This study was written especially for Davidians, but other fundamental material was added which they already know about, to help Seventh-day Adventists and non-adventist to better understand its subject.

JESUS SPEAKS TO SAINTS IN THE LAST DAYS

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in the last days spoken unto us by His Son {Jesus Christ}, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds."--Hebrews 1:1, 2 (bold emphasis, graces added).

In the "last days" of the Jewish nation before they were destroyed in A.D. 70, Jesus did speak to the Jewish people for three and one half years before He was crucified. Then fifty days later on the day of Pentecost, the 120 disciples (Acts 1:15) received the power of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4). And Peter said to the Jews, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2:16, 17). There are, however, two "last days" in the New Testament Christian era: One at the first advent of Jesus when men travelled in the "last days" by the horse (2 T.G. 7:3:4); and the second one just before His second advent when men travel in the "last days" by cars, buses, trains, and airplanes. Daniel referred to this second "last days" as the "time of the end" when "many shall run to and fro" (Dan. 12:4) by the modern transporation we have in our day! [If you want to know about the two last days, then click on that study at the end.] It is during this second "last days" that Jesus will again speak (not in person) to His people, but from the Bible, as noted in the book of Revelation about seven candlesticks.

The church of "Laodicea" is the last one of the seven candlesticks that John the Revelator saw with the "Son of man" (Jesus) standing in their midst (Rev. 1:13). Jesus told John that the "seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches" (Rev. 1:20). There is, therefore, no need for anyone to wonder which churches these candlesticks symbolize, because of the fact that the "Son of man" (Jesus) is standing in their midst; which proves irrefutably that they can only be Christian churches! And the fact that there are seven candlesticks, which number means completeness, proves indisputably that they symbolize the Christian churches during the entire New Testament Christian era.

JESUS SPEAKS TO LAODICEA IN THE LAST DAYS

"The names of the seven churches {candlesticks} are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian era. The number seven indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages extend to the end of time, while the symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world."--Acts of the Apostles, pg. 585:3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Jesus spoke to each of these Christian churches, not in person but in the book of Revelation which God gave to Him (Rev. 1:1); and He gave them counsel and rebuke in love (Rev. 3:19). The last seventh candlestick (Laodicea) would, of course, be His church in the "last days."

"The Laodicean church, the last of the seven {candlesticks} churches (Rev. 2, 3), being figurative of the Christian church in her last period, our time, the message on record to her is therefore the last message to the church."--1 Answerer Book, pg. 8:2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Laodicea may be infallibly recognized amidst the many 'isms' of Christendom {Babylon} 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, braces added).

JESUS SPEAKS THROUGH HIS PROPHETESS

The Seventh-day Adventist church (Laodicea) was founded in 1844 by a young girl (5 Tr. 102:2), who later married James White, and was known thereafter as Sis. E.G. White. They consider her to be a prophetess of the Lord (1 S.M. 34:5), because Jesus spoke to His people in the church of "Laodicea" through her dreams and visions (Joel 2:28). This is Jesus' testimony to them through her writings, and that is why they are entitled, Testimonies for the church or The Spirit of Prophecy; because John the Revelator said that the "testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10). And since Jesus returned to Heaven in A.D. 31, but the book of Revelation was not written until A.D. 96 (1 T.G. 3:11:2), then His "testimony" (after A.D. 96) could not have been a personal one (visible presence) for the Jews at His first advent, but an invisible presence for the Christians in the latter days just before His second advent. Therefore, when Paul the apostle said Jesus was to speak to His people in the "last days" (Heb. 1:1), it had a dual application: First, He spoke personally to the Jewish people by His visible presence in their "last days" before they were destroyed as a nation in A.D. 70; and second, He speaks to His people today in His church of Laodicea (Rev. 3:14) in the "last days," not in person but by His testimony (invisible presence) through His prophetess, Sis. E.G. White. In 1890 He spoke through Sis. E.G. White and predicted that Elijah the prophet was to come to their church:

JESUS SPEAKS IN THE LAST DAYS BY HIS PROPHET ELIJAH

"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 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 did not say 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 as Elijah, but to a "somebody"--the Elijah who "is to come" after her day. He was identified as Bro. V.T. Houteff, who who gave his followers this name--Davidian Seventh-day Adventists:

"...we are the only people who have the message of the re-establishment of the House of David, and of restoring 'all things' (Mark 9:12) and are therefore named Davidians,..."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 9, pg. 6:1 (bold emphasis added).

He was identified as Elijah by the message he brought to the Seventh-day Adventist church, which is to "restore all things" (Mt. 17:11), especially the kingdom that the children of Israel lost. He named his message The Shepherd's Rod, as noted in Micah:

"The Lord's voice {Jesus} crieth unto the city {Laodicean church}, and the man of wisdom {saints in that church} shall see thy name: hear ye the rod {a message of truth}, and who hath appointed it."--Micah 6:9 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Some Christians think that the writings in the Old Testament Scriptures were written only for the Jewish people; but they can't be Christians if they do not believe that the virgin-birth "sign" (Isa. 7:14-16) in the Old Testament was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ (Mt. 1:18-23) in the New Testament, which founded the Christian church! This irrefutable fact proves that many of the Old Testament prophets, including Micah, did prophecy about events to occur in the New Testament era; because he said, "But in the the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain {symbol} of the house of the Lord {church} shall be established in the top of the mountains {other churches}" (Mic. 4:1). Therefore, when Micah prophesied that the Lord Jesus told His people in the "city" (Laodicean church) to "hear ye the rod," He was not talking about a stick of wood; nor was He talking to the people in the Old Testament Jewish era! It is obvious that Jesus is telling His people to listen to a message of truth, which He likens to a "rod"--an "emblem of power or government" (4 Ans. 19:2). Those Seventh-day Adventists who accepted Elijah and his message are named Davidian Seventh-day Adventists; and they not only hear the "rod" (Mic. 6:9), but they also "feed" (Mic. 7:14) it to others in that church.

"Feed thy people {from God's Headquarters } with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old."--Micah 7:14 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Sis. E.G. White's prediction about the coming of antitypical Elijah was fulfilled in 1929 when the Lord called Bro. V.T. Houteff to the office of a prophet. He came in the spirit and power of Elijah while he was a Sabbath-school teacher in the Seventh-day Adventist church in Los Angeles, California. It was there that he was inspired of the Lord with the message of The Shepherd's Rod, which he began to teach "feed" His people in the Seventh-day Adventist church. And it was then that three things had their beginning in California in 1930, according to Mic. 7:14:

(1). While he was in California in 1930, he established God's first Davidian Headquarters (1 Tr. 38:1).

(2). While he was in California in 1930, he began to "feed" the "rod" to God's people in the Seventh-day Adventist church, by publishing from this Headquarters a book entitled, The Shepherd's Rod, Vol. 1, and later Vol. 2 and other literature (1 Tr. 37:1).

(3). While he was in California in 1930, the spiritual "Carmel" pasture of probationary time began for the Seventh-day Adventist church, so they could "feed" on the "Rod."

