Let’s face it, when we know that the almighty Lord God of the universe cries, we know it’s serious and of profound importance. Such as when we read in Matt. 27:50 —
“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the Spirit.”
In His last pleading moment upon His first advent, our Lord cried out with extreme passion. For all of humanity, this act was done, to His Father and to us His creation.
We also know that Jesus cried, albeit in a different way, when His dear friend Lazarus had died —
“Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” (John 11:35-36)
Also we note that privately Jesus cried many times to the Father —
“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered..” (Hebrews 5:7-8)
But as we review the Old Testament, we cannot find where our Lord “cried” except one place. This is noteworthy my brethren, very noteworthy! God does not place His Word carelessly about. Each and every Word is placed with meaning and if we find HIm crying out to us–well this must STOP US IN OUR TRACKS! We must hear.
So where is this crying out to be found in the Old Testament, let us read–
“The LORD’S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy Name: hear ye the Rod, and Who hath appointed it.” (Micah 6:9)
Our Lord is crying out, pleading for us to do something–to hear His Rod. This must be important my brothers and sisters for the Lord pleads with us! Not only has He bled and died an awful death for us, He foresaw that something would be so paramount, so vital, to our spiritual welfare –He cried out!
Now that we know that this instruction is so important , let us read what the Elijah prophet, sent by the Lord tells us about this pleading message.
"That the S.D.A. organization is divided over the issue of The Shepherd's Rod publications, we deeply deplore, and the more so when we stop to realize that such a break need never to have taken place, for God desired His voice, the Rod, to be heard, as He says, through His prophet: "The Lord's voice crieth unto the city [the church], and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: Hear ye the Rod, and Who hath appointed it." Mic. 6:9
As you are among the many in the "city" to whom the Lord's voice is crying to hear the Rod and as we want to believe that you are zealous for your salvation and for the salvation of your brethren, and wholeheartedly devoted to the welfare of the denomination, we must certainly believe that you are concerned to know the truth about this serious trouble squarely facing every Seventh-day Adventist." (Tract 7, p.5-6)
“And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.” Isa. 4:2-6.
This glorified repetition of God’s leading an exodus movement by the shepherd’s rod shows that He is again using the same method to bring modern Israel out of the nations. Where the Jews failed to make their kingdom a working model of Theocracy, ordained solely to manifest God’s power and thus convert the world to their precious Faith, the present kingdom movement must succeed. God’s plans know no final failure; sooner or later, they will be carried out. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 283.)
So today, in the antitype, “the Lord’s voice crieth unto the city [church] and the man of wisdom [the teachable] shall see thy name hear ye the rod, and Who hath appointed it.” Mic. 6:9. “And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.” Hos. 12:13.
Obviously, therefore, God will pity all who come under the authority of His rod today, confessing their sins and seeking mercy. But He will have no mercy upon the disobedient, not even upon any who covetThe Babylonish Garment of Today.”(Tract 4, p.41-43)
“Behold,” says the Word, “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” To him shalt thou hearken. “And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.” “Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with His anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: His lips are full of indignation, and His tongue as a devouring fire: and His breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err,” “because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Mal. 4:5; Isa. 30:25, 27, 28; 2 Thess. 2:10.
Here it is seen that the prophecies and the correct interpretations thereof are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect.” 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
Therefore, brethren, settle it once and forever, that with the Lord’s help you will no longer be carried away by winds of doctrine that are created and driven by the spirit of error, not by the Spirit of Truth, but that you will always look for, and stand by, the Inspired Word of God — “the testimony of Jesus,” delivered to you by “the Spirit of Prophecy” (Rev. 12:17; 19:10); that you will “hear the rod, and Who hath appointed it.” Micah 6:9. (Tract 6, p.79-80)
“We know that the Lord is speaking to His people at this very time through the publications of The Shepherd’s Rod; that the message they contain is that which “will cause a shaking among God’s people” (Early Writings, p. 270); that those who accept this counsel of the True Witness will receive the seal of God and be numbered among the 144,000 (Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 266); that those who reject it, will fall in the slaughter of Ezekiel 9 (Testimonies to Ministers, p. 445; Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 211) and Isaiah 66:16; and that those who “escape of them,” the 144,000, the first fruits, are to be the servants of God in the time of the Loud Cry (Rev. 14:4; Testimonies, Vol. 5 pp. 80, 81) to bring the second fruits out of “all nations.” Isa. 66:19, 20.
Therefore, Brethren, as we have “full assurance of faith” that our knowledge, judgment, and faith in the S.D.A. doctrines are as sound as yours, and as you know not our position as well as we know yours, there is at least as much chance of our being right as there is of your being right. So for your own soul’s sake, you dare not refuse to investigate. If you close your ears to the voice of the True Witness, it will mean your eternal ruin! This is why our hearts are troubled, why we are concerned that you investigate for yourselves, the message of the Rod. And if you are a “man of wisdom” who heeds “the Lord’s voice…unto the city,” you will “hear…the Rod,” and know “Who hath appointed it.” Mic. 6:9.
We have unloaded our responsibility. Now you must shoulder yours, and exercise your God-given ability and duty to make sure your eternal reward. Risk not your crown of life on a peradventure, on any possibility of losing out after being years in the message. What a loss, tragic loss, “world without end” that would be! Accept this counsel and obey its demands, and your obedience will secure unto you peace and joy and life everlasting.” (Tract 7, p.71-73)
“Hear Ye the Rod, and Who Hath Appointed it.“Micah 6:9. Sunken in Laodicean slumber and sleep, “the city,” the church, in God’s merciful effort to prepare it against this day of trouble, is to be startled to life by His urgent cry:
“Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.” Isa. 52:1.
“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to the light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Isa. 60:1-3.
The church of the Laodiceans, being the last of the seven churches, is the last section of the Christian church in which the wheat and the tares are commingled. The overcomers, the marked ones, from it, those who hear the Rod, begin the eighth section of the church — the one symbolized by the “barn” (Matt. 13:30) and by the “vessels” (Matt. 13:48), also by the “golden candlestick” of Zechariah 4. Of her the Lord says: “…the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” Isa. 62:2, 3. (Tract 9, p.61-62)
Questions and Answers —
How did the name Shepherd’s Rod come about? Did Victor Houteff read Micah 6:9 and then decide to call his message the Shepherd’s Rod, thereby advancing his own cause?
“The only rod God’s people have ever been asked to hear is this “Shepherd’s Rod.” At the time we gave the name to this book, we knew nothing about the prophecies in the book of Micah, neither did we know this passage was there. We mean to say it is not any of our knowledge of this particular scripture that compelled us to name the book by that title, but we feel it was done by the same divine providence that brought about the entire truth, in order to fulfill the scripture. See also explanation on page 95, under the heading “The Shepherd’s Rod.” (SRod, vol. 1, p.243)
Can you tell us what the simple basic message of the Rod is?
“It is the intention of this book to reveal the truth of the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7, but the chief object of this publication is to bring about a reformation among God’s people. The truth herein contained is divided into seven sections, giving proofs from seven different angles, to prevent any doubt or confusion. This subject is mad clear by the use of the Bible and the writings given by the Spirit of Prophecy.
The truth revealed here is of great importance to the church just now because of the foretold danger which God’s people are soon to meet. It calls for decided action on the part of the believers to separate themselves from all worldlings and worldliness; to anchor themselves on the Solid Rock by obedience to all the truth known to this denomination, if we must escape the great ruin. “The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city: Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” (Micah 6:9) (Preface to SRod vol. 1)
What significance in mentioning the Rod does Lev. 27:32 have, if any?
“And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27:32.
To determine the Lord’s part, the tithe, the Lord’s lambs, goats, or sheep, were made to pass under the rod. Each tenth then was taken and set aside for the Lord. The statement of Ezekiel twenty, verse thirty-seven, “to pass under the rod,” therefore, means to separate His very elect from among the multitude, from among the “tares,” (Matt. 13:30) or from among the “bad fish” (Matt. 13:47, 48). And being thus separated, they are counted. So it is that the 144,000 (Rev. 7:3-8; 14:1) are a separate and numbered company.
Now we see that Ezekiel twenty contains a prophetic history from the time of their sojourn in Egypt to the time of the sealing of the 144,000, and of the gathering of the people.
When God causes His people to thus pass under the rod, He will then bring them into the bond of “the covenant which He made with Abraham, and of His oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.” 1 Chron. 16:16-18.
The promises which they failed to realize, the Lord reassures that He will now let His people have them.” (2 TG, vol. 1, p.7-8)
Godsloveandlaw's Blog 
October 27, 2017 at 10:03 am |
Another powerful statement of truth as only can be found in the teachings of the SR by VTH…