Shalom #20
Look
UP!
Heavenly
Father, we count it a great privilege, as it already had been stated in Your
Presence by prayer. It’s a great privilege to be here and fellowship with You
and fellowship with each other, and we pray it shall be around the Word. Break
Your Word to us, Father, we pray, in such a way that we will leave here a
changed people and that it might be an occasion of great joy and remembrance,
and each of us growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
You
may be seated.
[Bro.
Vayle invites Bro. Peter Wong to the pulpit to address the congregation.]
1. Now,
we’re on number twenty of “Shalom.” And we especially noted last Sunday
morning, that Bro. Branham referred to ‘shalom’, God’s peace, as contingent
with, and a part of, the Seventh Seal, according to Rev 10:1-7, which he
actually identified as that ring of angels that came down and is seen in that
picture, [Bro. Vayle points to the picture of the Cloud—the Judge.] which is
thoroughly spoken of in 2 Th 1:7-10. And you’re all
familiar with those scriptures. And remember, those scriptures could have a
dual application.
Now,
specifically referring to the cloud of angels that appeared in 1963, he said, “Don’t be weary.” He was talking about
that Appearing, which is a part of the Seventh Seal—actually about two-thirds
of it. He said, “Don’t be weary,” or,
“Don’t give way to worry,” which is
based on doubts, which in turn is based on our inability to cope with the times
and know for sure we can overcome as has been indicated by vindication. He is
saying to us, “Be confident, have faith.
Jesus is here. Relax and be at peace.”
2. Now
we’re going to go back to page 25 to read, in order to come to page 26, the
first paragraph. So, Bro. Branham said, as I just quoted:
[159] Shalom! Peace! Don’t be
weary; don’t worry. Jesus is here. His great Light has come to us, and we’re
thankful for It, yes, His Word, the great mystery.
So,
what you’re looking at is Revelation 10, the great mystery, the presence of the
Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the Holy Ghost in a Pillar of Fire, and His
prophet; and the main thrust is upon the Word, which is the conduit of the Holy
Ghost. No Word, no Holy Ghost. Now you can understand that by the fact that
“the Holy Spirit moved upon the face of the deep and God said.” So therefore,
the Holy Ghost is inactive and inoperative, cannot communicate, cannot perform,
is of no impact unless it is written or spoken. Because we were in Him, then we
were written; and then, we became spoken. All right.
3. [159] Here He is today manifesting Himself, doing the
same as He did then… When? When He was here in His
flesh. Just
the same. That’s Heb 13:8, which brings
together the entire gospels to Matthew 4 and Matthew 12, where He comes back as
the Holy Spirit to do the very same works; the never changing God. Doing the same thing. As the morning star rising.
[160] We are
creatures of time. He’s God of eternity.
Now,
that statement is not just descriptive, but it is a key to the prophet’s
message in that time and eternity have such a disparity of likeness, (They are
so different.) that it is almost like handing a book to a horse and saying,
“How about reading this? It will do you good.” In other words a veterinarian
writes it and gives it to the horse! I don’t care if God did write this Book,
simply giving it to us. It’s just about the same as a veterinarian writing and
giving it to a horse. In fact it’s worse, because the horse doesn’t get
condemned because he can’t read. But there’s enough in this Book that is plain
and simple to make anybody begin to realize: “ Look, what is behind it?” What is behind it?
So,
Bro. Branham is letting us know here that there is such a difference between
time and eternity, mortality and immortality; you know, mortality now and
immortality later.
4. So, he says:
[ ] We try to press ourselves,
we try to make something different, “Oh, this has got to be done.” Remember, He
knows all about it. It’s going to happen, anyhow. Let Him do it. Just commit
yourself to Him.
Now,
at the time, that little juncture, where eternity and time blend together, or
we are about to step from time into eternity, which is mortality to
immortality, there is something that we must not attempt to do, to figure, to try,
and to work it out. This is something sovereign, as I’ve said year after year.
I don’t know whether I said it before Bro. Branham deceased, but certainly for
about twenty-three solid years, if not the full twenty-four just coming up. I
have said—either Bro. Branham said it on his tapes, private conversation, which
I doubt, or I got it just by listening—that, if God doesn’t do it, it’s not
going to be done. And the more you try to do it, the further you’re going to
miss it.
5. So,
here is something that you’ve got to come to grips with, and in coming to grips
with it, it will give us pure reconciliation to God and perfect relaxation and
perfect peace. It will pass from a partial understanding of faith to a full
assurance of faith, so that it is no longer faith; it is knowledge. It is no
longer hope; it is knowledge. For what a man has already got, why would he hope
for it; because he’s got it. The only trouble with this is the people have
failed, as they always fail, to recognize what God is doing. Do you think Eve
recognized what God was doing? The answer is no! She didn’t recognize. Now Adam
did. Now, let’s not try to downgrade women because of these statements. We are
talking about types. And in the type, the woman absolutely designates humanity,
which is brought back to God; and the man, headship of God, which brings
salvation. There is a typing here. Adam deliberately sold out. He left his
estate for his wife, the same as Jesus Christ did. Adam should not have done
it. He wasn’t in a position to do it.
