decides to make his work anonymous then we do not have to include their name when citing their work.
Did Brother Houteff stop putting his name on the TG’s after 1950?
The claim that all of a sudden in 1950 Brother Houteff decided to stop using his name on any of the Rod literature he continued to publish is false. It is true that the tract “General Conference Special” was published in this year and it did not have the prophet’s name on the copyright page, but this is not the indication or proof of a wholesale trend. It is inconsistent with the fact that several pieces of literature published prior to 1950 also did not include the author’s name [e.g., Mt. Carmel Training Center (1942); The Leviticus (1943); Fundamental Beliefs (1943); Military Stand (1943); The Entering Wedge (1946)]. The White House Recruiter was published in 1951 and Reporting Un-Adventist Activities in 1952 and they also did not include the prophets name. It is interesting to note that during this same time period the prophet continued to revise and publish the Timely Greetings which included his proper name as mentioned above. And even if he did not put his name on it, we know who wrote it. Can we rightly take it as our own, replace it with the Holy Spirit, or use the author’s pen name? Please download a PDF of an Adventist magazine article charging the Rod with deception by circulation of the Reporting Un-Adventist Activities tract.
Is the prophet’s name really a stumbling block?
The argument that the name of V. T. Houteff is a stumbling block that would cause otherwise honest seekers for truth to reject the message is fundamentally unsound. Are we going to bring in people into the Truth through lies? It is cowardly and hypocritical in the same manner that Peter denied Jesus name three times when it was required of him most to speak up. Just because some individuals may have been won into the Rod message by reading counterfeited and plagiarized tracts based on the Rod that hide the true author’s name, such as the “Door of Hope” series of tracts published by Wanda Blum (a.k.a., J. Walters) in the 1980’s or the Series A and B tracts published by the Bashan Hill Association, does not imply that all come in this way, or that is a justification for plagiarizing the rest of the message, specifically the Timely Greetings sermon addresses. There can be found just as many, and perhaps even many more, that have come into the Rod message and accepted its teachings by reading the original pocket sized tracts which included the name V. T. Houteff. There are others who having heard all of the unchristian rampages against the Rod and its author have been awaked to see what causes such hatred and bitterness against something that most folks know nothing about. The conscience awaken by the work of the Holy Spirit and they choose to investigate for themselves and find to their amazement the true reason why the church hates the message so much, because it is the Truth, pure and unadulterated, not because of the name of the author! The name of the message or its author is of none effect to sway their stand as they are convicted of its claims coming straight from the word of God. Over joyed with the meat in due season they are more than happy to acknowledge Brother Houteff as the master antitypical last day prophet for the church today and are not ashamed to proclaim his message and give credit to its author.
There are several experiences from Davidians that kept brother Houteff’s name out of the first few Bible studies given to Seventh-day Adventists. Some listeners were so impressed they openly proclaimed that this is such Divine enlightenment and asked for more. Eventually after asking where this message came from and discovering that it was from the Shepherds Rod, some individuals started hollering and going through such a personality change, and then said the writings of the Shepherds Rod were from the devil! So this tactic of hiding the prophet’s name doesn’t seem to be that effective in the first place. We are not to try to control who receives the truth. It is not our job to do so, it is the work of the Holy Spirit and only our omniscient God knows who will be willing to receive His truth and be convicted and converted.
Did the Holy Spirit Write and Publish the Shepherd’s Rod?
It has been asked of the one who plagiarized the Timely Greeting sermon addresses, who is the author of these sermons? The reply came back, “the Holy Spirit”. Ponder upon this, did the Holy Spirit actually write the sermon address and publish it in the Timely Greetings? No one in his right mind would say so and deny the human instrumentality that the Holy Spirit divinely inspired to give the sermon and publish it. Anybody that reveres God and follows and preaches His Holy word, as well as had been moved by the Holy Spirit to seeing new light and truth that other people don’t see and brings that truth out have been in the past called Holy men of God; “For the prophesy came not in old time by the will of man: but Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Pet 1:21) Not one of God’s prophets have ever had his name taken from his writings; In fact there’s one special speaker in Gods writings who men have made sure it is known to his fellow man who was doing the speaking; and that speaker is none other than our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus; Just look at a red letter Bible. Why should a present truth prophet of God be treated different from the rest? If we deny the instrument whom God uses to do his work here on earth are we not just as well denying God Himself? God speaks through His prophets as the apostle Paul well know and was not ashamed to acknowledge. Are we better than they?
