The
Masterpiece 85
The Smitten Word Crucified
Pastor Brian Kocourek
THE MASTERPIECE 159
Now, closing in a few minutes. I want you to notice real close of something
that just happened. Malachi 4 is to bring back, back to the original. She is smitten from the church, from the
church body, smitten with her Master for the same purpose (She's the Word.), the same as Joseph
was smitten from his brethren, because he was the Word. And Jesus was smitten
from His brethren, because He was the Word. The church is smitten,
the Bride is smitten from the church,
because She is the Word. There's your stages
again: one, two, three. See? Just exactly.
Notice
brother Branham is letting us know that if we are the word made manifest even
as Jesus was the Word made manifest, then the same destiny that he came to is
awaiting you and I as well. And that is a two forld destiny which consists of
1)
acceptance by God and
2)
Rejection by the world.
Now,
the acceptance by God wil result in our glorification.
Now, remember the word glory or glorify means the opinion, assessment and
judgment. And since w eare talking about God doing the glorifying, we are talking
about his Opinion, His assessment or the value system he has
, and the judgments by which hhe judges will become in you and your
judgments and your values will be God’s values, because You will have His mind
in you when he comes to be Glorified in His Saints. That’s 2 Thessalonians 1:10
But
the world will hate you even as it hated Christ, and that is what we are
talking about this morning because that is the text we read from Brother
Branham’s sermon this morning. And in Jesus prayer to the Father he said in John
So you see, it is the Word
that they hate and thus they reject. Jesus was not despised and rejected a man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief until after God entered Him at His Baptism
in the River Jordan. Up to that point all we know is that people were amazed by
his ability to talk the Word with even the best teachers in
And there are two other things which I would like to
bring out here.
1) The people fail to recognize the manifested Word
for their hour.
2) As a result, they crucify to themselves the Lord
afresh.
1) They fail to recognize the Manifested Word for their hour.
A)
Because they are always looking forwards, and backwards.
B)
Because God never fulfills His word in the way they think it should be.
C) Because they are not ordained to understand what
it is and what it is all about.
2) Therefore they crucify the Word of God Afresh and
put it to an open shame.
Now,
we heard Jesus in his prayer to the
Father tell us that we would be hated after He gave us God’s Word, because He
was hated after receiving God’s Word. And the people that hated Him the most
were not the sinner, but the most religious people of that day in which he
lived. I’m talking specifically about the Pharisees who were the most advanced
and dedicated Jews of His time. And today they would have to be Message
believers, because there are no group in Christianity that even come close to
living the Life like we find in the Message people and amongst the Holiness
people.
And
what was Jesus rebuke to the Pharisees? He said, you guys are always talking
about what God did in the past and what God is going to do, and yet when God
comes and does it you are the first to reject it. Let’s just turn to the
scriptures for a moment, and let’s read for ourselves what he is referring to
here in this statement.
In
MATTHEW 23:29 we
find the scene is Jesus talking to the Scribes and Pharisees. These are the
best of the best when it came to knowing the Old Testament Scriptures. These
were the crème de le crème. The scholars and most devoted men, and yet look at
the rebuke Jesus gives them. Notice He says, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,(now this word
woe is an exclamation of grief, it is a word that is used to express sorrow or
dismay, in other words, He’s saying “what a pity, or “of what a pitiful bunch
you guys are” then he calls them…) hypocrites! (because a hypocrite is someone who
knows better but will not do because of some personal gain that can be made by
not doing, or acknowledging the Truth.. The dictionary defines hypocrisy as The
practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or
possess; falseness.) And then Jesus tells them why they are Hypocrites.
He says, because ye build the tombs of the prophets,
and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, 30 And say, (Now this is the key to why he is calling them
hypocrites, He says it is what you say…There is nothing wrong with building the
tombs of the prophets, but to do so and say…) If we had been in the days of our fathers, we
would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto
yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 32
Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation
of vipers, (and
notice, not just you lineage of serpents, but you lineage of vipers. That’s
deadly serpents whose venom kills.) how can ye escape the damnation of hell?(How can
you? You can’t, because it was made for this kind of people, religious, yet
dead wrong, and with words will kill the influence of the Truth.)
