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MEANING OF THE WORD VANGUARD

The word "vanguard" means, "1: the troops moving at the head of an army 2: the forefront of an action or movement" (Webster's Dict.). The use of the word "vanguard" is generally used in reference to soldiers engaged in warfares of the world, who are the "head" of an "army" that leads out in a battle to kill its enemy. But this kind of warfare led by a vanguard of worldly soldiers is not the purpose of this study.

There is also a spiritual warfare in which the Lord uses a vanguard of good soldiers to lead in the "forefront" of the rest of the army of a Christian "movement," those whom Timothy spoke of: "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Tim. 2:3). These "good soldiers" are non-violent Christians who engage in warfare by peaceful methods. Their weapon is the "twoedged sword" of the "word of God" (Heb. 4:12). These Christian soldiers have continued down through the New Testament era to God's church in the latter days. Then some of them would become the "vanguard"--the "head of an army" of Christian soldiers. That church today is identified as the last symbolic seventh "candlestick" (Rev. 1:20), whose name is "Laodicea" (Rev. 3:14), which means "people declaring judgment."

THE VANGUARD SOLDIERS ARE SEALED IN GOD'S CHURCH--LAODICEA

"Laodicea may be infallibly recognized amidst the many 'isms' of Christendom by the work she is doing--declaring the judgment. Indeed, this mark of identification is pointed out by the very name Laodicea, compounded of the two Greek words lao and dekei, the one meaning 'people,' also 'speak,' the other meaning 'judgment,' the two in one meaning the people declaring judgment. The church, therefore, which declares, 'Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come' (Rev. 14:7), is evidently the one called Laodicea. And it is almost as well known outside Seventh-day Adventist circles as within, that the Seventh-day Adventist church is endeavoring to carry the judgment message of Revelation 14:7, and is therefore unchallenged in her claim to the title, Laodicea."--1 Answerer Book, pg. 11:2 (bold emphasis added).

The other churches of Babylon are in confusion. because they have refused to be guided by an inspired messenger of God. But God's church (Laodicea) is not a part of Babylon, because it has been spiritually guided since 1844 by the prophetess of the Lord--Sis. E.G. White. She spoke of the saints in "Laodicea" (the Seventh-day Adventist church) and said, "We are soldiers of Christ. He is the Captain of our salvation, and we are under His orders and rule" (T.M. 296:2). But these are not the vanguard soldiers, because Sis. white predicted in 1890 that God would send Elijah the prophet to their church with a message of truth:

"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' {Mal. 4:5}. Somebody is to come {future tense--sometime after 1890} in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he (a male person--Mal. 4:6} appears, men may say: 'You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message'."--Testimonies to Ministers, pg. 475:3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Since Sis. White began her ministry in 1844 and wrote in 1890 that Elijah "is to come" in the future, then she could not have been that Elijah. The Lord proved this fact when He said: "And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel as that time." (Judges 4:4). Did you notice that God's Word does not confuse the saints by saying that Deborah was a "prophet," a "husband" and a "he"? Why? because the Lord always refers to a male person as a "he" and a "prophet;" whereas He always refers to a female person (such as Deborah) as a "she" and a "prophetess"! And that is the reason why Malachi said that "Elijah the prophet" (Mal. 4:5) is to be a male person "he" (Mal. 4:6), as the first Elijah--John the baptist was a "he" (Mt. 3:1-3). This irrefutable fact proves, then, that Sis. White was not referring to herself (a "she") as Elijah, but to a "somebody"--a "he" who "is to come" after her day.

THE VANGUARD SOLDIERS AND ITS ARMY--THE 144,000 WHO NEVER DIE

This prophet Elijah was to bring a message to the last candlestick (Laodicea)--the Seventh-day Adventist church, to seal the saints from God's church who would never die, because Paul said of them: "Then we which are alive and remain {never died} shall be caught up together with them {the resurrected dead} in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 4:17)! Since the "we" Christians who are "alive" at Christ's second advent could not be Paul and the early Christians, because they all died, then they must be among the only group of numbered saints who are "alive" in the last church (Laodicea) that never die--the 144,000. Paul proved this when he said:

"Now all these things happened unto them {Israel--vs. 1} for ensamples {margin says types}: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world {latter days} are come."--1 Corinthians 10:11 (bold emphasis, braces added).

