“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed…”
—Matt 13: 31 &32
“Mustard seed being the smallest of all seeds this parable shows that that which is to start the Kingdom will be very insignificant, contrary to all human expectation Nevertheless, like the mustard plant becomes the biggest of all herbs, so the Kingdom shall grow and become the greatest of all kingdoms” …
—VTH 2TG, 11 p . 6
Support from Victor T. Houteff
ROD MESSAGE MEASURED BY BIBLE: “…the only safe and sane procedure is to read closely every page of the solemn message contained in the Shepherd’s Rod Publications. Let not a line escape your attention. Study every word carefully and prayerfully. Be earnest and diligent in your perusal of truth, and ‘prove all things; hold fast that which is good’ 1Thes 5: 21”
—VTH 5Ans. p 29
ROD MESSAGE MEASURED BY BIBLE: “We, too, must Learn to harmonize, not the Rod literature with The Great Controversy and Early Writings with the Rod, But all three with the Bible, that the Bible is not brought into harmony with them, but they with it. When we become mindful of this, then not one of us will longer bring one book to the test of another, but every Book to the test of the Bible itself. ”
—VTH.6 Ans. Question No.171:9
ROD MESSAGE MEASURED BY BIBLE: “Although The Doctrine of the Kingdom may not appear quite so complete under the lens of Sister White’s writings as under the lens of the Rod, one dare not thus superficially reject either, but must more studiously compare both views of doctrine under the super-lens of the Bible. He must keep in mind that we are not given license to harmonize the Bible with any other writings, but are charged to measure all others by it.”
—VTH 2 Ans. p 74
MUSTARD SEED TO DASH ALL PRECONCEPTIONS: “Mustard seed being the smallest of all seeds this parable shows that that which is to start the Kingdom will be very insignificant, contrary to all human expectation. Nevertheless, like the mustard plant becomes the biggest of all herbs, so the Kingdom shall grow and become the greatest of all kingdoms. This being contrary to all human planning, it is but natural that those who are like Nicodemus, and continue to be ashamed to be identified with something that is unpopular, hated, and insignificant, will as a result be left out of the Kingdom.”
—VTH 2TG, 11 p. 6
MUSTARD SEED/KINGDOM COMPRISED OF LIVING ONLY AT FIRST: “The work of gathering set forth in these scriptures, shows that before the resurrection of the righteous (1 Thess. 4: 16) and before the pre-millennial destruction of the nations, the Lord is to make up His kingdom at first of the living saints only, as seen from the prophecy of Daniel 2: the ‘stone’ being ‘cut out’ of the mountain (Dan. 2: 45), and being symbolical of the kingdom of Christ in its beginning (Dan.2: 44), then the mountain from which it is cut out, must necessarily represent the church from which the first fruits of the kingdom, the 144,000, are gathered. And as the stone grows and becomes ‘a great mountain’ (Dan. 2: 35) after it is ‘cut out,’ it obviously at first represents the kingdom in its infancy — the ‘first fruits’ only. The fact, also, that the stone grows and fills ‘the whole earth,’ is another evidence in the proof that after this long-looked-for kingdom is “set up,” a great multitude is to join it. Were this not so, then the stone could not become ‘a great mountain.’ Its being, furthermore, at first but a very small part of the mountain, shows that the kingdom has a very small beginning, just as the Lord says: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed,…which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs.’ —Matt. 13: 31, 32”
—VTH, Tr 9, p. 40, 41
ROD IS BEGINNING, ALL MUST CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE: “…Since the Laodiceans are already in the greatest deception, then for any one of them to decline to investigate a claimant to truth for fear of being deceived in so doing, is to stultify reason. To investigate and to study is one’s only salvation —his only hope of getting out of his present ‘sad,’ ‘terrible,’ ‘fearful’ deception (Testimonies, Vol. 3, pp 253, 254, 260), and his only hope of protection in keeping him from plunging into the abyss. So he must study as never before! And in so doing he will find that this is the BEGINNING OF THE VERY MESSAGE HE MUST HAVE in order to clear the scales from his eyes and break the invisible, but none-the-less real, shackles of inertia and self-exaltation in which the Enemy holds him bound”
—VTH, 1 Ans p 75 (Parenthesis belong, emphasis added)
PENNY DISTRIBUTED BY STEWARD; IT IS ETERNAL LIFE: “…. ‘So when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny’…The pay God’s servants receive is eternal life, and is characterized by the penny. Therefore, those who are granted the assurance of a never ending life first, are those who were hired last, and according to the parable, it was the company called at the eleventh hour.”