34 ¶ Wherefore, behold, I send
unto you prophets,(Notice I send you,
this is in the future, I will send to you Prophets… A prophet is a revealer of
the Word.) and wise men,(These are
teachers, and not just someone who claims to be a teacher, but there is a
special trait about these men, they are thoughtful,
and sagacious which means they show
a keen sense of discernment and possess sound judgment,
farsightedness and are discreet (implying a cautious
character.)
and scribes: (Men, with a
gift to write) and
[some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge
in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from city to city: 35 That upon you
may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of
righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
between the temple and the altar. 36 Verily I say unto you, All these things
shall come upon this generation. 37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth
her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not! 38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 39 For
I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed [is]
he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Now
the killing does not only mean in a physical way. I have a letter from brother
Branham at home that was written to my father in law, and in it brother Branham
said there are more ways to kill a man than with a gun or a knife. He said you
can kill a man’s influence and you might as well have shot him with a bullet.
From
Testimony of a
True Witness brother Branham said, You can kill a man more ways than just
sticking him with a knife; speak against his character, many ways you can do
it.
Hebrews Chapter 7part 2 pp
55, 57-0922 And
you people with these saw-blade tempers, that's always spouting off in the
mouth at somebody, can't put up, and things like that. Be careful. You're
guilty if you speak a word against your brother that's not right, not just. Go
around and tear down... You don't have to stick a knife in a man's back to kill
him; you can break his character and kill him, kill his influence. Speak
against your pastor here, say something bad about him, you just might as well have
shot him; told something that wasn't right about him, well, it'll kill his
influence with the people and things like that, and you're guilty of it.
You
see, God promised to send us men, Prophets,
Teachers, Scribes and they would crucify the Word afresh by killing their
influence, maligning their character, and all sorts of things like that. Yes,
because the Word in this Hour is the Manifested Word. And Brother Branham said
the Word would be in the Bride and she would have the Mind to know what to do
with the Word. So to crucify the Word you will have to crucify those who are
manifesting it and teaching the right understanding of it in this hour.
MATTHEW 5:11
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say
all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great [is] your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they
the prophets which were before you.
HARVEST TIME 64-1212
320 You
know, Jesus said, "It'll come to pass that they'll even kill you, thinking
they're doing God a service." Wait till this new book of mine comes out.
They shot at some people the other night, for saying that it was wrong to unite
the Roman Catholic church with the Protestant. Three shots went through a
building of a friend of mine, just barely missed them. Wait till this book gets
in circulation. Don't think they are sinning; they think they're doing the
right thing. They think they're doing that for a cause for God, not knowing it.
The Jews killed Jesus, thinking they
were doing the right thing, because their church doctrine said He was wrong.
Oh, said for them He... They crucified the very Bread that they were supposed
to live by.
You
see it’s always the DOCTRINE that declares the difference and separates between
the two.
LUKE 11:47
Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers
killed them. 48 Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers:
for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. 49 Therefore also
said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of
them they shall slay and persecute: 50 That the blood of all the prophets,
which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this
generation; 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which
perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be
required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away
the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering
in ye hindered. 53 And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the
Pharisees began to urge [him] vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many
things: 54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his
mouth, that they might accuse him.
Souls in Prison Now 63-1110M
39-3 He predicted He would send them
prophets with the Word of the Lord, and what would they do? The same thing
their fathers did because that's what you are. See? Spirits
don't die. Men that's possessed of them die, but spirits don't die. He said,
"You're the children; you're the ones." Just notice how these things
are. 39-4How that St. Paul stood there
(You believe he was a prophet?) and condemned women to bob their hair,
condemned their organizations, announced that every man that wasn't baptized in
the Name of Jesus Christ must come and be baptized over again. That's right. And today they compromise and sweeten it
around. They don't know no different though. It's pitiful. If the hour is over... I might say this: (See?) They were blind, predestinated to be blind.
God, be merciful. They couldn't see it.