These three words, Headquarters, Rod, and Carmel, is the basis of this study of Micah 7:14. It was after Elijah had set up God's first Davidian Headquarters in California, that he was directed to move it "eastward" to Waco, Texas, according to His study of "Ezekiel's River" (2 S.R. 290-298).

"Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters {Jn. 4:14} came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar {coming from the north--Isa. 14:13}."--Ezekiel 47:1). [If you want to know more about Ezekiel's River, then click on that study at the end.]

Read in the following two references what he wrote in that book on pages 230, 231 and 297 about the "waters" (12 S.C. 1:10:4--truth of Elijah's message) going "eastward" from California to Waco, Texas:

"Prophecy must be fulfilled. The Lord says: 'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.' Somebody is to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and when he appears, men may say: 'You are too earnest, you do not interpret the Scriptures in the proper way. Let me tell you how to teach your message'--Testimonies to Ministers,' p. 475....What is the message? The eleventh hour message is none other than Revelation 18--the loud cry of the Third Angel."--2 Shepherd's Rod book, pgs. 230, 231 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"This direction of the compass {east} denotes that the message of the 'loud cry' is to start eastward when it is first revealed. The church membership being largely east of California, and across the Atlantic, naturally the message must start toward the east. This symbolical prophecy reveals that the message of the 'loud cry' is to originate in California."--2 Shepherd's Rod book, pg. 297:0 (bolds, braces added).

Note that Elijah stated in the two quotations above that he had the message of the "loud cry," which was to "originate in California," and which was to move "eastward." This was one of his main reasons why he moved God's Headquarters from California in 1935 to Waco, Texas, and set up the second Davidian Headquarters, which he named "Mt. Carmel Center."

CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS MOVED EASTWARD TO TEXAS

"It has been evident for some time that it would soon be necessary to seek a more central location for the office in order to serve the whole field efficiently, so those at {California} headquarters have been praying very earnestly over this matter for many months, and as they kept on praying for light, the Lord finally indicated definitely that beautiful Southern California was no longer to remain the center of His work for the 'lost sheep of the house of Israel,' but an eastward course was to be seen in the stream {of water} from that 'fountain' which is to swell into the great river of Ezekiel's prophecy, and plans were soon formulated whereby a thorough search could be made in the territory indicated by the Lord {in Texas} where the future headquarters were to be found."--1 Symbolic Code, No. 10, pg. 3:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"The Institution's experience is a good illustration of the fact that those who bless others, they themselves will also be blessed. You know that this Institution {Mt. Carmel Center} began to be built in 1935 {in Waco, Texas}, right in the midst of the depression, and that its work began with nothing more than a revelation from the Lord. In all respects its beginning was the smallest of the small and the poorest of the poor. And while countless individuals and business organizations went bankrupt, it grew and prospered."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 13, pg. 2:3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Of necessity, then, Mt. Carmel Center {in Waco, Texas--second headquarters} is being built as a base of operations for training and fitting workers to carry this special message to {feed the saints in} the {Seventh-day Adventist} church;..."--3 Answerer Book, pg. 64:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

SECOND HEADQUARTERS AT WACO, TEXAS

"Feed thy people {from God's Headquarters adjacent to Waco} with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old."--Micah 7:14 (boldings, braces added).

Note that the "people" in the Seventh-day Adventist church are to "feed" on the "rod" message from God's second headquarters in Waco, Texas outside the city limits in a wooded area, because Micah said they were to "dwell solitarily in the wood." That could not mean God's first headquarters in Los Angeles, California, because it was situated in a large city (asphalt jungle), not in the woods.

"This Rod of God not only speaks, but It feeds, too. And what can It be if not 'meat in due season'? if not the message of the hour? The people {at its second Headquarters}, explains the scripture, are those who dwell solitarily in the woods, in the midst of Carmel. Prophecy, for this day and hour recommends the message which the Rod contains, and which Carmel puts out, none other."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 28, pg. 16:2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Mt. Carmel Training Center was established in 1935, and is located six miles northwest of Waco, Texas. Its 375 acres a sylvan sanctuary, and its western and northern prominences commanding unexcelled views of beautiful Lake Waco some three hundred feet below, and the picturesque vistas beyond, it is happy indeed for situation solitarily in the woods."--Mt. Carmel Training Center, pg. 5:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The explanation given in the references above is, of course, undisputable, because the second headquarters at Mt. Carmel Center in Waco, Texas was situated "solitarily in the wood" outside the city limits, as noted below:

"Therefore, He has given us one of His beautiful lakeside hills adjacent to Waco, Texas, a city of about 60,000, yet far enough from it to be away from the world and its evil environment--about 5 miles from the center of the city, and about 2 1/2 miles from the city limits. There lies 189 acres of land for our 'camp'."--1 Symbolic Code, No. 10, pg. 1:1 0 (bold emphasis, braces added).

CARMEL--A SPIRITUAL PASTURE

But what is the meaning of "the midst of Carmel" (Mic. 7:14)? As already explained, three things began in California in 1930: (1) the first Headquarters; (2) the message of The Shepherd's Rod by Elijah, and (3) the spiritual "Carmel" pasture of probationary time. These three facts prove irrefutably that this "Carmel," which began in California in 1930, cannot be Mt. Carmel Center, the second headquarters dwelling "solitarily in the wood" in Waco, Texas, because it began in 1935! This fact proves that the Mt. Carmel Center in Waco, Texas, which began in 1935 was named after the spiritual "Carmel" pasture, which began in 1930. Therefore, Mt. Carmel Center (a literal headquarters) and "Carmel" (a spiritual pasture) cannot be the same, for this reason:

"'Feed thy people with thy rod' {Mic. 7:14}: The verb 'feed' is to be understood as spiritual food, and that food (truth) is found in the 'Rod,' therefore we {Davidians} again have the command to give out the book ('Feed thy [God's] people).' Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead are used as symbols of good spiritual pasture."--1 Shepherd's Rod, pg. 243:2--by VTH (brackets [] by VTH) (bold emphasis, braces added).

Old Mt. Carmel Center adjacent to Waco, Texas was God's second Headquarters, which no longer exists today; because it was dissolved and its assets liquidated in 1962. But the spiritual "Carmel" pasture (Mic. 7:14), which began in California in 1930, still exists today. This fact proves that it represents probationary time which God has given to the Seventh-day Adventist church for them to "hear ye the rod" (Mic. 6:9) and "feed" on it (Mic. 7:14), as explained below:

"The prophet Jeremiah in the following words explains that this wailing by those who are thus deceived will be at the close of probation. For they shall say 'the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.' (Jer. 8:20). That is, after the harvest, the time in which they could have been saved, they will realize that probationary time has closed. Then 'the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.' Hence, before that time the top of Carmel must have been green with much pasture, otherwise there would be nothing to wither; that is, though Carmel has now plenty of pasture (present truth), when probation closes it shall be deserted ('wither'),..."Thus shall the top of Carmel wither, and those who do not take heed to the word, 'To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,' at length will be alarmed that their opportunity for accepting the truth has slipped away. Then in their hasty, frenzied effort to acquaint themselves with present truth which went forth from the top of Carmel, to their surprise they shall find that Carmel has finished its work, its inhabitants removed, and probation closed, at which time the inhabitants of 'Carmel' can but repeat, 'the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we have nothing for thee.'"--11 Symbolic Code, No. 12, pgs. 31,32 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Old Mt. Carmel Center adjacent to Waco, Texas no longer exists today, because it was dissolved in 1962 and its assets liquidated. This fact proves indisputably that the "spiritual Carmel pasture" must represent probationary time for the Seventh-day Adventist church. This may seem new to some readers, because they know the truth that 6,000 years of probation for all mankind will close soon at the end of this millennium. But every day people choose to love Jesus--life (Jn. 14:6) while the great majority choose to love Satan--death (Prov. 8:36); and when they die their probation closes forever before the 6,000 years has ended. And there have been other closings of probation for peoples and nations during the 6,000 years, as noted below:

OTHER CLOSE OF PROBATIONS OCCURRED DURING 6,000 YEARS

"There was a shut door {Mt. 25:10--close of probation} in Noah's day. There was at that time a withdrawal of the Spirit of God from the sinful race that perished in the waters of the Flood. God Himself gave the shut-door message to Noah:

"'My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years' (Gen. 6:3).

"There was a shut door {close of probation} in the days of Abraham. Mercy ceased to plead with the inhabitants or Sodom, and all but Lot, with his wife and two daughters, were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven.

"There was a shut door {close of probation} in Christ's day. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation, 'Your house is left unto you desolate {Holy Spirit withdrawn and probation closed, (Matt. 23:38)....I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door {close of probation} in 1844. All who saw the light of the first and second angel's messages and rejected that light, were left in darkness."--1 Selected messages, pg. 63:1-8 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Had the antediluvians believed the warning, and repented of their evil deeds, the Lord would have turned aside His wrath, as He afterward did from Nineveh. But by their obstinate resistance to the reproofs of conscience and the warnings of God's prophet {Noah},...the period of their probation was about to expire."--Patriarchs and Prophets, pg. 97:2,3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Jonah was sent of God to proclaim in the streets of Nineveh that within forty days the city would be overthrown; but God accepted the humiliation of the Ninevites and extend their period of probation."--9 Testimonies, pgs. 56, 57 (boldings, braces added).

"...they {foolish virgins} knew nothing of the message, and by the time they acquired it (filled their lamps with oil) {Mt. 25:8-10}, there had been a delay, the angel had passed 'through the city, through Jerusalem,' the church--the sealing was finished, and probation for the church had closed--the door was shut."--2 Shepherd's Rod book, pgs. 185, 186 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The irrefutable facts quoted above prove that besides the probationary time that each individual has during the 6,000 years, the Seventh-day Adventist church was given a special time of probation to seal the 144,000 and those "with" them (1 T.G. 4:27:1) from 1930 until it is closed--"the door was shut" (Mt. 25:10) to the foolish virgins. Therefore, when antitypical Elijah appeared in Los Angeles, California in 1929, and in 1930 printed his book entitled, The Shepherd's Rod, then three things began: (1) Headquarters, (2) Rod literature, (3) Carmel pasture. But when he moved adjacent to Waco, Texas in 1935 and set up God's second Headquarters, which he named Mt. Carmel Center, did his move end these three things? No, they still existed, because (1) he had a headquarters, (2) he continued to "feed" the SRod to the people, and (3) probation had not yet closed for the Seventh-day Adventist church.

This fact proves again that the spiritual "Carmel" pasture cannot be the same as God's Headquarters in California in 1930; and here is another reason why: If "Carmel" was the same as the first Headquarters set up in 1930, which was closed--"withered" (Amos 1:2) in that state when Elijah moved adjacent to Waco, Texas in 1935 and set up a second Headquarters, then he would not have named it Mt. Carmel Center after the withered "Carmel;" instead, he would have named it Mt. Bashan Center (Mic. 7:14)! Thus, the faithful Davidians know the SRod message teaches that God's literal Headquarters ("solitarily in the woods) is one thing, and the spiritual "Carmel" pasture is another, which will "wither" when probation closes for the Seventh-day Adventist church.

"The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither."--Amos 1:2 (boldings added).

"With a few comments on the above scripture {Amos 1:2}, any Bible student will recognize at a glance that it applies at the time of the end, as explained by the gospel prophet: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills...for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.' (Isa. 2:2, 3), which the language of Amos is, 'Utter His voice from Jerusalem.'"--11 Symbolic Code, No. 12, pgs. 30, 31 (bold emphasis, braces added).

Since the "Carmel" in Amos 1:2 applies to the "last days," then it is the same spiritual "Carmel" pasture for all the saints to feed on the "rod" in Micah 7:14, which is The Shepherd's Rod message in Micah 6:9 in our day--latter days, which has not yet withered. Note below how the "SRod" explains the meaning of the spiritual "Carmel" pasture:

"As Amos says, 'The habitations of the shepherds shall mourn,' it is obvious that Amos' prophecy {about Carmel withering} is yet future, for the word 'habitations' (places) is in the plural form which cannot be applied to one shepherd's habitation (denomination) but to all that be in existence at that time. The term 'shepherds' means, as understood, the same as 'the ancient men which were before the house'--the {Seventh-day Adventist} ministers. 'Testimonies for the Church,' Vol. 5, p. 211. Note that the shepherds are not themselves to mourn but their 'habitations' (their houses); that is, the membership of their churches, which fact reveals that it will be thus at the time when the sleeping multitudes in the {Seventh-day Adventist} churches awake from their spiritual insensibility and find that the shepherds {ministers} whom they have implicitly trusted for their salvation and had deceived all those who followed them."--11 Symbolic Code, No. 12, pgs. 30, 31 (bold emphasis, braces added).

PROBATION FOR SDA CHURCH NOT YET CLOSED

What the SRod said above is very clear: The spiritual "Carmel" pasture will "wither" when probation closes for the Seventh-day Adventist church; then it will be too late for them to be saved, because they will say, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jer. 8:20)! Then the sleeping members (the habitations) will awake to see that their "blind" and "deceived" "shepherds," the "sleeping preachers" (2 Test. 337), the "ancient men," had lied about Elijah the prophet (Bro. V.T. Houteff) and his SRod message, and kept them from receiving the seal or mark (12 S.C. 2:9:1,2) to escape the slaughter of Ezek. 9. Therefore, this close of probation for Seventh-day Adventists can't be the final close of probation for the entire world for these reasons: (1) After Carmel withers the spiritual pastures of "Bashan" and "Gilead" follow (Mic. 7:14). (2) At the final close of probation the seven last plagues (Rev. 16:1) begin to fall. (3) Thus, it would be wrong to say that people will "feed" (Mic. 7:14) on the SRod in the "Bashan" and "Gilead" pastures during the plagues, because no gospel will be preached by the saints to anyone, as Amos said:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord {when probation closes for the entire world}: and they {wicked} shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it {because the saints are no longer preaching truth}."--Amos 8:11, 12 (bold emphasis, braces added).

