Shalom #21
Jigsaw
Puzzle Explained
Heavenly
Father, we are so happy we recognize Your Presence as understood here by signs
and wonders, but even more particularly by the vindication of Your Word and the
beautiful pictures that we have hanging on the wall that have meaning, because
it has caught a representation of Your Own Being. And we thank You, Father,
that we’re simple-minded enough to believe that and that we can stand on these
things that the world calls trash and foolishness and thinks we’re under some
kind of delusion or heresy. But that’s the way it always was.
And
Father, we know that even though You appeared in the burning bush to Moses and
went down to Israel, You knew they wouldn’t believe that without some signs;
and even then, there were those who didn’t really believe, because then they
turned on Your great leader, Moses. And we appreciate all of these things,
Lord, as references from the Old Testament to us in this our hour, for we see
the same thing happening now.
Deliver
us from that, Lord, that unbelief, that curse that’s upon the earth, that turns
good meaning people, well-meaning people, into haters of the truth, all the
time claiming to believe the truth. Father, may we be spared from that great
hypocrisy and the condemnation that follows it. May we be one with You and one
with truth, O God, because we know that’s what it’s going to take. Let the Word
live within us. We’ll give You the praise Lord, as You teach us tonight
further, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
You
may be seated.
1. Now
tonight we are on number twenty-one of “Shalom.”
Now,
last Sunday morning we found ourselves dealing with paragraphs 161 and 162,
which certainly are only not very far down the line but is hardly halfway
through. And we saw Bro. Branham delineating upon the wondrous promises of God,
which are ours at this very hour—which promises are in progress of actually
being fulfilled, even now at this moment, although it’s quite a bit like Jesus
said in Lk 17:20, “The Kingdom of God cometh without
observation.” In other words it will be going on and progressing as it is
supposed to, but we won’t be aware of it.” And I’m sure, except for the fact
that Bro. Branham taught us as we have been taught, there’s none of us tonight
would actually believe what is going on, because we are not actually aware of
it.
2. Now,
with Abraham and Bro. Branham… And, if you just listen, you’ll find this is
very true, that Bro. Branham came to the faith of Abraham. With Abraham and
Bro. Branham we have entered into a vindicated faith in the presence of God.
And our confession is the same as theirs, in that we, too, believe in God Who
raises the dead and especially calls those things that are not as though they
were, because in this very hour their fulfillment has started, and none can
stop it, for its completion is guaranteed. Now Bro. Branham told us that. Their
finalization is upon us. As far as God’s ability and reliability is concerned,
it is already done, and we are there at whatever place His vindicated judgment
has assigned us. And Bro. Branham assigned, according to the Word of God, an
absolute vindication to the Bride, (“You’re
the righteous, sinless virgin Bride of the Lord. You didn’t even do it.”)
and pronounced us at the White Throne, where we are literally advocates, and
also taking the place of those who are lawyers or attorneys, Bro. Branham said.
All right?
3. Now
these realities of which we speak are derived from the presence of the Day
Star, as Bro. Branham said, that was He amongst us, His Word being vindicated,
which is the Light of the hour. In other words it’s the Light to the Light to
the Light. God does everything in threes, and the vindication was to bring us
to the Light, which in turn would bring us to The Light. See? Now that is the guarantee of it all, that is the
vindication amongst us. It is made manifest to us that the promise is ours. The
Judge has made His Own decision; and, contrary to normal law, the Judge will
carry it out. Nobody else will do that.
Now
we know that this is true by vindication. We accept that. That’s the
vindication, the premise on which it’s built, and that is faith. That’s exactly
where our faith is. The Light is come, and so we arise and are no longer
virgins asleep as concerning His Presence. And we look up to the Word of the
Voice of the One Who is from heaven, and Who is now speaking according to
Hebrews 12, which is now at the doorstep of Mount Zion.
4. Now
this is the Word of Light that Bro. Branham is explaining. It is set forth in
the Bible. It is vindicated and made manifest to us today. But, even as this
Light is spoken of in the Scripture and now revealed, there is also a Word
about the darkness. This is also revealed. It’s revealed to us today, the same
as the Light has been revealed, and it requires a revelation and not merely a
statement. Many people feel that Bro. Branham—speaking of darkness—do not need
a revelation concerning the Scripture word ‘darkness’. All it is to them, then,
is a statement. It must be revealed to us. You cannot take the Bible simply as
statements; it will not work. It must be a revelation. So, darkness is revealed
to us, as to what it really means, and it requires a revelation. So, it is not
just a statement. Now these two revelations are running parallel, which you
know I’ve branded, or called, the parallelism of Scripture: such as there’s
good and evil; there’s blessing and judgment. They always go together. They are
never separated, except perhaps in the time element. But, when they are put in
the Bible, they are never separated. And so it is with light and darkness. We
find that in the Scripture, and they both must be revealed.
5. Now
last Sunday, with this principle in mind, we began to teach on arising and
looking up and shining with the glory of the Lord. And, of course, that
actually is taken from over in the little tiny book of Zephaniah. It’s very
hard to find; but, if you thumb through enough of the small books, you’ll
finally come to it. That’s what I do anyway; because, when I think I got it
memorized, I find it’s some place else. And it’s not Zechariah, (That’s a
bigger book.) but Zephaniah, the little Book after Habakkuk: Zeph 3:14:
(14) Sing, O daughter of
In
other words any reference to
(15) The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he (has) cast out thine
enemy: the king of
(16) In that day it shall be said
(17) The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save,
(he’ll) rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over
thee with singing.
