Christ Revealed in His Own Word #128

Spiritual Blindness

Wednesday, August 20 1997

Brian Kocourek, Pastor Grace Fellowship

[Revelations 3: 14-21] (read) Prayer..... But will the people take heed to what He has come to do? We’ll find the answer tonight as we continue this evening in our study from paragraph 159 of Christ is Revealed in His Own Word. [159] Now, if a man... In the Laodicean age the people were what? Naked (Are they?), blind. What good does light do to a blind man? If the blind leads the blind, don't they all fall in the ditch? And tonight I would like to focus our thoughts on this other condition that brother Branham and the Scriptures call blindness.

What is blindness, ________? Webster tells us that the word BLIND means, Without the power of sight; and didn’t brother Branham say “they don’t even believe in the power of Revelation?” Now, Webster adds, Not able or willing to notice, understand, or judge. Doing without adequate direction or knowledge, disregarding evidence and sound logic, etc.

So we see here a condition or attribute of the end-time Laodicean people that more or less leads to anarchy and a willful wandering of the spirit, and self deprecation. [Heb 10:26] If we keep going on willfully into sin which is disbelief, after that we have received the knowledge of the way out, there will be no more sacrifice for our sin, seeing that we willfully choose the path that we are going. {361} The 6th Seal The thing that they had rejected, they'd spurned mercy for the last time. And when you spurn mercy, there's nothing left but judgment. When you spurn mercy... Just think of it. And there they was. They had no place to go, no retreat. And the Bible said here, "They cried to the rocks and the mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the face of the wrath of the Lamb." They'd tried to repent, but the Lamb had come to claim His own. See? And they cried to the rocks and the mountains, prayed, but their prayers were too late.

[52 World Falling Apart] In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we find I'm going to read just a little bit from the Sixth Seal. Out of the Book of Revelation, found in the 6th chapter of the Revelation, and then we'll begin with the 12th verse. And then I also want to read from Hebrews 12:25 to--for another little quotation, for some Scriptures I got written down here. And a--a few things I would like to speak on, if the Lord willing. And now on [Revelations 6:12] And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she's shaken of a mighty wind. ... the heavens departed as a scroll when it's rolled together; and every mountain and every island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,... the chief captains, and the mighty men,... every bondsman, and every free man, hid themselves in... dens and in... rocks of the mountains. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that setteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? 53 Now, in the Book of Hebrews the 12th chapter, and beginning with the 25th verse. See that you refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on the earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from that, from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he has appointed, saying, Yea, once more I shake not the earth only, but also the heavens. And this word, Yet once more, signifying... removing of those things which are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receive a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptable with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. Remember, this is the hour that they will cry out for death.

Now I want you to notice the condition of blindness of the Laodicean people is one which is self afflicted upon these people, because they are given a remedy and they are told that if they do not want to be blind any longer, that they should take a certain treatment, a prescription from God Himself, one which He calls (eyesalve). He also tells them, if they don’t want to be naked any longer, they should put on a certain garment which He calls (white raiment).

Now, this word for (white) is the Greek word (Leukos) which means light, bright, brilliant, brilliant from whiteness, and dazzling white. This word is also used as the whitening of grain that is ready for harvest, as we see in [John 4:35].

In Matthew 17:2 when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John we read that His Garment was as white as the light around Him. [Matthew 17: 1-2] And notice we are told in Rev 3 to put on this garment of light, or white like light that the shame of our nakedness will not appear (phaneroo) to manifest in it’s true character. Therefore we see the essentiality of walking in the Light and putting on the garment of Right-wise-ness that our true nature in this flesh does not manifest it’s sinful nature as we read in [Rev 22:14]. So if you have some washing to do, it must be by the Word of God as we see in [Eph 5:26] & [Psalm 119:9] Therefore if our Robes are made spotless by the Light, then we can never enter into the Presence of God wearing any other Garment, (spiritually speaking).

[Matt 22:9-14] Now there was only one way to enter into the wedding feast and that is through the door where those entering were given wedding garments and we know Christ is the Door [John 10:9] and He is the Word. So we see the fella that tried to get entrance without coming through the Word was cast out and suffered tribulation, and we know that this fits beautifully with out understanding of the foolish virgins who did not have oil in their lamp, although they had the lamp. Now, when we speak of having the Word we are speaking of more than just having the Word, for we are speaking of possession. To really have the Word, there has to be an understanding of what it is that you have. Therefore, it is not merely saying I hear therefore I understand, because we know that many hear and do not understand as we see in [Matthew 13:10-17]. So therefore, there is a hearing which brings perception, and a seeing which brings understanding.

Then if we are to better understand what this blindness is that the people of Laodicea lack, we need to understand what it means to see, because this blindness is a lack of sight, and therefore a lack of understanding. And remember, the foolish virgins had a lamp, and we know according to [Psalm 119:105], the Word of God is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. But the foolish virgin had the lamp, therefore they had the word, but they failed to recognize that they had to have oil in their lamp to make the lamp work, and do what it is meant to do, and that is to show forth and illuminate the path. But these did not have any oil which we find many places in scripture where oil represents an anointing.

[Exodus 29:7] Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

[Exodus 29:21] And thou shalt take of the blood that [is] upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle [it] upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

[Exodus 30:31] And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.