These facts prove the three spiritual pastures do not exist at the same time, but must follow one after the other, because Micah says that only the first spiritual "Carmel" pasture is to "wither." And since this pasture represents probationary time for the Seventh-day Adventist church, then the other two spiritual pastures (Bashan and Gilead) must also represent probationary time for other saints, who will "feed" on the "Rod" and be saved after the probation of the spiritual "Carmel" pasture has closed (withered) for the Seventh-day Adventist church. Thus, three classes of people during three different spiritual pastures "feed" on the "rod," as noted below:

"It is our {Davidian's} privilege, therefore, not only to bring the light of God {the Rod} to the {Seventh-day Adventist} Denomination {to feed on during the Carmel period} where the 'first-fruits' (the 144,000--Rev. 14:4) of the great spiritual harvest are, but even to bring the same light {the Rod} to the second fruits, to the great multitude {to feed on during the Bashan and Gilead period} that are gathered out of all nations {from Babylon--Rev. 18:4}, a multitude which no man can number (Rev. 7:9)."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 46, pg. 6:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

So who are the three different classes of saints that "feed" on the "rod" (Mic. 7:14) in three different pastures? Note how Elijah answers this question as he explains another prophecy in Isaiah 28:23-29:

SAINTS HARVESTED FROM THREE SPIRITUAL PASTURES OF PROBATIONARY TIME

"God has told us how to sow, how to harvest {spiritually to save the souls of people}, and how to thresh. In the spiritual realm, we as Adventists have learned one thing: that the message is to be carried to the ends of the earth, then probation will close and everything goes down and we go up into Heaven. It is only now that we are beginning to learn how God does His harvesting of the various spiritual crops {people}. He is first to harvest the righteous {144,000} (the teachable ones) from the Seventh-day Adventist church (the house of Judah) {in the probationary time of spiritual Carmel--1 SRod 62:1}; next, He is to harvest His people from among the Protestants (the house of Israel) {in the probationary time of Bashan--Rev. 7:9}; and last, He will harvest from the heathen them that will turn and worship Him {in the probationary time of Gilead--Rev. 7:9}. Each of these {three spiritual} crops {of saints} He wisely harvests in a different way and in their appointed {probationary} time of harvest."--12 Symbolic Code, No. 8, pgs. 14, 15 (boldings, braces added).

The Davidians are the first to "harvest" the saints, because God sent His prophet Elijah (V.T. Houteff) to commission them to teach the SRod message "strictly" (LEV--Pref) to the Seventh-day Adventist church (Judah) to seal the 144,000 and those "with" them. They do this work during the spiritual "Carmel" pasture until probation closes for the Seventh-day Adventist church when it "withers" (Amos 1:2); after which all the SDA "tares" are slain by the angels, according to Ezek. 9:5. This leaves the 144,000 saints who will stand on Mt. Zion with Jesus the "Lamb" (Rev. 14:1), and those "with" them who will dwell in Jerusalem (4A20,21), after God sets up His kingdom. Then they take the gospel to two classes of saints to "harvest" those who "feed" on the SRod message and bring them to the kingdom:

The 144,000 will "harvest" the "Protestants"--Israel (1SRtr85:3), in the spiritual "Bashan" pasture of their probationary time.

The 144,000 will also "harvest" the "heathen" Gentiles in the spiritual "Gilead" pasture of their probationary time; which brings the final close of probation for the entire world.

Thse facts prove, of course, that the "Carmel," "Bashan," "Gilead" spiritual pastures of probationary time do not exist simultaneously; because Davidians do not "feed" the SRod message to the Seventh-day Adventist church (time of Carmel), and to the Protestant churches (time of Bashan), and to the heathens (time of Gilead) all at the same time! And the fact that God's Headquarters today (the storehouse where all of Bro. Houteff's original literature is printed) in still at Mt. Carmel Center, P.O. Box 450, Salem, So. Carolina 29686, and that the "Carmel" pasture of probationary time for the Seventh-day Adventist church has not yet closed (withered); proves irrefutably that the probationary time for the "Protestants" in the "Bashan" pasture and the "heathens" in the "Gilead" pasture has not yet begun. But there is more in Micah 7:14 to be understood, such as what does it mean "in the midst of carmel"?

"Feed thy people {from God's Headquarters in Waco, Texas} with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell {at the Headquarters} solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old."--Micah 7:14 (bold emphasis, braces added).

In 1930 the spiritual "Carmel" pasture of probationary time began for the Seventh-day Adventist church to "feed" on the SRod books and tracts. Later, in 1935 when God's Headquarters was moved to Waco, Texas and named Mt. Carmel Center, it was situated "solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel." The word "midst" means "middle," which is the same word used in Mic. 7:14 as it is used in Dan. 9:27:

"And He {Christ} shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst {middle} of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,..."--Daniel 9:27 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The "one week," seven years (Num. 14:34), was fulfilled by His own ministry for three and one half years (in the "midst"--middle of the week), which ended the sacrificial system by nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:14) on which He died. And His work was continued for another three and one half years by His apostles, which finished the seven years (one week).

"That this is prophetic time, reckoned by the year-day rule of Ezekiel 4:6, is seen from the fact that there were seven years from the time Christ was baptized to the time the apostles were permitted to take the gospel to the Gentiles. During this period, Christ confirmed or fulfilled the covenant. 'In the midst {middle} of the week,' or at the end of three and one half years, He was to be crucified, thus causing the earthly sacrifice to cease.

"The fact having been established (see illustration on page 55) that the three and one half years of Christ's ministry terminated on the 16th day of the first month {exactly in the middle--'midst of the week'}, then counting three and one half years (follow the illustration on page 55), we find that His baptism took place on the 16th day of the seventh month, which was in the Week of Tabernacles, and the celebration of which was the end of the agricultural year, the close of the harvest (Lev. 23:39)."--3 Tract, pg. 57 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The fact that Christ began His ministry on the 16th day He was baptised and died exactly three and one half years later on the 16th day, proves two irrefutable facts: (1) the word "midst" in Dan. 9:27 means middle; and (2) the word "midst" in Mic. 7:14 also means middle! And the word "middle" indicates three parts: (1) beginning, (2) middle, and (3) the end. And since "Carmel" is a spiritual pasture (1 SRod 243:3) of probationary time (11 S.C. 12:32:0,1), then the phrase, "solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel," means that God's second Headquarters (Mt. Carmel Center), which was "solitarily in the wood," was in the middle "midst" of the spiritual Carmel pasture. This fact clearly indicates that there must be another Headquarters (the third one), which will exist at the time the Carmel pasture of probationary time ends (withers).

Webster's Dictionary says that "midst" means "the interior or central part of a point: middle," which indicates three points: (1) The beginning; (2) middle or midst; and (3) end. And there are many other words that use the same meaning of middle, such as midsection, midstream, midsummer, midtown, midway, midweek, etc. Thus, the phrase "in the midst of Carmel" means that though God's second Headquarters adjacent to Waco, Texas was literally dwelling "solitarily in the wood," it was not literally in the "midst" (middle) of "Carmel," because it is a spiritual pasture (1 S.R. 243:3).