(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. (And so on.)
6. So,
this is where that Scripture was taken from, as well as over in Isaiah. So,
we’re going to go over what we took last week, because we couldn’t finish it,
for the sake of continuity, and we’ll see the promise of God to the Bride in
its pure form and original intent without the interpolations and various interjections
that are there, that actually give us problems as we deal with Scripture. So
then, we’ll deal with the parallelism of Scripture, where we see passive faith
and active faith running together, and thereby causing great confusion, unless
we learn to separate them. For this is where Calvinism and Armenianism
came from. Calvinism could separate the passive from the active. They could
understand exactly what God said He would do and what God did, and they left it
within the realms of sovereign grace. But the Armenian cannot do that. Now we
realize that Calvinism went to seed under Luther. And God allowed Wesley to
come on the scene and swing the pendulum, as great a distance out as the
pendulum swung away from the truth of Calvinism. But, under the prophet, who
came to us, you can see these laws and begin to understand exactly what is of
God, as per the grace of God and the gift of God, and what is incumbent upon us
as per a manifestation toward the Word of God in obedience and in an active
faith. If we have a true revelation, we will have an active faith, as James
said.
7. So,
that’s what we’re looking at. We’re looking at a passive and an active faith
running together, which will not any longer cause us any confusion and divide
us into two camps or cause us to have doubts as to who is right, but we’ll know
what is right; and then, we’ll progress in a way of a conduct, which I trust
will be glorifying God. Confusion disappears only when we see God’s Own purpose
and plan that can never be altered or limited or negated. Injunctions,
interjections, commandments, though they be a part of the Word and Christian
life and experience, that’s all fine. It is there. And they have to do with a
life of faith. But what we’re looking at really is to understand the passive
faith, then the other will follow in its line. So all right, we go back, and we
look again at last Sunday, before we take up again where Bro. Branham says, “Look up and shine with the joy of the
Lord.”
8. Now
the specific reference to looking up, if you want a specific reference that
says, “Look up,” because you’re supposed to look up according to the Word of
God, is found over in Luke 21. Now, here it says in verses 25 to 28:
(25) And 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; (And we know that is more political than it is physical.)
(26) Men’s hearts failing for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
(27) Then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power
and great glory.
(28) And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, lift
up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Now
you cannot separate this portion of Scripture from the hour in which we live,
because you’ll notice that the Great Tribulation is on its way. But also,
you’ll notice It says that there is absolutely the Son of man coming in a cloud
with power and great glory. And Bro. Branham took the Scripture where “He
cometh with clouds.” He said, “What if
that should happen to be a cloud of glory?” which he is indicating that it
definitely was. Which we can say positively, if this is not the whole of it,
this is the part of it. [Bro. Vayle points to the picture of the Pillar of
Fire.]
9. Now
It says, when that takes place you are to look up. That’s what the Scripture
tells us. Now it is not necessarily meant to take the place of ‘arise’ when It
says ‘to look up’. But to me it’s an admonition that having once arisen,
conditions are such in a world of darkness that the one who has arisen must
look up. He’s got to look beyond what is going on in order to survive the
darkness and overcome the darkness that is present. As Bro. Branham said so
many, many times, “I the Lord have
planted it, and watered it, lest any man pluck it out of my Father’s hands.”
Now,
what will be that understanding to you and me? In here you will notice that
there are certain things that nobody can do anything about. No matter how hard
you try, you can do nothing about these things that are indicated here. Now you
might be dying with cancer. Cancer can be healed. If you’re dying with AIDS, I
don’t believe you can be healed, because I believe that is a plague that you
entered into, and judgment comes. I’m not saying that God couldn’t do something
for somebody, like you got a bad needle, or it was inflicted upon you. I can
see mercy and grace there. I can understand that. But these things here, you
can do nothing about the cataclysms that have come upon the earth; you can do
nothing about the gross darkness and these things that are here. All right.
10. Then,
what is it ‘to arise’ and ‘to look up’? Well, look; as far as I’m concerned you
go over here to Luke 1, and you can understand, then, what my thought is. This
is concerning John the Baptist. And It says here that after John’s birth,
here’s what he will do in verse 16:
(16) And many of the children of
Now
you know the many is always the elect. It doesn’t say everybody; It says many.
(17) And he shall go before him…
Now
that’s the Lord God of
(17) And he shall go before (the Lord God of
Now,
that is an understanding! It is not a matter of people doing, as I’ve said many
times, contrary to the will of God! It is not a people in rebellion against
God! It is a people who don’t know what God wants! They’re in a state of
darkness, which is a state of misunderstanding.
11. So
therefore, John the Baptist, simple little Kentuckian—because that’s what he
was down there you know, in his own home state of Israel, kind of like a
Kentuckian, a common type of person—comes out of there roughly clad, with no
education, and he is actually going to teach the people something they need to
know, which will get them ready, even though they’re the prepared vessels of
the Lord. That blows the Baptists plumb out of the water, because they think
they’ve got their own priesthood. That is ridiculous!