6. So,
we’re looking at mankind and even sons and daughters of God, typed in Eve, who
do not necessarily have an understanding, even though it’s there in front of
them. You’re looking at something pretty subtle here. You’re looking at the
fact: if you want this perfect peace, you’ve got to know how God does things.
And, when you understand God does it by vindicating His Presence through a
prophet, the prophet being vindicated, and therefore the Word that he brings is
vindicated. And that Word being vindicated, has to be explained to you! So now,
you are at the full mercy of God! And God is rich in mercy! by grace! So, Bro.
Branham is saying, “ Look, if there’s one
thing, don’t try to figure it out.” That’s one thing he taught very, very
strong to the church members. Don’t try to put yourself in a position of a
five-fold minister!
7. Now,
listen. He said that he knows all about what? What he’s talking about! The Light! The
hour! The juncture of time! Eternity taking over time! Time blending into
eternity! Mortality, in spite of ourselves and our condition with the human
body turned to junk, because there’s nothing left in the ground. And the human
mind is delirious and full of folly, ignorance and insanity. That’s the time
and the hour in which we live. I think, if we have any indication by
vindication, that God is going to do something for us, we ought to be the
happiest people in all the world! See? Certainly. Now, don’t say this has got
to be done, that’s got to be done, because that’s wrong! God comes on the scene
and does it, just like in the days of John the Baptist.
Now
he said, “He knows all about it. It’s
going to happen anyhow; let Him do it. Just commit yourself to Him.” Now,
that was an outstanding warning in 1964. The same warning held good in 1965. It
held good in 1985. And, as the Lord tarries, it’s going to hold good in 1990!
And, if time goes on, It still is the same Word of truth, because It doesn’t
change.
8. Now,
let’s start reading then, over here, and I’m going to read two paragraphs. And
these two paragraphs are literally an end time description of the time of
Abraham in Romans 4.
[161] Look up, and shine with joy
of the Lord, to know that you’ve been privileged, the privilege being your eyes have come open, and you’ve seen
this day. Not seeing this day with your
eyes unopened! What privilege is that? That’s no privilege. The privilege is
that your eyes are open.
Trust in Him for the future. See, the years,
no matter how many years.
You’ve seen Him vindicate His Word in days past. He that vindicated His Word in
days past and made all those other things happen just exactly to the hour that
we’re living in, everything exactly, to the seventh angel’s message, that’s his own message, both shown in heaven, and on earth, and made It known three ways so there
can be no slip up, remember, He’s promised He’d come
again. Hallelujah. The Word will be vindicated,
or that Word. Now, how is a Word vindicated? By coming to pass. If everything
else is being vindicated, then the statement of His literal, physical Appearing
is on the scene.
God’s promised Word, with two thousand years of waiting, He’ll arrive on time!
Now
He was four thousand years waiting from the Garden of Eden, until He came in
human flesh, born as a babe from the virgin womb. Now He’s going to come back
and pick us up. We’ll meet Him in the air, immortal. He’ll arrive on time.
9. Now
people say, “Well, I’m going to pray; and bless God, that’s going to do it.”
Well,
bless God, it’s not going to do it! See, that’s what everybody’s got: an idea
that you can do something about it! When you can’t even pray to add one cubit
to your stature, add one more hair to your head, or anything else, how are you
trying to regulate world events? Now most of us can’t even get up in the
morning without our faces falling in our coffee cup! But suddenly we’re giants
at prayer!
Just
like that poor old fellow, Moore, that’s dead, “O God, send a prophet. O God,
God, send a prophet, Jesus send a prophet!”
And
the prophet came right in, said, “Here I
am,” sat down and had dinner, shook the man’s hand, prayed and went off.
“O
God, send a prophet!”
“O
God, send Messiah!”
So,
He came. Lopped off the head of John, crucified Jesus, and said, “O God, send a
prophet! O God, send Messiah!”
You
think people have changed? Bro. Branham said, “The man went out on the street, picked up the newspaper, came and
parked on the divan, and his wife says, ‘What’s new John’?
He said, ‘Nothing new. The same old thing;
just different people doing it’.”
And
he said, “My New Year message to you is
not the same old people doing the same old thing or new people doing the same
old thing.” He said, “This is a new
Bride where God started to form a new Bride in 1955, and they’re doing
something different.” I like
that. That’s what you call a real New Year, not flipping some page of a
calendar.
10. [ ] He’ll arrive on time! Don’t worry. He’ll be here.
Well,
just a minute, he already said He was here! What’s he talking about? The Lord
shall descend from heaven with a Shout—come right down here on earth—and we
will meet the Lord in the air. The One that came down is right here. The One
that came down is right here with His picture taken. The church can do what it
wants. But I believe the Bible, and I believe vindication. But I’m going to
tell you: the man Jesus is still up there, and He’s on the Father’s throne. The
One in Rev 5:1[1]
abdicated, leaving it in the hands of a man, the man Christ Jesus, ordained of
God, who went about anointed of the Spirit, doing good, miracles and everything
else. That same one, a man, not comatosed—living,
breathing, interceding—is on the throne right now! Where do these people get
their ideas from? I don’t know. Who’s amongst us? The same One that came down.
