Stewardship #7

From Eternity to Eternity

April 26, 1997

 

            Heavenly Father, we want to thank You again for the privilege of coming into this house that You have given us, Lord, as our home office, or base, of worship. And we invite You here that we might be in Your presence and, also, that You might teach us Your Word more accurately and within greater depth. And may It penetrate every cell of our being, especially deep down into the soul, into the mind, Lord, into the spirit, so that we might be truly sanctified in our soul and in our spirit, in our hearts and minds, and even in our bodies as vessels of the Holy Ghost, temple, sons of God.

            So Father we just commend ourselves to You in our study and, praying for Your help and knowing if You give us help then all is well. And we believe even as John said, “If we ask anything concerning Your Will, You hear us. And, if we know You hear us, we know we have the petition we desired of You.” So Lord, we know we have the desire of our hearts answer tonight. That You will show us clearly Your way and an understanding, in a way, Lord, that will penetrate in the darkest recesses, if we have any recesses of darkness within our lives, bringing us into real great and beautiful light as we serve and worship You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

            You may be seated.

 

1.         Now into the subject of “Stewardship”, we’re going to be, actually, not digressing, (It’s still a part of our study.) but we’re going to be looking at what I might term as “from eternity to eternity.” And, of course, we’re looking at the fact in the beginning, when God was Holy Spirit by Himself, all alone, He was, as you could say, “All and in all,” on the grounds, of course, of the potentiality that, if anything were to come forth, it would have to come forth from God and by God. And, then, at the end time, of course, we have the omega where God becomes “All and in all.”

            And, of course, that “All and in all,” would be the fruition and complete harvest of the seed that lay within God Himself, because God is definitely a Sower and a Reaper. Remember, in the parables we found that out. It said, “You reap where you don’t even sow.” In other words God would be exacting a judgment. So there’s nothing that’s really away from God and apart from God. God is very tremendously and marvelously sovereign.

2.         So as we think, then, “from eternity to eternity,” there is a time within that. And that time, of course, goes way back to the place, which is pre-Ps 2:7. And we are all familiar with it. It’s strange--actually not so strange--but it’s right in the book of Psalms, written by David. And, of course, you understand that David is a type of the prophet king, King Jesus. And so, it’s not strange, on the grounds, then, that we actually have this in Psalm 2, because Psalm 1 is talking, “Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.” [Ps 1:1] That’s a real, tremendous son of God. Even as John said, “A son of God cannot sin, because he’s born of God, and His seed remaineth in him.” [1 Jn 3:9]

            And then, in here, of course, we find in this Psalm 2 [ ] this tremendous generation, which is also said in the Psalms concerning Jesus, referring to Isaiah, who said, “He didn’t have an earthly seed, but he shall see his seed,” and It says, “A generation shall be given him for a seed.” And this is this tremendous generation that actually keeps coming down, down, down, as the children of God. So Ps 2:7: “I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

3.         Now, just before that was said, there was nothing but God. Now, of course, you say, “Nothing but God…”

            We don’t mean that God is inferior, or by Himself was sort of a non-entity. We don’t mean that. We just simply mean that God—period. And you have no place to go, no place to run, no place to hide, nothing to come from, nothing to think. It’s just God, right there, all alone, “All and in all.” He was everything.

4.         Now just at a certain moment comes forth this Son. And the Son, born of God, because he’s a part of God, God says, “Thou art My son, this day have I started My generations in thee.” Now I don’t like the Scripture translation that simply says, “This day have I begotten thee.” Well the point is: what did He beget him for? See? What is it all about? It’s, “This day have I started My generations in thee.” And you read your Bible and, if you can’t see generations, you’ve got worse cataracts on your eyes spiritually than I’ve got on mine physically. Because generation, generation, generation taken from Jesus, goes all the way back to Adam. [It] goes all the way back to God. Where does that come from? Comes right down from the Son. And we’ll get to that as we get into Ephesians.

            So you see here, “This day have I begun My generation.”  Now this is the start of time. Before that, there was actually no time, because God is eternal. Even though Jesus himself is eternal, he was not separate, as you and I were not separate, even from Adam way back, and even from Christ, bringing on down till our time of separation and manifestation, which Bro. Branham said that a normal birth, which is based upon predestination, election, and predestination, is a whole lot tougher to fathom and understand than just a virgin birth, where the created seed and egg was there and—no time at all—nine months, period of gestation, [a] son comes forth. That’s just as simple as A-B-C. It’s just like cloning, you can…

            Actually, do you realize that cloning is much simpler than a birth, because these people just manipulate the DNA and the egg and stuff and—whoop-de-do—they got it. The Bible distinctly says that one of the greatest mysteries of all times is how a baby is formed in the womb. So we’re looking here at in… What I’m trying to show you, in my understanding, time begins right here, when… From the All and in all, began moving down, God into manifestation as to sons, creation, every single thing else, where it’s moving now in a cycle, until you go right back, [and] everything is handed back to the Father, and He become[s] “All and in all.” And with this, I say, this great manifestation of God’s particular children.

5.         So all right, Ps 2:7 we go over here to Hebrews 1, which is one of my favorites. It’s so fabulous.

            It says here, second verse, “Hath in these last days spoken unto to us in Son, (And that’s the Son of God.) whom he hath appointed heir of all things.” Notice He appointed him heir.

            Now he just wasn’t heir of all things by virtue of being the Son of God, even though we later on find that the First-begotten is a joint heir with his Father, and he’s equal with Him. That’s what the Jews understood, when Jesus said he was the Son of God. They said, “Well, you make yourself God.” They understood the law of the birthright.

6.         But, when you’re dealing with a person who is a testator, or he’s the owner of, in this case, the Universe (which wasn’t even there at that time, just God and the Son talking), He makes a declaration. And He actually makes an appointment of this one to be His heir. And right here you can see stewardship. Can’t you? It’s simple as A-B-C. There’s an appointment. He’s given an office; he’s given substance--great substance. The Bible often tells of the Son with great substance. So here we find him with this great substance. He’s appointed heir of all things by whom he made, not the ‘worlds,’ but the ‘ages.’