—VTH Houteff, 2 SR p 234: 3; 235: 2
KJV – THE BASIS OF OUR FAITH: “Let this counsel warn God’s people away from the precarious practice of hanging their doctrines and their faith on the gilded hooks of perverted interpretations and of renderings from tongues unknown to them (the Hebrew, the Greek, and this, that, or the other) and of interpretative translations that bolster up and serve the interest of theological preconceptions and predilections better than does the authorized version —the version which God, in His providence and in His foreknowledge of finishing His work by the English-speaking world, has given to His people to lead them into His kingdom. Beware, therefore, of the pretentions of pseudo-scholarship, which assume to be more dependable than that which God, Himself, has chosen and wrought in simplicity. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.’ ” —Matt 24: 35″
—VTH, 9Tr, p 75, 76
ELIJAH EXPLAINS JUDGMENT: “…Elijah comes just before that day begins…he is to unroll the scroll (the Bible), to explain what the day of the Lord is like, what the Lord will do then, and how we may survive His judgments.”
—VTH, GCS, p. 19: 1, 2 (parenthesis added)
YAHWEH IS NOT ACCURATE NAME: “However, the most ancient and hallowed Hebrew name for God was not only never commonly pronounced, but was even so-spelled, in an abbreviated form, that it could not be pronounced; so much so that the original pronunciation is not known. All we know for sure is the Consonant Form, Yhwh, Yvh, or Yhv. This abbreviated form of the name made it hard for the translators to spell out a pronounceable word. They, therefore, chose to supply what they thought were the missing vowels. The first syllabic term upon which there was general agreement was Jah. Other derivatives were supplied by different translators. Yahweh, Yahowah, or Yahovah were formulated to suit certain languages. The anglicized form evolved as Jehovah. Therefore, any improvised letters that go to make up the ineffable Name may not actually be the Hebrew word after all! (See Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary, definition ‘Jehovah.’)”
—VTH, 11Tr. p. 10, 11
ROD VALIDATES DEUT 18: “While the Jews boasted of their faith in Moses’ writings, Jesus reprehended them by saying: ‘…had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me.’ John 5: 46. He had reference to —Deut 18: 15—‘The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.’…”
—VTH 1TG, 15 p . 4, 5
MORE LIGHT TO COME: “Foreseeing the dark pall of confusion which men today are casting over the Bible, and their wide departure from the plain Scriptural path, as a result of their utter disregard of the gift of prophecy, God is therefore morally bound to make in His written Word some sort of prophetic announcement of this great evil and it’s outcome, just as he did concerning the calamitous fate which befell His ancient people, and concerning their subsequent destiny.”
—VTH 6Tr 26: 3, 4
REAL CHRISTIAN DEFINED/WE HAVE NOT FULLY GROWN: “The urgent lesson here to be learned is that those who are ever-progressing, keeping pace with the march of Truth, are the ONLY REAL CHRISTIANS. And though even the most advanced of these have not yet reached the high standard (the full growth) set for them by the Lord, yet Inspiration in this latest feast of butter and honey (the latter rain), proffers character-building material to all. As a result of this, thousands of faithful ones at first (Rev. 7: 3-8; 14: 1, 5) and millions at last (Rev. 7: 9; Mic. 4: 1-3; Isa. 60: 5, 6) will, having finally matured for harvest, actually achieve the Lord’s standard, and come ‘in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ Eph. 4: 13….”
—VTH, 14Tr. p. 43
THE PRINCIPLE OF MATURITY: “But the main lesson of Isaiah, chapters 7 & 8, teaches that the church collectively, born in the first century AD, is today •••about to pass••• from her childhood and be fed ‘strong meat’ so as to empower her to choose the good and refuse the evil. ‘For everyone that useth milk,’ Inspiration declares, ‘is unskillful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.’ Heb 5: 13, 14. Obviously, as TIME progresses, so the Truth and the Christian advance commensurately with it.”
Having fed on ‘milk’ only-on the simple, elementary revelations of the Word—through the long years of her infancy and childhood, the church has finally come to the stage where she must take ‘strong meat’ also—the advanced, latter day revelations of the Word.
