The Leviticus of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists

Front matter

PREFACE= Provisional in set-up as well as in name, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association exists solely to accomplish a divinely appointed work within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, wherein it therefore strictly confines its activities. As its work therewithin draws to a close, and the "servants of our God" (Rev. 7:3) are sealed, its name will be changed (Isa. 56:5; 62:2; 65:15) and its purpose and its work will become all-embracing to the gospel (Matt. 17:11; Acts 3:21, Isa. 61:4-7). Then its Constitution and By-Laws as herein codified will become fully operative.

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I—NAME

Section 1. This Association shall be known provisionally as The Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, the prophetic off-spring of the parent Seventh-day Adventist, the Laodicean, church.

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.

The name Seventh-day Adventist, which this Association inherits from the parent denomination, is provisional (Isa. 62:2) and only for the duration of its work within the parent denomination.

Section 2. The Association's literature, The Shepherd's Rod Series, draws its title from the rod of Moses the shepherd of Midian. In the exodus of his day, it was that rod which emancipated the children of Israel from the Egyptians and later smote the waters of the Red Sea, providing a haven of refuge for the fugitives and setting a death-trap for their pursuers. For this reason the literature takes the name "Shepherd's Rod" to identify and distinguish its special work, of which Isaiah wrote: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea" (Isa. 11:11); and to call attention to the singular fulfillment of Micah's prophecy: "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." Mic. 6:9.

ARTICLE II—OBJECT

Section 1. The object of this Association is to bring about among God's people that reformation called for in the Testimonies for the Church Volume 9, page 126, as the prerequisite movement to sounding the "Eleventh-Hour Call" (Matt. 20:6, 7) of "the everlasting gospel...to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Rev. 14:6. Through this call, the Loud Cry of the three angels' messages, it is to gather "the people of the saints of the Most High" (Dan. 7:27) into the kingdom "which shall never be destroyed...but...shall break in pieces and consume all...kingdoms." Dan. 2:44. Thus it shall usher in the reign of Christ as Lord of lords and King of kings over all the earth forever and ever.

ARTICLE III—MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. The membership of this Association shall be composed only of persons who subscribe to the whole credenda and embody in their lives the whole agenda of the aforesaid Association.

ARTICLE IV—OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES

Section 1.

(a) The regular officers of this Association

shall be a president, a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer.

(b) The president shall be called and chosen in accordance with the procedure set forth in Exodus, chapter three, verses ten, fifteen, and sixteen; chapter four, verse seventeen; Ezekiel, chapter three, verse seventeen; and Luke, chapter six, verse thirteen.

(c) All other officers of this Association shall be appointed in accordance with the procedure set forth in Numbers, chapter eleven, verses sixteen, seventeen, twenty-four, and twenty-five, and in Acts, chapter six, verses one to seven; and chapter thirteen, verses one to three.

Section 2. The president shall, as typed in Exodus, chapter four, and in Numbers, chapter sixteen, verses twelve and twenty-five to thirty-two, act as chairman of the Executive Council as chief administrator of the affairs of the Association, and as a worker and minister in the general interest of the Association.

Section 3. The vice president shall, in accordance with the example recorded in Exodus, chapter seven, verses one and two, assist the president in administering the affairs of the Association.

Section 4. The secretary shall keep the proceedings of all meetings of the Association, and perform such other duties as are in keeping with the nature of the office.

Section 5. The treasurer shall receive all funds of the Association and disburse them in accordance with the examples recorded in the following scriptures: Exodus, chapter thirty-six, verse three; Ezra, chapter eight, verses twenty-one, twenty-four to thirty; Acts, chapter four, verses thirty-five to thirty-seven; and chapter six, verse three.

ARTICLE V—SESSIONS

Section 1. This Association shall hold regular sessions at such time and place as the Executive Council shall designate by a notice published in The Symbolic Code, the official organ of the organization, in two consecutive issues before the date of the opening of the session.