Jesus said, "You're blind. You blind scribes and Pharisees, you
hypocrites. When you read the same Word that all of them has read, and here you
come and condemn Me, and I'm exactly
what the Word said that it would be in this day. I was to be the Messenger of
this day. I'm the Messiah," He said in so many words; "I'm the
Messiah, and have I failed to prove it? If I haven't done what was written of
Me, then condemn Me. And you blind Pharisees, lead your people right off into a
thing like that and send the whole bunch..." Said, "Well, the blind
leads the blind." 40-2 You said, "Oh, if we would've lived back in
the time of St. Paul, yeah, I'd have took sides with St. Paul." You hypocrites, why don't you take the side
with his doctrine? You'd have done the same thing then you done now,
for you're the children of your fathers, your organizational fathers,
Pharisees, Sadducees, and self-righteous... That's--that's it. I tell you in
that hour that we live; I wonder if this could be the Third Pull. Just a minute
now. Jesus said, "This kind receives greater damnation." See?
Oh,
how I love what he just said, notice…he said you claim that if you had live in
the days of Paul you would have sided with him, then he said, ou are
hypocrites, because if you would have sided with him back then you would be
siding with him on his doctrine now. And so there we have it. If you have not the
right doctrine, it shows that you have not the right spirit.
Now,
I know that men will quote brother Branham from his message GODHEAD EXPLAINED
61-0425B 15-1 and they will say, brother Branham said, I would rather have the right spirit and the wrong doctrine
than have the right doctrine and have a wrong spirit, but that is not what he said. Brother Branham did
not say you could have a wrong spirit and have the right doctrine. He was
talking about the condition of your heart. He said, I would rather be wrong in my doctrine and
right in my heart, than to be right in my doctrine and wrong in my heart."
See? I said, "After all, it's your
heart's condition."
Therefore,
if the heart is right it will not turn down the right doctrine. How can your
heart be right and fight the doctrine of Christ? And the Apostle John said in 2 John 1:9 if you do not have
the right doctrine of Christ you don’t even have God. So how can you
have a right spirit which is God’s Spirit, and have the wrong doctrine. Jesus
said in Matthew
7 a
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit and a Vindicated Prophet of
God said that the fruit is the teaching of the season. So how can you have the right spirit and have the
wrong doctrine? You can’t. But brother Branham was not speaking of the spirit,
he was speaking of the heart. He was talking about a hardened heart, versus a
soft and supple heart. If you have a right heart with God you will receive the
doctrine of God. That is what Malachi 4 is all about, returning the heart back
to the Doctrine of the Apostles.
SIR WE WOULD SEE JESUS 63-1112 220 Now, we know that He is the same. Now, if
we come tonight, we find out if... Jesus cannot fail, because He was God. He is
the Word. The Word and Christ is the same. Then if the Word promises (the Word)
that this is to happen in the last days, the Spirit of Elijah is even to return
in the last day (That's right.) upon the peoples, and He's to turn the hearts of the children back to the fathers, the
doctrine, the principles of the Bible.
It’s
always been the doctrine. That’s what the message is, it is the doctrine, the
teaching. The word doctrine means teaching, and that is what they reject, and
that is the reason they crucify the Word.
It’s
not the part of the Word that says, bless and curse not. It’s not the part of
the Word which deals with relationships. It not the Thou Shalt’s or Thou Shalt
nots. It’s not the part of the Word that speaks of forgiveness and love, and
the sermon on the mount and those things. It’s
the Doctrine they kill and try to destroy.
RECOGNIZING YOUR DAY 64-0726M 140 Down
in your heart you feel the Holy Spirit dropping tears. "Jerusalem, oh,
Jerusalem, how oft would I have hovered you. But what did you do? You killed
the prophets that I sent to you. You murdered them." And the Messages has been sent to the church
today has been murdered by their denominational dogmas. The Scripture has
been murdered by their dogmas..
WAY OF A True Prophet
62-0513M 29-4 another one with him, stood at a certain place
not long ago, said, "Brother
Branham is a prophet; he can discern things and things like"; but said,
"now, don't listen to his
doctrine, 'cause he's not right."
Now,
how much sense does that make when the word of the Lord comes to the Prophet.
Yes they call him a prophet but deny what he taught. And they are still doing
that right in this message. Claiming to be following the prophet and denying
his teaching.