11. [161] He will be here. Now,
listen. As He
has vindicated His Word in every age, the church Ages show the same thing, and
the revealing of our Lord by the seventh Message, and so on. God revealed it,
manifested it, proved it. And in amongst us today…
In
other words He’s amongst us today. But He’s still going to come. What’s the
mystery? When that Spirit that’s in our midst becomes incarnate to us, we’ll
crown Him King of kings, and Lord of lords, that will be the Son of man, the
Son of David, the Son of God, the everlasting Father, the altogether Lovely,
the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley, and maybe two hundred and eighty
more titles and names; but one God. When will that happen? When we meet Him in
the air; He becomes incarnate to us. The body will come down, to meet the One
that was here in the body that came to Paul in a Pillar of Fire and said, “I’m
Jehovah-Savior. I’m Jesus.”
12. [161] He showed Himself, that’s
the Logos,
here with us, and proved and vindicated His Word,
the Rhema. So
will He!
In
other words, once it started, it will never finish, until the reality we are
looking for transcends every thing else. Everything else through the
transfiguring power of almighty God.
[162] There will be a Millennium. There will be a Millennium. The old will be young
there, in the Millennium, for ever and ever.
Sickness will fade away.
How
can sickness fade away, when you’ve got a brand new body? It isn’t even there.
So, what is sickness doing now, in spite of everything around us? It’s fading
away with the sweet Spirit of Jesus Christ coming into the meeting. That’s why
I keep admonishing you people: understand what I preach here, and get it,
because it’s the only salvation you’ve got.
Listen,
there’s a Bride somewhere. He said, “Sickness
will fade.” Do you hear what I said? How’s it going to fade when the gifts,
as it were, are put on the shelf? When you’ve finally run your course of the Swaggarts, and the Roberts’, the Pentecostals, the
neo-Pentecostals, when you’ve finally run your course! Well, I hope it’s awful
close, we’ve run our courses, and the gifts of the spirit, as it were, are put
on the shelf—the sweet Spirit of Christ coming more and more, and every sick
person healed, fading away the sickness.
13. Now
I ask you a question. Is this Message based upon vindication? Is this the
hollow sentimentality of a very nice man called William Branham, who had a
touch from God? Or, is this a vindicated prophet of Rev 10:7[2]
of whom it is said concerning the One that descends, He has a Shout, but the
Greek tells you it is not said to be the Voice of the One Who descends, and
Hebrews 12 says, “The One from heaven speaking one more time?” And, how does He
speak, but through a prophet? The vindicated Word says, “Sickness is fading.”
The vindicated Word said, Sickness is fading!” Praise God! Believe it.
14. Now
I could be like Marjo, who is a fraud, a fake, and a
sham. And you could hear his hollow repetition in getting the Pentecostals all
burning up. But I’m not going to try to enthuse you up like a Roberts and an
Allen and a Swaggart and anybody else. I’m going to
tell you the straight Word of God this morning; and, let’s see what we do with
it, without a scream, without a shout, without a raising of your eyebrow; It
said sickness will fade. How are you feeling Aaron? Throat better by now? It
faded. The back went like this, but the throat went, slowly. You got a new
spleen, Joe, for all you know? I don’t know.
Doctor
said, “No spleen trouble.” Right? And your spleen was taken out. Sickness
fades. Now I don’t know if this is the case or not!
You
say, “Well, Bro. Vayle, you’re trying to make our church that way!”
I’m
not trying to make you anything! I’m trying to get me to see and you to see
this is a vindicated prophet who said, “It’s
fading.” And I’m going to stand here and say, “God, let it fade in me, and
let it fade in you.” Don’t care about the world. I don’t like them, and they
don’t like me.
Well, you say, “Bro. Vayle, you’re supposed to
love.”
“Love
not the world nor the things of the world.” Don’t try to get me caught on the
barb the way the devil tried to catch Jesus, because I think I know my Bible a
little bit better than that. Not better than Jesus, but enough to use it as a
sword.
15. [ ] Sickness will fade away, and death will be no more.
Fading
is fading! Shadow is shadow! From the Garden of Eden, they faded until now! But
the desert will blossom as a rose! It’s happening right now. It’s got to be!
Bro. Branham died in an accident. He had the arteries of a sixteen year old. He
was plagued with a certain suffering that God let him have. The devil put it on
him, and God allowed it, and nothing you can do about it—like the apostle Paul.
But you notice that John the beloved was not plagued. He was in his nineties
when he went to sleep. He had a good time. They tried to boil him in oil; it
didn’t work. He was too tough. You can be sick, but you can be healed. Age
doesn’t have a thing to do with it. Somebody who hears this Message will
continue to get better, because he said, “Sickness
will fade!” He didn’t say it would stop; he said it would fade! And a
vindicated prophet had better know the difference between brakes that fade, and
brakes that stop, and brakes that aren’t there!
Have
you ever had fading brakes? I’m putting the reverse on at this point. Oh man,
it can sure catch a knot In your stomach and a lump in your throat, because you
think, “I’m going to hit or be hit!” But suddenly the squeaking and the
grinding—you made it; you’re lucky! All right.
16. Now,
listen. He’s talking of a build up. He’s talking of a progression through the
renewing of the mind! Now I’m just reading what he said, and I can’t help what
he said. I’ve got to believe what he said! And he said:
[ ] Death will be no more. And that at that time in the Millennium, and it’s
not fading, it’s gone. In the Millennium, they shall build houses; they will inhabit them.