Section 2.

(a) Special sessions may be called in the same manner in which a regular session is called.

(b) The decisions at special sessions shall have the same force as those al regular sessions.

ARTICLE VI-BY-LAWS

Section 1. By-laws may embrace any provision not inconsistent with the Constitution.

Section 2. The Association, at any session thereof, may enact, amend, or repeal by-laws by such a representation and vote as is exampled in The Acts of the Apostles, pages 195, 196.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I—EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Section 1.

(a) The Executive Council shall be patterned after the council described in Acts, chapter six, verses two to six.

(b) It shall have full executive and administrative power between sessions of the Association.

(c) It shall be vested with authority to grant credentials and licenses, and to fill vacancies that may occur in any of the Association's offices. save the office of President.

Section 2. A majority of the full membership of the Executive Council shall, after due notice to available members, constitute a quorum of the Executive Council.

Section 3.

(a) Meetings of the Executive Council may be called by the chairman or by any member of the Council so appointed or delegated by him.

(b) Meetings may be convoked at any time.

(c) They shall be held at the general headquarters, unless otherwise designated by a quorum of the Council.

Section 4. Minority meetings of less than seven members of the Council may be held at the General Administrative Office

for the transaction of necessary or routine business.

ARTICLE II—LABORERS' COMPENSATION

Section 1. The compensation and expenses of all laborers in the employ of the Association shall be determined and adjusted by the Executive Council.

Section 2.

(a) The essential working funds of the Association shall consist of tithes and offerings.

(b) Adventitious funds shall consist of donations, bequests legacies, and internal revenues.

ARTICLE III—ORDINATION OF MINISTERS

Section 1.

(a) The Davidian Seventh-day Adventists shall recognize only the Scriptural law of ordination, to wit: (1) that the call to the gospel ministry must come from God to the individual, and that (2) it must be followed in strict fidelity to the requirements of gospel order, as enunciated in Luke, chapter ten, verses three to nine; Matthew, chapter ten, verses five to eleven; and First Timothy, chapter three, verses one to seven.

(b) As and when evidence is had in full proof that one's ministry fulfills these requirements, the Executive Council shall then authorize recognition of his calling to engage in the sacred work of the ministry as basically defined in Matthew, chapter ten, and shall either ordain or license him as the case may warrant.

Section 2. An ordained minister shall be invested with the right to preach and teach the truths, the principles, and the lessons, and to perform the ministerial duties, services, and ceremonies, set forth in the Scriptures.

Section 3. A licensed minister shall be invested with the right to preach and teach the truths the principles, and the lessons set forth in the Scriptures, but not to perform the ministerial duties, services and ceremonies therein set forth, except on occasions such as warrant the Council's specially authorizing said rights.

ORIGIN, NAME, MISSION, PATTERN

The Davidians are the upshoot from decadent Seventh-day Adventism prophetically envisioned in Ezekiel, chapter nine. Its members are in the main those who have been cast out and deprived of the fellowship of their Seventh-day Adventist churches. Thus being separated from their church and denied its name because of their having given heed to the voice of the Rod, the voice of the Good Shepherd, they are called by the name imbedded in the work of the Rod, "Davidian Seventh-day Adventists," until the time when they shall be "called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name." Isa. 62:2.

Thus raised of necessity, not of choice, this Association within the Seventh-day Adventist organization is ordained to the work of a threefold end: (1) It is to go to the house of "Israel and Judah" (Ezek. 9:9), and "say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready." Luke 14:17. And though they who first hear the call may excuse themselves (Luke 14:18-20), "the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" from "the streets and lanes of the city" (Luke 14:21, 22) will respond. (2) Accordingly, it is to implement that "great reformatory movement" and purification called for "among God's people." — Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 5, page 80; Vol. 9, page 126. With the consequent fruits of this work, the first of the harvest, it is to usher in the Kingdom (Mic. 4:1, 2). (3) Then with a loud cry it is to "go into the highways and hedges" (Luke 14:23), preaching "the everlasting gospel...unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6), "baptizing...in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever" Christ commanded (Matt. 28: 19, 20). With the consequent fruits of this work, the second of the harvest, it is to enlarge the Kingdom until it fills the whole earth (Dan. 2:35).