So, as Elijah was translated without seeing death, then he is a "type" of the saints in the latter days who will be translated without seeing death, and who are the "we" that Paul spoke of. These saints must be the 144,000 (Rev. 14:4-8), because they are sealed by an "angel"--message (Rev. 7:2) in the latter days so that they cannot die. Sis. White also wrote about ancient Elijah being a type of these saints who never die:

"Elijah was a type of the {144,000} saints who will be living on the earth at the time of the second advent of Christ and who will be 'changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump,' without tasting of death. 1 Corinthians 15:51, 52."--Prophets and Kings, pg. 227:2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

And the latter-day Elijah that Sis. White predicted was to come, also confirmed what she wrote about the 144,000 saints in the Seventh-day Adventist church (Laodicea) who would never die.

"Those who died under the third angel's message, keeping the Sabbath, are sealed with the Sabbath truth, but the 144,000 never die."--1 Shepherd's Rod, pg. 28:2

"Those who are sealed from 1929 to the fulfillment of Ezekiel 9 (close of probation for the church), are living saints, 144,000 in number, who shall never die--translated without tasting death." 2 Shepherd's Rod, pg. 162:3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

It is these faithful few Davidians who are the soldiers of God, and who are the first ones sealed from among the 144,000 as the vanguard--"the head of an army" that never die. Doesn't everyone know that the head of a person is a part of his body? Can the President of America be the head and not be a part of this nation? Can the vanguard be the "head of an army" and not be a part of the army? Elijah spoke of this vanguard and its "army" in his literature:

"Now, though, since the opposition is no longer passive, but intensely active, and the proclamation of the message supremely urgent, the only course open is apparent. It will take {the vanguard head and} an army of workers, including the tithes and offerings, to reach the people {in the Seventh-day Adventist church}."--4 Tract, pg. 66:2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"The name, Davidian, deriving from the name of the king of Ancient Israel, accrues to this Association by reason of its following aspects: First, it is dedicated to the work of announcing and bringing forth the restoration (as predicted in Hosea 1:11; 3:5) of David's kingdom in antitype, upon the throne of which Christ, 'the son of David,' is to sit. Second, it purports itself to be the first of the first fruits of the living, the vanguard from among the present-day descendants of those Jews who composed the Early Christian Church. With the emergence of this vanguard and its army, the first fruits, from which are elected the 12,000 out of each of the twelve tribes of Jacob, 'the 144,000' (Rev. 14:1; 7:2-8) who stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb (Rev. 14:1; 7:2-8), the reign of antitypical David begins."--Leviticus, pg. 3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Elijah began to teach his message in 1929 with a few faithful Davidians, but they have all died and could not be the "vanguard." And since the vanguard is a part of the 144,000, then they must be alive today (1998) when the rest of "its army" (the 144,000) have been sealed and cannot die. Together they make up the "army" of the Lord--the 144,000. He also calls the vanguard (noted above) the "first of the firstfruits." Who are the firstfruits? They are the 144,000, as noted in the following two references:

"Accordingly, the antitypical Pre-pentecostal harvest...yields the 144,000, the first fruits of those who are never to die."--2 Timely Greetings, No. 46, pg. 28:3 (bold emphasis added).