Now, though, they must be coming into full maturity, for not only have many years passed since the Assyrian dealt the blow to the church—state union, but also has come the time for Assyria herself, to fall. Besides that, the ‘strong meat,’ too, is already here.
“Unquestionably the time has come for all church members to realize that they are •••now passing••• from Christian childhood into Christian maturity, and should, therefore, no longer try to reach the stature of the full grown by continuing to feed on the food of babes. Hence each one…can now be enabled to recognize their spiritual parents, so as intelligently to say, ‘my Father and my Mother’: for to know their God aright through the Son, and to know their church aright through timely truth, is what brings life eternal. And as each assimilates the ‘strong meat,’ he will thereby become wise and strong ‘to refuse the evil and choose the good’. ”Of necessity, therefore, the ‘special work’ for the church, predicted in the Great Controversy, page 425, has been ordained to bring every honest member to Christian maturity. ”
—VTH, 14Tr. 37-38
JOSEPH REPRESENTS CHRIST: “…Bear in mind that as Joseph of ancient days controlled the storehouse, even so Christ controls the Scriptures and the times. Many godly men in the past went to Christ (Joseph) and got all the present truth (corn) for that particular time that they could assimilate….When Joseph gathered the corn in Egypt and stored it in the storehouses, he did it not for wealth, but to sustain life in the next seven years of famine. The corn was a symbol of Christ’s Word as we shall endeavor to prove. ”
—VTH 1 SR p. 15: 2
SUPPLIANTS FROM BEYOND THE RIVERS: “From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My suppliants, even the daughter of My dispersed, shall bring Mine offering. In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against Me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of My holy mountain” (Zeph 3: 10,11)
“When the Gospel is proclaimed in ‘a pure language,’ then even from the ends of the earth God’s people will come with an offering to the Lord.”
—VTH 1TG 23 p. 7
HOW NOT TO SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST: “No one is lost for believing a false interpretation of a prophecy before the truth of it is revealed, provided the false interpretation does not draw him away from some other truth. Such individuals, however, are in great danger because, as history reveals, very few who become thus involved in error are willing to humble themselves by renouncing their errors and accepting the truth when it is made known. They are consequently in constant peril of sinning against the Holy Ghost. And being acutely aware of this, Satan misinterprets the prophecies before they are divinely revealed. He realizes full well that many, unwilling to be corrected and to exchange their errors for revealed truth, will thereby be led to eternal ruin. All-important, therefore, is the need that the student of the truth fortify himself with all honesty and humility as the light of truth is now turned searchingly on popular theories.”
—VTH, 5Tr. p 7, underline of capitalized words as an emphasis has been added
FIT OPINIONS TO WORD: “Do not read the Word in the light of former opinions; but, with a mind free from prejudice, search it carefully and prayerfully. If, as you read, conviction comes, and you see that your cherished opinions are not in harmony with the Word, do not try to make the Word fit these opinions. Make your opinions fit the Word. Do not allow what you have believed or practiced in the past [namely the pre-existence of Jesus] to control your understanding.”
—VTH, 5Tr, p 6 taken from EGW, MYP, p. 260. Brackets [ ] added
(1) GOD’S SECRETS UNSEARCHABLE: “…the difficulty, of course, lies in the fact that hardly a theologian allows for the possibility that his understanding of the Bible might be at least in a measure erroneous, and that Inspiration might almost at any moment manifest itself anew, unroll the scroll and bring forth timely Truth, ‘meat in due season,’ and thus expose their private concoctions of so-called truth”
“Now with all respect and sincerity, by the authority of the Scriptures and by virtue of the facts before me, I say that it would be easier for a chicken to find its roost in the blackest of the night than for uninspired mind to unveil the prophecies and the parables. The difference between the two is that the chicken realizes the futility…but the self-willed man does not realize that he cannot unveil Truth at his own will and without light from above.”
“We as Christians have obviously failed to note that if the secret things of God, matter not how simple were to be unsealed at anytime by anyone, Inspiration would never in the first place have concealed them in symbols and parables. Christendom is still blind to the fact that to attempt to break into the mysteries of God would be to attempt to defeat His purposes; yes, to try to break into the Divine code, is to try the impossible. [now comes the scriptural validation] For example, even when the time did come for the Book sealed with seven seals to be unsealed (Rev. 4 & 5), no one in heaven or on earth was able to do so, but only ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ could break the seals and look into the things which afterwards were shown to John, the Revelator. And though John wrote them, he himself could not before time explain them. Then how can we do such before time and without the Inspiration of the same Spirit Who indicted them?”