In
the alpha, so is the omega. God has to send somebody who has the ability to
tell us. And I’ll tell you, he won’t be like the average theologian. He won’t
be a kind of a fellow that is going to make everybody happy and sit down and
have a drink and be in king’s palaces and soft garments and tickle the babies
and chuck them under the chin and get a bunch of votes. He’ll tear them to
pieces just the way John the Baptist did; but he’ll bring the elect where they
ought to be.
Now
this is the Bible I’m preaching! And, if you’ve got your own idea that Omega’s
different from Alpha, you tell me where it is. You will have nothing but a
bunch of creeds and dogmas.
12. Now
listen.
(17) … (Even) the disobedient (That’s the people who don’t know. In
other words, there is a darkness upon them not of their own doing! Although
they have added to it through ignorance. See? Now then,) to make ready a people
prepared.
And
there’s only one place you’re going to find that word, and that’s over there in
Romans 9, where It tells you God has a prepared people—God doing the preparing.
Now He’s going to get them ready.
So,
let’s go with this to John 5. And we’re going to understand here what we’ve
said many, many times, taking this Scripture positively from Bro. Branham who
was vindicated. Now I know a lot of people don’t believe in vindication. We’ll
show you where that comes from too. Jn 5:39. He says:
(39) Search the scripture; for in them (you) think (you) have eternal
life: and they are they (that) testify of me.
All
right. What does it mean ‘to look up’? It doesn’t only mean ‘to elevate your
understanding beyond what is here earthly’, ‘looking for God to do something’…
And you better know it’s going to be God. I also believe, as Jesus said, “Why
don’t you go to your Bibles and begin to look things up?” Look them up. He
said, “Search the Scripture. Look up in your Bibles what it’s all about.”
13. Now,
with that we go over here to Jn 7:52. Now here’s old
Nicodemus. He said the Pharisees, “Are we going to judge this man?” He said,
“We don’t know anything too much about Him; He could be a prophet.” And here’s
what the Pharisees said:
(52) They answered and said unto him, Art thou also (out) of
Now
they were right concerning the fact no prophet came out of
14. Now
Bro. Branham uses Isa 60:1-2[1],
where we noted already that speaking of arising in the time of darkness wherein
light comes; that’s according, as I see the Scripture in Matthew 25, where
you’re looking at the virgins. Now It tells you here that the Bridegroom
tarried, and so the virgins went to sleep. Then, it says in verse 7:
(7) All those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
But
you’ll notice, in the arising only five looked up! They were the only five that
could have looked up, because only the five had a vessel that could contain
oil. Now you know, as well as I do, (A vindicated prophet tells you.) that the
conduit of the Holy Spirit is the Word. So, these people here evidently had a
place for the Word. Now Jesus told the Pharisees they had no place for the
Word. Over there in the Book of John, the same very Book we’re looking at, he
says, “You don’t have any place for that Word.”
15. Now
we saw then here, they were tarrying and sleeping. There was darkness there,
and they rose and trimmed their lamps at this time of
(14) (Therefore) he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from
the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
What
you’re seeing here, then, is a great sleep at a certain time; and Paul wants
them to come out of their slumber, to arise. And It says, “Christ will give
thee light.” Now, listen; it is very evident that Paul could not give that
light! Or it would have told them what it was. It wasn’t to be given. It must be
something mystical and mysterious, because Paul had a commandment from God to
bring the Word; and he said, “I’m clear of the blood of all men, because I have
held nothing back.” That’s the Book of Acts 20:26-27. So, Paul held nothing
back. But Paul did say at the time of the raising of the dead, there was
something he did not have pertaining to a revelation. He didn’t have it. So,
all right. There’s something here, then, that Paul tells about that’s down the
road.
16. Now,
in all cases you’ll notice where I read, we are told of gross darkness. Now
that gross darkness is at the end time, and let’s notice how gross it is. It’s
not just concerning depth, but the things that we call gross have to do with
such poor judgment on the part of a person that in acting, he is literally
stupid; he is dense; he is gross; he is absolutely, like you might say,
unforgivable in the way he acts. Now, you look at Revelation 3, and you will
see a people in gross darkness. They are utterly gross. For It says here in Rev
3:15, God speaking, He said:
(15) I know (your) works (in verse 15), (you are) neither (hot or)
cold: I would (you were) cold or hot.
(16) (And) because (you’re) lukewarm, (You make me nauseous. I’m
going to) spue (you) out of my mouth.
Now
you know the Bride is not in the mouth of God, and the church never was in the
mouth of God. So, what is He talking about? In the very beginning, He lets you
know they have left the Word! Paul said, “You have left the truth!” So
therefore, you’ll notice in here that this church cannot be the mouthpiece of
God, when the church is supposed to be the mouthpiece for God. They’re
absolutely nauseating to Him.
17. Notice
he said:
(17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, (I’m) increased with goods, (I)
have need of nothing, and (You don’t know that you are.) wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
That
is a gross person! Because he is acting as though he were all the part that he
says he is! Now that’s a pretty gross individual. You talk about a hypocrite.