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,” — Hebrews 1:1
“And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” — Acts 28:25-27
“From the two olive trees, the golden oil was emptied through golden pipes into the bowl of the candlestick and thence into the golden lamps that gave light to the sanctuary. So from the holy ones that stand in God’s presence, His Spirit is imparted to human instrumentalities that are consecrated to His service. The mission of the two anointed ones is to communicate light and power to God’s people. It is to receive blessing for us that they stand in God’s presence. As the olive trees empty themselves into the golden pipes, so the heavenly messengers seek to communicate all that they receive from God. The whole heavenly treasure awaits our demand and reception; and as we receive the blessing, we in our turn are to impart it. Thus it is that the holy lamps are fed, and the church becomes a light bearer in the world.” — Testimonies to Ministers, p. 510.1
Does Properly Quoting the Shepherd’s Rod and Obeying God’s Command to Give Credit to Whom it is Due Make Us Fanatics Sent by Satan?
God forbid! In attempting to counsel the perpetuators of these latest Rod plagiarisms we have been likened unto fanatics who are of Satan. We are honored to be in such company as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was called the son of Beelzebub, the prince of devils by the Pharisees after quoting the prophet Esaiah and healing a blind and dumb man.
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” — Matthew 12:17-24
Do many, if not all of us in Davidia wonder why there are so much discord amongst us? If all of us practiced exactly what the Lord instructed us through the Shepherd’s Rod then there would be no division that is so commonplace among us today. Had the perpetuators of this Rod plagiarism have turned about and made correction then everything would have been joyful and peaceful within our midst and we could fellowship together in contentment. Thus we would like to make an appeal for all present truth believers to teach and publish only that which is written and published in the original Shepherd’s Rod message without addition nor subtraction. We pray and hope that someday soon we can come to the point where we see eye to eye and are united to the point we can usher in that long hoped for kingdom of God’s glory.
Beloved Brethren,
Greetings in the name of the Lord!
Praised be His name, for putting in our mind to examine ourselves, once in a while, and allowing us to do so in a brotherly manner! The problem we are speaking of has no black or white solution, for there is a process to be followed. First of, we have to come to the understanding that this is God’s work and that He uses only those who are willing to participate in it, by turning themselves unto Him to receive the proper transformation and guidance. Therefore, among the professed people of God, including davidians, there will be tares until the purification of the church. So, we should not be surprised by some dishonest practices in use while the work is being executed. And, I agree hundred percent that we have to denounce such behaviour and give proper advice conducive to correct any wrongdoing.
That being said, nevertheless, we have to avoid the extremes or to make a storm in a tea-cup. The goal, here, is to get the message to Laodicea under the Lord’s guidance and according to His plan that we must follow, knowledge that we acquire by being a faithful student of His word. We must not volunteer information nor hide it either, for there is a time for everything. We have to learn from our past mistakes and avoid repeating them, so we do not become a stumbling block for the advancing of God’s work, even by causing a little distraction.
“…Testimonies to Ministers, page 475: “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…” Shepherd’s Rod book, Vol. 1, p.46.
This quotation among others, is telling us two main things: that the Lord will send a prophet, but that the messenger will not be accepted. God always carefully chose His representative in a way that they do not take His glory. To all of them He gives the highest reward. For He is a jealous God and His glory belong to Him and to Him only. Therefore, give credit to one of His mouthpiece, should not be any of our preoccupation, where and when it is not necessary. For giving credit to someone, or glorifying someone, is what the world does to its stars, mainly to establish competition among them; we do not have to copy the world, for we have better fish to fry. We have a message to bring to a church while we are a church within that same church: “Through this personified prophecy, we see that the Lord is not now calling forth a “new” denomination, even though the ministry continues to take the membership rights from the adherents of this reformatory message. Consequently, for its successful delivery to the entire sisterhood of churches, our banding ourselves into a body of workers as a movement within a movement has been forced upon us. In brief, we are to confine our message strictly to the old organization, as did the apostles with their message…” Tract 4: 57.