Thus in demonstrating "through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God" (Rom. 15:19), the mighty power of the Kingdom, it is to give universal witness that Christ is with His church "alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20.

Prophetically called into the Lord's vineyard at "the eleventh hour," The Davidian Seventh-day Adventists are proclaiming the Present Truth revealed in the unrolling of the prophetic scroll (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, p. 17). Its momentous truths "open to those who lay hold of the divine assurances of God's Word," "wonderful possibilities" and "privileges and duties which they do not even suspect to be in the Bible." — Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8, p. 322.

As fundamental to their structure of Scripture interpretation, the Davidians hold that "the experiences of Israel were recorded for our instruction" (Education, p. 50); that indeed "all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and...are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. 10:11); that, therefore, where there is not a basic type, there can not be and is not a basic truth, an antitype; and that, consequently, those who do not "hear...Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Luke 16:31.

Accordingly, this reformatory association, intestine to the Seventh-day Adventist organization, embraces an all-inclusive Scriptural fundamentalism. And it is necessarily endowed with Constitution and By-laws embodying the governmental principles and system of the fourfold succession of the Exodus movement, the Davidian monarchy, the Judges, and the Apostles, as illuminated by The Spirit of Prophecy in the following passages revealing that God is the center of authority and that men of His appointment are the administrators of His law:

GOVERNMENT

THE MOSAIC — A COUNTERPART

"The government of Israel was characterized by the most thorough organization, wonderful alike for its completeness and its simplicity. The order so strikingly displayed in the perfection and arrangement of all God's created works was manifest in the Hebrew economy. God was the center of authority and government, the sovereign of Israel. Moses stood as their visible leader, by God's appointment, to administer the laws in His name. From the elders of the tribes a council of seventy was afterward chosen to assist Moses in the general affairs of the nation. Next came the priests, who consulted the Lord in the sanctuary. Chiefs, or princes, ruled over the tribes. Under these were 'captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens;' and, lastly officers who might be employed for special duties." — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 374.

"In harmony with this plan, 'Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.' "Later, when choosing seventy elders to share with him the responsibilities of leadership, Moses was careful to select as his helpers, men possessing dignity, sound judgment, and experience. In his charge to these elders at the time of their ordination, he outlined some of the qualifications that fit a man to be a wise ruler in the church. 'Hear the causes between your brethren,' said Moses, 'and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great, ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's." — The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 93, 94.

"The government of Israel was administered in the name and by the authority of God. The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of the rulers and judges, was simply to enforce the laws that God had given; they had no authority to legislate for the nation. This was, and continued to be, the condition of Israel's existence as a nation. From age to age, men inspired by God were sent to instruct the people, and to direct in the enforcement of the laws." — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 603.

THE DAVIDIC — A COUNTERPART

"King David, toward the close of his reign, delivered a solemn charge to those bearing the burden of the work of God in his day. Summoning to Jerusalem 'all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men,' the aged king solemnly charged them, 'in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the Lord, and in the audience of our God,' to 'keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God.'

"To Solomon, as one called to occupy a position of leading responsibility, David gave a special charge: 'Thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee, but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee:...be strong.'" — The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 94, 95.

THE EZRAIC — A COUNTERPART

Again: "As a special precaution in safeguarding the treasure, Ezra 'separated twelve of the chief of the priests,' — men whose faithfulness and fidelity had been proved, — 'and weighed unto them the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, even the offering of the house of our God, which the king and his counselors, and his lords, and all Israel there present, had offered.' These men were solemnly charged to act as vigilant stewards over the treasure entrusted to their care. 'Ye are holy unto the Lord,' Ezra declared; 'the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the Lord God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.'

"The care exercised by Ezra in providing for the transportation and safety of the Lord's treasure, teaches a lesson worthy of thoughtful study. Only those whose trustworthiness had been proved, were chosen; and they were instructed plainly regarding the responsibility resting on them. In the appointment of faithful officers to act as treasurers of the Lord's goods, Ezra recognized the necessity and value of order and organization in connection with the work of God." — Prophets and Kings, pp. 616, 617.

THE APOSTOLIC — A COUNTERPART

"The same principles of piety and justice that were to guide the rulers among God's people in the time of Moses and of David, were also to be followed by those given the oversight of the newly organized church of God in the gospel dispensation. In the work of setting things in order in all the churches, and ordaining suitable men to act as officers, the apostles held to the high standards of leadership outlined in the Old Testament Scriptures. They maintained that he who is called to stand in a position of leading responsibility in the church, 'must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.'" — The Acts of the Apostles, p. 95.

"Summoning a meeting of the believers, the apostles were led by the Holy Spirit to outline a plan for the better organization of all the working forces of the church. The time had come, the apostles stated, when the spiritual leaders having the oversight of the church should be relieved from the task of distributing to the poor and from similar burdens, so that they might be free to carry forward the work of preaching the gospel. 'Wherefore, brethren,' they said, 'look ye out among you seven men of honest report full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.' This advice was followed, and by prayer and the laying on of hands, seven chosen men were solemnly set apart for their duties as deacons.

"The appointment of the seven to take the oversight of special lines of work, proved a great blessing to the church. These officers gave careful consideration to individual needs as well as to the general financial interests of the church; and by their prudent management and their godly example, they were an important aid to their fellow-officers in binding together the various interests of the church into a united whole.

"That this step was in the order of God, is revealed in the immediate results for good that were seen. 'The word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.' This ingathering of souls was due both to the greater freedom secured by the apostles, and to the zeal and power shown by the seven deacons. The fact that these brethren had been ordained for the special work of looking after the needs of the poor, did not exclude them from teaching the faith. On the contrary, they were fully qualified to instruct others in the truth, and they engaged in the work with great earnestness and success." — The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 89, 90. ORDER

"God is a God of order. Everything connected with heaven is in perfect order; subjection and thorough discipline mark the movements of the angelic host. Success can only attend order and harmonious action. God requires order and system in His work now no less than in the days of Israel. All who are working for Him are to labor intelligently, not in a careless, haphazard manner. He would have His work done with faith and exactness, that He may place the seal of His approval upon it." — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 376.

"'God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.' He requires that order and system be observed in the conduct of church affairs today, no less than in the days of old. He desires His work to be carried forward with thoroughness and exactness, so that He may place upon it the seal of His approval. Christian is to be united with Christian, church with church, the human instrumentality co-operating with the divine, every agency subordinate to the Holy Spirit, and all combined in giving to the world the good tidings of the grace of God." — The Acts of the Apostles, p. 96.

"The time and strength of those who in the providence of God have been placed in leading positions of responsibility in the church, should be spent in dealing with the weightier matters demanding special wisdom and largeness of heart. It is not in the order of God that such men should be appealed to for the adjustment of minor matters that others are well qualified to handle. 'Every great matter they shall bring unto thee,' Jethro proposed to Moses, 'but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.'" — The Acts of the Apostles, p. 93.

THE OLD TESTAMENT CHURCH — A COUNTERPART

"The Hebrew camp was arranged in exact order. It was separated into three great divisions, each having its appointed position in the encampment. In the center was the tabernacle, the abiding place of the invisible King. Around it were stationed the priests and Levites. Beyond these were encamped all the other tribes.