7.         So right in here now, you can see where I’m coming from. “This day thou art My son, I have begotten you, you are the beginning of My generations and I have made it now so that you are heir of all things and by you also are the ages.” Well eternity is not ages; eternity is eternity. [It] doesn’t have a beginning and an end. Now, when you talk about ages, then, and these periods, you’re talking about a time, where time and eternity are actually blended together, and time is taking precedence, because all eyes are now upon this particular period of time that we see that the birth of the Son to the end time, when it’s handed all back and the Father [Who] becomes “All and in all.” Do you see what I’m driving at? Ok, so we go a little further.

8.         Now, this is not Col 1:13 where the… Well, we’ll just look at it because, you know. I’m a very poor quoter of Scripture. I thank God I can know where it is. And it says, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” So now it’s not the kingdom now at this time, he’s heir to it all, but he actually comes in to the time of kingship which, you can’t miss it, it’s going on even now because he’s on the Father’s throne, but there has to come a time when he will be king, speaking of now from David, from thy flesh, descended now, the Son of God, and he will be King, the prophet King, that David typed.

            So, It says right here now, we’ve been translated, brought over from Satan’s kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His dear Son. And also, we find over here in 16, where it says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and in earth, invisible, whether they be thrones, dominions, principalities,” [Col 1:16] and so on and so forth down the line. (I should have just read the whole thing together there, but it’s all right.)

9.         And then, also, with that we go into Eph 3:9, whatever It is. Yeah, “To make all men see the mystery of the fellowship… To make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” So, it’s what we were was not looking at the specific creation and the specific kingdom, we were simply looking at the fact that this one here, way back there, was foreordained as the Son of God to take this over. So that’s the thing we’re looking at.

            And as I said a while ago, the same quoting [ ]1 Cor 15:27-28:

(27)     For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he said, all things are put under him (now he’s talking about the son), it is manifest that he is left out that put all things under him. (So it’s somebody’s putting everything under the feet of Jesus.)

(28)     And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

            So, you see what we’re looking at here.

10.       Now it appears that Ps 2:7, “this day thou art my son,” according to what we read in Colossians here, the first chapter, verse 13, is to have this kingdom of which we’ve already spoken, delivered us into the kingdom of His dear son. Now, you know, a king, of course, is a ruler and he’s the head of the kingdom. Okay.

            Now with that we had Ephesians 3, which we read concerning the fact that he is the great Creator. Now to putting this together at the time that Ps 2:7 comes into being, “This day have I begotten thee, this day have I started my generations in thee, you are my son.” Of course, Scripture tells he’s the Only-begotten Son. He’s the Son of God in a way that no other person is the son of Almighty God. And at that time, the door was now opened for him to be the creator and all those other things.

            But at that particular time, in my estimation and understanding of Bro. Branham, he was that light that appeared. And that is all we know at that particular time. But in him and the plan of God was what we’ve already mentioned: creation, a kingdom, and all these other things, which play a part of time. See? Giving God a chance in his great drama to play the certain roles that He wants to play and bring them out the way He wants them to bring them out.

11.       [ ] Also It tells us here that this one, according to Paul the Apostle, who understood these things from God Himself, that in him the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily. Now he was that firstborn one. So now being a firstborn one, it would be necessary that he would, then, from this point on, bring forth all firstborn ones.

            Now you say, “Well, if he’s the firstborn, the others wouldn’t be firstborn on the grounds that they’re coming after him, because the firstborn means the first one that came out. The others, then, follow.”

            But you see, we’re looking beyond that, we’re looking beyond the fact that there is the truth that Jesus was not only the firstborn of Almighty God, called the Only-begotten, but he was the firstborn from the dead. And, when you’re the firstborn from the dead, he became a first fruit. And a first fruit means there’s a whole lot more just like him.

            So all of these that were coming from him would have to go through a certain process that would elevate them to the same status as Jesus, because, on the grounds, we come forth with bodies exactly identical to him. Now that remains a mystery in a sense of the word, but it’s no great mystery. Now I say these things because I look down the line from the viewpoint way back in eternity, the starting of time, trying to put them together so we can keep our thoughts in a proper order.

12.       Now remember, when Jesus said, “Lo, a body hast thou prepared for me.” When was that said? It could’ve been said… Well, if you prepared a body for me, it had to be spoken way, way before the time back in the Psalms, and certainly shown forth in the Book of Isaiah, and also other great references in the Scripture, that that was a prophetic utterance. And it was also, then, the dialogue and the conversation with the Father and the Son, as the Father shared His knowledge with the Son. And he said, “Lo, a body hast thou prepared for me.” That’s written hundreds of years before he ever had a body. So what are we looking at when we find that?

            It is now also a part of time where this one will now have a body like unto ours, because that is what you’re looking at. The body that came forth in the beginning, which was light; that is not it. The body, which came forth, that Jesus identified with and manifested through, Michael an archangel; that was not it. But you’re looking at the body that was made for the suffering of death, the identification with these sons who were in him, and he the firstborn, the firstborn from the dead, we also coming from God and born, now come forth like him. So now you have a beautiful bride just like the husband, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what we are looking at.

13.       Now after all this takes place, of course, you understand, which we’ve already told you, that it’s all going to be handed back to God with the full manifestation of what came forth with God in time and going on to eternity because there’s nothing after the Rev 22:21[1] where you see the Holy City. And Bro. Branham capped it all off by saying the Lamb is on the throne, the Bride is all around it with the attendants, the foolish virgin all out there by the millions, for all we know, billions, who knows, we don’t know, and the pillar of fire above the throne, and before they call He answers. And that’s what we find in the book of Corinthians, He becomes all and in all, because everything was subjected to Jesus and put in subjection. And that’s what’s going on right now: everything is being put in line, in subjection, so that Jesus can reign through the millennium, come back, and be at the White Throne when all these other things are taking place. So ok…

14.       Now in eternity, then, there was a spirit being. Now we left a little time lag in here, from eternity into time, and time down to the end, swinging back into eternity; and Bro. Branham said they blended again. So therefore, if they’ve blended back there, that’s alpha; and if they blend back here, it’s omega. It’s all over. Do you follow what I’m trying to get across? This is not easy, and I don’t have two or three blackboards here to kind of help, so you’ve got to kind of visualize. Okay.