"And how glad we ought to be for the privilege to be among the first {vanguard} of the first fruits {144,000}."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 23, pg. 9:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

THE VANGUARD SOLDIERS--THE FIRST "OF" THE FIRSTFRUITS

It should be noted that the word "first" (vanguard) is separated from the word "firstfruits" (144,000) by the word "of." It means, "a function word to indicate the whole that includes the part denoted by the preceeding word <most ~ the army>" (Webster's Dict.). This definition of the function word "of" proves that "firstfruits" is the whole that includes the part denoted by the preceeding word "vanguard"! But this is not the only place were Elijah used the function word "of" regarding the firstfruits--the 144,000.

"Remember, too, that you are candidates for the first fruits, to be either one with or one of the 144,000 {saints who never die}, that you are to be without guile in your mouths (Rev. 14:5)."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 4, pg. 27:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

When he said that you can be "one of the 144,000" he meant that the 144,000 is the "whole" and the function word "of" means that this whole includes the part by the preceeding word "one." That is, if you say "one of the 144,000," it means that the "one" is a part of the 144,000. That is simple. So likewise, when you say "first of the firstfruits," it means that the "first" (vanguard) is a part of the "firstfruits" (144,000)! "But," you readers might say, "everybody who understands the function word "of" knows this academic fact, so why belabor its meaning"? Because there are some Davidians who do not want to understand what this function word "of" means in relation to a phrase or sentence. They think that the vanguard is not a part of the 144,000; and that the "first" is not a part of the "firstfruits--the 144,000! But why? because they have a theory, and to say that the vanguard is a part of the 144,000 does not fit their theory. Note this worldly proverb about such a theory: "If the facts do not fit the theory, then change the facts"! That is what some people want to do: change the facts, which they do not believe, to fit their theory. But "facts are facts whether believed or not" (E.Wedge 99); so it is the theory, not the facts, which must be changed. So what is the facts (truth)? and what is the theory (error)? To learn the answer the readers must study about the wavesheaf.

THE TRUTH OF THE WAVE SHEAF

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath {Sunday} the priest shall wave it."--Leviticus 23:9-11 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Both the wave-sheaf and the wave-loaves were thank offerings for the first fruits....The wave-sheaf was to be offered 'on the morrow after the Sabbath'--that is, on the first day of the week, now commonly called Sunday."--3 Tract, pg. 78:1,3 (bold emphasis added).

"Christ arose from the dead {on the first day of the week Sunday--Mt. 29:1-7} as the first fruits of those that slept. He was the antitype of the wave sheaf, and His resurrection took place on the very day when the {farmer's} wave sheaf was to be presented before the Lord {waved by the priest}. For more than a thousand years this symbolic ceremony had been performed. From the harvest fields the first heads of ripened grain were gathered, and when the people went up to Jerusalem to the Passover, the {farmer's} sheaf of first fruits was waved {by the priest} as a thank offering before the Lord,...As Christ arose, He brought from the grave a multitude of captives. The earthquake at His death had rent open their graves, and when He arose they came forth with Him. They were those who had been co-laborers with God, and who at the cost of their lives had borne testimony to the truth. Now they were to be witnesses for Him who had raised them from the dead....to everlasting life."--Desire of Ages, pgs. 785, 786 (bold emphasis, braces added).

When the Lord blessed the Israelite farmer with rain and he had a harvest field of grain to reap, he was to take a handful (sheaf) from his field and bring it to the priest on Sunday as a thank offering. This meant that the farmer could not reap his field of grain until after the priest had waved it before the Lord on Sunday to show that the farmer was grateful and had thanked Him by giving his wavesheaf to the priest, who represented Christ (Heb. 8:1). This ceremony was to show that at Christ's resurrection on Sunday He was to bring forth with Him a few saints from the grave--a handful (sheaf), to take to heaven. There, He as our High Priest He would, as it were, wave this sheaf of resurrected saints before the Lord as a thank offering to Him for the rest of the dead saints in the harvest field whom He would reap (resurrect) at His second advent. To do this work, Jesus our High Priest, entered the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 and began to investigate His book of life to retain the names of the dead saints which He is to resurrect and which names of the wicked He is to blot out.