I am not, in any way, shape, or form, condoning those who are taking credit for a work that they did not do, for personal interest. Definitely, such brethren have to be severely denounced and called upon to straight up their acts. However we should be mindful of the fact that the focus of the hour should be to deliver the last message of salvation to the SDA church: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God…” 1 Peter 4: 17.
In my humble opinion, I do not think that not disclosing the prophet’s name or the message’s name at the beginning is somewhat a deception. We do not have to volunteer information. There is a time for everything. Since we have to be in the church to “sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof,” Ezekiel 9: 4, we have to maintain our watchman position therein, to be able to present the alternative to the current condition in which the church is operating. Therefore, we have to be careful and reserved, and avoid anything that can hold the sharing of the message with the mother church. For like in the past, today, we do not have to play the martyr prematurely, just for being cast out; there is no time for that. We have a mission to fulfill and we should do so by any means necessary, following the Master’s example while He was on earth, stated in His word. For no present truth (advanced light,) and its messenger, have ever been embraced by the existing God’s church, in any generation. However, true and faithful servants of the Lord have always find ways of getting the work done, by the grace of God.
Continued Blessings from the Lord, to the whole ministry!
Your humble servant in the Lord,
Brother Jean-Jacques Gustave Sr.
Dear Brother Jean:
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.” — James 4:8
We appreciate you taking the time to review our post however some of your conclusions leave us perplexed. You are walking the fence so to speak on one hand saying the plagiarizing the author of the Rod message should be denounced but then equivocate by saying that we have to avoid going to extremes on how we correct this wrongdoing? It is like you are saying, yes the brother who plagiarized the Timely Greetings sermon addresses authored by V. T. Houteff is wrong and should be corrected but that the manner of correction is not appropriate. On whose side do you stand? Somebody has to be right and somebody has to be wrong.
If you do not think the manner of correction in this case is Biblical then please can you show us references from the Holy Bible how to address public sin? We stand on 1 Tim. 5:20, Eze. 3:17-19, and the testimony found in Testimonies Vol. 2, 15. Where do you stand?
John the Baptist openly rebuked Herod’s sin and paid with his head. Sister White openly reproved many people in her day when moved by the Holy Spirit and often paid the price of unwarranted criticism, backbiting, and alienation from her supposed brethren in the church. This brother has publicly plagiarized the work of our beloved prophet Brother V. T. Houteff and continues to practice deception by using his pen name when the prophet never used this to identify himself on the Timely Greetings sermon addresses. This is deception and an unauthorized addition/subtraction from inspiration. We fear before the most High God of Heaven to do such things and are compelled to cry aloud and spare not whether they will hear or forebear, least their blood be upon our hands.
Perhaps we should contemplate the seriousness of this matter of covering the sins in our midst in the stark reality of the following inspired passage we are so familiar with as Davidians. I hope it does not come back to haunt any of us who profess to follow the Rod.
“Who are standing in the counsel of God at this time? Is it those who virtually excuse wrongs among the professed people of God and who murmur in their hearts, if not openly, against those who would reprove sin? Is it those who take their stand against them and sympathize with those who commit wrong? No, indeed! Unless they repent, and leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the work and in holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, they will never receive the mark of God’s sealing approval. They will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel.” — Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 267.1
My Beloved Brother,
Greetings in the name of the Lord!
What a surprise! What have we done to spiritual maturity? We have been too long with the Lord to still have that kind of attitude! Apostle Peter, before total surrender and Pentecost? Does 1Corintians 10: 11 has any meaning for us?
Beloved, the least that I can say, is that I am totally puzzled by your attitude. You make me feel like you are a police handing out tickets. We are warriors for Christ, but not to compete among ourselves like the world does, not to destroy each other, because His rules are set for those who belong to Him. Beloved, you have to calm yourself down and stop this madness, for this attitude is of the world and, cannot and must not be used in the Lord’s vineyard. “Not by might, not by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4: 6.
You know what, I let you be the judge as far as on what side I stand, since my Lord already knows and that is what counts for me. For we have an ongoing and a very intimate relasionship that is constantly growing day after day and give me the strength to face any situation calmly, because I know he is in charge of my life and also based on what he promised me in 1Corinthians 10: 13. Beloved, as children of God, we have to get to understand that two wrongs do not make a right.
