his publications. The major themes of The Rod message published by Victor Houteff are listed below with brief explanations: A Call for Reformation: Davidians believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has become lax in its standards, practices, and devotion to God and that the Church's institutions have changed from the original founder's pattern of operation and purpose. The 144,000: Revelation Chapter 7: The fundamental purpose of the Shepherd's Rod message is to identify the corporate identity of the 144,000 of Revelation 7. This topic has been a much-discussed subject in Adventism for many years. Houteff believed that he received revelations that unlocked the mystery. First, he asserted that Davidians were the same company as the "marked ones" found in Ezekiel 9 (see the next section). Next, Houteff described Davidians as Christian Jews that had lost their racial identity over the centuries. Finally, he described Davidians as those who would preach to all nations and gather an innumerable company of people who would accept Davidians' teachings. Regarding this final point, Houteff stated that the Seventh-day Adventist Church had taught nearly identical views just three years prior to the publication of his first book, The Shepherd's Rod, and Houteff felt that it should not have been a point of contention. Ezekiel 9: Though it is largely attributed to his views, Houteff was not the first writer connected with Adventism to fuse Ezekiel 9 with Revelation 7. Seventh-day Adventist pioneer James White was the first to make the link in the Seventh-day Adventist Church's first publication. His wife, church prophetess Ellen G. White, made the connection later in more detail. Houteff relied heavily on the link from James White, but is unique in describing the event in detail as the beginning of the "investigative judgment for the living" (see the next section). Houteff is also unique in describing it as the final purification of the church and placing its fulfillment just prior to the gathering of the innumerable company.Houteff maintained that the "slaying" mentioned in the text was a literal, future event performed by angels. A statement published by the Ellen G. White Estate twenty-five years after Houteff's death appears to substantiate this assertion. He is also sometimes credited with teaching that Davidians will perform the slaying depicted; however, Houteff's writings do not reflect such teachings and contain a direct denial of this claim, dismissing such notion as "absurd." The Investigative Judgment for