They’ll plant vineyards and they will eat thereof the fruit. They will not plant and another
inhabit (like his son take it), his son will be
living by him.
Some
of you people here this morning, by the grace of God, can walk into the
Millennium entirely with your family! Now you young people sitting here that
are into puberty and what have you, you boys anxious to mess around, and you
girls anxious to mess with, you will not make it, unless you’re born again!
You’re on your own! And your temptation is no greater than my temptation, or my
wife’s temptation, or Pete’s temptation, and his wife’s temptation, or anybody
else’s temptation. You just got more opportunity! And you’re going to get
caught and go to hell with it, unless you turn to God.
Let’s
get this straight: I read all the accounts on AIDS, and they’re doubling in
I
don’t trust too much in natural medicines. Let me tell you, they might not work
for you; you could be dead before they take over.
17. A
true spiritual sexual relationship with God—bringing forth life as typed with
men and women. You see what’s happened in the natural; the same thing has
happened in the spiritual. The children born in the church today are hybrids,
products of filth and disgust, not the true life of God, because they’ve left
the Word.
[ ] His son living by him.
He’ll not plant and another eat, die off, somebody else take it; he’ll live
there. There’ll be nothing can hurt. We’ll be changed from what we are now,
into that glorious image of the Son of God which is immortal. What is he talking about? He’s talking about the
virgin born one. God will incarnate Himself in that Son. Years can never touch
Him, age can never do anything to Him, He’s the immortal Son of God. So, we
know that we’re at the end time. We’re at the junction. All these things
thoroughly identified; so it will be identified again.
What
identified? The only thing left under the Seventh Seal that hasn’t come to
pass… And this is why people that say they believe this Message say the Seventh
Seal is not opened. They are wrong. It is opened! The Appearing is under the Seventh
Seal and so is the Second Coming! The Second Coming has not taken place! But
the Appearing has.
I’ve
got one message, word by word what the prophet said. And believe me, He is
here, and He’s still coming, because the He in the first is the Holy Spirit.
The second is the virgin born Son—God manifesting Himself in Sonship at this hour, Son of man. God is yet to manifest
Himself at the Wedding Supper. And He’ll be clothed in a human body, which has
been glorified, and so will we.
18. Now,
it’s going to be a long, long study, but you’re used to it, and so am I. Hunker
down in your seats and get relaxed. So, what did Bro. Branham say? Rom
(13) For the promise, that (Abraham would) be heir (to) the world,
(That’s Millennium.) was not to Abraham, or his seed, through the law (Trying
to do something about it, pressing into it, this that and the other thing. Now
you can press in, in the right manner, but not the wrong manner. Pressing in,
in the right manner, is being determined you’re going to let God do it.) but
through the righteousness of faith.
(14) For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void,
and the promise made of none effect:
In
other words the minute you’ll try to do something about it, you’ve lost the
promise! Now think that one over. Now this is supposed to make you relax, not
get nervous. But I can tell you right now; this makes some nervous. Why? If I
gave you a million dollars, or I said to you, “I’m going to give you one
million dollars, legal tender,” and I started giving one million dollars away,
you’d say, “Hey, that guy’s vindicated. He does it.” Well, that’s what we’re
looking at—Scripture. God has given us trillions of dollars worth of manifested
promises. Showing there’s trillions by trillions waiting for us! All right.
19. It
was a free gift; everything’s a free gift. So, what do you do? You believe it!
So, if you try to do something except believe it, the promise is of none
effect.
(15) Because the law worketh wrath: (The harder you try to do it, the
more you’re going to miss it.) for where (there is) no law, there is no
transgression.
In
other words God says, “There is nothing you can do about it, so you don’t have
to try!” You follow what I said? That’s right. You don’t have to try. Works is
trying. Now you can’t possibly sin, because there’s no standard that says
you’ve sinned. Bro. Branham came and said, “Little
Bride, you didn’t even do it.” Well, that’s great! I can tell you one
thing: that which was inside of me never wanted to do it. That’s why the Blood
was so effective for my flesh, to make sure I’d come back in a resurrection.
God has sanctified the work of His hands, which was already a product and here
in the earth! That’s why He destroys them that destroy the earth!
I’m
going to tell you, there’s no reverence for God anymore. Oh, there’s a wrong
reverence amongst the Hindus. Take a little brush in case they walk on a fly or
an ant—transmigration of souls. We won’t hit that this morning, or… There’s
something about wrong doctrine that brings that out in the Bible.
20. All
right, listen.
(16) Therefore (it’s) of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end
the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law
(that’s the Jews), but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is
the father of us all,
(17) (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,)
before him whom he believed, even God, who quicken(s) the dead, and call(s)
those things which (are) not as though they were.
And
William Branham came on the scene, and he said, “We are before the White Throne right now,” and it hasn’t happened.
But it has. If you cannot accept that fact, you are not thinking properly! Now
you strive to press into that! People don’t believe this.
Why,
they say, “You know very well that’s a thousand years at least away.”