REV CHAP 4 PT 3 THRONE
MERCY 61-0108 245 Stephen stood there, said, "I know
what I'm talking about." Said, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in
heart and ears; you always resist--resist the Holy Ghost. Like your fathers
did, so do you." Said, "Which
one of your fathers hasn't killed the prophets and then build their tombs to
them?" You denominations, which one
of you hasn't done the same thing? See? Build big white-walled castles, and
morgues, and things around here, and then talk about God. You're the very one
that put Him in the morgue; you're the very one put Him in the tomb. That's the
very thing that put Him in the tomb back there, was a big white-castled church,
the denominations, Pharisees and Sadducees that put Him in there, and then try
to build a memorial to it.
ACTS 7:51 ¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost:
as your fathers [did], so [do] ye.(and
how do they resist the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost is Christ, and the word
Christ means Anointer, Anointed, or Anointing. So the Doctrine of Christ is the
doctrine of the Anointer with the anointing. And how do they resist Him? They
come against the Doctrine of Christ! Which is the Doctrine of the Anointer,
Anointing His Anointed.) 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?
and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of
whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law
by the disposition of angels, and have not kept [it]. 54 ¶ When they heard these things, they were cut
to the heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth. 55 But he, being full
of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God,
and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the
heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57 Then
they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with
one accord, 58 And cast [him] out of
the city, and stoned [him]:
And
because Stephen told it like it really is, they killed him too.
MATTHEW 7:15 ¶
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree
cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their
fruits ye shall know them.
And
from brother Branham’s sermon, Anointed Ones at
the end-Tine pp 42 Notice. But it's what they produce that tells you the
difference. "By their fruit," Jesus said, "you shall know
them." Man does not gather grapes off of a thistle even though the thistle
be right in the grapevine. That could be possible, but the fruit will tell it. What is the fruit? The Word fruit for
the season; that's what it is, their
teaching. The teaching of what? The teaching of the season, what time it
is--man's doctrine, denominational doctrine, but--or God's Word for the season.
ACTS 13:40
Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the
prophets; 41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and
perish: for I work a work in your days,
a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
(God said He would come and do a work
in our day, but He said the people won’t believe it, although He will send a
man to declare it to them.) 42 ¶ And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the
Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious
proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to
continue in the grace of God. 44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole
city together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake
against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. (Notice that envy and jealousy was their
motive. They sazw Paul’s ministry and the effect it was having on the people
and they were jealous. Oh, if we don’t have that very same thing today.) 46 Then Paul and
Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should
first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so
hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the
Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. 48
And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the
Lord: and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed. 49 And the
word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. 50 But the Jews
stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and
raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their
coasts.
Just
the same as today. They see the effect God’s complete Word is having upon the
ministry throughout the world and they attack it with a vengeance.
EVENING MESSENGER
63-0116 155 All these things we see
happening then, and the nation... Science says it's--four or five years ago,
"It's three minutes till midnight." Israel's in her homeland. The
church is in the Laodicea. Oh, my. What are we looking for? What's the matter?
We're looking for the evening Light. Oh, I wonder, if It would come, if we'd recognize It? Or would It skip over the top of our heads like it has back in other
ages? They never know it till it's done too far gone. You remember, those religious people was the one who
killed the prophets that was sent to them. Jesus said so. He said,
"You hypocrites," said, "you garnish the tombs of the prophets,
and your fathers put them in there and then build their tomb."
158
Look at the Roman Catholic church, garnished the tomb of Saint Patrick,
garnishing the tomb of Joan of Arc. They killed that woman, and burnt her as a
witch, because she was spiritual, because she seen visions. They burnt her at
the stake, as a witch. Two hundred years later they dug up the priests' body
and threw them in the river to do penance, knowing that she was a servant of
Christ. But in the day they didn't know who she was, while the church was
passing through. And It'll go right over the top of people and they'll never
recognize It. Jesus, they didn't know He was the Son of God till He was dead
and buried and rose again. Didn't Peter indict them on the day of Pentecost?
"You men with wicked hands have
taken the Prince of Life, and slayed Him."