            So then, back in eternity, we have eternal Spirit, who is omniscience, love, and omnipotence. And time begins with Ps 2:7. See? That’s what we’re looking at. Now looking, then, at a little resumé here: the faithful God, because here is where the faithfulness of God starts: this day have I started my generations in you; and, if I have started my generations in you, I will end them in you. And he does. There’s only those seed of Adam that God placed in Adam coming through Jesus where the Scripture says, even as all died in Adam, in identical manner, they[‘re] made alive in Christ.

            In other words it wasn’t your choice and mine. Neither at the end is it our choice. It is the predestinating God, Who is love, Who is omniscient and omnipotent. And, as Paul said, they came against him when he preached predestination, and they said, “Why, who hath resisted His will?” [Rom 9:19] “Who cares? Who cares?” When you talk about God, you don’t talk about resisting, you talk about bowing down. Satan was the guy that resisted. Anybody [that] resists is going to find themselves demortalized. I can tell you that. All right.

15.       Now at this time of the covenant making and the covenant keeping God with His Son, certain things came forth, which, like, for instance, “I have sworn thou art a priest after the order of Melchisedec.”

            “Oh, just a minute now. A priest—what in the world is a priest?”

            A priest is someone who stands before God and, accordingly, for himself and those that he represents, now representing them to God, stands before Him--between Him and them; and whatever is necessary, he is able to perform just exactly what God wants. And thereby, there is a beautiful picture of harmony and sympathy and love and everything’s going to get worked out. See? Now that’s your looking down; just that one thing.

            Then he says, “I and the children that thou gavest me.”

            Well then, now, God must have given him all of His children. See? Then, Jesus himself said, in the Book of John, “All that the Father hath given me will come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” [Jn 6:37] He said, “They’re in my Father’s hands.” And he said, “There isn’t anybody can pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” [Jn 10:29] And you know as well as I do, when you get it right down to brass tacks, that the Father’s hand was Jesus. They came out of him [and] became beings, physical from spiritual entities; we’ve talked about that too.

16.       Now they go right back again just as Jesus was in the bosom of the Father, which is the harbor, which is the love, which is the care. See? So, it is that you and I also are carried in the bosom of God. Absolutely. Harm cannot touch us—physical things, yes. We could starve; we could die; we could have our heads taken off; we could be boiled in oil; we could die with cancer. It doesn’t matter what happens. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, and the love of God is predestinating love.

            How you going to miss it? If you and I miss it, then, God missed it. Come on; let’s be honest. You think God’s got some little stupid target practice going on? Oh God have pity. It’s no way that God will ever miss. Then again, as It says, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all are made alive.” [1 Cor 15:22] See? That goes back to the Book of Isaiah, chapter 53, and other varied points of Scripture.

17.       So you can see here the first thing we’re looking at, when it comes to time, is complete stewardship of God, the faithful God. Now just a minute here now, let’s understand what ‘faithful God’ means. God cannot be faithful to God as though, “…?…, I’m God, and I’m looking at myself to keep myself God. Oh, I got to see this part is God and that part is God, the other part is God. I got to see this action is God and that action is God.” Forget it: God is God.

            So the faithful God is not being faithful to Himself, it’s what He sets forth from Himself which is the Word, “This day thou art My son, I have started My generations in you.” And He finishes those generations in him. Are we not the body of Jesus Christ and everyone put in there? You can see you cannot misunderstand these things.

            So He is the covenant keeping, He is the faithful God, and all things are going to be put under the feet of Jesus in this time element of eternity and then it’s all going to be handled back to the Father.

18.       So, we begin to make some notes here. I hope I can get at least half way through. I don’t know. Now, at the beginning of time… Number one is Ps 2:7 [and] other Scriptures such as Heb 1:2. “This day I have begotten thee. You are the beginning of My generation.” And in Philippians 1, [Bro. Vayle then reads Eph 1:3-4]

(3)       Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ:

(4)       According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.

            Now therefore, even before there was a speck of stardust, and the foundation of the world, before there was any of these things, the covenant already was true: “I begun My generations in you.” Therefore he must have contained all the generations. He had to. Well didn’t Adam as far as the human seed is concerned? What about serpent? What about dogs and cats? See? According to nature and God, nature runs in continuity, everything must go in continuity. So all right.

19.       Now the next thing we remember is creation comes on the scene. In creation, we find that according to Col 1:13, rather 16, “All things were created by him,” every single one. “For by him were created all things, no matter visible, invisible, thrones, principalities.” That’s why he said in there, by him, he created the ages. So, as Bro. Branham said, when you open the whole picture up panoramically, “It’s been Christ all the time.” See? The unveiling of him in understanding is the unveiling of God. God’s not manifesting through cherubims now. He left that a long time ago. For two thousand years now to the Gentile church, he’s been manifesting right down through the Word of the living God; and thousands of years before that he was doing it also.

20.       So now, also, we mentioned in Ephesians 3, we also have the fact that he was the creator of all these things upon earth, and nothing was made without him. And then also, in Colossians 1… say I don’t think I need that one there. In Heb 2:8, I think we’ve got one back in here. Yeah, “Thou has put all things un… all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet the all things under him.” So we see here, that by reason of creation, which God did through him and he is heir to all things, we have to realize that it’s at creation that, at this particular time following Ps 2:7, creation comes in, and we have the beginning of what we now see into full manifestation, what we know to have transpired in covenant and promise with the Son, because there’s no such thing as a plan that was not in God. There is no such thing.

21.       So all right. Creation takes place. The heavens and the earth begin to form, according to Bro. Branham, after the chaos that was seen there. He describes it, how that Jesus, the light—the Son—playing around like the Father’s throne, created the great whirling mass of the sun, universes up there; a part flew off the sun, came here, became our earth, cooled down. Then, you see the glacial ages and all the things that Bro. Branham talked about, even relating some of it to America.

            Now, at the time of creation, all creatures known as spirit beings are created. And we don’t have any problem understanding that God, through Christ Jesus, made every single thing at that time. So all right.

22.       The next thing we notice that the spirit of love, omniscience and omnipotence, has become Elohim. It become Elohim, which means the great Self-Existent One, because He is very definitely Almighty God and beside Him there was not any. He was the “All in all” and, as I say again, once all this transition is gone through this period, He becomes “All in all” again. In other words, although all this is here and everything in Divine Order from the New Jerusalem into the very eternities, there is no way that you can ever bypass God.