"To the Levites was committed the charge of the tabernacle and all that pertained thereto, both in the camp and on the journey. When the camp set forward, they were to strike the sacred tent; when a halting-place was reached, they were to set it up. No person of another tribe was allowed to come near, on pain of death. The Levites were separated into three divisions, the descendants of the three sons of Levi, and each was assigned its special position and work. In front of the tabernacle, and nearest to it, were the tents of Moses and Aaron. On the south were the Kohathites, whose duty it was to care for the ark and the other furniture; on the north the Merarites, who were placed in charge of the pillars, sockets, boards, etc.; in the rear the Gershonites, to whom the care of the curtains and hangings was committed.

"The position of each tribe also was specified. Each was to march and to encamp beside its own standard, as the Lord had commanded: 'Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house. Far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.' 'As they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.' The mixed multitude that had accompanied Israel from Egypt were not permitted to occupy the same quarters with the tribes but were to abide upon the outskirts of the camp, and their offspring were to be excluded from the community until the third generation.

"In all the journeyings of Israel, 'the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them,...to search out a resting place for them.' Borne by the sons of Kohath, the sacred chest containing God's holy law was to lead the van. Before it went Moses and Aaron; and the priests, bearing silver trumpets, were stationed near. These priests received directions from Moses, which they communicated to the people by the trumpets. It was the duty of the leaders of each company to give definite directions concerning all the movements to be made, as indicated by the trumpets. Whoever neglected to comply with the directions given, was punished with death." — Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 374, 375, 376.

THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH — COUNTERPART

"Only as they were united with Christ, could the disciples hope to have the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit, and the co-operation of angels of heaven. With the help of these divine agencies, they would present before the world a united front, and would be victorious in the conflict they were compelled to wage unceasingly against the powers of darkness. As they should continue to labor unitedly, heavenly messengers would go before them, opening the way; hearts would be prepared for the reception of truth, and many would be won to Christ. So long as they remained united, the church would go forth, 'fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.' Nothing could withstand her onward progress. The church would advance from victory to victory, gloriously fulfilling her divine mission of proclaiming the gospel to the world. "The organization of the church at Jerusalem was to serve as a model for the organization of churches in every other place where messengers of truth should win converts to the gospel. Those to whom was given the responsibility of the general oversight of the church, were not to lord it over God's heritage, but, as wise shepherds, were to 'feed the flock of God,...being ensamples to the flock;' and the deacons were to be 'men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.' These men were to take their position unitedly on the side of right, and to maintain it with firmness and decision. Thus they would have a uniting influence upon the entire flock.

"Later in the history of the early church, when in various parts of the world many groups of believers had been formed into churches, the organization of the church was further perfected, so that order and harmonious action might be maintained. Every member was exhorted to act well his part. Each was to make a wise use of the talents entrusted to him. Some were endowed by the Holy Spirit with special gifts, — 'first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.' But all these classes of workers were to labor in harmony.

"'There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.'" — The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 90-92.

"The order that was maintained in the early Christian church, made it possible for them to move forward solidly, as a well-disciplined army, clad with the armor of God. The companies of believers, though scattered over a large territory, were all members of one body; all moved in concert, and in harmony with one another. When dissension arose in a local church, as later it did arise in Antioch and elsewhere, and the believers were unable to come to an agreement among themselves, such matters were not permitted to create a division in the church but were referred to a general council of the entire body of believers, made up of appointed delegates from the various local churches, with the apostles and elders in positions of leading responsibility. Thus the efforts of Satan to attack the church in isolated places, were met by concerted action on the part of all, and the plans of the enemy to disrupt and destroy were thwarted." — The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 95, 96.

"The Bible specially teaches us to beware of lightly bringing accusations against those whom God has called to act as His ambassadors. The apostle Peter, describing a class who are abandoned sinners, says, 'Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.' And Paul, in his instruction for those who are placed over the church, says, 'Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.' He who has placed upon men the heavy responsibility of leaders and teachers of His people, will hold the people accountable for the manner in which they treat His servants. We are to honor those whom God has honored." — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 386.