Well,
I want to tell you the same God with the wig… The same God, 2 Th 1:7-10; the same God, Revelation 1, the Judge; that same
One is here right now. And with Him is the White Throne. And I’m going to tell you
this, brother/sister: the next conscious act that you have concerning time will
be the White Throne, because White Throne deals with time, not eternity. They
blended. They are one. And so, when God came to Abraham, He was the God Who
calls things which are not as though they were, and He raises the dead; and, if
you cannot call things which are not as though they were, because it’s been
vindicated to it, you’re not accepting Bible truth.
Now,
listen! I’m not trying to tell you something false or make it hard for you. I’m
just telling you the truth! And I want to tell you something: it’s not as hard
as you think it is! All you got to do is say, “The prophet said it, that’s it!”
And I’m talking about not what you live, but what you believe! And when you
truly believe right, you and I will live more and more right!
21. I
keep harping to young people and all, growing up. They don’t really believe
what they’ve been taught at home. But, how many of them really believe? Where
is the life? I can tell you where it’s been. You’ve been too busy, except to
bring your kids up. Same as I was. That’s the trouble. Too busy making a
living. What’s a living when you’ve lost their lives? Some of you lost your
kids already. What happened? Will they come back? I don’t know! That’s up to
God. But you better watch it. You better know that you’re right and your
children are taught right. From that point on, I don’t know. I can’t tell you;
you can’t either. But you’ve applied that token.
22. (18) Who when hope
was gone hoped on in faith, (In other words, there’s nothing left to expect!
But he looked for it anyway.) that he might become the father of many nations,
(because it) was spoken (of him), So shall thy seed be.
(19) And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now
dead, when he was (a) hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s
womb:
(20) He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God;
(21) And being fully persuaded that, what (he’d) promised, he was
able to perform.
Now,
let me tell you something, brother/sister. Let’s look at the last verse:
(22) And therefore it was imputed to him for
righteousness.
Now,
listen! Abraham was 25 years in coming to the assurance of faith! And it took
the presence of God to make him come to that point. That’s right. Absolutely.
The last Church Age began in 1906. The Holy Spirit began pouring forth in signs
and wonders and evidence, (Absolutely!) coming closer and closer to the reality
of Christ in the Bride, getting ready for the prophet—the prophet to manifest
for God and, thereby, manifest for the whole Bride; because God does not
communicate publicly. He communicates individually to one person, and that
person communicates to the others. All right.
23. Back
in 1906, the last began to start—came on the scene. Now, what was it?
Twenty-seven years later, 1933, God publicly appeared at the
Now
it took Abraham twenty-five years. I don’t know there’s going to be twenty-five
years after Bro. Branham’s death, but it could be with that period of time. I’m
not going to set dates. That’s not my nature, because the dates always go
wrong. I’m trying to show you something here that full persuasion came to
Abraham in the twenty-fifth year! at the time of the Appearing! At the time of
the burning of
24. Now
William Branham is on the scene. [End of side one of the audio tape.] Now we
have Bro. Branham come on the scene. This is the Appearing time. And in this
Appearing time, Bro. Branham has told us this: He said, “Listen, this is the hour of perfect assurance! This is that hour that
God’s promise concerning His literal physical coming, and the Millennium is
here.” Now the same prophet was so imbued with his own vindication, he used
two names: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. “If God tells me you’re that voice, that Pillar of Fire, that angel
comes near me, and said, ‘You go and raise Abraham Lincoln or George Washington
from the dead’, I will go to the graveyard, and I will challenge the armies of
the earth to come and see me do it, or they can shoot me down in my failure.”
I’ll
challenge Oral Roberts, Tommy Osborne, Grant, anybody living, to just say
“‘THUS SAITH THE LORD,’ your hangnail’s better,” and let’s see it get better.
God
is sovereign. Do you know the meaning of God? Well, do you know the meaning of
God this morning, brother/sister? It means sovereign. That is, God does exactly
what He wants to do, and that God is right there. [Bro. Vayle points to the
picture of the Pillar of Fire over Bro. Branham on the wall.] For that prophet
came in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it never failed, not even once.
Now, if the devil did it, then the
25. Let’s
go back. We’re going to take sentence number one. You know, I use this just
like the Bible. He says:
[161] Look up, and shine with joy
of the Lord, or the joy of the Lord, to know that you’ve been
privileged, your eyes have come open and you’ve
seen this day.
Now
there is absolutely no doubt that the opening of the eyes is according to
Revelation 3, where It says concerning the whole church system—Bride, wise
virgin, foolish virgin, believer, make-believer, the whole gamut, everything in
cosmos—is wretched, miserable, naked, blind, and doesn’t know it. So, it’s a
spiritual condition. Absolutely. Now He says, “Come to me for the eye-salve.”
Now
I’m going to show you something here in the Book of Revelation. I’ve told you
before, but in case you forgot it, I want you to look at this. It says:
[Revelation 3]
(18) …and anoint thine eye with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.
That
sounds exactly as though you already have the eye-salve, but you haven’t been
enabled somehow to use it! That’s not true! He said, “I counsel thee to buy of
Me. To come to Me.” And the coming to Him is for the eye-salve, and it’s a
poultice of broken bread—the Word of God broken to the individual, formed into
a poultice. It’ll draw the matter out of your eyes, giving you a vision that
you’re able to see what’s before you and to know it’s of God. And, unless you
know and realize it’s of God, you are still blind, if perchance God did
manifest Himself in His Word. Now, if God did not manifest Himself in His Word,
how did that man have ‘In the name Of The Lord Jesus Christ…’? I want to know!