Sincerely, I am not looking to get credit from any one else but God Himself. I am not an actor, nor the Christian life is a show. Converted people who totally surrender to the Lord, get on their knees when they have to bring an exhortation to brethren who are misbehaving. For none of us is better than the other, we are just instruments in the Lord’s hand (those who agree to deny self,) not law enforcers. No doubt, that according to revealed truth, we are living in the harvest period, but we have to always keep in mind Matthew 13: 30. Are we reapers, Have we read Luke 17: 1 and Romans 12: 19? Have we forgotten that dirty linen should be washed in private, meaning not give ourselves in spectacle, in this fashion, to the world (trough the world wide web: www. in our case)?
We have to be vigilant, but also cautious. We must be decent, reserved people, inside out, when we are part of the Lord’s servants and working in His vineyard! Whatever happened to: “But we are a chosen generation, a royal priestwood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2: 9?
Please, let us remember that this message has two aspects: intellectual and spiritual. we can have all the knowlegde of it that we want; but, if we are not applying it in our lives to be transformed by it, we will be wasting our times. Let us stop this madness and get back to work, for we have better fish to fry.
We are fighting the wrong battle! Brother V. T. Houteff has done his part. He had put himself in condition so the Lord could use him as His mouthpiece, the result is the message that we have now in our hands to deliver to the mother church. He is dead now and has received from God the best credit that any human can ever wish to get. Now this is our turn to bring the message he left to the church of God currently in disarray, if you have noticed. This is a privilege, but every privilege carries within a responsibility.
Remember, we all are in training now. Nevertheless, let us not drop the ball. Instead, let us gather together those of us who believe that the Lord is currently preparing His special army and are willing to totally surrender to Him so He can transform us to His liking and make us fit for the work ahead of us. When we disagree on something, let us discuss it, not argue about it , for there is only but one truth. Order, in the house of the Lord and stop this madness once and for all!
Beloved, let us stay connected 24/7 to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the only one who can show us the way, for he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14: 6.) And, before we make any decision in His behalf, let us get the best way we know how, His seal of approval, for His ways are not ours neither His toughts. Isaiah 55: 8.
Continued Blessings from the Lord!
Your humble servant in the Lord,
Brother Jean-Jacques Gustave Sr.
Dear Brother Jean:
I believe we have made our case sufficiently clear and hereby rest it. Let us all take this to the Lord in prayer. In the meanwhile, silence is eloquence.
Peace in Christ,
The Publishers
Praise the Lord, my Beloved Brother!
Peace be unto you!
you have spoken well but we need also to put things correct. People misunderstand e.g the counsels of Ellen white and get statement that she said in 1890 and apply them in our present day e.g the counsels regarding the general conference which she wrote after the Minneapolis conference of 1888
But you read testimony vol.4 she says God has a church and authority and power on earth in whom he has invested his authority and no man should disregard it for in so doing you are disregarding God. Yes individuals may be imperfect sinners but they still his anointed.just like David could not kill king Saul when he was presented with the situation even the spirit of God had left Saul beacuse of disobedience
David said I will not touch the Lords anointed though he knew that the prophet Samuel had already anointed him as king of isreal before he ascended the throne.
Do you disagree that houteff claimed infallibility? As in only himself had the proper understanding and interpretation of scripture.
Secondly you confuse or mistake the spiritual gift of teaching and equate it with the prophetic gift of dreams and visions.with the gift of teaching.these are not the same.each one is given by the holy spirit different gifts not the same gift may given some are given knowledge of the scriptures and explaining their meaning now that is what constitutes the gift of teaching but it is not the same with the prophetic gift of receiving visions and dream and giving the message of the meaning of the vision persons.in early advent movement whom God spake through dreams and visions. Are Hiram Edison in 1844 before the summer of October,22 the lord spake to William foy and hazen Foss through dreams and visions.