Note, however, that the word "midst" does not mean "among." If it did, then "midst" and "among" would both mean the same thing--"middle"! You can prove to yourself that this word "among" has nothing to do with Micah 7:14 by asking yourself two questions: (1) What does it mean that God's second Headquarters in Waco, Texas was "in the among of Carmel" (Mic. 7:14)? (2) And what does it mean that Christ was cut off "in the among of the week" (Dan. 9:27)? As you can see, you must answer that the word "among" makes no sense, while the word "midst" does; unless, of course, you answer that both "among" and "midst" mean the same--"middle." It is obvious, then, that the word "among" should not be inserted in the place of the word "midst;" because it would distort the real meaning of both verses, and relegate them into the realm of the meaningless. The obvious reason why, is because the word "among" does not indicate three points, whereas the word "midst" does--beginning, middle, and end. This fact proves irrefutably that the second literal Headquarters was symbolically in the "midst" (middle) of the "Carmel" pasture of probationary time; which indicates another Headquarters "eastward" from Waco, Texas. But the word "midst" (middle) is not the only reason why there must be a third Headquarters. There are four other reasons:

But why must there be a third Headquarters? For several reasons: One is because of the following statement, written by Elijah in 1935, the year he moved adjacent to Waco, Texas and set up old Mt. Carmel Center (it is called "old" so it is not confused with the "new" one set up later by Sis. Houteff).

"True we are establishing our {second} headquarters {adjacent to Waco, Texas} on this mount {old Mt. Carmel Center} that is found in prophecy {solitarily in the wood--Mic. 7:14}, but our stay here {at old Mt. Carmel Center} shall be very short, for 'He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.' (Rom. 9:28)."--11 Symbolic Code, No. 12, pg. 30:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

And short it was, about 27 years from 1935 to 1962!. The obvious reason why he said old Mt. Carmel's stay was to be "very short," was because he also said that it was to be a "temporary place (camp)," as noted below:

"The many inquiries and reports from far and near bear the evidence that most of our people do not fully understand the purpose and the character of the work for which old Mt. Carmel Center is being developed. Therefore, we wish to further explain.

"The main object and the first cause for this project is to fulfill the commission according to Ezek. 4:2, "Lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about." That is, build a temporary place (camp) where you can train workers (battering rams, margin--leaders) who can go and boldly face the situation,..."--2 Symbolic Code, No. 1, pg. 2:4,5 (Texas--1936) (bold emphasis, braces added).

Thus, the fact that old Mt. Carmel Center, being "adjacent to" Waco, was God's second Headquarters "in the midst {middle} of Carmel" (spiritual pasture), and that its stay there was to be "very short," because it was to be a "temporary place (camp)," proves that this is the first reason why there must be a third Headquarters; but there is a second reason:

Bro. Houteff said that his "camp" at old Mt. Carmel Center was to be a "temporary place," and that its "stay" would be for a "very short" time. The obvious reason why was because God's Headquarters at old Mt. Carmel Center must be outside the city limits of Waco. And that, of course, is one of the reasons why he chose this building site:

Therefore, He has given us one of His beautiful lakeside hills adjacent to Waco, Texas, a city of about 60,000, yet far enough from it to be away from the world and its evil environment--about 5 miles from the center of the city, and about 2 1/2 miles from the city limits. There lies 189 acres of land for our "camp" {old Mt. Carmel Center}--1 Symbolic Code, No. 10, pg. 1:10 (bold emphasis, braces added).

However, in 1954, just before he died in 1955, the city limits of Waco was expanding to encompass his temporary "camp" at old Mt. Carmel Center; and that, of course, was one of the reasons why he said to sell the property! Today, the entire "camp" is "in" and a "part of" the city of Waco altogether.

"Now again, with even greater emphasis toward reaching her goal, Mount Carmel Center makes the following announcement to all faithful Davidians who will realize that this good news is perhaps nothing short of a sign. Mount Carmel Center, by commencing to first sell its excess property, then the whole, is symbolically leading the way to the program that is outlined by the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, in the words:

"'Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.' Matthew 13:44, the Lord Himself is leading the way."--10 Symbolic Code, No. 1, pg. 3:2,3 (1954) (bold emphasis, and braces were added).

Before Bro. Houteff died in 1955 he announced in his 1954 Symbolic Code, concerning the property of Mt. Carmel Center, and said to "sell its excess property." And in his announcement he also quoted the parable about the "kingdom of heaven." Note below the reason why:

"In many of His parables, Christ uses the expression, 'the kingdom of heaven,' to designate the work of divine grace upon the hearts of men."--Great Controversy, pg. 347:0 (bold emphasis added).

When Bro. Houteff began to sell off the "excess property" for the "kingdom of heaven," he was not talking about the literal kingdom to be set up in Palestine. Instead, he was talking about the "work of divine grace" upon his heart, which led him to sell the property; because the literal kingdom cannot be set up until after God's third Headquarters is set up in the east (according to his study on Ezek. 47--2 S.R. 290-298). That "work of divine grace" for the "kingdom of heaven" continued on after he died, and his wife became Vice-President and leader of old Mt. Carmel Center. Then his prediction about the "knockout blow" was fulfilled, as noted below

"Unparalleled, therefore, is the urgency that every eleventh-hour church member {Davidians} now quickly and solidly brace himself against the Enemy's effort to deliver a knockout blow. We must be alert, too, to realize that the blow is to come from surprisingly unsuspected foes--from professed friends of the gospel, who are no less pious than were priests in Christ's day."--White-House Recruiter, pg. 33:2 (bold emphasis, braces added).

That "knockout blow" was fulfilled after Sis. Houteff sold old Mt. Carmel Center and bought another place, which she named new Mt. Carmel Center. In 1959 she called all the Davidians there for a "Solemn Assembly" in anticipation of certain events to occur. Instead, her call ended in complete failure, and in 1962 she put up new Mt. Carmel Center for sale, and liquidated its assets. This event not only fulfilled Bro. Houteff's predicted "knockout blow," but it also fulfilled his announcement to "sell...the whole" property! Thus, the fact that old Mt. Carmel Center in Waco, Texas was God's second Headquarters "in the midst {middle} of Carmel" (spiritual pasture), and that its stay there was to be "very short," because it was to be a "temporary place (camp)" until the "whole" property is sold, proves that this is the second reason why there must be a third Headquarters (the storehouse to distribute all the original SRod literature); but there is a third reason:

"According to the light which God has given me, there will yet be a large company {of Davidians} raised up in the East to consistently obey the truth."--1 Testimonies, pg. 414:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The Lord Jesus stated very clear in His "testimony...the Spirit of Prophecy" (Rev. 19:10) by the hand of His prophetess (Sis. E.G. White), that He will raise up a "large company" of Davidians (144,000) "in the East" who will "consistently obey the truth," not reject a part of that truth (1 S.R. 160:2). That large company cannot be the headquarters of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the members of their churches in and near Washington, D.C. in the "East," because they do not "consistently obey the truth"! Instead, they consistently foster the "abominations" (Ezek. 9:4) in the church (3 Test. 270:2)! Therefore, that "large company" must be the Davidians who have the SRod's message of reform, the "butter and honey" (Isa. 7:15; 14 Tr. 39:0), which will help them to "refuse the evil and choose the good"--"consistently obey the truth"! Their Headquarters, now in the "East," will be the place where the "large company" will be raised up when 144,000 Davidians (and those "with" them) have been sealed. But note that Sis. White continued her subject about that "large company" in the "East" and wrote:

"Those {false Davidians} who follow in the distracted course they have chosen {to set up headquarters elsewhere} will be left to embrace errors which will finally cause their overthrow; but they will for a time be stumbling blocks to those {true Davidians} who would receive the truth."--1 Testimonies, pg. 414:1 (bolds, braces added).