            And this is one thing that the Trinitarians just don’t seem to understand: that Lamb on the Throne is not God. He never was, and he never will be. He’s a god in the sense that he can be worshipped, like Bro. Branham said, “You can worship a piano.” Now, not comparing a piano to Jesus, just trying to show you a play on words. See? But he is worthy of praise and worship and adoration.

            And in the Resurrection, when they held him by the feet, he never said you can’t worship me. It isn’t as though he can’t be worshipped, and only in that sense is he God. But remember, it’s always, “Blessed be the God a Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And the term ‘God’ always precedes the term of ‘Father.’ In other words, there’s no way… You can do what you want about it but, let’s face it, the God of Adam supercedes and was over Adam. And even right today, you can see the head of the woman is man, and the head of man is Christ, and the head of Christ is God. And Jesus is the head of the church, physically and totally in the respect of what God wanted, but above him is God.

            Like you see over the Lamb on the Throne of New Jerusalem and over the Lamb the Pillar of Fire. You can’t get away from it. There is no vague and stupid terminology in the Bible. It is merely the stupidity of people who let their eyes be blinded by Satan. And that’s exactly what the Bible said, “They’re blind.” And they’re using their fingers for Braille, their senses, and they’re completely out of the picture entirely. No, they’re blind, just like what the Pharisee said to Jesus: “Are we blind?”

            He said, “If you hadn’t of said, “we see,” I’d a forgiven you. But now your sin remaineth.” In other words a blind man telling you he can see when he stepped off a curb and get hit by a car? He[’s] got a white cane or a seeing-eye dog or somebody leading him, [and] he says, “Well I’m fine, I can see.”

            You know, it shows you the terrible height of depravity.

23.       Now, next you want to realize this: in Elohim was hidden, but not revealed, even in Scripture back there at that first few chapters of Genesis, came later on down at the time of Abraham, and then later on at the time of Moses. In Elohim was hidden Jehovah. And at the times of the Son’s birth Jehovah is declared, but it wasn’t declared in the knowledge as it was declared in Revelation 13, where It tells you the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. So all right.

            Already now we have, though not revealed at that particular moment… Remember Abraham called Him Jehovah. Then God said to Moses, “By My name Jehovah was I not known.” [Ex 6:3] So in Him was the name Jehovah. And when you find Jehovah, which means ‘Jehovah-Savior’, (It was ‘Joshua’ in the Hebrew and ‘Jesus’ in the Greek.) is ‘Jehovah-Savior’. So Jehovah has several complex titles in there, and one of them is the healer, is the savior. He’s peace and these others--our sanctification and those various ones.

            So now He has to be known at that time as Jehovah, because redemption is already outlined and there hasn’t been one single person who has fallen. Now not even Satan; he’s a spirit being. He’s a Cherubim. So now, at the time before Gen 1:2,[2] where we’re talking about the earthly creation—we have in heaven a government or a theocracy where God is ruling. That’s why Jesus said, Pray that the kingdom of God come to earth, and thy will would be done in earth as it is in heaven. And remember, after Satan was kicked out and only the good angels and the beings were there, the Will of God was done perfectly in perfect harmony.

24.       So all right. In the heavenly Government of theocracy there’s, number one: Elohim. Number two is the Son which is born of God and a part of God. Number three; there are spirit creations as a product of omniscience and omnipotence. So these creatures were made absolutely according to wisdom and not just strength. And they’re made also in the understanding of love.

            So all right now, then, at that time, we have worship instituted. And the worship is in heaven by the angelic creations that God has made.

25.       So [ ], at that particular time, then, God is manifested in and through the Seraphim and Cherubim. That’s the first ones we look at. Then, the order would appear as follows: Cherubim and Seraphim. Now the reason I believe that the Seraphim, though mentioned in Isaiah, are not inferior to, but below status of the Cherubim, is because Satan was a cherub, and he was the highest order of all outside of the Son. So therefore, in ranking with God, would be the Son of God, and in ranking would be: Lucifer, then the Seraphim, then the archangels, and then the angels.

26.       So, now we see worship is constituted as (a) the Son, (b) the created creatures--the spirit beings. Under Son, we find the Son is manifested through the archangel Michael. And we see Lucifer, on the other hand, is a cherub. And they’re leading in the heavenly worship of all the hosts at that particular time.

            Now, under the Son, and at the same time, at that particular period, it would be under the joint leadership of Michael and Lucifer. And under them at that time then, will be what Bro. Branham said, “We came just like Jesus,” or “He came just like us, except for one thing.” And that was, we cannot remember our spirit or Word bodies, which Jesus well remembered, which, according to the Book of John you see it thoroughly outlined that he did remember the glory that he had at that time. I think that’s perhaps, in John 12.

27.       So, if you go to the Book of Job 38:7, and he says, “When the morning stars sang together, (In other words, where were you?) and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Okay, the word ‘sons’ leave no doubt whatsoever. We have no problem there at all. That is, when you talk about just sons, they’re sons [ ].

            When you come to the word ‘stars’, of course, you can have a little more of a problem. But, if you go to Heb 11:12, you can find a little bit about those stars. And it says in verse 12, “Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and the sands by the seashore innumerable.” So you can’t count the actual descendants. And those descendants, of course, (And never forget.) are absolutely typed in two people that came from the loins of Abraham: one was Isaac and the other was Ishmael, though Ishmael came forth first. And he was the wrong seed. Just the same as the Garden of Eden; Eve had to stick her nose in and mess things up, so Sarah had to do the same thing. And we’ll get to ‘stewardship’ on that question a little later on.

            [ ] That’s one of my problems. I was studying so hard on that this afternoon, having made my notes up yesterday, it’s very hard for me to get my thinking together, because I’m trying to go two sermons at one time and it’s not easy, believe me. If you don’t believe it, try it sometime. Okay.

28.       Now the pre-existent sons absolutely are there. Let’s go again to 1 Corinthians 15 and find out if it is not so. And certainly it’s so, not because I’m telling you; but the fact is, it’s right here in the Bible. All right, in 1 Cor 15:41. [ ]

(41)     There is one glory of the sun, another of the moon, another the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

(42)     So also is the resurrection of the dead. Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption:

            In other words, coming from the earthly body, and we can be numbered as the sands of the sea physically, there is within each child of God the Divine Life of God Himself to be one of those stars. So you see, we are looking at the stars.