“Brother Eric: Are you ashamed of your own real given name? Why do you hide behind and actually fraudulently use the words “Shepherd’s Rod Speaks” as your name, when you are not the Shepherd’s Rod. Unless you only post quotes with none of your own words on your profile page under that name, you are definitely not speaking for the Shepherd’s Rod solely either. That makes you much more guilty of fraud than any you accuse, by saying that is your real name, instead of Eric Edstrom. You had to have committed outright lies to face book in the application for this page because they ask for your “real name”, and you gave that as yours. If you want to have a group page by that name, then it would be acceptable and not a lie to Face book and the whole world and God even, about that being your name. Repent first, brother and change that fraud. Then maybe you would be better able to approach others whom you think are committing wrong, without being guilty of something like that yourself. That is very hypocritical, at the very least. In order to see eye to eye with your fellow man, as you have stated in your most recent post, you must first BE eye to eye with God and His Ways and quit going around criticizing and condemning all your brethren in all the Associations that existed way before your ever even heard of the names: Shepherd’s Rod, Davidian SDA, or Universal Publishing. They have quite a long precedence over you, in the claim of any right to use all of those titles, that’s for sure. You accuse them all of having some error, but all the while you have plenty of it yourself, by claiming to be the sole judge of all your brethren. Be careful. You may just be the one to lose out, brother Go to your knees and seek God’s word on fruit bearing, and also take the counsel of many who have already for many years before you came along as their critic and judge.”
Wise words my brother Jean-Jacques Gustave Sr. For some seem to think they know the heart of another brother. I what you to search me out and look at what I am posting and if you say its wrong what I am doing than I must cease and desist my actions. I do not take credit of a another mans work but to get it out there were anybody or everybody can read the great words of our lord and his prophets without the stumbling block to those would not otherwise read them. Thank you for words of wisdom. Brother Tim Boling
“For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.” — Psalms 109:2
Brother Tim no one told you to cease and desist from posting the Rod message or even to stop plagiarizing the Timely Greetings or using deception by using a title to identify the author when he himself put his own name V. T. Houteff on those sermon addresses. This is a lie. You were given a nice suggestion and then subsequent warnings to stop this public sin. You have been warned, the choice is yours, and you will have to render an account to God for your actions, not us. I will post the original suggestion that was given to you to correct your ways and have your witness be blameless in the sight of man and most especially in the sight of our Most High God. You say that you do not take credit of another man’s work yet at the same time hide the very name the author used to identify his work. Is this not stealing the credit that belongs to our beloved prophet Brother Houteff?
“A lying tongue hateth [those that are] afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.” — Proverbs 26:28
Dear Brother Tim:
Greetings in Christian love!
After reading your response to our study entitled “Are We Ashamed of the Prophet Divinely Called of God?” and you are not addressing the arguments therein, my thoughts went back to some previous experiences in my life. As I toured in different countries of this world, meeting different types of people, including Davidians such as yourself, one of the observations I have noticed over and over again is that, some of us correct those who are wrong while others attempt to correct those who are right and end up diverting from the topic of discourse and making false charges against them as well as attacking their characters . In our current controversy over your plagiarism of our beloved prophet Brother Victor T. Houteff’s name and his publications found in the Shepherd’s Rod, all I could say is that, one of us has to be right and one of us has to be wrong. My conclusion of your comment my dear brother Tim, is for you to study for yourself as our Heavenly Father admonishes us. Until then, silence is eloquence.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” — 2 Timothy 2:15
“Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” — Isaiah 2:22
“Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” — Jeremiah 17:5
“Now, as in former ages, the presentation of a truth that reproves the errors and sins of the times, will call forth a storm of opposition. “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” [John 3:20.] Those who cannot sustain their position by the Scriptures are stubbornly determined that it shall be sustained at all hazards, and with a malicious spirit they attack the character and motives of those who stand in defense of unpopular truth. Though very unbelieving in regard to the sure word of prophecy, they manifest the utmost credulity in accepting anything detrimental to the Christian integrity of those who dare to reprove fashionable sins. This spirit will increase more and more as we near the close of time.” — Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p. 292
How many others I wonder, are there like myself, who came into this message under a version of the message that make no mention at all of V.T. Houteff or SRod? I listened spellbound to the wonderful truths spoken by bro. Matthews on Mt. Dale’s version of the 144,000 audio CD. Ofcourse I now know who is the author of this teaching is–V.T. Houteff through the Holy Spirit. But not one place in that CD do they ever make reference to SRod or even V.T. Houteff. How many have come into it through studies that don’t have the aforementioned references? Hundred’s if not thousands I would surmise.
Dear Brother Rob:
I believe we have made our case sufficiently clear and hereby rest it. Let us all take this to the Lord in prayer. In the meanwhile, silence is eloquence.