There are other Davidians who are false and have rebelled against God's third Headquarters in the "East"--Salem, So. Carolina. They reject truth and "embrace errors" to justify the setting up of their headquarters elsewhere. Those who set up headquarters in the west (California) rejected the truth of Ezekiel's River going "eastward" (2 SR 290-298). Those in the midsouth (Exeter, Missouri) reject the truth of going "eastward" (2 SR 290-298), the truth of the Carmel pasture (11 SC 12:30-34), and the truth that Elijah is the last prophet (G.C.S. 32:0). Those in the north (Mountain Dale, New York) reject the truth of those saved "with" the 144,000 (4 Ans. 20,21). Those in the city limits of Waco, Texas reject the truth of going "eastward" (2 SR 290-298) and those saved "with" the 144,000 (4 Ans. 20,21). And those in Canada reject the truth that Elijah is the last prophet (G.C.S. 32:0), the truth of going "eastward" (2 SR 290-298), the truth of God's Headquarters in America (8 Tr. 24:2), and the truth of the Carmel pasture (11 SC 12:30-34). [If you want to know more about these different Davidian associations, then click on that study at the end.] These false headquarters have become "stumbling blocks" and a "distracted course" to the true Davidians, and eventually the errors which the false Davidians have embraced "will finally cause their overthrow" (1 Test. 414)! Thus, the "large company" to be raised up in the "East," proves that this is the third reason why there must be a third Headquarters; but there is a fourth reason:

The Lord Jesus gave Elijah (Bro. Houteff) the truth of Ezekiel 47, which he published in The Shepherd's Rod book 2 in 1932 (1 Tr. 37) and named, The River of Ezekiel's Vision (2 SR 290-298). From that study he knew that God's Headquarters must one day be moved "eastward" from California, because of what he wrote in that book:

"'For the forefront of the house stood towards the east.' (Ezek. 47:1.) The position of the house proves that it represents a true worship, for thus God's chosen people were instructed to build their temples. Israel worshipped God with their backs toward the east to remind them that they should have no respect for sun worship and idolatry."--2 Shepherd's Rod book, pg. 296:3 (bold emphasis added).

"This direction of the compass denotes that the message of the 'loud cry' is to start eastward when it is first revealed {in California in 1932}. The church membership being largely east of California, and across the Atlantic, naturally the message must start toward the east {where the large company will be raised up--1 Test. 414}. This symbolical prophecy reveals that the message of the 'loud cry' {2 SR 230,231} is to originate in California."--2 Shepherd's Rod book, pg. 297:0 (bold emphasis, braces added).

It was three years after he published his 2 Shepherd's Rod book, that the Lord told him to move "eastward;" and he published this fact in his Symbolic Code:

"..."beautiful Southern California was no longer to remain the center of His work...but an eastward course was to be seen in the stream {of water} from that 'fountain' {Ezek. 47:1}...where the future headquarters were to be found."--1 Symbolic Code, No. 10, pg. 3:1 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The Lord led him on an "eastward course" to Waco, Texas, where he established God's second Headquarters and named it Mt. Carmel Center; which was not only literally "solitarily in the wood," but also "in the midst {middle} of Carmel"--the spiritual pasture of probationary time for the Seventh-day Adventist church. That word "midst" proves irrefutably that the "eastward course" of the water (12 S.C. 1:10:4) or "stream" (loud cry message--2 S.R. 230,231, 297:0; 1 Ans. 82:3) was to continue further on across the United States toward the "East," where a "large company" would be raised up (1 Test. 414).

THIRD HEADQUARTERS SET UP IN 1961, MOVED EAST IN 1970

It was after Bro. Houteff (Elijah) died in 1955 that Sis. Houteff became the Vice-President of the Executive Council at old Mt. Carmel Center. She continued to sell off the "excess property" (10 S.C. 1:3:2), and bought property for new Mt. Carmel Center. And then she sold off old Mt. Carmel Center--the "whole" property (10 S.C. 1:3:2)! In 1959 she called all the Davidians to her so-called "Solemn Assembly" at new Mt. Carmel; because she erroneously concluded that the slaughter of Ezek. 9 was to occur that year, which ended in failure. In 1960 she tried to defend her mistake. She erroneously concluded that before the slaughter could occur, the SRod message must first go to the Protestant churches. And she instituted an untimely program for them; but it also ended in failure. When the Davidians realized that she and her Council was the "professed friends of the gospel" (WHR 33:2) that Elijah predicted would bring the "knockout blow" (WHR 33:2), they gathered together in 1961 at Los Angeles, California for a "special session" (LD 7:3) to reorganize themselves. They elected members of the Executive Council with Bro. Warden as Vice-President, and Bro. Bingham as the Editor; and set up God's Headquarters in Riverside as a temporary place, until a permanent location could be found.

But soon afterwards the Editor (M.J. Bingham) began to teach the false doctrine that the "Carmel" pasture had ended, and that we were now in the "Bashan" pasture. This created a split, and the turmoil slowed down the plans of the newly formed Association with Bro. Warden as Vice-P{resident to move to a permanent location; because the Editor's followers made him their Vice-President and formed another association with headquarters also in Riverside. In the mean time, Sis. Houteff and her Council called a special session in 1962, and invited only those sympathetic to her cause; and they voted to close down new Mt. Carmel Center. It was left in the hands of the lawyers and the Texas courts to sell the property and liquidate its assets. In 1968 Ben Roden acquired the property, and there he set up his Branch movement. (In 1978 he died, and in in 1986 his wife died, and David Koresh gained control of new Mt. Carmel, which was later burned down in 1993). In 1969 the Editor/Vice-President, M.J. Bingham, moved to Exeter, Missouri with his followers and set up his permanent headquarters there, which he named "Bashan Hill;" and they are still there, now ruled by his wife after he died.

And in the same year the brethren of the Riverside Headquarters, whose Vice-President was Bro. Warden, voted at their 1969 Session that, according to the Ezekiel's River study (2 S.R. 290-298), they should move "eastward" to Salem, So. Carolina. The reason why was because the Rest Home there was set up by Bro. Houteff, which was the only place that was an extention of old Mt. Carmel Center, and which was in the east. In 1970 they moved the entire Riverside Headquarters there, and printed all of the original SRod literature, books, and charts. (Later in 1992 they printed The Symbolic Codes). This was a great relief to the spiritually hungry Davidians, because they had no literature for eight years (1962--1970). Several years later, the county gave them a 911 address for their Headquarters' name of MT. CARMEL CENTER. It is 282 Davidian Way, Tamassee, S.C. 29686. It was then that the meaning of Micah 7:14--"in the midst (middle) of Carmel" was fulfilled, which proved that God's first Headquarters in California began the Carmel pasture, and His second Headquarters in Texas was in the "midst" (middle) of the Carmel pasture, and His third Headquarters in So. Carolina was at the end of the Carmel pasture in the "East" (1 Test. 414)!

This last Headquarters being in the "East" is further proven by this irrefutable fact: After the sealing of the 144,000 in the Seventh-day Adventist church is completed, and the "Carmel" pasture of probationary time closes, the Lord will come (Isa. 66:15; Ezek. 1:4,27,28) invisibly (1 Tr. 37:2) to the earth to slay the "tares" in that church by the slaughter of Ezek. 9. Then He will return to heaven and leave this "large company" of saints (144,000 Davidians) standing "at the east gate;" because of what Ezekiel said:

"And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: and when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one {144,000 Davidians and those 'with' them} stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house {Seventh-day Adventist church}; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above."--Ezekiel 10:19 (bold emphasis, braces added). [If you want to know more about the east gate, then click that study at the end.]

Where is this "east gate"? Answer: In what country did the Seventh-day Adventist church began when Sis. White had her first vision of the 144,000?--in America. And in what country is the location for the Headquarters of God's Seventh-day Adventist church?--in America (8 Tr. 24:). And in what country is the location for God's three Headquarters of Davidian Seventh-day Adventists?--in America. Two of them were in California and Texas. Today the last one is in So. Carolina where a "large company" in the East" will "consistently obey the truth;" they are the 144,000 and those "with" them who escape the slaughter of Ezek. 9 and are left standing at the "east gate"!

However, there are other Davidian associations who deny that this phrase "in the midst {middle} of Carmel" means three Headquarters. But they are wrong because of these facts: In 1962 the Editor (M.J. Bingham) rebelled and broke away from God's newly organized Association and set up his own headquarters in 1969 in Missouri. And other Davidians rebelled and broke away from the Salem Headquarters in 1973 to set up their headquarters in California. And in 1982 the Jamaicans rebelled and broke away from the Salem Headquarters and set up their headquarters in New York. And from them other Davidians broke away and set up their headquarters in Texas, and others in Canada. Yet, in spite of their rejection of this truth, they are unaware of the fact that they still unknowingly teach that the phrase "in the midst {middle} of Carmel" means three Headquarters!

And here is how they teach this truth as a fact which they blindly deny: They cannot deny that God's first Headquarters was in California (1929), and that His second one was in Texas (1935), yet, they have a headquarters, which makes it the third one! Thus, the very fact that the Davidians who rebelled have set up a third headquarters in California, and Missouri, and Texas, and New York, and Canada, proves irrefutably that they cannot refute the fact that the phrase "in the midst {middle} of Carmel" means three Headquarters!

Since, however, God is not the "author of confusion" (1 Cor. 14:33), then He would not have more than one Headquarters operating at the same time; especially since the others are fighting against the one that God already has in So. Carolina, which was organized in 1961 and moved "eastward"! Therefore, their rebellion and rejection of these and other truths: (1) that we are still living in the "Carmel" pasture; (2) that there are living saints saved "with" the 144,000; (3) and that God's Headquarters must move "eastward" from Texas, proves irrefutably that they are the false associations who reject the truth that a "large company" will be raised up in Salem, So. Carolina in the "East" (1 Test. 414:1). And this also proves that they are those who "follow in the distracted course they have chosen" (setting up headquarters elsewhere), which makes them "stumbling blocks" to other Davidians, and which will "finally cause their overthrow" (1 Test. 414:1)! But there is more to learn about Micah 7:14:

LET THE SAINTS FEED ON THE "ROD" IN BASHAN AND GILEAD

It has already been proven that the "Bashan" pasture is probationary time for the Protestants, and that the "Gilead" pasture is probationary time for the heathen; both of which are to "feed" on the "rod" (1 T.G. 46:6) after the "Carmel" pasture "withers" (Amos 1:2) at the close of probation for the Seventh-day Adventist church, and after the slaughter of Ezek. 9. But why does Micah 7:14 say to "let" them, the great multitude (Rev. 7:9), "feed" on the SRod.

"Feed thy people...let them {great multitude} feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old."--Micah 7:14 (bold emphasis, braces added).

The obvious answer is because Webster's Dictionary says that the word "let" means: "to delay, hinder...prevent." Note the references below which proves this same truth

"Tidings of them and the interest they were exciting among the people has already reached the king {Pharaoh of Egypt}. His anger was kindled. 'Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let [hinder] the people from their works?' he said. 'Get you unto your burdens' {Ex. 5:4}."--Prophets and Kings, pg. 257:5 (bold emphasis, braces added)

"'Let the bridegroom go forth of His chamber, and the bride out of her closet.' The term, 'let,' means to allow it {because of some hindrance} to be so."--2 Symbolic Code, No. 9, pg. 2:1 (boldings, braces added).

"That is to say, the gathering of the people is to be unobstructed. Every hindrance is to be removed."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 17, pg. 10.

It is obvious, then, that the word "let" used in Mic. 7:14 clearly indicates some kind of "hindrance" to the saints, the "great multitude" (Rev. 7:9), who want to "feed" on the "rod" during the probatinary time of the "Bashan" and "Gilead" pastures. And that hindrance, of course, is caused by the "man" 666 (Rev. 13:18) who makes an "image of the beast" (Rev. 13:14), and who decrees that if any man refuses to "worship the image of the beast should be killed" (Rev. 13:15). And that is why the Lord says to "let" (remove the hindrance) of the death decree by the "man" 666, so the saints can "feed" on the "rod" and be delivered into His latter-day kingdom. But note, the Lord did not say "let" the 144,000 "feed" on the "rod" during the time of the "Carmel" pasture. That is because they are living in a time of freedom of religion when they have no such hindrance to "feed" on the "rod"!

BASHAN AND GILEAD PASTURES DURING THE TIME OF THE KINGDOM

Thus, the word "let" clearly indicates that all three spiritual pastures of Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead cannot exist at the same time; instead, one follows the other after each period of probationary time has ended. That is, when the "Carmel" pasture "withers" (Amos 1:2) at the close of probationary time for the Seventh-day Adventist church, then God's sets up His kingdom (Dan. 2:44) while the "man" 666 (Rev. 13:18) sets up the kingdom of Babylon (Rev. 17:3)--the "image of the beast" (Rev. 13:15). It is during this time of hindrance to the saints (the great multitude) that the Lord says to "let" them "feed" on the "rod" during the "Bashan" pasture for the "Protestants" and afterwards during the "Gilead" pasture for the "heathens" (12 S.C. 8:15). This time of God's kingdom is clearly indicated by the verses that follow Micah 7:14:

"According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things."--Micah 7:15 (bold emphasis added).

