In 1918, Victor T. Houteff, a Bulgarian immigrant, left the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and accepted Seventh-day Adventist teaching. As he continued study of scripture, he began to criticize the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for compromising with worldly standards of behavior. Houteff wrote The Shepherd’s Rod, a series of religious tracts, to call for church reform. Like all Adventists, he focused primarily on the imminent return of Christ, teaching that an elect group of 144,000 followers would establish a reformed church, and that the formation of this pure church was a prerequisite for Christ’s return to earth. The Davidians, the offshoot group established by Houteff in 1929, came to also be known as The Shepherd’s Rod or The Rod. A symbol that came to be associated with the movement was a clock with its hands at the eleventh hour, indicating that the end of time was quickly approaching. ~ Source: Courtesy of the Texas Collection at Baylor University. The Shepherd’s Rod, Victor T. Houteff, 1932. [Waco] Branch Davidians, Joe Robert, Series III – Literary Productions, Collection #3205, Box #4, Folder #1. [Vertical File]. ~ Date: 1932