And
how do they crucify the Word afresh? They make excuses to reject it. IS YOUR LIFE WORTHY
63-0630E 38 They made excuses in the days of Moses. They made excuses in the days
of Elijah. They made excuses in the days of Christ, and they make excuses today. Now,
Him speaking directly to Israel, the ones that was called to the feast, that I
would also apply today to men, the
church, who has been bidden to come to the feast and won't do it, the spiritual
feast of the Lord... And they won't do it; they don't want to do it. They've
got other things to do. They find
excuses. Now, if Israel two thousand years ago would
accepted the invitation that they were given, they wouldn't be as they are
today. Two thousand years ago Israel turned down the invitation to come to the
wedding supper. And they turned it down and went into judgment. But as Jesus
said, they stoned and killed the prophets that was sent to them by making
excuses.
41Now, the excuses they made in each day...
We find in the days of Jesus that He
didn't affiliate with any of them. They said, "When did this man get
this learning? What school is he from? Is not this the carpenter's son? Isn't
his mother called Mary? Isn't his brothers Jonas and James, so forth? And isn't
his sisters with us? Then where did this
man get this authority to do this?" See? In other words, He didn't affiliate with them. So they said,
"He's Beelzebub; he's a Samaritan. He's got a devil, and he's mad.
He's a man that's got a evil spirit on
the line of religion and has drove him crazy. And that's what, he's out there
like a wild man. Don't pay any attention
to him." And we know what happened to Israel. And they screamed out.
They was so sure that that Man was wrong until on... When they condemned Him,
He said... "Let His Blood be upon us and upon our children," and it's
been there ever since.
42
Jesus was trying to tell them that their
excuses was what killed the prophets and what killed the righteous that come.
They accepted their creeds that man had
given them instead of taking the Word of God, and by doing so, had made the
Word of God of no effect. Now, you've either got to say in this, that this
is God's will and God's desire, or either something else that you can crop up
that's better than what this is. Now, you have to take one or the other. You
can't serve God and mammon. And you've got to say, "This is the
Truth," or, "That's part of the Truth," or, "It isn't all
the Truth," or, "It isn't put together right," or "It isn't
interpreted right," And the Bible said that the Word of God is no private
interpretation. No one else is supposed to put an interpretation to It; It's
written just the way God wants It interpreted. Just what It says, that--that's
what It's supposed to be. Just take It the way it's said, way It's wrote down
here. Now, they accept their creeds. They make God's promises of no effect to
them. They bypass that, just skip away from it.
Now,
that is powerful words. Brother Branham is telling us that what killed Jesus is
all the excuses they made in order to keep their own doctrine and reject His.
And I tell you, they are crucifying the Word afresh still by rejecting the
doctrine of the Message, which is the Doctrine of Christ, and keeping their old
Oneness doctrine.
SOULS IN PRISON NOW 63-1110M
38-3 Now, watch here. Matthew 23 and begin at
the 27th verse: Woe unto you, scribes...
(Now, remember this is holy men He's talking to.)... Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres... (that's dead
people, see?)... whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but
are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. (Hypocrisies and
envies and strife on the inside of them; outside, "I'm Dr. so and
so." See?) Even so ye also outwardly
appear righteous unto men,... (Look at the Ecumenical Council and the
Pentecostals setting there.)... but within you're full of hypocrisy and
iniquity. (What is iniquity? Something you actually know is right and you won't
do it. Jesus... Now, watch what generation He puts this on then.) Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the tombs of the
prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous. (See? All of the
prophets...) And say, If we had been in
them days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the
blood of the prophets. ("We
would've believed the Word of the Lord if we'd lived back there."
Watch.) Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill
ye up then the measure of your fathers. (That's
just what's taking place. Now, watch what He says here.) Ye
serpents, and... generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of
hell? (How can you do it?) Now, he's talking to ministers (See? That's right),
holy men. How can you stand and know the Bible predicts and tells them people
not to do that, and you can stand and compromise for a few lousy stinking
dollars? Or some popularity and somebody pat you on the back and call you a
"Doctor." How can you say you love those people? I'm preaching on
tapes too...?... See? How can you--how can you say you love those people and
let a thing like that take place? You Pharisees, you blind, you serpents, you
generation of vipers, how are you going to escape the damnation of hell when
you...? How can a man today that knows that these things are wrong, and stand there
to hold his congregation, to make his denomination grow and fail to tell women
and men? How are you going to escape the wrath of hell when it was made for
you? How are you going to do it? See? Listen, listen here. What is it going to
be? Therefore,... (34th verse)... behold, I will send unto you prophets,...
("I will" in the future. There's your Pharisees coming back again.
See?)... wise men,... scribes: and some of them you shall kill and crucify; and
some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city
to city:
PERGAMEAN CHURCH AGE 60-1207 230 That's
the same thing that taken place here, the Nicene Council; Nicolaitanes, formal Christianity. And the Holy
Spirit comes back and said, "You've
got the doctrine of Balaam among you. (See?) And you... I hate them deeds
of the Nicolaitanes, them doctrines that
they got, because it's the doctrine
of Balaam who taught the children of Israel to stumble." How did he do
it?
You
know that is a good question. How did his doctrine affect the people? It got
them to all come together, that’s BALAAMISM! They got believers to gather
together with unbelievers, that’s BALAAMISM!
He got Believers to mix with make-believers, that’s BALAAMISM. And God
hated that sin. God hates BALAAMISM! And what happened? The young men of Israel
got together with the young girls of Moab, BALAAMISM! Marry a girl or boy
outside This message, THAT”S BALAAMISM! Let me read several scriptures to you
that speak of this doctrine of BALAAM.
II PETER 2:12
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil
of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own
corruption; 13 And shall receive the
reward of unrighteousness, [as] they that count it pleasure to riot in the day
time. Spots [they are] and blemishes, sporting
themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having
eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: (The
word beguiling here is a Greek word which means to lure with bait. Put
something out there to attract unstable souls. That’s your big churches full of
unstable souls. Lure in by preaching psychology, and focusing on the family
instead of the Word for the Hour. He said the people are being baited. And why
do they do that? Peter gives us the answer when he says they are covetous.
Money, money , money…)
an heart they have exercised
with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam
[the son] of Bosor, who loved the wages
of un-right-wise-ness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass
speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are
carried with a tempest;(as Jude says, Clouds without water, Clouds without
rain, No doctrine.) to whom the mist of darkness is reserved
for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling [words] of vanity, they allure
through the lusts of the flesh, [through much] wantonness, those that were
clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty,
they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the
pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse
with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have
known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from
the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them
according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and
the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
JUDE 1:10 But
these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know
naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe
unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the
error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These
are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding
themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about of
winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by
the roots; 13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering
stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
REVELATION 2:12
¶ And to the angel of the church in
Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two
edges; 13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan's seat
[is]: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in
those days wherein Antipas [was] my faithful martyr, who was slain among you,
where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou
hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a
stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto
idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the
doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
THYATIREAN CHURCH AGE 60-1208 50 Nicolaitanism
and paganism wedded together and formed and gave birth to the first church,
organized church. And God said that the deeds
of the Nicolaitanes (which was in the Ephesians), over in the little church of
Pergamos became a doctrine, and said it was a doctrine of Balaam. And Balaam
was the one who taught Israel to go over there and commit fornications, or they
committed fornications with Moab, which was a lukewarm church member, or
the common church, the great organization. And we find out that God said that
Nicolaitane doctrine which put all the power up in a church and set it aside
and make it an organization, He said, "You hate it, and I hate it
too." He just keeps saying, "Hate it. Hate it. Hate it." And
it's come into full swing here. See how the church squeezed out, right up here
till just a little bitty thing, and that's the church we're on now.
And
today that doctrine of Balaam opposes the doctrine of Christ because the
doctrine of Christ establishes a true relationship between God and His Seed,
but the doctrine of Balaam opens it’s doors to every seed so long as they pay
their tithing. Notice once again, we see it is the doctrine, always the
doctrine. The Doctrine of Christ which hates organization, or the doctrine of
Balaam which loves organization. And they hate God’s Doctrine, and God hates
theirs. Which one will you stand with this morning? That is the real Question
we must ask ourselves. Let’s just bow our heads and our hearts in prayer as we
Go to the Author and finisher of our Faith and answer that question.