"Therefore, the prophecy by Enoch commenced its fulfillment in 1844, at which time 'the Lord came with the names and records of those who are sleeping in the grave, and when the investigation of the dead is finished, then He comes with the names of the living saints."--2 Shepherd's Rod, pg. 241:1.

RESURRECTED SAINTS--THE WAVESHEAF OF THE DEAD AND THE LIVING

But He could not reap these dead and living saints symbolized as grains of wheat (Mt. 13:24,25) in the field (Mt. 13:38; C.O.L. 70:2) until after He (the High Priest) had waved before the Lord, as it were, the resurrected saints He had taken to heaven with Him. And He is to wave them twice!

"So Christ, the first fruits, and those {saints} who with Him at His resurrection came forth from the grave, raised to everlasting life, were the antitypical wave-sheaf of the dead."--3 Tract, pg. 79:2.

"But as those {dead saints} who arose with Christ ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave, they thereby became a living type, and thus the wave-sheaf of the living."--3 Tract, pgs. 79, 80.

"From these facts it can more clearly be seen that those whom Christ took with Him were the living wave-sheaf and the only one that has been offered in the heavenly sanctuary; and that as ones raised from the dead, they are the first fruits of the dead, whereas as ones everliving before the Father, they are the living wave-sheaf of the first fruits of the living, the 144,000 servants of God, who sequentially precede the second fruits and the feast of tabernacles."--3 Tract, pg. 80:2.

Jesus, our High Priest, waves the wavesheaf of saints two times: First, He takes the resurrected dead saints to heaven and waved them, as it were, before the Lord as the wavesheaf of the dead saints who are to be resurrected at His second advent. Second, He takes the same saints (who are to live forever) and waves them again, as it were, before the Lord as the wavesheaf of the living saints who are to be translated at His second advent.

Now you readers may say, "What does this wavesheaf have to do with the vanguard of saints"? Nothing! as you can see, because the vanguard is a part of the 144,000--the first of the firstfruits. Whereas the wavesheaf is the resurrected dead saints who are waved before the Lord twice--for both the dead and living saints. But that is not what some Davidians believe, because they have a theory.

A THEORY THAT THE VANGUARD IS THE WAVESHEAF

They teach the theory that the vanguard is the living wavesheaf, who are not a part of the 144,000. That is, they admit that Jesus did take the resurrected saints to heaven, and waved them before the Lord as the wavesheaf of all the other dead saints who are to be resurrected at His second advent. But they deny that He is to wave the same dead saints (now living forever) before the Lord as the living wavsheaf of all the saints who are to be translated at His second advent. Instead, they teach that it is those Davidians now living on the earth who follow them (which they say is the vanguard), whom Jesus will wave before the Lord as the wavesheaf for the living saints. But why? They claim to believe the same message of Elijah as do the other Davidians, and that message (as quoted above) stated two irrefutable facts:

1. The vanguard is a part of the 144,000--the first of the firstfruits; and therefore is not the wavesheaf.

2. The wavesheaf is one small group of resurrected saints who are waved twice before the Lord for all the dead and all the living saints; and therefore they are not the vanguard.

So why do some Davidians teach their theory that the vanguard is the wavesheaf, and deny the truth that the vanguard is a part of the 144,000? Because they are independent Davidians (usurpers) who have broken off from God's Headquarters, and are seeking a following of other Davidians to exalt themselves.

TWO LEADING SIN ELEMENTS

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!... For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God."--Isa. 14:12, 13 (bold emphasis added).

