Christ Revealed in
His Own Word # 8
To Be Ready for that
hour
Sunday Morning April 14, 1996
[ Brian Kocourek, Pastor Grace Fellowship]
This morning I would like to once again continue in Christ
Is Revealed in His Own word, and this is number
8 in our series. This morning I would like to move on to pp. #2-5 and finish up Brother Branham's
opening prayer. PP. 2 "And we believe that we're ending up
this world's history now, and soon time
will fade into eternity; and we want
to be ready for that hour. That's why we have assembled here this morning,
is to prepare for that time. I am
told that there are many of the telephone hooks-ups this morning across the
nation, from coast to coast. Wherever our voices is coming, may that little
group be blessed. Heal the sick that's among them. 3 And I pray that You'll cleanse their souls from all evil. Help
us here this morning at the Tabernacle that we also may enjoy that great privilege. And we ask that You'll
speak to us today through Thy written Word, and may the Spirit reveal to us the
things that we have need of, as we have gathered nationwide now, feeling that
we are a small people, but have a place among the redeemed, because we have
believed on Jesus Christ. 4 Grant these
things to us, Lord, and when we close the service and we go to our different
homes across the nation, may we say like
those from Emmaus, "Did not our hearts burn within us as He spoke to us
along the road?" 5 Now, Father, I know that whatever I would
say would be certainly insufficient. With the--the fine Christians throughout
the nation now that's tuned in, it wouldn't be--it wouldn't be adequate. It
would not be something that I could say that could do any good, because we're
all in the same category. We're human, mortals, but let the great Holy Spirit
speak; may He take ahold the Word and just reveal Himself. We're waiting on Him
now, in Jesus' Name. Amen. (May be seated.)
This morning I would like to focus our thoughts upon one
little statement that Brother Branham
makes in this prayer, and that is this: "we
believe that we're ending up this world's history now, and soon time will fade into eternity; and we want to be ready for that hour. That's why we have assembled
here this morning, is to prepare for
that time. What does it mean
for time to fade into Eternity. We use
the word fade to suggest certain things, like those jeans are faded. What do we
mean when we use the word fade or fade out? And can any one give me a few
examples of something that fades
out? Webster say the word fade means to become less distinct, to whither ; wane.; to disappear slowly. And I think that this is the key, to
disappear slowly. And so we are
looking at not only a disappearance of
time as we know it but a slow disappearance. to disappear sloooooowly!
Now I think that most Christians would agree that we are at
the end - time, and most would also agree that there is coming a time when
"Time shall be no more". In
fact we read of this ending of time in
[ Revelations 10: 1 - 7 ] Read ... Now the thing I want you to
notice here is the events that surround the ending of time as we know it.
First, there is a descent by a Mighty Angel of Whom it was said by Brother
Branham that this Mighty Angel is the Angel of the Covenant, none other than
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now he also
taught us that the Angel of the covenant, was the same Pillar of Fire that led
the Children of Israel out of Egypt and
that Appeared to Paul on His road to Damascus. And Who did this Angel Identify
Himself to Be when Paul asked 'Who art thou Lord?" He said, "
I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest.. "
And in the Movie we have of Brother Branham where He is being
interviewed by brother Kopp, Brother Branham is asked to explain to the people
about the Pillar of Fire that Had it's Picture taken with Him and he explains
it like this,
Very well, Brother
Kopp. Let's go back to the beginning. I was born in eastern Kentucky, in a
little log cabin near Burkesville, Kentucky. The morning of my birth, I'm told
of my parents, that there was a Light came into the room and hung over me. My people was not a religious people. They
did not go to any church. Of course, this caused quite a stir among them. It's
followed me all the days of my life. Recently, they took a picture of It in the
scientific world as shown here. You're probably familiar with this picture. It
was proven by science that it was the only supernatural Being that was ever
scientifically photographed. To my opinion, It's the same Angel of God
that followed the children of Israel from Egypt unto Palestine. You know as a
scholar yourself, that was the Angel of the Covenant, none other than our Lord
Jesus Christ. And when here on earth, manifested in flesh, He did not claim
to be a great Person. He said, "The Son can do nothing, just as the Father
shows him."
Christ Revealed in His Own Word # 8
Sunday Morning April 14, 1996
So I believe that we are a most privileged people because we
have seen the manifestation of
Revelations Chapter 10 and verses 1 - 7 take place in our very life
time. We are Witnesses of One of the greatest events to ever take place in the
history of mankind. The Very Angel of the Covenant, Jesus Christ Himself, in
the same form as he came to Paul and Moses, as the Pillar of Fire. And so we see that when He came down He brought
with Him an open Book. Now this is very significant, because we also read of
the opening of the book in chapter 5 of
the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Let's read it for ourselves.
[ Rev 5: 1 - 6:1] Read... and so we see the book is opened by the Lamb of God.