—VTH 2TG 44, p 30, 31, [ ] Brackets added
(2) GOD REVEALS SECRETS AS FRESH FOOD, NOT STALE: “Moreover, God invariably test His people in order to teach them that truth is progressive and that no one can ever find truth beyond what He reveals. And that no servant of His has ever been given knowledge of the whole truth; that it will take all of them together to bring forth the whole truth; that He gives ‘meat in due season’; that He does not feed His flock of old stale food, but with food fresh and up-to-date; that He leads them to green pastures in their season; that He accommodates them with truth especially adapted to meet their needs for the time, rather than having them spiritually starving while trying to survive on rehashed old worn out truths, and rather than to keep them blind of the signs of the times of the things that take place on earth [like 911], as well as of those that take place in heaven it is His desire that we know what He would have us to do. His church is to be the light in the world —not especially to illuminate the past or the future, but rather the present.”
—VTH, 16Tr, p55 [all emphasis and brackets added]
(3) GOD KEEPS SECRETS UNTIL TIME OF REVELATION: “We as Christians have obviously failed to note that if the secret things of God, matter not how simple, were to be unsealed at anytime by anyone, Inspiration would never in the first place have concealed them in symbols and parables. Christendom is still blind to the fact that to attempt to break into the mysteries of God would be to attempt to defeat His purposes; yes, to try to break into the Divine code, is to try the impossible”.
—VTH, 2 TG, 44, p. 30, 31
(4) GOD SECRETS, HIDDEN: “Are not these tests fair enough to convince anyone that the secret things of God, such as the concealed prophecies…are not disclosed by finite men? –no, not by the Devil either. When God wants a thing to be a secret…it remains concealed until He Himself reveals it. Then, when it is revealed all are to know that God Himself is at work…. Are not, therefore, the wise men of the day making fools of themselves by airing their private interpretations of the unrevealed… Scriptures?”
—VTH, 2 TG, 24, 16
LIVING CANNOT BE JUDGED WITH JUDGMENT OF DEAD MESSAGE: “Only the Heaven-sent message for today can save the people of today. This is just as real and as true and as logical as it is to say that the living cannot be judged with the message of the judgment of the dead”
—VT Houteff, (his work used legally by the MSC [5A, p29]), 2 T G, 20 p 25
ELIJAH RIGHLY INTERPRETS THE PROPHECIES: “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”
—VT H, GCS, p. 19
ALWAYS HAVE EARS OPEN FOR INSPIRATION: “Ever have your ears open to any claimant of inspiration if you are not to repeat the history of the Jews. God will not let you be deceived if you really hunger and thirst after righteousness, if you really want to know the Truth, for He is anxious that you keep up with His progressively revealed Truth. There is therefore no danger for one to be deceived by coming in contact with error, but there is a great danger for staying in darkness by not coming in contact with fresh Truth. Inspiration’s counsel is thus: ‘Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…’”
—VTH, 1 TG 12, p. 18
DO NOT READ THE WORD IN LIGHT OF FORMER OPINIONS: “So before a person can climb the ladder of Truth, he must first of all free himself from erroneous theories, which keep him bound in darkness. And to loose himself from such weights of error so as to reach the top step of the ladder of Truth, he must carefully investigate and ‘prove all things’ in Open-Mindedness.”
“ ‘Do not read the Word in the light of former opinions; but, with a mind free from prejudice, search it carefully and prayerfully. If, as you read, conviction comes, and you see that your cherished opinions are not in harmony with THE WORD, do not try to make the WORD fit these opinions. Make your opinions fit the WORD. Do not allow what you have believed or practiced in the past to control your understanding.’ —Messages to Young People, 260.”
“This prime necessity urgently confronts those who have been disposed to accept, as unquestionable Bible truths, theories which are the result of “Adding To and Taking From the Scriptures….When the Spirit of God interprets the Scriptures, He does not in any way need to alter any part of Them in order to make the explanation fit that which is being unfolded. When, moreover, the true interpretation of a prophecy is made, it always contains a lesson of present truth ‘adapted to the necessities of God’s people’ (the Great Controversy, p. 609) at the time the scripture is revealed. Knowing this, Satan is continually Paving the Way for Sinning Against the Holy Ghost.
“No one is lost for believing a false interpretation of a prophecy before the truth of it is revealed, provided the false interpretation does not draw him away from some other truth. Such individuals, however, are in great danger because, as history reveals, very few who become thus involved in error are willing to humble themselves by renouncing their errors and accepting the truth when it is made known. They are consequently in constant peril of sinning against the Holy Ghost. And being acutely aware of this, Satan misinterprets the prophecies before they are divinely revealed. He realizes full well that many, unwilling to be corrected and to exchange their errors for revealed truth, will thereby be led to eternal ruin. All-important, therefore, is the need that the student of the truth fortify himself with all honesty and humility as the light of truth is NOW TURNED SEARCHINGLY ON POPULAR THEORIES.”
—VTH, 5Tr. p 6&7 (underline of capitalized words as an emphasis has been added)
EVEN DAVIDIANS RISK LAODICEAN LUKEWARMNESS: “Clearly, then, lukewarmness and the hallucination of being rich are the faults peculiar to the Laodiceans, and are the dangers which if not recognized and removed are finally to result in God’s spuing them out of His mouth (Rev 3: 16) Thus again the Lord mercifully pleads with PRESENT-TRUTH BELIEVERS to walk in the light and shun lukewarmness, lest they fall back into thinking themselves rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, and again become poor and in need of everything. Thus we see that while Satan has not been able to overthrow every individual member, he has, though, been able to overthrow every Movement to date… ”
—VTH, 1Ans, p 66, 67 [Emphasis added]
ROD SAYS “SCROLL UNROLLS AGAIN”: “It is surprisingly alarming to note how little thought has been given to the method which Inspiration has ever employed in promoting truth, and to the people’s way of responding to it…it is very important that we carefully look into it, so as to know what to watch for, and what to expect, if and when Inspiration again begins to unroll the Scroll of Prophecy. Failing to respond to Inspiration’s plea, and failing to recognize that it is the voice of the Spirit of God, would mean sinning against the Holy Ghost…How essential then is it that we equip ourselves with the knowledge of this most important phenomenon of our salvation”
—VTH, 16Tr. p. 47 [Emphasis added]
LAODICEANS WILL NEVER HAVE THEIR EYES OPENED: “Now let me tell you of another class … This group of Laodiceans will never, never have their eyes opened, will never be anything but wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. They can never be reached by Heaven, not even by the Lord Himself. If they thus continue, then the only thing Christ can do is to spue them out of His mouth…Anything new from the Bible that is brought out by anyone but themselves, even though purported to be through inspiration, they hastily brand ‘deception,’ though they are already in a gross self deception. They read the Bible with the hope of finding proof by which to disagree with everyone but themselves.”
—VTH, 1TG 8 p. 20: 3
ROD SHOWS CLICHÉS OF LAODICEANS: “Now let me tell you of another class of individuals from whom I often hear. Listen to what they say: ‘Please keep your “Rod” to yourself, take my name from your mailing list. I am not in the least interested in what you are doing. Your booklets go into the fire just as soon as they come. I never read them and I never will —no, not a line. I am satisfied [lukewarm] with my religion. I belong to the true remnant church and I expect to go with it. How dare you try to deceive me?’ ”
—VTH 1TG 8 p 19 & 20
CHURCH ON ROAD TO “FULLNESS OF CHRIST”, NEEDS TO GROW: “Inspiration makes it plain that God’s plan is that the Church should ever be growing both in knowledge and perfection till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the FULLNESS OF CHRIST; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Since the Church has not yet attained the standard set forth in this verse of Scripture, it is obvious that she needs to have greater knowledge of Bible religion than she has at the present time. Being far from having reached such unity of faith, of knowledge, and perfection, we see the need as clear as crystal: WE AS CHRISTIANS NEED TO START GROWING, otherwise the season of such growth will pass and we shall be left but dwarfs, not having advanced far enough to be eligible for a home in the Kingdom. Then shall it come to pass that all such unmatured Christians shall bitterly cry out, ‘the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.’
—VTH 1TG 51 p 6, 7
GOD’S PEOPLE: JUDAH, ISRAEL, & JERUSALEM: “Thus “there is to be a [‘gigantic’—14 Tr. 22: 2] world war in which Gentiles outside of Palestine [?] and the Gentiles within [Assyrian Great Britain and her allies] will be involved. In that war God’s people —Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem— are to be delivered and made free, and the kingdom will be rebuilt. That is as plain as anything I have ever seen.’
—13 (SC) Code 1 & 2:6:1.” —See also The Timely-Truth Educator (TTE); The Last Mile Home, MJB’s citation of VTH’s work, p. 25; All brackets belong to the TTE and not to the SC or the MSC. Parenthesis added
THOSE WHO EMBRACE ELIJAH’S MESSAGE CANNOT DIE: “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)”
—Vol. 1 Symbolic Code No. 9 pg.9
NO PROPHET OF GOD WELCOMED BY THE CHURCH: “However, I would remind you, Brethren, that no prophet of God has ever been welcomed by the church. On the contrary, each in his time was rejected, abused, and most of them were martyred by the ones to whom they were sent — the very ones who were supposed to be serving God! Indeed, the Lord Himself paid the same price. For this very reason we must remember that when the last prophet comes he will have the greatest opposition to meet, for Satan well knows that if he loses now, he loses forever. What makes Elijah’s work especially hard is that Christendom has long been drilled in the idea that no prophet is to come, that there is no necessity for one, that it has enough revealed Truth to carry it inside the Pearly Gates.”
—VTH GCS P6
TO ACCEPT TRUTH, WISE HAVE DIFFICULT TASK, CONFESS THEIR FOLLY: “If to say, ‘I am wrong’ is hard even for one who does not pretend to be wise, then pray tell me how easy will it be for those who are thought to be wise? For this is exactly what they must do to their audiences if they themselves are ever to accept the truth when it is unfolded by the Holy Spirit Himself. And if they do not then give up their private interpretations and take the interpretations of the Spirit, will they not sin against the Holy Ghost?”
—VTH 2TG, 24: 16, 17
ROD CITES EPH FOUR: “Those who fail to keep pace with the Truth as Inspiration unfolds It, can never, of course, come to ‘the unity of the faith,’ and to a full ‘knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ Such will forever be ‘children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men…Eph4: 13,14’. Plainly, then, religion itself is something living and unfolding, the tragedy is that not all are keeping pace with it.”
—VTH, 1TG, 51,p 8:ellipse(…) belong
GOD GUARANTEES HIS PROMISES: “God’s Righteousness, you see, is His integrity, His sure promises, His might to perform. He guarantees His promises; they never fail. To have the Righteousness of the Lord, therefore, is to have His integrity and faithfulness, and these we can never have so long as we mistrust Him. Never so long as we doubt His Word, for to doubt is nothing short of calling Him a liar! To doubt is the greatest offense one can commit! No one can doubt God and still receive His blessings and promises. To have the Righteousness of the Lord, therefore, is to implicitly trust Him without reservation. And where does He expect us to begin? – He wants us to begin with the thing that troubles us most – the temporal things of tomorrow. He wants us to learn that we cannot serve self and God, too”
—VTH 2TG 35 p 6
TEACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BRINGS US TO FULL MATURITY: “…Therefore while Christians are urgently requested to pray and agonize for the Spirit of Truth at all times, they are even more urgently instructed to pray for it now!”
“As in the natural state of things, the latter rain comes not only to make the wheat grow but also to bring it to its full maturity, so, by spiritual analogy, this Teacher of Righteousness must bring the saints to the full stature of men in Christ Jesus (Eph.4: 13)—fit them for the Kingdom.”
—VTH, 1Ans, p 90; (parenthesis belong)
CHURCH TO CRUCIFY LORD AFRESH: “Even now, in the closing hours of the gospel period, the church says: ‘I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing’, —neither truth nor prophets— though in fact she is ‘wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked’ (Rev 3: 16, 17), and about to be spued out if she fails now to anoint her eyes with this FRESH, extra oil [VTH’s work today is not fresh Manna; he could only be speaking of this final work extended to Davidia]. And being unmindful of her wretched condition, she is now ready not only to reject the last message that comes to her with warnings and reproofs just before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal 4: 5), but ALSO AGAIN TO CRUCIFY THE SAVIOUR should He in person rebuke her, thereby repeating her rebelliousness of Old, as symbolized by Moses striking the ‘rock’ twice (Num 20: 11).”
—VTH 12Tr, 24, 25, Parenthesis belong, brackets and emphasis added.
JUDGMENT OF THE LIVING: “Of this last message Inspiration warned the Denomination by leaving on record the lines which I shall now read:”
‘I saw,’ says Sister E. G. White, ‘angels hurrying to and fro in heaven…preparing for the fulfillment of some important event…this message, seemed to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel’s message in 1844.’ —EW, p 277.’ And what should that message be if not an urgent preparation for the judgment of the living?
“Again I read: ‘Prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says: “Behold I will send you Elijah The prophet…” Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah…’—TM, p. 475”
—VTH, 2TG 43: 10.11
EPH FOUR/ KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST: After quoting Eph. 4: 11-14. VTH makes the following comments: “Inspiration makes it plain that God’s plan is that the Church should ever be growing both in knowledge and perfection till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, Whereby they lie in wait to deceive….
“Since the Church has not yet attained the standard set forth in this verse of Scripture, it is obvious that she needs to have greater knowledge of Bible Religion than she has at the present time.”
—VTH, 1 TG, 51 p 6
TRUST HIS WORD: “…What a lesson to take the Lord’s advise, to trust His Word even to ‘one jot or one tittle’ (Matt. 5: 18), and if necessary to distrust every mortal being! (Isa 2: 22)”
—VTH, 5 Tr p 17, 18. Parenthesis belong
KJV IS DEPENDABLE: “…Let not the enemy trip you on this point by vain philosophy or theology. The Scriptures are perfect in themselves. The King James version is as dependable as any ‘good’ translation. Take heed of explanations by translations which you yourself do not understand. Trust no man.”
—VTH, 2 Shepherd’s Rod, p, 118
THE COMING AVALANCHE: “…Right now we may not appreciate this study as we ought to (obviously due to a lack of the only thing which could give us the full appreciation, new light or present truth), but the time is soon coming (when will it come? Will the Lord enlighten us as He promises in Amos 3:7?) in which we will dig as fast and as hard for it as we would to get out from under an avalanche. Those who have but little faith in the Word of God though, the study will not do them much good. Now is the time to start cultivation the faith we need to have then”
—VTH, 1 TG, 47, p. 14, Parenthesis added
THE NEED FOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE: “For God to give the Pentecostal power to one before he comes to full spiritual growth (Evidently and obviously a day future to the VTH epoch), would be as injudicious as for a State Board to give a physician’s license to a medical student before he earns his doctor’s degree! And should the Lord invest us with the miracle-working power, the experience which we desire, before He endues us with the miracle knowledge of the Scriptures (clearly a statement that proves that Davidians need more light from the Bible) WHICH WE NEED, He would thereby be doing us no more favor than would the state in issuing a driver’s license to any and all applicants… to drive an automobile…This is why those who seek the miracle power of the Spirit, while not themselves men with miraculous knowledge of the Bible, obtain either nothing or a fatal counterfeit.”
—VTH, 14T, p 42., Parenthesis added
HEAR THE ROD AND HIM (CHRIST): “The Lord declares that His voice is crying to the city (to the church), and that the men of wisdom shall see the name, and shall hear the Rod and ««Him»» who hath appointed It”
“Manifestly, this rod is capable of speaking and of being heard, thus the command ‘Hear ye the Rod.’ So far as we know, the only rod that has ever spoken is ‘THE SHEPHERD’S ROD.’…”
“I for one cannot overlook, neglect, or reject the Lord’s counsel in this matter. I must hear the Rod and ««Him»» Who has appointed It if I expect to have a home in His kingdom”
—VTH, 1TG 27: 7 all capitalization of “Him” belongs to the quote.
WISE MAN BUILDS HIS HOUSE ON THE ROCK: “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, you that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock”
—VTH, 2 Timely Greetings 37, p. 13, Matt 7: 21-24. Emphasis added
DO THE WILL OF FATHER IN EARTH: “And finally, if you feel your need of Him, and are eager to receive all the gifts through Him, even the gift of the Spirit to lead you into all Truth (John 14: 17, 16: 13), then may you in the realization that only the prayer of a righteous man availeth much, solemnly bow down while reading and let the All righteous One bring to you heaven’s blessing in His Prayer. ‘Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, as it is in heaven’… ”
—VTH, 13 Tract, 37, 38; Parenthesis belong