Tell me this morning you people sitting here. You say you believe this Message.
Do you believe in the integrity of God? Look, I am a no good weakling. Put it
down. And I admit it. I think the majority feel as I do.
26. But,
listen; when it comes to integrity, my integrity is just like yours. It’s not
perfect. But we both have enough integrity, and enough common sense, and enough
love of money that, if anybody said, “Lee Vayle is going to give every man,
woman, and child in this building ten dollars,” or it was said concerning you,
and somebody came to me and said, “Lee Vayle, give me ten dollars.”
I’d
say, “Why?”
“Because,
so-and-so said you said it.”
“Well,”
I said, “I’ve got news for you. I didn’t say it, and so therefore, I’ll not do
it!”
What
about God? What about God? He said, “Ask anything in my Name and the Father
will do it.” One day a Voice said to Bro. Branham, “What do you need?”
He said, “I need squirrels.”
“How
many?”
Said,
“I need three.”
“Well,”
He said, “you’ll get them.”
Same
man came on, and you couldn’t hide if you tried, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, nothing failed. That’s integrity!
That integrity means He is going to come in human flesh glorified. Immortalized
and glorified. If He’s been true in the vindication, He is true in this. So,
that’s
27. Now,
based on Matthew 13, blessed are your eyes because they see; but the rest do
not see. Now Bro. Branham says, “Look up.” All right. There is only one place in
Scripture that I know of that specifically says, “Look up.” That’s Luke. Luke
21. And It says here, verses 25 to 28. Oh, before that, verse 24:
(24) They shall fall by the edge of the sword (it happened), be led
away (in) captive (for) all nations (it happened):
So,
the times of the Gentiles are running out. So, okay. Now, what does it say at
that time?
(25) There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
waves roaring; (Of course, that’s political disharmony.)
(26) Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
(27) And then shall they see the Son of man coming in cloud with power
and glory.
(28) And when these things begin to come to pass…
What’s
the first thing begins to come to pass?
(17) It might be fulfilled spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
(18) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my
soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment
to the Gentiles.
He
never went to the Gentiles!
“Oh,”
they say, “Bro. Vayle, that’s when Jesus comes in the form of the Holy Spirit
and goes to the Gentile nations through us missionaries.”
Hogwash!
It doesn’t say that. It says He’s going to do it!
28. Now,
listen:
(19) He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets.
(20) A bruised reed shall he not break, smoking flax shall he not
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.
(21) And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
That’s
to the Gentiles—in the form of the Holy Spirit! Way back in the flesh He raised
His voice. He strove! He was in the streets! It’s not that way anymore. It’s
going to come different. But He’s going to come. And He came that way! [Points
to the picture of the Cloud.] And He came that way! [Points to the picture of
the Pillar of Fire.]
You
might say, “Well, I don’t believe that.”
You’re
an unbeliever then.
Now
Gene [Petry], you hear a lot of programs. You used to
ride in back and forth to work—all these guys, Dr. Dobson etc., etc. Correct me
if I’m wrong. Is there a clinic called Balmier, something, clinic? Okay. Isn’t
it true that every single time these birds go on the air, it is Jesus plus
psychiatry! You know what Peter said to the man that tried to mix up his own
religion with the Word of God for money? He said, “Thy monies perish with you.”
And I’m going to be completely vulgar like Dr. Phillips, because the word in
there is ‘to perdition’. And Phillips said the word in plain English is ‘to
hell with you and your money’. And that’s what I say about psychiatry and the
Word of God, when you put them together. It is not that there are not true
psychological principles in the Word of God, but where do you need a psychologist
or a psychiatrist to reveal the Word to you?
29. Bro.
Branham said that’s exactly what they were doing to missionaries. He said it
twenty-five years ago, and now they’re telling everybody, “Come to our clinic,
and we can help you in six to eight weeks. But on your own you can do it in two
to three years.” According to these men, I shouldn’t be up here, because I’m
not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. But where they’re playing around the
edges, I have seen the insane delivered. I have seen the dumb speak, the deaf
hear, and the blind eyes come open. I have seen cancers disappear instantly. I
have seen people’s lives changed by a sheer Word of almighty God. I have stood
and argued with the so-called psychiatrists. A psychiatrist said to my wife,
“Your husband must be a very great psychiatrist. I’d like to meet him.” And I
met him, and I guess he didn’t get much out of it. It doesn’t rub off.
The
Bible mentions the sorcerer at the end time, which is the poisoner—which
is the druggist! And they give you the pills. And all these doctors talk about
these tranquilizers. Brother/sister, there’s still something wrong with us. We
are not pressing into this truth the way we should, because Bro. Branham
guaranteed a relaxation under the Seventh Seal. And the vindicated prophet Paul
prophesied that, when He came with those angels, we could relax: no more fear,
because the Judge has come.
Well,
let’s keep reading, because we’re not finished.
30. It
says, “Look up. Look up, and shine…”
at this particular time of the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory.
Now
I want to ask you a question. And, let’s see exactly how we all are. “Coming in
cloud with great glory.” What does that honestly mean to you and to me?
“Well,
hallelujah!”—us good old fundamental Pentecostals, plus God knows what. “That’s
some great big thing, bless God. That really stands out; not like just a sore
thumb, but every nerve in your body exposed to where one touch would send you
into orbit screaming!”
Sensation.
“Or
your eyes behold something where you stand completely aghast and marvel.”
No.
It seems to me you never did read Isaiah 53, did you?
(1) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed?
(2) (He’ll) grow up before him (like) a tender plant,
What’s
a tender plant? One that’s not out there in the sunlight, rugged and getting
all the sun and all the attention. It’s a little thing. If you kick it over, it
just seems to die under your feet.
(2) … as a root out of a dry ground (what’s that thing doing here
anyway? Doesn’t belong): (and) no form nor comeliness; when (we’ll) see him,
(and) no beauty (we’ll) desire him.
(3) (And He’s) despised and rejected…
“But
hallelujah, we’re different, bless God.”
Not
so. That’s false. Could that be the cloud of glory? Well, sure don’t look like
it, bless God, because the scientists at one time couldn’t figure it, and now
all the preachers have got it figured, hallelujah, because they said, “I’ll
tell you what it was. It was a missile.”
And
there were no missiles fired. We’ve got men in this congregation that are top
engineers in the services, though in the civilian department. And they can
shove the scientific truth down their lying teeth and throat of the
Pentecostals! Because they’re the big ones, the chaff that burns. They’re
consummate unbelievers. And the truth is not in them. They are the Jesus-Only
and Trinitarians.
You
say, “Vayle, you’re tough on them.”
I
was one of them. Don’t talk to me about my previous family, because I was with
them. There is no argument.
31. Now.
Zephaniah, way back, little tiny Book in the Old Testament. Zephaniah 3:14:
(14) Sing, O daughter of
(15) The Lord hath taken away thy judgments (no White Throne), cast
out (your) enemy: (The devil’s fully exposed.) the king of
When
and how was the King of Israel in the midst of
(15) … thou shalt not see evil any more.
(16) In that day (it’ll) be said (in)
(17) The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save,
he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, (he’ll) joy over
thee with singing.
Now
you’ve been singing that here all the time. Shall we make that our opening
chorus and our closing chorus for about next ten years? Next few weeks? Listen.
32. Now:
(18) I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly,
who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.
(19) Behold, at that time (I’ll do unto) all that afflict thee: and I
will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and (I’ll
gather) them (with) praise and fame in every land where they have been put to
shame.
Now
certainly that’s talking about
(20) At that time I (will) bring you again, even (at) the time I
gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the
earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord.
Two
threads are woven all the way through. It’s going on in the Bride. It’s going
on there. And Bro. Branham said, “Look
up!” Look up at the time this joy is going to come! Look up at the time of
the revelation of the Son of man. Look up at the time when
33. Now
he says, “This is the time to look up,
because your eyes have come open.” Now, we don’t have much time. Let me
read my notes. The specific reference to look up is Lk
21:25-28. It’s not necessarily meant to take the place of arise, but it is an
admonition that once having arisen, conditions are such in a world of darkness,
that the one who has arisen must look up, because that’s where the sun is!
You
don’t go down in the basement and say, “There’s no light out there; there’s no
sun out there!”
Oh,
they thought Bro. Branham was making a little kind of a stupid illustration.
It’s not a stupid illustration! It was serious. Don’t crawl back in your shell
of creeds and dogmas and mythology. Start looking up where the sun is! Now,
what was he talking about? He was talking particularly of a light—the Day Star
rising, which was the vindication of Christ in our midst bringing us the Word,
where Rhema and Logos was one and the same. And don’t
you dare try to make it any different—that they’re not one and the same!
Like
some say, “Well, Rhema’s this; Logos is that.”
There
is no difference; it’s simply a matter of explanation. So, you’ll understand
more and more.
34. Now,
listen. “Look up.” As Bro. Branham
said many times, “I, the Lord, have
planted it. I will water it, lest any man pluck it out of my hands.” So,
look up. Now, Isaiah 60:1-2: “Arise and shine for thy light is come…and gross
darkness upon the earth,” speaks of arising as does Matthew 25: the sleeping
virgins, all ten of them. All of them are awakened out of their sleep.!
Now
remember; Paul knowing this by revelation, says in Eph 5:14. Listen to it.
(14) Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
It
doesn’t say they’re dead. It says, “Arise from amongst the dead.” And, when
they arise from amongst the dead, they are to look up! They will see the
morning star, which is Christ risen amongst us, His Word being vindicated.
Pointing us to the reality of God. In all of these cases, we are told of gross
darkness. We’ll find it in there. It is self-evident that
35. Now
I just want to review this condition of darkness that we’ve come to. But before
I do, I want to show you the parallelism of Scripture that I spoke of last
Sunday and Lloyd [Lusk] took up last Wednesday. Bro. Branham said the Bible is
a jigsaw. Why is it a jigsaw? Because passive faith and active faith run hand
in hand, intermingled! Calvinism, which is the grace of God, is intermingled
with the works that come through grace! And people get confused. Every time
there’s a blessing, there’s a curse. Every time there’s a curse, there’s a
blessing. Go to the Garden of Eden. The blessing was, “You are joint heirs with
me. You control it all. You control the animals. You control the plants. You
are demi-gods. You, Adam and Eve, are absolutely one
with me. Take it over.”
And
He said, “There is one provision. One thing and you’re dead.”
Blessing
and cursing. Good and evil. You can’t separate it!
36. Now
I’ll read the Bible without the jigsaw effect. How many minutes do we have? How
many? Can’t even read it. Okay, it’s a good place to stop for number
twenty-one. And I won’t be back with you until at least a week from Wednesday,
or a week from next Sunday, because I’d like to take a little time. It helps me
so much to take the time off. I’m going to deal with this, and I’m going to
read the Bible to you, and I’m going to show you, God helping me, what I’m
trying to get across to you. The Bible is a jigsaw puzzle! And, if you don’t
get the parts right, you’ll get confused every single time. But, if you get
your parts right, which the prophet came to do, you won’t have any trouble, and
I won’t have any trouble. But we’ve got to know how to divide the Word.
Now
brother/sister, the Bible distinctly says, “If it is of faith, it is no longer
of works. If it is works, it is no longer of faith.” Why are we getting mixed
up this late in the day? Now we know we didn’t bring that on any more than Bro.
Branham did. He didn’t bring that on. We didn’t bring it on. He never told It
what to say. We never told William Branham what to say. But we sit here as
judges of the Word this very hour. I’m guilty, and you’re guilty. That’s right.
But, listen; sickness will fade, until there’s no room for it, because, like
Abraham, we’re changed. Not just beautiful, decadent, and rotten corrupting
mortality to beautiful, living, youthful mortality, but we are changed from
corruptible into incorruptible. And it’s coming. It’s working now within our
members.
37. I’m
going to close by saying this: remember, I sat under Bro. Branham on
And
I said, “Bro. Branham, I’ve heard you say many strange things, but this is too
strange. I don’t think I can take it.”
And
I heard myself inside say, “But, when was he ever wrong?”
38. And
I said, “The Shout is the Message.” If I hadn’t have made that statement, do
you think I could take first chapter of 1 Corinthians the way I can take it
today and weave it back and forth and show you the truth? Do you think I can
teach anything the prophet said, unless I first of all came to give him credit
that he said it; it’s got to be true? Why is this richer and realer every time,
no matter what the sermon is? Because I take it word by word, crisscross it
back and forth. That doesn’t make me anything. It makes Him everything—God
everything in His prophet. And it makes us to know, we’ve got our eyes open,
yet we don’t know as we want to know. That’s true. But we don’t know as we used
to know. Right. But praise God, we’re going to know, and it’s getting
face-to-face, closer and closer, because the prophet said, “The negative is going to the positive.”
Did he say it? Then he
said it. That’s true. My negative is losing out to my positive. My physical old
flesh is losing out to immortality! I’ve got a promise to live and not to die!
Now it doesn’t mean I can’t die! In
fact, I’ve got to the place I’d like to have the best of both sides.
Let’s
rise and be dismissed.
Heavenly
Father, we want to thank You again for love, mercy, and grace, which has been
vindicated to us at this moment. We can stand with Abraham, and indeed we have
to stand with Abraham, and by grace, Lord, we do stand with Abraham, and we
know we do it, Lord, we know we do it on the grounds that we simply identify!
And in identification we pick up everything that he picked up, standing with
it! We know that’s why Bro. Branham said, “Paul,
in reaching for the prize, looked for complete identification.” O God, this morning, that’s what we’re
looking for. I don’t have to worry about it; I don’t have to produce anything,
Lord. All I got to do is believe the vindicated Message, believe what the
prophet said, putting everything out of my mind but that. You, O Lord, never let
anybody pluck it out of Your hand.
Now
Father, we commend ourselves to You this hour of this day, go with the dear
ones that must go, stay with us who fellowship around Your Word, the table,
whatsoever, Lord. May we have a great wonderful time, knowing, Father, that
this psychology’s all right. We can practice that out there while we eat and
sit around, just be nice to each other. And that’s good. Recognize the things
of the world—their proper spirit; that’s good! We understand these things, but
Lord, there is a food and a fellowship that is not psychological. It is Holy
Ghost depth of eternal properties. May that, Lord, supersede everything. We
know it does.
Now
bless, Lord, the little children. Especially the baby dedicated. Bless every
home represented here. And Father, bring us together with more of grace, and
more love of you and more love of each other, as never before, until it can be
said, “Behold, how they love each other.” That’s what we’re striving for. But
we’re not striving very hard. Maybe that’s true: we’re not striving too hard.
But Lord, we’re looking at it, and we say, “That’s it. That’s the goal.” And I
believe Lord that it’s working. I believe that there’s something in this
building here that transcends all relationship to any human flesh whatsoever.
It goes right to Your love, Your mercy, Your grace, Your Word, Your Presence
amongst us; and that binds us as one body.
Now
unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be all honor and
glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Lord bless you. “Take the Name of Jesus
With You.”
[1] Rev 5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
[2] Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.