            There is also a place in one of the Old Testament books, and you’ll find there also mentioned that the children of Israel were called stars. I can’t quite place it, it could be in the Book of Exodus, I’m not sure, I could look it up for you though. It’s definitely there.

29.       Now, let’s go and look at something else now. And we’re going to find this, and this is going to be really the same thing that Bro. Branham said. When he talked about pre-existence, he also talked of angels and certain other things. In Jude 13, “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out there own shame; wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” The blackness of darkness, wandering stars.

            Let’s go to 2 Pet 2:12.

(12)     But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things they understand not, shall utterly com… perish in their own corruption;

(13)     And receive the reward of unrighteousness.

            Now, when you’re looking at all of these, you’re still looking at ‘stewardship’. You’re still looking at sons with responsibilities. You’re looking at other creation forms with responsibility. Even as God took on responsibility to His Own stewardship, Jesus the same, every single entity—bar none—has had a place in this universe, and every one responsible--every one. Stewardship is a very tough subject; it takes us all.

30.       That’s what we see back there in the [ ] days of creation, before man was put upon earth here, and the earth itself was also completely… the universe and all, started… to bring in to being… [End of side one of the first audio tape.]

            Now, next you’ll see war in the heavens because of Lucifer. And remember the word ‘Lucifer’ means ‘light,’ comes from the word ‘lux’, meaning ‘light’. He was a light holder, and he perverted the light.

            Now Michael put Satan to rout. He’s cast out of heaven. Then in Gen 1:26, God says to Jesus, “Let’s make man in our image.” And so now He has Adam and Eve in the garden. The next thing, Lucifer comes down to Eden and causes the downfall of the two sons of God, or the two children of God, the born ones of God. So now you have a split. You have the same vine; one with it’s roots in God, one with its roots in creation, both in offices, both here to worship.

31.       Now let’s begin to understand this. This is why Bro. Branham categorically said, “Communism is not a religion.” What you’re dealing with is religion. And you can’t turn anywhere without finding religion. As I said on more than one occasion, you simply don’t find atheists. You find a few idiots that claim they’re atheists.

32.       By the way, have you noticed. I think it’s in Time; there’s a little article there. They’ve got Adam and Eve there with a little fig leaves on them--little vines on them. And now they’ve found [ ] that what they thought was a little salamander discovered in Israel a long time ago, a doctor of science from Edmonton, Alberta and another person took a further look, and it wasn’t a salamander; it was a serpent with legs. And so they’re now making a little light of the Bible, “I guess it was a serpent then…”

             Oh God have pity; little legs on a stupid little serpent… That’s not it at all. God took the legs plumb off the serpent. It was a boa constrictor, he’s got remnants of hips right now. My, my. But you see, everything Bro. Branham said is being proven by science to their own folly, because they’re not paying attention to anything.

            And the same thing about that car I was telling you about, how they’re just waiting for the road for that egg-shaped car, uncontrolled, no driver, just controlled outside. I got little Becky Branham-Smith’s article the other day. And she found an article I didn’t know existed. I told you the road was being prepared, but she said the road is all but prepared, and it’s near San Diego. And in August, they’re going to have the car on it, completely controlled.

            That gives two visions left, and you don’t care two bits about the burning over of America any more than I do. And you don’t care two bits either about the fact that that woman is going to rise up, because she’s already here. By the grace of God we’re going to be out of here. So, five-five-five, six-six-six, we’re getting out (and not in one of those cars or flying saucers with the, you know, the Hale-Bopp [comet]).

33.       So, Lucifer in Eden caused the downfall of the born ones of God. So now you have the two divisions coming down, down, down, all the way. We have the Adamic race, or the seed of God, as outlined in Matthew 13, and [they] are called sheep. Then you have the serpent race, which is animal seed, as in Matthew 13.

            Now here’s the beautiful thing you’re looking at. That serpent beast, that Bro. Branham said was so close to a human being, could cross breed with the human, bring forth a hybrid that could actually reproduce itself, because it was just that close, perfectly. Hybrids usually are the end of the trail. But when you begin to consider this, that right today, you can be eating a tomato with a fish gene. (And don’t throw up please, because you didn’t even know it.) The stores are full of engineered products, and there’s nothing you and I can do about it except pray as we’ve never prayed before over our food. And, if you do taste a fishy tomato, you know where it came from. [Laughter.] Don’t blame somebody else.

            But anyway, this hybrid came forth, and he came forth as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Religious. Religious. Imitator. Make believer; yet he was a believer, because the devils also believe and tremble.

            “Thou believest in God. Forget it. The devils believe, and they tremble, which you don’t do. You want to kill me and cut my throat,” said Jesus. See?

34.       Now note, this beast, a serpent, was like Satan. As Satan was the highest order he went to the highest order of animal. Now Bro. Branham correctly said, “We’re mammalian.” But we’re not animals in the accepted sense of animals, because animals have not the power to reason and do the things we do, prepare for the future, everything. Most things they do by instinct. They can learn a few things, but they can’t write their books, communicate. They don’t have what we have. So don’t pretend for one minute that we’re animal in the sense of animal. See? We’re mammalian. We’re a high order.

            So Satan goes to the highest order, the highest form of animal, and he didn’t have a soul. He was upright, and he spoke, and he reasoned, and he could quote the Scripture. He actually handled the Word of God. And he was a gnostic. He had a further and a better revelation. And gnosticism has always been the worm in the apple, “the hair in the biscuit,” as Bro. Branham would say.

35.       Now this takes us to a comment from a brother in South Africa, a preacher, who said that Bro. Branham actually said, “Satan was one of the cherubims over the arc of the covenant on the mercy seat.” Well, I decided to check it out, and the man that I figured would know more than anybody, because he does all the tapes, (He goes over every sermon point by point; looks it all up.) is Kenny Andes. And he said, “Lee, I don’t know anything of that.”

            I talked to [ ] Brother Bailey, he studied Hebrews, the Book of Hebrews, as Bro. Branham wrote it, and he can’t find it. So I can’t go by hearsay just because one preacher said it, but I’m not saying it couldn’t have been said. So let’s see something. We go to Heb 8:4-5.

(4)       For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

(5)       Who serve unto the example and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: See, saith he, thou make all things according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount.