"We {Davidians} are given the promise {Mic. 7:15} that the saints' experience {of ancient Israel} is to be similar to that of the Exodus movement {of ancient Israel}; that is, just as they were led out of Egypt by the mighty hand of God, and were brought safely into the promised land, so shall it be now {great multitude brought into the latter-day kingdom}."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 28, pg. 16:4 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"The nations shall see and be confounded at all their {144,000} might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf. They {wicked} shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God {and the might of His saints--144,000}, and shall fear because of Thee. Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He delighteth in mercy."--Micah 7:16-18 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"As great as shall be the day of the Lord for the faithful, just that dreadful will it be for the unfaithful."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 28, pg. 17:3 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"He {Jesus} will turn again, He will have compassion upon us {saints--great multitude during the Bashan and Gilead pastures}; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."--Micah 7:19 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Our God is wonderful indeed! He retains not His anger. He delights in mercy. He remembers not the sins of the penitent {great multitude during the Bashan and Gilead pastures}, He casts them away where they cannot be found anymore."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 28, pg. 17:5 (bold emphasis, braces added).

"Thou wilt perform the Truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which Thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old."--Mic. 7:20.

"Inspiration reaffirms all God's promises. They never fail. His prophecies are sure. We are on the threshold of a new world in the sight of the old--soon there shall be sin no more."--1 Timely Greetings, No. 28, pgs. 17, 18.

CARMEL, BASHAN, GILEAD PASTURES DO NOT EXIST AT THE SAME TIME

To better understand this subject, a brief review of what has already been said will be repeated here: When Sis. Houteff and her council apostatized and brought the "knockout blow" (WHR 33), the faithful Davidians came together at a Special Session (LDSDA 7:3) in 1961 to reorganize God's Association and set up a temporary Headquarters in Riverside, California for two basic reasons: to teach the SRod message, and to expose Sis. Houteff's false teachings. They understood from the SRod message that they were still living in the "Carmel" pasture of probationary time for the Seventh-day Adventist church. But their Editor (M.J. Bingham) began to teach his false doctrine that the spiritual "Carmel" pasture in Mic. 7:14 was the literal Headquarters at old Mt. Carmel Center. He based his theory on the fact that Sis. Houteff had put its property up for sale and liquidated its assets. Then, he would give Bible studies on Mic. 7:14 to other Davidians and ask them, "Where is old Mt. Carmel Center today?" And when they would answer, "It no longer exists" then he would say, see "Carmel" has withered (Amos 1:2), and we are now in the "Bashan" pasture. This error, of course, was rejected by the leaders of the newly organized Association, and this caused a split among them. So the Editor (M.J. Bingham) took his followers with him to Missouri in 1969 and set up his "Bashan" headquarters; while the faithful Davidians in Riverside were led of God to move His Headquarters to Salem, So. Carolina in 1970. It was there that they began to print all of the original Shepherd's Rod books and literature, and distribute them to the Davidians. Note the example in the paragraph below how M.J. Bingham's Bashan error was exposed to a Sister who dared to read the SRod books:

It was after M.J. Bingham had moved to Missouri to set up his headquarters which he named "Bashan Hill," that he exposed himself as an "office seeker" by claiming to be a prophet and called himself the "porter" (John 10:3). When he learned that the Salem Headquarters was selling The Shepherd's Rod books, he told his followers that he (their prophet) had instructions from God to strictly forbid them to buy the books, for this obvious reason: If they read that "Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead are used as symbols of good spiritual pasture" (1 S.R. 243:2), he knew they would see that the "Carmel" pasture is not the literal Headquarters of Mt. Carmel Center, and that its being closed in 1962 did not "wither" Carmel; which would mean that we are not living in the "Bashan" pasture.

But in spite of his condemnation against the two SRod books, there was a Bashan Davidian (elderly lady) who decided to read the books for herself; because it was hard for her to believe the false accusation that Elijah had written bad books. So one day she called the Salem Headquarters and ordered a set of the books. It was not too long afterwards that she called again and told me that while she was reading Vol. 1 that one of the Bashan believers came to visit her. She told me that he must have seen the book on her table and asked for a glass of water; and while she was gone for the water, he cut out page 243. And after he left, she found it missing, and asked me what was so important on that page that he would cut it out so she could not read it. And when I told her that it said "Carmel" is a "symbol" of a "good spiritual" pasture which has not yet withered, and that it is not Mt. Carmel Center, and explained more about that subject she ordered another book. And after reading it she broke loose from the Bashan Davidians and joined with the Salem Headquarters and supported it until she finally died of old age. [If you want to read more about The Shepherd's Rod books, then click on that subject at the end.]

Then later, one of M.J. Bingham's workers who lived in Canada started teaching that "Bashan" had withered, and he set up his "Gilead" headquarters in Canada. These different Davidian associations has caused great confusion among the new Davidians that come into their ranks. And that is because they see the leaders at God's Headquarters (Mt. Carmel Center) in the "East" at Salem, So. Carolina, who are teaching the truth that the SRod says we are still living in the "Carmel" pasture; while they see that the leaders in Missouri are teaching the error that we are in the "Bashan" pasture; and also the leaders in Canada who are teaching the error that we are in the "Gilead" pasture! By doing this, they are teaching the error to the Davidians that all three pastures exist at the same time; when the SRod says they exist one following the other, beginning with Carmel. The saints, however, cannot be deceived (Mt. 24:24), because they do not hear what man says; instead, they "feed" on the "rod" (Mic. 7:14). And since the SRod says that Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead are not Headquarters but spiritual pastures (1 S.R. 243), then the Davidian saints know that God's Headquarters in Salem, So. Carolina is the right one, because they teach the truth that we are still living in the "Carmel" pasture, not Bashan or Gilead; as well as other truths which the others reject.

SALEM HEADQUARTERS TORMENTS OTHER ASSOCIATIONS

And this fact torments the other Davidian associations, because they know that as long as the Salem Headquarters exist and teaches against their errors, they cannot say that they are God's true Association. Their only hope is to keep other Davidians ignorant of the Salem Headquarters, or prejudice their minds against it. But now that God's Headquarters has a web site (www.davidian.org), they worry that other Davidians will learn of it and read its studies, which torments them even further. But Jesus said, through His prophetess (Sis. E.G. White) about those Davidians who refuse to accept God's Headquarters located where a "large company will be raised up in the East" (1 Test. 414): They will "be left to embrace errors which will finally cause their overthrow" (1 Test. 414)! And the reason why, is because they refuse to believe what Elijah wrote in the message of The Shepherd's Rod about the "Carmel" pasture, and about going "eastward."

"Nevertheless, one's only safety will be in the teaching of Elijah {in his SRod message}, for there will be no other voice of timely Truth and authority to whom one may turn. Any others {false prophets and false headquarters} will lead their victims blind-folded into perdition."--General Conference Special, pg. 8 (bold emphasis, braces added).

If you want to know more about "Carmel" and Mt. Carmel Center, then read the book No. 7 entitled, A DAVIDIAN TESTIMONY, pgs. 227-236. You can order a copy by clicking on-->ORDER FORM.

If you want to know more about the two applications of the "last days," then click on--> STUDY33.

If you want to know more about the seventh candlestick (Laodicea), then click on--> STUDY7A.

If you want to know more about Elijah the prophet, then click on--> STUDY3A   and  STUDY5A.

If you want to know more about the importance of The Shepherd's Rod books, then click on--> STUDY32.

If you want to know more about the east gate, then click on--> STUDY.