He said:
(18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, (you may) be
rich; white raiment, (you may) be clothed, the shame of (your) nakedness do not
appear; and anoint thine eye with eye-salve…
There
is a gross darkness there in that particular area. And then, He says:
(20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my
voice, open the door, I will come in.
As
Larkin said, (And Bro. Branham vindicated Larkin.) “Christ was outside the
church trying to get back in.” And, remember; Christ is the Light of the
church. So, how in the world is He going to get back in and give the church
Light?
It
is self-evident then, from
18. So,
we see here, then, that both light and darkness must be understood. Darkness is
necessary to be truly understood, just the same as the light. One is not
without the other. There is always light; there is always darkness. You will
notice it’s only in the New Jerusalem that it says there is no need of the sun,
and there is no darkness. So, all right. As long as we are here, even through
the Millennium, you are going to have it, though there will not be a darkness
amongst the people as per a judgment, which is a spiritual condition; it is not
that way. And Bro. Branham in the sentence up here, reading in paragraph 161,
mentions both of them.
19. Now
I just want to review this condition of darkness that we’ve come to. But,
before I do, I want to show the parallelism of Scripture that I spoke of, that
Bro. Branham said in his Message, that the Bible was like a jigsaw.
Now
a jigsaw puzzle is where every piece is a part of the picture. And those pieces
must fit exactly right in order to give you the true picture, the true
understanding. Now, why I’m going to go into this, reading carefully from the
Book of Ephesians and other scripture, is because, if we do not understand what
I am talking about, we will not dispose of our own doctrines or ideas and look
to God’s Own plan and purpose for us.
20. Now,
do you remember when I preached the “Ultimate of God?” What I brought out was
that God, in His sovereignty, dedicated Himself to what lay within Him. And
what lay within Him was to bring forth a family of God-children and place them
where they would be completely benefited by, not only the Fatherhood, but
everything that lay in Him, as to both omniscience and omnipotence. There was
nothing too good or too vast in God but what He dedicated to His children. And
we saw that that plan and purpose was not something that men like.
As
Bro. Branham said, “God has a plan, and
man always has a better plan.”
It
was just like God had a plan in the Garden of Eden. And in the Garden of Eden,
whether you know it or not, (And you’ve been taught well enough to know.) when
they went to grasp the Tree of Life, where there was immortality, they could
not get to it.
So
therefore, the ultimate of God was not Adam and Eve living in the Garden of
Eden and pruning the Garden and doing such and so and so, but way beyond it
into immortality. That’s exactly right. Now that immortality is to come 6,000
years later, which is even now.
So,
what am I trying to tell you? I’m trying to tell you this: if you don’t stick
with the plan of God, per se, never mind fringe benefits, never mind junctures,
never mind commands, never mind anything but the plan of God, or you will find
yourself confused or even bemused, if you get cynical and say, “What is this
all about?” Do you understand what I’m saying? This is what we are looking at:
the revelation, absolutely vindicated as truth and given to us by Elijah, as
our hearts are turned to the ‘original’ truth of the apostle and prophets, who
are classified as ‘fathers’.
21. So,
we’re going to go to the Book of Ephesians; and remember, I am not a prophet.
I’m a very poor teacher, quite radical. I try to get Bro. Branham to hold me
down and just see just what he’s talking about. So, I can be making a mistake
here in the sense of a perfect delineation, which means I am going to look at a
plan; and I’m going to look at nothing else but that plan! That’s all I’m going
to look at. And I don’t know I’m going to do it perfectly. But I’m going to try
the best I can. So, get your Bibles; we’ll open the Book of Ephesians, which is
the great Book of the Bible. There is no Book like it. [Ephesians 1] It is the
whole story of eternity to eternity and our part in it through Jesus Christ.
(1) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the
saints which are at
(2) Grace be (unto) you, and peace, from God our Father, and from
the Lord Jesus Christ. (Now there’s two of them. So, don’t try to make it any
different. We’re not Jesus-Only. We don’t believe in two gods or three gods.
There’s a great God, the Father, Who had a Son.)
(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:
All
right now: “Blessed be God Who hath blessed us in the heavenly.” What is
heaven? It is an elevated place. To an elevated place you look up to. So, it’s
telling you here now, we are blessed in the looking up. This is where the
blessing is going to come from, the divine wisdom, from the revelation of
almighty God, from that which is inherently in God through Jesus Christ. That
is what you are to look at. Understand? So, we’re looking at it.
22. Now,
watch.
(4) According as he hath chosen us…
Now,
if you’re not chosen in Him, it’s not going to do you any good. You can’t do
it. You will try. You will mince around. You’ll dip your toes in the water.
When the net is cast through the Word of God—some minister—and the net is
pulled in, there’ll be as Bro. Branham said, “crawdads and turtles and other things,” crustaceans, which are not
fish, but there’ll be some real fish too. Has to be. And what will happen? The frog will start
croaking; he’ll go back to the water. The crawdad will sidle along; he’ll go
back to his food. The eels will go along and go back to their homes. But the
fish will be happy in the net of the Lord. So, this is what we’re looking at,
according as He hath chosen us. If you are not one of the many of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that is a true child of God, being seed, you’ll never be going to
the City. Accordingly now, you’re looking up to this Word. The Pharisees
couldn’t do it, but the simple people who were of God could. Some, like the
woman at the well, knew the Scripture already and were looking for its
fulfillment in a “prophet-messiah.”
23. Now:
(4) According as he hath chosen us before the foundation of the
world (before a speck of stardust).
Here
is a loving Father, determined to have children, and He’s going to have
children and then He’s going to have to have the very best for them. As Bro.
Branham said, “Before God made a fish
with a fin, He made water to swim in.” So, before there would be one child
born to God, there would already be something that God had prepared for the
child. Now that is true predestination. And that’s the way a Father would do
it. Now, watch.
(4) … that we should be holy and without blame before him.
(5) In love, having predestinated us unto the adoption (or the
placing) of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure
of his will,
(6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved.
(7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Now
this is actually thrown in there. We can jump down to where It says:
(9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according
to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself:
(10) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and are on
earth; even in him:
(11) In whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
So
therefore, I see a plan here in verses 3 and in verses 4 and in verse 5. Then,
It goes down to verse 9 and to verse 10 and to verse 11. It’s telling you
something. Now, let’s go a little further and find this: it’s in Eph 2:19. What
is up here is a blueprint through the ages.
24. Now
we start concerning ourselves: these who were in Him, chosen, and elected,
foreknown, positively to be placed as sons. Now they’re sheep gone astray.
Let’s take Eph 2:19:
(19) Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
(20) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
(21) In whom all the building fitly (joined) together grow(s) unto
(a) holy temple in the Lord:
(22) In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit.
Now
It states that this great plan God had evidently is going to require some
redemption, and in the doing of it, it becomes a building and a habitation to
God, just the same as Jesus was a building and a habitation to God. See, he’s
telling us something here.
25. Okay,
let’s go to Ephesians 4, and we read verse 4-16.
(4) There is one body, and one Spirit (now that’s a habitation),
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
(5) One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
(6) One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all.
(7) But unto every one…
Now,
watch what’s thrown in here, telling us, which we can leave out if you want to
leave it out; it’s an interpolation of where you’re coming right down here. And
It says here that this body is coming into a place of which we are—to a
perfection.
(12) For the perfecting (the equipping) of the saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
(13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, (even) the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man (that’s a perfect measure), unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Now
then, you can leave that out, the fourteenth verse, you get to verse 15:
(15) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all
things, which is the head, even Christ:
(16) From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself
in love.
So,
all right. We see back here in chapter one that God has a plan. And that plan
absolutely is a body or a church of which God is the head. And he tells you
He’s going to bring it right to perfection, and it’s going to have an increase
of itself by the Spirit of Life that started the whole thing.
26. Okay,
where do you want to go from there now? Well, we can go then to Eph 5:18, and
we’re going to look just at the middle of it. And now he says to this group
here,
(18) … be filled with the Spirit;
(19) Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing making melody in your heart to the Lord;
(20) Giving thanks always for all things unto God the Father in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now
that’s something that’s thrown in there. The major thing is to know that this
church, this Bride, will be filled with the Spirit. Now this is not something
you merely hope for. This is not something that’s solely incumbent upon you. It
is because you are seed that you will receive the Holy Ghost! That’s in the
Book of Galatians. All right.
27.
Let’s go a little further now, and see this same church. We go to Eph 5:23.
(23) … Christ is the head of the church: (being) the savior of the
body. (All right, verse 25, the middle.)
(25) … Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Now,
notice; this is something that He did.)
(26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word, (Now, notice; He’s doing it.)
(27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but it should be holy without
blemish.
Now
that’s very good. We won’t go any further there. We drop down to verse 30:
(30) For we are members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bones. (See? Now,)
(31) For this cause (he’s illustrating, as) a man leave(s) his father
and mother, and be joined (to) his wife, and be one flesh.
(32) This is a great mystery: (of Philippians where Christ comes
down, becomes a tabernacle of almighty God, gives His life to bring this Bride
right to God.)
Now
in here you’ll notice I’ve done my best to steer you away from every single
thing that you think is incumbent upon you. I am merely trying to show you
everything that God planned and everything that God is doing! And you’ve got to
keep it separate! It’s not that they don’t go together in the Bible. But here’s
your jigsaw. If you start throwing the pieces in that belong to passive faith
into the active, and vice versa, you will get your cow picking grass on the top
of a tree. Now Bro. Branham came to bring us the doctrine; to give us an
absolute understanding.
28. Now
I read in verse here:
(32) This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the
church.
All
right. Now, let’s go back to chapter one. And in chapter one, Paul tells you
how this is going to be done. Now, let’s go not to verse 15, 16, 17, but let’s
go to verse 19. This is God doing it, not you and me. Up above is giving us a
clue to how He initiates it. But here It says, and we are going to know:
(19) What is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who
believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
(20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
When?
The time element has told us, when God Himself, by His Holy Spirit, comes down
and gives us a revelation. And that doesn’t have a thing to do with any effort
you might attempt. It is the sovereign grace of God, the same as with John the
Baptist, but it’s the throwing of the net, the Shout, that will bring in the
elect. Now, let’s keep watching.
(20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places,
(21) Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is
to come:
(22) And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head
over all things to the church,
(23) Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
29. Now,
as we read in
(9) And there came unto me one of the seven angels which (held)
the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying,
Come hither, I will shew (you) the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Now
here is God’s picture. And you will notice, it is a completion of what God
wanted done and what God did, of which we are the recipients. And, unless you
have a true passive faith revelation, you and I cannot understand this. We’re
going to go back and forth between the Calvinism and Armenianism.
And I’ve seen it in the so-called Message. I’ve seen it where people say, “I
believe Bro. Branham; believe this Message; prophet anointed of God; blah,
blah, blah,” right up and down the line, turn right around and go Seventh Day
Adventist. Seventh Day Adventism is a cult—led by a woman! [End of side one of
the audio tape.] All right. I’m not vindictive about it; I’m just illustrating.
30. (10) Carried me away
in the spirit to a great and high mountain, shewed me that great city, the holy
(11) Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
He
now shows you where the Bride is. Now, here is what I say is the parallelism of
Scripture, where you see passive faith, and you see active faith. Now, listen;
we were there in God at the beginning but had nothing to do with it. It was
God’s Own reproductive forces that brought us forth. We were a part of that
Word. A very meager part of omniscience and omnipotence; but nonetheless, we
are genetically connected to almighty God, because that which is the seed is
our soul, and it took that material, which God had at His disposal, in the way
He wanted it, to bring us forth into a body. And the body’s not commensurate
with the soul! So, when the body dies, then the soul can go to a body, which is
commensurate, which is theophonic form, which it
formed, and in itself is eternal; because, if the soul is eternal and the soul
is forming from the only substance which there is there, which is spirit, it
would have to be eternal. Now that’s a mind-boggling thing, but what’s the
difference if it boggles the mind? Just get your answers right. Then you see
you’re moving in the realm of the complete and true revelation. All right.
31. But,
notice what happened. Let’s go back to what happened in Revelation 2. Now
here’s where the trouble comes in. The same as in the Garden of Eden. Rev
2:1-7.
(1) Unto the (messenger) of the church (which is in) Ephesus
write; These things saith he that hold(s) the seven stars in his right hand,
who walk(s) in the midst of seven golden candlesticks;
(2) I know thy works, thy labour, thy patience, how (you can’t)
bear them which are evil: (you) tried them which say they are apostles, and are
not, and found them liars:
(3) (You’ve) borne, and (had) patience, for my name’s sake (have)
laboured, and hast not fainted. (In other words they knew exactly what the
apostle Paul said, and they stood with it.)
(4) Nevertheless (I’ve got) somewhat against (you) because
(you’ve) left (your) first love. (Now they’ve wandered off from their first
love. And at the end, they become absolutely lukewarm, they don’t know where
they stand, wretched, miserable, naked and blind. Now it says,)
(5) Remember from whence thou art fallen.
Now,
what did they fall from? They fell from the Word. They had enough reality to
know that they could come against anybody who denied the Word of the Apostle
Paul, because this is a
“Oh,
I believe Bro. Branham absolutely.”
And
then, go right and change his Word! They’re doing it everywhere. They’re using
the same scheme that the devil used and the Pharisees used and the theologians
used. They pit Scripture against Scripture, the same as Calvinism against Armenianism. You know that’s got to be a lie, because God’s
not divided! They don’t understand passive faith from active faith.
32. Passive
faith is a complete revelation of exactly God’s relationship to you and your
relationship to Him.
You
say, “What about these other things?”
Never
mind until you got that right! How are you going to come into my family, if I
leave an inheritance, and you try to get it, unless you prove your bloodlines,
and you are a child of mine! So, you better be quiet. And, until the Bride
knows who she is… And Bro. Branham said there’ll come a time when she does. He
said, “The mule doesn’t know the mammy
and the pappy.” He’s a bastard, he’s a hybrid. But God’s children know
their Father. Now you see, they didn’t repudiate the apostle Paul, but they
began going away and drifting. We’ll get to that. We get to that very, very
shortly.
33. We
just turn to 2 Corinthians 11, its very simple. We’ve been there time after
time. Now Paul said:
(1) Would to God (you) bear with me in my folly (a little): and
bear with me.
(2) I am jealous over you with (a) godly jealousy: I have espoused
you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. (Now,
where did her virginity lie? You can find out by finding where her
dis-virginity lay—where she lost it.)
(3) I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ.
Now
that’s where the church was in the beginning in the Book of Ephesians. They had
the apostle Paul, and he brought them the true, vindicated Word of almighty
God. And though they believed in him with all their hearts and they could tell
absolutely where certain people were radically wrong, they now began to get a
little mold in the eye where they couldn’t see all the truth and had a little
drifting—a little drifting from the Word.
Now
here’s what Paul said is happening, and this is horrible, really. He said:
(4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, (Now you’ve got
two of them at least.) whom we have not preached (Notice, It says “whom we have
not preached.” In other words the definition of the apostle Paul.) or if (you)
receive another spirit, which (you) have not received, (In other words
something I didn’t bring you.) or another gospel.
So,
here they’ve got now, they’ve got another Jesus, maybe several. They’ve got
another spirit, who knows how many. Now they’ve got another gospel. Now, how
far has this church fallen? At this point not very far. How far will this
church have fallen before it’s over? “Wretched, miserable, naked, blind,
everything against you; not some little thing against you, but everything
against you.” Now that’s where they’re standing.
34. Now
this brings us to Ephesians 5. Now we’re talking of light and darkness,
remember? We’re talking what the light is. We’re talking how darkness comes in.
Ephesians 5 tells us this, and we’re going to read now. We’re going to read Eph
5:14 surrounded by 13-15. Now he says here:
(13) But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light:
(Well, we could start quicker than that. Let’s go to verse 6.)
(6) Let no man deceive you with vain words (in other words, words
that aren’t the Word of God, because God would not stand behind any man’s
words. You’re just vain to believe them): for because of these things the wrath
of God (cometh) upon the children of disobedience.
Now
It tells you right in there there’s a child of obedience and one of
disobedience. There’s a children of God that are ignorant and can be taught.
And there are those that claim they’re children of God and they go right
against God. The Bible says in Peter they’ll deny the very Lord that bought
them. Now:
(7) Be not partakers with them. (Now, watch.)
(8) For (you) were sometimes darkness, (But you see, you could be
taught; you could have your eyes open, because you’re sheep gone astray.) now
(that you’re) light in the Lord: walk as children of (the) light: (Now there
you’ve got a commandment; now that’s an active faith working with your passive
faith.)
(9) (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth;) (Now it cuts the fruit of the Spirit down to three.
Number one: all goodness, righteousness and truth.)
(10) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
(11) And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them. (Now what’s the unfruitful works? The Word that’s
off.)
(12) For (it’s) a shame even to speak of those things done (by) them
in secret.
In
other words it’s absolutely a shame that these things are in existence. You
even got to spend time about them. Not something that the Swaggarts
and the Bakkers are doing in a motel. Sleazy sleaze
scumbags, with their sleazy people. That could be part, but that’s not it. He’s
telling you here; it’s a pity that this is so! That’s how I’m looking at it.
You can look at it any way you want, but I’m looking at it this way, especially
for the sake of the Gospel tonight.
35. Now
It says here, watch.
(13) But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light:
for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
(14) Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
(15) See then ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
(16) Redeeming the time…
Now,
in there you have, absolutely, God’s beneficent Word that says, “I will give my
children a revelation.” And, when they get the right revelation, they’ll be
doing works also! But without the revelation, your works don’t count but go
against you. They put you in debt. Now you’ll notice there’s light and darkness
right here. All right. This is none other than Matthew 25, (See?) which we
looked at: the virgins arising out of darkness and some of them have something
whereby they can get the light. Now we’ve already seen the condition of the
Seventh Church Age, which we read about right tonight in
36. Now,
let’s get over here to John 8, I mentioned we’d look at It. And in Jn
(37) I know (you’re) Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because
my word (has) no place in you.
That’s
the same as Jesus saying, “I know you’re Christians. I know you believe what
you call the gospel of the Word. I know you believe in incarnation, virgin
birth,… I know you believe all those things. How come you want to kill me?” How
come they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh? Because you have the
‘alpha and omega’ situation. You couldn’t have an omega without a complete
omega person and the omega situation. Here is the alpha. Now they seek to kill
Him.
(38) I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and (you) do that
which (you) have seen with your father.
And
they had the same Word. They’re looking at the same Word now, brother/sister.
Don’t try to fool yourself. Jesus picked up the same Bible they read from cover
to cover—the first thirty-nine books of the Bible.
(39) They answered and said, Abraham is our father. Jesus (said), If
(you) were Abraham’s children (you’d) do the works of Abraham.
(40) But now ye seek to kill me, a man that told you the truth, which
I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
(41) (You) do the deeds of your father. They (said), We be not born
of fornication; (That’s your serpent seed right there; because, when they can
trace themselves back to Abraham, they’re right back to God. Never mind the
rest of the genealogy; they knew they didn’t belong to Cain.) we have one
Father, even God. (Try to find Cain in the genealogy. His name’s not there. How
could his name be in the Lamb’s Book or anything else?)
(42) Jesus said, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I
proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
(43) Why do ye not understand my speech? even because (you) cannot
hear my word.
Now,
down here he says in 47:
(47) He that is of God heareth God’s word: ye therefore hear them
not, because (you’re) not of God. (Talk about evidence of being seed!)
Now
It tells you right there exactly how revelation comes, and who is going to get
it; therefore who is going to have the light and who is going to have the
darkness! Now, remember; He said, “When your light becomes darkness, how great
is that darkness!” That’s exactly what happened to the Roman Catholic Church.
It happened to Luther. It happened to Wesley. It happens to the Pentecostals.
And it’s happening to many people who say, “I believe Bro. Branham’s message.”
Where do you get the two souls and polygamy and all that stuff? Why, they show
exactly what they’re of; they’re deceived.
37. Now,
at this particular time the parable of Mt 13:31-35 takes place. So, let’s go
take a look at it. Mt 13:31-35.
(31) Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his
field:
(32) Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown,
(it’s) the greatest among herbs, and become(s) a tree, so that birds of the air
come and lodge in the branches thereof.
(33) Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is
like unto leaven, which a woman took, (Now leaven’s a bad thing.) and hid in
three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
(34) All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables;
without a parable spake he not unto them:
(35) That it might be fulfilled spoken by the prophet saying, I will
open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from
the foundation of the world.
Now,
at this particular time, then, the parables of Mt 13:31-35 are fulfilled, which
take place at the same time as Isa 60:1-2… Because It
tells of the mustard seed; in other words the tiny little seed that was sown in
Christianity spreads over the entire world, and the birds of the air are
lodging in the branches, and birds are a symbol of evil. There’s no two ways
about it. So now, this takes place at the time of Isaiah 60: “arise and shine
for light has come upon thee, but gross darkness upon the earth.” These
parables are none other than Revelation 18.
38. So,
let’s go back and see it, because all Scripture runs in continuity. Not because
I say so, as though I’ve got some discernment or judgment. This is what the
prophet taught us. Rev 18:1-8:
(1) After these things I saw another (messenger) come down from
heaven, having great power; the earth was lightened with his glory.
(2) He cried mightily with a strong voice, saying,
(3) For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, the
merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
(4) And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, that (you) receive not of
her plagues.
(5) For her sins have reached (the) heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities.
(6) Reward (unto) her (double) as she (has) rewarded you, and
double unto her double according to her works:
Now,
listen; every place the Gospel has gone, the ‘beauty’ of civilization has
followed—so-called ‘beauty’, so-called ‘civilization—with merchandise. When the
Roman Catholics went into
Check
it out and see what’s happened to
39. Now
these parables are none other than Rev 18:1-8 based on
(18) Unto the (messenger) of the church (which is) in Thyatira; These
things saith the Son of God, who hath eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like
fine brass; (Already the judgment started right back there in this Age,
Thyatira.)
(19) I know thy works, and charity, (your) service, (your) faith,
(your) patience, (your) works; the last to be more than the first. (The
Catholic Church is absolutely dominated by works. And the priest do all their
work in saying the mass and the prayers and everything else for them, what good
does it do you? Not one bit of good.)
(20) Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou
sufferest that woman Jezebel, which call(s) herself a prophetess, to teach and
seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto
idols.
(21) I gave her space to repent of her fornication; she repented not.
(Now, listen; what’s going to happen to her?)
(22) I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with
her (that’s the Protestants) into great tribulation, except they repent of
their deeds. (And you know they don’t.)
(23) And I will kill her children with death (That’s the second
death.)
In
other words at the end time leaving neither root nor branch and burning up the
chaff… At the end time the foolish virgins have all been killed, the Bride is
gone, and there’s nobody left except the serpent seed for the
(23) (I’ll) kill her children with death (the lake of fire); and all
the churches shall know I am he (that) searcheth the reins and hearts: and I
will give unto every one according to (his) works.
In
other words, at the time, when the church is fully organized, (And you’ve got
every single last denomination, and there won’t be any more.) God sends a
discerner on the field. According to Heb
You
say, “Why didn’t the church know it?”
Because
your clergy, your ministers, your priests stopped you from knowing it.
I’ve
been independent like a hog from the ground up, and thank God I’ve got a spirit
that’s independent. The only voice ever spoke to me said, “Listen to that man,”
and that man was William Branham. And I’m listening to William Branham by the
grace of almighty God. That’s what you’re seeing right here, the deadly leaven
of the woman, the church.
40. What
is leaven? Let’s go back to Matthew 16 and see it—and a couple more scriptures
with it. Matthew 16:1-12.
(1) The Pharisees also (and) Sadducees came, tempting desired him
that he would shew a sign from heaven.
(2) He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, (you) say,
It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
(3) In the morning, It will be foul weather to-day: for the sky is
red and lowering. O (you) hypocrites, (you) can discern the face of the sky;
but (you cannot) discern the signs of the times?
Now
that was said by Jesus Himself having done every single thing the Father told
Him to do. And He said, “What I have done, commanded of God, has gone right
over your heads. It doesn’t mean a thing to you. And what you do see, you turn
around and demand something else.” Let’s look at it.
(4) A wicked and adulterous generation seek(s) after a sign;
(there’ll be) no sign given it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left,
and departed.
(5) And when his (other) disciples (came) to the side, they had
forgotten to take bread.
(6) Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
(7) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, (Is it) because we
have taken no bread.
(8) Which when Jesus perceived he said, O (you) of little faith,
why reason among yourselves, because (you) have brought no bread?
(9) Do (you) not understand, neither remember the five loaves (or)
the five thousand (and many things…)
In
other words, “Listen, what are you worried about your belly for? I’m not
telling you to lay up store on earth. I’m not telling you to worry about your
stomach. There’s something else that’s different for you to worry about.” He
said, “Fear not him that can destroy the body but not the soul. Fear him that
can destroy both body and soul in hell.”
He’s
telling them where the trouble lies. There is a certain leaven; there is
certain something that destroys. Now you take meal, and you induce leaven into
it, it’ll just go through the whole thing, because leaven is a type of a… Well,
it’s not a virus; it’s a bacteria. It’s a yeast; it’s a mold. That’s what it
is, a mold. Something formed. And it just takes the whole thing over, because
it’s eating the food that somebody else should have. It’s taking something
that’s good, and it’s destroying it. And, if you eat it, it will kill you!
That’s right; it’s very septic.
41. Now:
(10) Neither the loaves (and so on)…
(11) How is it (you) understand (not) I (spoken unto) you concerning
(the) bread, that (you) should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees?
(12) Then understood