            So therefore, whatever Moses did in the tabernacle and the arc of the covenant with the cherubim over the mercy seat, that was already in heaven. No argument, no problem.

36.       So, let’s go to Ex 25:10-22. Oh, here we are. Okay, beginning at verse 10:

(10)     And thou shall make an arc of acacia wood: two cubits and a half… and so on…

(11)     Overlay it with gold and put staves of acacia wood overlay them with gold, and you put the staves in the rings to bear the arc, and they’re going to never be taken away from it. (Then verse ten… sixteen;)

(16)     Thou shall put into the arc the testimony which I shall give thee.

(17)     And thou shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

(18)     And thou shall make two cherubim of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

(19)     And one… and make one cherub on the one end, the other on the other, even of the mercy seat, thou shalt make two cherubims on the ends thereof.

(20)     And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high covering the mercy seat with their wings and their face look to one another toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And so on…

            Now just a minute. If Satan and Michael both led in the worship, and Michael’s not an archangel, how could he be a cherubim here? Unless he was a cherubim, and then, his descent to man, becoming a man, he was a cherub, then he went to being an archangel. He never went to an angel now, huh-uh, no. Then he came down, because thou has made a little lower than the angels. That’s the ordinary ones in there. So there could be something, a possibility, there.

37.       But let’s go to Heb 9:1-5.

(1)       For then verily the first come … ordinances divine service and a wordly sanctuary.

(2)       For there was a tabernacle made the first wherein was the candlestick, the table, the shewbread, which is called the sanctuary.

(3)       And after the second veil the tabernacle, called the holiest of all;

(4)       Which had the golden censer and the arc of the covenant over around… overlaid around with gold wherein was the golden pot that had manna (that wasn’t in heaven) and Aaron’s rod that budded (that wasn’t there either. What was there?) the tables of the covenant.

            So, I doubt very much that Satan had a thing to do with it. But let’s just stop and say, “What if he did?” Well what if he did—no problem. How zealous was he at guarding the Word? How good did he keep it? He just took the Word and all the power of God to destroy the worship in the kingdom of God. A perverter of the Word indeed.

38.       Now, as I said, if Satan were one of the cherubim, he would have had to be one before his fall. Also, the other cherub could not be Michael, as he was an archangel and, therefore, not Jesus, unless even before he was, as I said, a cherubim, and then in his descent down into the flesh he became; number one, Son of God; number two, cherub; and then, still lower, archangel; and then finally became a man.

            And we do not know this is so, but that’s just a thought as I’m saying. If something was said by Bro. Branham which I sincerely doubt anything whatsoever was, I can place it right now and tell you, if he took advantage, once more, of his office to come against God. He did the things he’s known for: “thou was perfect until I found you perverting my Word. You were the sum of it all. You were my great creation, the beauty, the glory. You had it all. You led all the angels in worship. You were right there on one side with Michael and the sons, Michael showing himself, manifesting. Your group, cherubims, I manifested through them, and the seraphim; you just threw it all away.”

39.       Hey, I want to read you something. This is not in my notes, but it just struck me. Hebrews 6.

(4)       For it’s impossible for those that were once for all enlightened, taste the heavenly gift, partake the Holy Ghost,

(5)       Taste the good Word of God, the powers of the world to come,

(6)       Fall away, pervert it, and walk off.

            Say, “How can they do it?” Son of God won’t do it. The beast, he will. The serpent race will. That’s the way they do things. See?

40.       So finally he became a man. However, let us make our point that Satan was the highest order of creation amongst spirit beings. He led in the worship of God, and, if he was indeed over the arc of the testament… And he must have, then, been a steward to keep and defend, undefiled, unperverted, in it’s pure state, the Word of God as a faithful officer in the worship. I don’t have to believe that he was over the mercy seat to do that because, I can tell you right now, it was his job in the leading of worship to be Word-perfect, and he perverted it.

            That’s why Jesus said; “In vain do you worship me having for traditions the doctrine of men or the teaching of the Word of God.” He said, “Your worship is entirely vain.” And he put them right with the serpent seed, which they really were.

41.       How many Jews are in the world today? Some say six million, some nine, say fifteen; God only knows. I don’t, and I don’t care. But, if they’re serpent seed back there, then you can understand why there’s only going to be 144,000 make it at the end time. And they are not going to be Bride; they are going to be the virgins who care for the Bride. See? Okay.

42.       But he perverted the Word. And in so doing, he certainly turned the Word to himself and his advantage and caused others to follow him and thereby, a large number of the heavenly host—I think two-thirds—fell with him; and with him as leader, he thereby gained worship, because he was acknowledged as their master in the leading of worship. So, therefore, he wouldn’t have any problem directing it to himself, because they would be looking to him. And he would be their prophet. And as their prophet, he would be God to them, because the prophet is God to the people. So way back there it started.

            Now then, the highest animal order, the serpent, takes the Word, as did Satan, and persuades Eve to change or pervert the Word; and then Adam. And now the beast is leading them. Now come on, go on back, and say, “Who led them?” If you think God was leading them, and they were going by the Word, you’re missing something. They were being led by the beast. Now at the end time, we’re getting ready for the beast and have to worship him. He’s going to lead them. See? Where did it come from?

43.       Satan is actually worshipped in the churches today, as Bro. Branham said, “For he was a leader of worship by creation and in a created office.” So how can he still not be? He was created to be a leader. A dog’s to be a dog, a horse is a horse, a pig is a pig, a cow is a cow, an elm tree is an elm tree, an oak tree is an oak tree, but …?… suddenly, we just go screwy when it comes to these other.

            Forget it. He was and he is, because all nature’s in continuity. He actually orchestrated the worship of God and he, himself, as Bro. Branham said, is worshipped in the churches, in the organizations, and don’t you forget it. You just believe it and flee for your life. So how can he still not be what he was created for? because all nature and creation runs in continuity.

44.       Now notice carefully, man is deceived, Eve, the church, into accepting Satan as revealer or prophet. See? Even headship, by leaving the Word, going to organization, Eve left her husband for the beast, who perverted the Word. The virgin church, under Paul, did the same in 2 Corinthians, and a whole false church of deceived people [ ] now have a devilish ministry which developed.