Peace in Christ,
Brother Eric
you have spoken well but we need also to put things correct. People misunderstand e.g the counsels of Ellen white and get statement that she said in 1890 and apply them in our present day e.g the counsels regarding the general conference which she wrote after the Minneapolis conference of 1888
But you read testimony vol.4 she says God has a church and authority and power on earth in whom he has invested his authority and no man should disregard it for in so doing you are disregarding God. Yes individuals may be imperfect sinners but they still his anointed.just like David could not kill king Saul when he was presented with the situation even the spirit of God had left Saul beacuse of disobedience
David said I will not touch the Lords anointed though he knew that the prophet Samuel had already anointed him as king of isreal before he ascended the throne. Thirdly the houteff item comes about when people also equate it to the Elijah message and run with one statement Ellen white said in selected messages book 1 she uses phrase “he” you read other books were she has made reference she applies the message to God’s remnant people or church.in other counsels she says I saw children and youths proclaim the third angels message in the spirit and power of Elijah. So the Elijah message cannot just apply to one individual. In review and heralds she said William Miller came in spirit and power of Elijah in the preaching of the first,and second angels message. Then in 1888 she compared A.t Jones and E.j Waggoner message as having come in the power and spirit of Elijah.
I asked brother Jean to search me out and if he found anything about me offensive I would cease and desist my actions. I did not know brother Jean but he show me his character and I put full faith in Jesus in showing the truth of the matter. So your twisting words and misinterpretations of scripture has no effect on me. You just admitted that when you first got in the message there was no mention of V.T. Houteff or the Shepherds Rod, then if that is the case, why not give somebody else the opportunity to hear the message without a stumbling block added. My brother Jean had some good advise when he wrote “Beloved, you have to calm yourself down and stop this madness, for this attitude is of the world and, cannot and must not be used in the Lord’s vineyard”. That is some wise words coming from a fellow brother why not take it. You assume to know my heart and charge me with crime of plagiarizing and thanks to the most wonderful God we do not have religion police yet or I would have been stoned to death by now. Because my way is not your way does not mean we are not on the same side brother. I am not trying to reach the Davidian’s but mother (Seventh Day Adventist) and this is the best way I found to do so. When I read the Shepherds Rod for the first time I knew it was written by V.T. Houteff and also I knew that most SDA ministers said it was from Satan but my thirst for knowledge was to great and I read it a year ago this coming Oct 22. Unfortunately most people are not like me and when they see a article with Shepherds Rod on it they just throw it away in the garbage or just plainly do not read it. My mission in this life is not to promote V.T. Houteff but to promote Jesus Christ and no other. I tried it your way at first and was met with staggering opposition which is fine with me but no one was reading it but a very few. My mission is to get many in the Kingdom and not to idolize a prophet not saying that V.T Houteff was not a great man (Elijah) for I truly believe he was. Blessing and peace my brother.
Godsloveandlaw sorry I thought your comment was theirs. lol
Pro 26:26 Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation
Bro. Tim, no harm no foul. We do indeed know you, and you are the LAST person to want to bring credit and glory to yourself. Your hard work in spreading the message is greatly appreciated and the Lord knows who is His. If just one person who reads those studies decides to look further into the message and accept His Eliajh message, then our Lord will count it to your ledger, amen.
Both will end into nothing. We cannot create an attitude like that if God’s kingdom is in our hearts. By the way it seems so difficult but if we are not contented of what we have received and urge ourselves more unto him, then, we will realized wether we write and comment rightly.
Davidians should abide by the highest standards of principle and integrity so as to be blameless in the sight of God and all men. This certainly applies to how we cite another person’s work and giving credit where credit is do when it is in the power of our hands to do so. I once heard a brother say he is not ashamed of the gospel when it comes to witnessing in behalf of the Shepherd’s Rod, the greatest truth ever given to mere mortals. I could not agree more.
I totally believe that Bro VT Houteff was the true last prophet of God to His last true church on earth. to deny this is to choose hell.
Amen Brother David, we could not agree more with you. Neither are we ashamed of the gospel and the prophets whom God sends to guide us unto His soon coming kingdom.
To remodel and plagariase the Rod is uncalled of. A dear brother of mine who introduced this message to me, he was not ashamed to mention the prophet’s real name to me and then we started studying the lessons together.