[Exodus 40:9] And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that [is] therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.

[Leviticus 8:10] And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that [was] therein, and sanctified them. 12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him. 30 And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which [was] upon the altar, and sprinkled [it] upon Aaron, [and] upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, [and] his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.

[Leviticus 10:7] And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the LORD [is] upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.

[Leviticus 21:10] And [he that is] the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; 12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God [is] upon him: I [am] the LORD.

[James 5:14] Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

[I John 2:20 & 27] But ye have an unction (anointing) from the Holy One, and as a result of this anointing, ye know all things. Now let’s read verse 27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Now, then we can see through these many statements that God has called us to apply and eyesalve which is an ointment, or an anointing to the eyes of our heart. We know that oil always signifies an anointing, and it signifies the Holy Spirit’s anointing of our understanding. Therefore, we see that the eyes of our heart must receive an anointing upon them in order for us to understand the Word which has been given to us. Notice how closely related the heart is to the blinding of the eyes. [John 12:40] [Acts 28:7] [2 Peter 2:14]. So we see that where goes the condition of the eyes, we see also the condition of the heart.

Now, we see the purpose of the anointing of God with, among, and upon, the people in the times of Laodicea in [Eph 1:17-18] that we might know and have hope which knowledge is to bring forth a hope which maketh not ashamed because we are to come to the place of having no shame, because we are to be blameless.

[Romans 5: 1-5] So as I mentioned Sunday, without faith we could never be justified, and if never justified, then how could we be sanctified, and if never sanctified, then how could it ever be possible that God would place His Holy Spirit in an unholy vessel. In fact Brother Branham told us that God will never place His Spirit in an unholy vessel. So we see then this hope maketh us not ashamed. And the reason we are not ashamed is because we have been justified which came by Faith which is a revelation. This revelation opened up to us and gave access to us of the Grace of God, which then brings us into a peaceful relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Judge. This Peace with God then brings us into a life which is dedicated and consecrated and is sanctified which then opens the door for the indwelling of God’s Spirit which is Holy.

[1 Peter 1: 3-5] Now, Martin Luther made a statement which I think bears repeating because it is so very important for us to understand. “we wait for this priceless inheritance, he says, ‘in the hope which we have attained through faith’, for this is their order of succession: From the Word follows faith, and from faith the new birth, and from the new birth we pass to hope, so that we certainly expect and are assured of the blessing.”

Therefore as we spoke of Sunday morning, the Word of God will not do you any good if it has not been anointed to you and this anointing we know is Faith or revelation in the Word. Once you have received this anointing, the Word becomes a living hope, a living desire to see and partake of the attainment and blessings of what this Word contains. It not only justifies you, but when you come to the place of having peace with our Lord Jesus Christ who is The Supreme Judge, then it also gives you confidence, a confidence that can not be shaken.[Eph 3:12].

Now, I am not saying that we should have confidence in this flesh. Rather what I am saying is that our confidence is in God and what He has said about you. How can you have confidence in this flesh any way seeing that you must put off this flesh to receive your translation, because flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God. [Phil 3:3] and then Paul said, if any man should have confidence in the flesh it would be I but I have no confidence because although I lived a very virtuous life free from breaking the commandments of God yet I found myself fighting God and not even knowing it. [Phil 3:4-21]

[Hebrews 3:6-14] And how do we hold fast with confidence unto the end? not by looking at your body of death. I look around and see many people who do love the Lord dearly and yet as they get older they become less disciplined in their life and they begin to do things that they know they should not do. As the body gets older it becomes weaker and begins to loose it’s attractiveness because it is perishing. Our strong minds will weaken and our strong convictions begin to wax because the spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak. And although we may have been very strong in the Faith at one point, the weaker we become in the body the more dependent we will become upon God to save us from our selves.

Will the Word alone do it? Not without being anointed by God’s presence! even Jesus warned of a condition at the end-time when He said, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find Faith?” And we know that “Without Faith it is impossible to please God.” So something is in order to happen that will deliver us from this condition because we alone can not stand in His Presence in our present conditions. And then what is that which is to happen? He said He would give us eyesalve that we might see, and a righteous garment that we would no longer be naked, and ashamed. And He would give us Gold that has been fire tested, and what is that? According to [1 Peter 7] it is the trial of our Faith which is more precious than gold tried in the fire. And gold represent deity, as well. So you see that God has come down in this hour, because had He not come to give us these things, we would surely have no hope of salvation. Not only would we have no hope of eternal Life after death, but we would have no hope of Life in this flesh. Because we are at the point of the falling apart of the world, and men are scrambling to do something about it and they are building a new world order with hopes that this will be the answer to the crumbling and decay of every institution that man has created.

The worlds political systems have crumbled, the religious systems have crumbles, the economic systems have crumbled, the educational systems have crumbled, the home and family institution has crumbled, and every thing that pertains to life as we know it has either crumbled already, or is in the process of crumbling. It is later than we think. He promised over in the book of Malachi that if he did not come there would be no hope and he would have to destroy the earth with fire. You might say, well, it’s going to be destroyed by fire anyway, so what’s the difference? Well, the big difference is that He has come to save His Own. He said in chapter three that He would spare us as a man spareth his own children.