            So let’s go to 2 Corinthians. [ ] Okay, he says here; “I’ve espoused you to Christ, but the chaste virgin. But I fear you’ve been beguiled the same as Eve was.” [2 Cor 11:2-3] And then, now, way over, down below, he says here in verse 13:

(13)     For such are false apostles, (they’re apostles, but they’re false) deceitful workers, (they’re workers, but they’re deceitful) transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. (Wolves in sheep’s clothing.)

(14)     And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into what appears to be a legitimate prophet, setting the people in order in worship and taking them right away from God.

            Like foxy-loxy. When Henny-penny had the revelation, when an acorn fell on her head, the sky had fallen, she got all the [chickens] running after her, and foxy-loxy took them right in the pen and ate them all up. Other picture of Aesop’s fable, I guess, but there you see it.

(15)     Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works, deceitful workers, receive the wages of deceit, which is death.

            And the higher they pile their works of unrighteousness, the longer will be their time in the Lake of Fire.

45.       Now, our subject is still “Stewardship”. We are looking at true stewardship as that is our part. Stewards hold offices. We know what a steward is. But he [ ] he also has other names that designate position and privilege.

            One: we looked at born ones, common denomination, neither male nor female in Christ. How can people talk about a [ ] female holy ghost? Listen, if there’s neither male nor female in Jesus Christ right now, then that’s the way it was in the beginning, or there’s something wrong. Alpha’s omega; how can it be? It’s not ‘male and female’; it’s ‘life’.

            And Bro. Branham said, “That is a spirit that He created for the purpose of propagation.” And remember, in heaven, and we were there, there is no “marriage and giving in marriage.” And the giving in marriage is for one purpose, that’s for sexual intercourse and the bringing forth of children. I don’t care what you put on the act and think about it. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, if I get that far. But, that’s what it’s for. Another office gone to hell, as it were. 

            Listen, this world’s in a mess. I’m in a mess. You’re in a mess. But it’s time to repent and get out of it. I would to God I knew the things I’m teaching you. I had nobody to teach me, nobody to help me, except all error, gross error. Thank God I knew there was a prophet in the land, …?… I can understand, if you ever listen to any man, that’s the man you listen to, and he laid it on the table, brother/sister.

46.       Now they’re born ones. Also, they’re called bond slaves, which are servants. See? But they’re bond slaves, not to the flesh and to what they were born in to, because of Adam and successive generations and perversion, but what they’re now in according to the Word of God. And we go to Col 1:12-13.

(12)     Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Now that inheritance has to come through Jesus because he’s got it and he’s sharing it. He’s sharing his name with us too. Sharing the Word. Watch it, thirteen:)

(13)     Who hath delivered us form the power of darkness, and hath translated us (picked us up and put us) into the kingdom of his dear Son:

47.       Over here in Rev 2:9, “I know thy works, and thy tribulation, and poverty, (thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan.” They belong to Satan’s church, all the time claiming God. That’s the way it is tonight. I don’t care if you’re Trinitarian or Oneness, if you don’t understand the great revelation of this hour--which Bro. Branham only fully exposed in 1965 in Jeffersonville, when he preached on “Who Is This Melchisedec?” and laid it all bare under the Seventh Seal, the great revelation--you still are out there in Satan’s synagogue and his kingdom, because one word off is Satan’s kingdom.

            Now let’s get the thing flat and straight. “Narrow’s the way, straight is the gate, few there be that find it.” [Mt 7:14] [That’s right.] Why? Because they won’t take time to look.

48.       Notice how this ends. In 2 Th 2:3-4, “Let no man deceive any means: for that day shall not come, accept there be a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” Now listen, that can’t happen till the last day. He becomes the son of perdition though revealed in a minimal sense and here manifested minimal sense for centuries. We’re talking now about this last day.

            This follows Hebrews 6, the once for all revelation, where people taste the good Word of God, the power of the Holy Ghost, the world to come, and they manifest gifts of healing. They manifest great gifts; even raise the dead. They are just like Judas with offices and power. And they are anointed to those offices by the power of the Holy Ghost coming forth in energies called gifts. And they’re blaspheming the very name of God, yet using the name of Jesus even to raise the dead.

            Look at that Benny Hinn. Did you ever see such ridiculous stuff in your life? Just blow on them, snap at them; they fall over. Scores of them get healed. They forget even psychology teaches us that you can work your emotions up till you swing into faith. People want to dance around the floor and scream, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” and start shaking and getting yourself revved up, a dozen of you could get healed. Don’t tell me; I’ve been all through it. I’ve seen the masters manipulate the people.

            But Bro. Branham came on the scene and even what little he did demonstrated the angel of God came down and said, “You’ve made a circus out of it.” Let’s get to the nitty-gritty, where the Word is everything, because the Word is God, the complete delineation. Bro. Branham said, “This is God in print.” That’s good enough for me. See?

49.       Now, “Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God.” [2 Th 2:4] In other words, he’s right there being worshipped, because he opposes everything from God. Then, if he opposes everything, and they believe, and he’s got their attention, who is God to them? But it’s going to be where he really demands that he is God. Look at what the pope’s pulling off right now. It’s hard to understand isn’t it, you see?

50.       Now the next thing we realize, not only bond slaves with the headship of Christ, we’re also stewards required to be faithful. Faithful ministers, and they are ministering another’s goods. Therefore, they must be informed and endowed and trusted. Look at 1 Corinthians 4: “Let a man so account of us, as the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” [1 Cor 4:1] He’s a steward. It was committed to him, and he’s got to minister it one hundred percent as God gave it--not one word off. If an angel from heaven came down and tried to change one word, he said, “Let him be accursed.” See? Not one word could be changed.

51.       Now notice there’s something else though. We’re also called friends. I didn’t bring that to your attention, so I’ll bring it to your attention tonight. In Jn 15:13-15;

(14)     You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.

(15)     Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: (now he doesn’t call them that but they still are, don’t worry; they’ve got to worship and serve God. That’s the Bible said, that’s our great commandment, that’s the Ten Commandments.) for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

            Now, notice in here these people now are being given the revelation of Almighty God by the Holy Ghost so that they’re not just simply servants, they are servants of a highest order where the servant is now a confidant of the master.

52.       Now let’s go a little further, and we go to Jas 2:23, somewhere in there, we’ll see. “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and was called the friend of God.”