." The first things I wish to point out here
is that the mystery of God will be finished when this scene unfolds. In other words, until this scene
happens God and Godhead will continue to be a mystery. But, when this happens,
then the mystery is done away. Secondly, this scene begins with a descent of this
Mighty angel who brother Branham called the angel of the Covenant, none other
than the Lord Jesus Christ. From The Breach pg. 74 he says, " And when the seals are broken, ( Rev
5) and the mystery is revealed, down comes
the Angel, the Messenger, Christ, setting His foot upon land and upon sea
with a rainbow over His Head. Now,
remember, this Seventh Angel is on earth at the time of this coming."
Thirdly, you will notice He comes clothed with a cloud and a rainbow over His head. In Life magazine we
have a picture of this Cloud which formed His Wig which is part of His clothing
and if you hold the picture up to the light, you will see a rainbow over His
head because there is a photo of a rainbow on the reverse side of the page and
by light we can see the revelation ( rainbow).
A wig is an ornament for the head pointing to or bringing the attraction
to the head. It also represents a Judge, being a white wig. We see also that
His face was so brilliant it shown forth as the very Sun itself. And His feet
as the Pillar of Fire. Fourth, He
came down with an open book. And
then He cried with a loud voice as when
a lion roareth. And Fifth, we
find this happening at the time when the seventh angel is here on earth. Now let's just examine these five points.
The scene begins by a descent. So Who came down if Jesus
took the book and then sat down. Brother Branham said from, THE FIRST SEAL 63-0318, "Notice now, the Holy Spirit and the revelation and Christ is: the Holy
Spirit is Christ in another form. That's right. Notice, it is a Lamb that opened the Book, and the Lamb is Christ; and Christ
is not seen anymore from then, but He is seen in the Book of Revelation, the
19th chapter, coming on a white horse Now
keep this in mind because brother Branham said, that the lamb is not seen again
until [Revelations 19]. Again we
find in pg. 25 of SOULS IN PRISON He said, "And
John looked to see a Lion, and what did he find?--a Lamb, and it was a bloody
Lamb. A Lamb that had been slain. How long?--since the foundation of the world.
The Lamb came forth, walked up to Him
that had the Book in His right hand, and received the Book. Climbed upon the
Throne and sat down. That's it. It was over. When?--when the seals was
revealed. And again in, pp. 34 WHO
DO YOU SAY THIS IS? "John, looking to see a--a lion, he saw a
Lamb that had been slain, a--a bloody
Lamb come forth and took the Book, climbed upon a Throne and set down.
"
So we see here that
the Lamb took the book in Chapter 5 ( He opened the book and then He went and climbed up and sat down on the
Fathers Throne. Now, remember, If we do not see the Lamb
which is the body from chapter 5 until 19, because He is on the throne, then
Who came down in Revelations chapter 10? I believe it is the same one we see in
[1 Thessalonians 4: 15 - 18] which tells us that the Lord
Himself shall descend with a shout of which brother Branham said, "the shout is a Message going forth". So which Lord came down? "The Lord said unto My Lord."
So then, which one came down?
Which one are we speaking of Here? The Father or the Son? Our answer is in
verse [14]. [1 Thessalonians 4: 14] “Even
so they which sleep in Jesus will God
bring with Him.” Now, is this telling us God brings with Jesus or is it saying God brings with Himself.?
Christ Revealed in His Own Word # 8
Sunday Morning April 14, 1996
Remember, in Revelations
chapter 10 we are told that when this mighty Angel which brother Branham
called Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit comes down, notice He comes with a
loud voice which is a shout. And this Loud voice sounds like a lion. We find
over in the Book of Amos that this is the voice of God Himself. [Amos
3: 7 - 8] " Surely the Lord God
will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret ( Mystery) unto His servants the
prophets. The Lion hath roared, who
will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken,
who can but prophecy" So we
see the scripture tell us that it is the Voice of God that comes forth in the
shout with a loud voice. And this loud voice sounds like the roar of a lion,
bringing fear to all who hear it and yet it is also a prophetic voice as stated
here in the book of Amos. So by now we
must understand that it is God Himself and not the Son of God who comes at this
time to Reveal the Mystery of Himself. That is where so many have fallen short
in this Message. They do not know who has come down. And that is because they
do not understand Godhead. You ask them who came down, and they will tell you
the Lamb. But the Lamb is on the throne until He is again seen in Revelations
chapter 19. So who came down? You will find the answer in Ephesians chapter one
as well. It is “The Father of Glory”.
Paul told us that it is God who will come. [Ephesians
1: 17 - 20] "That
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the Spirit of Wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Himself
So that your eyes may be enlightened and you may know what His expectations of His calling are and what His
exceeding greatness of His power is toward us who believe.."
From Seventy Weeks
of Daniel he said, " The
Spirit of Wisdom comes in to the church to make known to the church by the
revelation of the Holy Ghost bringing
the church in and revealing what day that we are living in. Just as Gabriel came to Daniel, the Holy
Spirit comes to the church in the last days to reveal these great deep
secret things." So we see God
comes with the Spirit of Adoption and let’s us know that it is He Who has come
because He is the Same One Who raised up Jesus. In [2 Thessalonians 2] : we
see that God’s Holy Spirit is holding down the lawlessness until He departs and
when He departs the earth He will take us with Him in a Rapture. From 161-3 THE FIRST SEAL brother
Branham said, " You can't crown a
spirit,..., and when this Holy Spirit
that we have, becomes incarnate to us, the One that is in our midst now in the
form of the Holy Ghost, becomes incarnate to us in the Person of Jesus Christ,
we will crown Him King of Kings...?... That's right. See?" So then Revelations 10 is not speaking of the Body that comes down,
which is the Second Coming. It is not the Lamb, it is the Holy Ghost Himself
which the scriptures refer to as the
Appearing. From the MESSAGE of GRACE,
pg. 30 he said, "There’s only one thing different in Him
being here this morning than He was amongst the people at Galilee, that would
be His own body of flesh, His corporal body; because that was raised up (you
believe that?) set’s at the right hand of the majesty on high, ever living to make
intercessions for our confessions.
Now, what I want for us to see here this morning is that
Brother Branham has told us in this opening prayer to God, that Time is fading
into Eternity and we should place the emphasis where he placed it and that is
that it is fading. Time is slowly
disappearing at such a slow pace that all the events which are
associated with this fading out of time are overlooked and misplaced
altogether. You know that is true. People are looking for a sudden coming and a
sudden catching away and yet the coming of the Lord is upon us and has
overtaken us and the people are so asleep that they are failing to focus on the
events of the Ending of time. What we are failing to recognize is the slow
ebbing tide that is coming in. It reminds me of a story I heard years ago that
goes something like this:
An old man was out walking the beach when he came upon a
young man walking down the beach and going in a direction that was heading away
from the safety of the beach and he was
heading for the cliffs that jutted out by the edge of the sea. The old man had
lived in that area for many years and he knew what to expect from the tide and
so when he saw the young man he warned him not to go any further because the
tides were coming in.
Christ Revealed in His Own Word # 8
Sunday Morning April 14, 1996
The young man looked out at the sea and since he did not
know what signs the old man was seeing as signs of an incoming tide, he just
ignored the old man's warning and proceeded forth going on his merry way
thinking that when He saw the tides coming in and washing up on the shore, he
could outrun it and be safe. But what he did not know was that the tide didn't
come in with a lot of noise and fanfare, it came in slowly, inch by inch. The
young man was so interested in exploring the cliffs that he forgot about the
time and before he knew it the tides were upon him and he was soon over come by
the sea and drowned.
Brother Branham said, time is fading into Eternity. Time is
slowly disappearing right before our very eyes and only those who are watching
and aware of the events that are associated with the ending of time as we know
it will be caught up into the Eternity that has appeared before us in the form
of the Pillar of Fire. For God Himself id the Author of Eternal Life. But for
the rest of humanity, we see another story unfolding.
[ Luke 8: 13
] Notice these are those who hear the
Word but do not take heed to what it is telling them and they end up with
nothing. It says, the devil comes and takes away the Word out of their hearts
which is he takes it from their understanding. And of course when they no
longer understand what the Word is telling them, they soon lose hope and sight
of the real picture and before they know it they are drifting away and drifting
off to sleep.
[ Luke 21: 31 - 36 ] The scripture tells us to take heed, to be
very careful that we do not miss out standing in the Presence of the Son of
Man. It also tells us that many will be so bogged down by the cares of this
life that they will miss out on this great end-time event and therefore that
DAY will come upon them unawares and they will miss out on it. It also tells us that being caught up into
the cares of this life will be a snare that will come upon every one who is living
in that day but we are also told that there will be a small number who have
been accounted worthy who will not fall for this trap and thus they will stand
before or in the presence of the Son of Man and receive all that is to be given
in that day.
Brother Branham said in his opening prayer of this Message Christ Revealed in His Own Word, "we believe that we're ending up this
world's history now, and soon time will fade into eternity;
and we want to be ready for that hour. That's why we have
assembled here this morning, is to
prepare for that time
So we see that the world's history is ending NOW, and that
time is fading, it is disappearing slowly, ever so slowly, and because it is
fading so slowly many are missing the events which constitute the end of time
as we know it. In [Rev 10: 7] where
we read the words, "and time shall be no more" the literal translation
is " and "time shall be no more delayed." And Brother Branham is praying that we will be ready for this
entering into Eternity and so He tells us via this opening prayer that this
Message and our gathering to this Message of Christ Revealed in His Own Word
has something to do with our preparation for this great event of the time
fading out and eternity beginning. Oh, brothers and sisters, don't get so
bogged down in your every day lives that you miss what God has in store for
those that Love His Appearing.
We see in [Deut 28 :
1- 2 ] That if we take heed to the Voice of God that all these blessings
will not only come upon us but shall overtake us. Now this is like in a race
when you have your eyes set on the goal tine. And he is telling us that as they
come upon us we will not even see them coming but they will soon not only come
upon us but they will overtake us and we will be swept up into the current of
the tide. But this tide is God sent to take our boats home to Glory. But on the
other hand, those who do not pay close heed to the Voice of God, curses will
come upon them and overtake them as we read in [verse 15].
Did not Jesus Warn us to be ever watchful and praying for
this hour to come? Let's read again
[ Luke 21: 36] and now let's close with [
Mark 13: 29 - 37] Let's bow our heads in prayer.