"Lucifer himself fell when he aspired to be {exalted} as God. These two sins--trust in man, and desire to exalt self--are still the leading sin elements now here on earth....This same stumbling block, the desire to exalt self, has predominated throughout the ages, and it predominates today."--2 Timely Greetings, No. 28, pgs. 13, 14 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Satan desired to be exalted, and when man sinned he inherited this same desire to exalt self, even to the day in which we live--the latter days. And today some Davidians (usurpers) have this same desire; but they need a following as Lucifer needed one third (Rev. 12:4) of the "stars" (angels) to follow and exalt him. And as Lucifer flattered the angels that if they followed him they would be exalted with him; so the usurpers flatter their followers into believing that if they join with him, they will be exalted as the special living wavesheaf whom they say is the vanguard! But why attach the wavesheaf with the vanguard? If the usurpers teach the wavesheaf as it is written in Elijah's message, then they have no other choice but to admit that the wavesheaf is the resurrected saints in heaven whom Jesus waves before the Lord twice--for the dead and the living saints. But they can make their theory more credible if they deceive their followers into accepting the vanguard as the living wavesheaf; which, of course, makes them deny those whom Elijah said is the wavesheaf.

FAITHFUL DAVIDIAN SOLDIERS TODAY--THE VANGUARD

But the faithful Davidians today believe what Elijah said: The "vanguard" is the "first of the firstfruits" (the 144,000) who are the "head of an army"--the "forerunners of His Kingdom." They are working to gather the rest of the 144,000 "army" who are "hidden" in the Seventh-day Adventist church.

"There are precious ones now hidden {in the Seventh-day Adventist church} who have not bowed Baal....when multitudes of false brethren are distinguished from the true, then the hidden ones {rest of the 144,000} will be revealed to view,...Those who have been timid and self-distrustful will declare themselve openly for Christ and His truth. The most weak and hesitating in the church will be as David--willing to do and dare."--5 Testimonies, pg. 81:0,2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"...the 'hidden' ones, those represented by the bay horses, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventists' ministry, are coming to the front {as the vanguard of today}."--2 Timely Greetings, No. 22, pg. 24:2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The "hidden ones" who are the bay horses "coming to the front are the vanguard Davidians--the "head of an army." They are the "forerunners of His Kingdom" (1T.G.9:15:1). When all the saints are sealed, then the bay horses will be the entire "army" of 144,000 firstfruits (2Tr39:1). And as Gideon had 300 chosen soldiers to fight the opposition of the enemy, so the message of Elijah has "300 chosen ones"--the vanguard Davidians who are "making their way through the opposition {in the Seventh-day Adventist church} and are reaching captive hearts {rest of the 144,000}." (W.H.R. 58:2).

THE VANGUARD SOLDIERS--DAVIDIAN SAINTS WHOM GOD CAN TRUST

"As there is but one right Way and but one Door, and as all Christians do not see alike and do not walk together, could it be that we are all wrong? all going in a wrong direction?--No, that could never be as long as the Lord does not forsake the earth. Indeed not, for He must have a people {Davidians He can trust and use} in whom to confide His Truth and by whom {His vanguard--head of an army} to save those {rest of the 144,000--His army} who choose to go His way. So, those {Davidian usurpers and followers} who choose to go some other way will in the end discover that the Devil, not the Lord, is behind them, and that hell, not the Kingdom, is ahead of them."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 2, pg. 22:2.

"Then daily after that were added only 'such as should be saved'--such as were thoroughly converted. Thus did the work of the gospel begin to grow rapidly, once the Lord got a group of people {apostles and disciples} that He could trust and use."--2 Answerer Book, pgs. 54, 55 (bold emphasis, braces added).

As the early apostles and disciples were the Christians whom the Lord could "trust and use" to gather many others; so the vanguard Davidians (the "head of an army") are those whom the Lord can "trust and use" to gather the rest of the 144,000 army. These faithful vanguard Davidians trust the Lord and accept His prophet Elijah, and that is why He can "trust and use" them!

"Nevertheless, one's {faithful Davidians} only safety will be in the teaching of Elijah {from the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy}, for there will be no other voice of timely Truth and authority {for Davidians} to whom one may turn. Any others {usurpers} will lead their victims blind-folded into perdition."--General Conference Special, pg. 8:0 (bold emphasis, braces added).

If you want to know more about the bay horses, then click on--> STUDY12A