            Now, if you want to know what it is to be the friend of God, you go to Gen 18:17-18, just the same as Bro. Branham took us back to Genesis 18 when it came to what is Heb 13:8.[3] So now we go to that beautiful chapter of Gen 18:17-18, and It says:

(17)     The lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

(18)     Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

            All right, put that right in this hour here, the hour before Sodom. Did not Bro. Branham, the prophet of God, and God through him, make us all friends of God, because we know the hour in which we live and those things that obtain in this hour, so we’re not deceived? We know the secrets, even the Seven Thunders under the Seven Seals. See? Now, when you have that type of special privilege with Almighty God through the prophet, you have certainly become, marvelously, a friend of the Lord and also, you have become into the prophet class.

53.       Now, with that, we go and read Heb 3:1-6.

(1)       Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. (Now we’re saying the same things that Jesus says.)

(2)       Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also was Moses in all his house.

(3)       For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who builded the house has more honor than the house.

(4)       For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.

            Now what you’re looking at right here again, is stewardship, the stewardship of Jesus; the faithful one filling his stewardship. See? Stewardship is all through the Bible, the same as sowing and reaping. You can’t get away from it.

(5)       And Moses was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for as the testimony of those things which were spoken after;

(6)       But Christ is the Son over his own house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

            Which is what? Confessing what he said and saying what he said; we’re in conversation. That’s why at the end time in Malachi, we’re saying the very words of the prophet. He said, “Say what I say.” We’ve believe what he believed, talking what he says, and here we are, and God listening. He said, “There are my jewels. They’re the ones.” Now you can say what you want, but I’m going to tell you, the Bible all comes together.

54.       Now, in 1 Cor 3:10-11:

(10)     According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder (steward), I have laid the foundation, another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon.

(11)     For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

            There’s your stewardship again, see, right down the line all the way through.

55.       Now let’s go into something really interesting. We’re going to go now to Revelation 10. We all know the first ten verses, if we don’t there’s really something wrong with us, but I don’t think there is anything really wrong with us. And It tells you here:

(1)       The mighty messenger came down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, rainbows upon his head, face as it were the sun, feet as pillars of fire.

(2)       He had in his hand a little book open: (That’s the seals all ripped off.) and he set his right foot upon the sea, and left foot on the earth.

(3)       Cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

(4)       Seven thunders uttered their voices… I was going to write… (and so on, right down the line. And It said)

(7)       But in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

            Remember, Christ is the mystery of God revealed. So under the seals came forth all the revelation of what God was doing all through time, which started at this: “This day have I begotten thee. I started my generations in you.” God was “All in all,” preached just before; then, now here’s the Son. Now all these others come in, and then finally, its handed back, after the White Throne, the New Jerusalem, after the thousand years, Millennium, so on, whatever long it takes, “All and in all” again. See? You’re looking at that period of time. It’s winding up.

56.       Now, with that, we go to Hebrews 3. And I’m not going to take time to read this, because it’s going to take too long. But says here, beginning at Heb 3:7:

(7)       Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if you will hear his voice,

(8)       Harden not your hearts… (And they wouldn’t listen. Joshua could not take them in. [He] could not give them rest.)

(17)     But (It says) with whom was he grieved forty years? It was those that sinned, (Why? The sin of unbelief, that’s the only sin there is.) whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? (They’re just called carcasses. That’s ‘tomah’—talmine poisoning. Ours is ‘soma’. We’re going to get a glorified body.)

(18)     And to whom did he swear they should not enter into his rest, but them that believed not,

(19)     So we see they could not enter in because of unbelief.

(4:1)    Let us therefore fear, lest, the promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you seem to come short of it.

            Now that promise is the time of his presence. And everybody’s wondering, “When’s it going to be?” Well, what do you care when it’s going to be as long as you’re ready? Didn’t he say if the good man had known the hour the thief was going to come, he’d a been prepared and bonked him on the head? Who gives a rip when it comes, as long as you’re ready?

            Oh, they’re getting weary; they’re getting carried away. I worry sometime. I hear women talking: you can name every actor, you can name every movie, and I’m wondering, “My God, where do they get it?” You must be looking at picture shows you shouldn’t be looking at. Is that how to bring the families up? Carried away in these last days said Bro. Branham; getting too careless. I’m getting too careless. I should be preaching more, working harder, but I’ve… Well, in my old age, I feel tired, my heads goofy… I’ve got excuses too. But I know one thing; I haven’t got any excuses before God. Stewardship.

57.       Moses didn’t like his for a while. I’ve got to bear with these like a bunch of babies. Stewardship. Well, you know what I’m talking about. Right on down here, all the way down. “There remaineth a rest,” [Heb 4:9] and there’s a rest right today when we’ve heard the voice from heaven according to Hebrews 12. He has spoken, ready for New Jerusalem at this time.

            They said, “What is the sign of thy presence?” They didn’t even know, they said though everybody calls it the sign of thy coming—they didn’t even know about a first coming, they didn’t know he was going to die. When he died they didn’t know he’d raise from the dead. And he rose from the dead they didn’t know he was going to go away. They didn’t know what was going to happen, they knew nothing. What is the sign of it all? He said these false prophets, all these things going on, with God Himself standing there in the midst showing who is God. Thank God we had a faithful steward in Bro. Branham. Now we need some faithful preachers and a bunch of faithful people.

            Now this true vine will have a counter, false vine, the twins, up to the very end: born ones, slaves, stewards, friends, and all the enemies of Christ.

58.       Let’s go to Phil 3:15-19, and It says, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect…” We’ve come to perfection, the perfect word. Those that knew the secret, Paul said, as many as are perfect. He had brought them perfection in the first Church Age, the truly revealed Word of Almighty God, demonstrated to be the perfect Word of God by vindication. They had it.

            The rest of them were gnostics, and they said, “We’ve got the perfect word.” Oh, Paul went so far, [but] “We’re going to take you all the way.” That’s what Satan said, takes them all the way to hell; then [they] can’t get back. Yeah.

(15)     Let us therefore be perfect, be thus minded, say the same thing. If anything be otherwise minded God should reveal this unto you.

(16)     Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

(17)     Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk, so ye have us for an example.

(18)     (For many walk, of whom I’ve told you often, and now tell you weeping, they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: