Christ is the Mystery no. 108
The End-Time Chronology of Events part 3
Aug 14, 2013
Brian Kocourek
Now let's read from 1 Thesalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others
which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring
with him. 15 For this we say
unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming (parousia) of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
(a kalusma, which is a military command,
the shout is the Message) with the voice
of the archangel, (that's the resurrection) and with the trump of
God:(that's the call to the wedding feast, the catching away) and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord. 18 Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.
From his sermon the Rapture the 65-1204 P:75 brother
Branham explained it this way, Three things happen,
a shout, a voice, a trumpet, has to happen before Jesus appears. Now, a shout. Jesus does all three of them when He's
descending. A "shout," what is a "shout"? It's
the Message going forth first, the living Bread of Life bringing forth the
Bride. Now, God has a way of doing things, and He never changes His policy. He
never changes His... He's the unchanging God. In Amos 3:7 He said He would do nothing on the earth until first He revealed it
to His servants the prophets. And just as
certain as He promised it, He'll do it. We will get into the other
two later in our chronology.
Therefore, in 1963 We see the Judge with his white wig on having His
picture taken in the Heavens, signifying the Judge is standing at the
door, He’s knocking at the door because
He has been rejected and He stands outside the churches. The Phaneroo of Christ begins... The
unveiling of the mighty God to His Bride.
James 5:7 tells us, "Be patient
therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long
patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. 8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against
another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth
before the door. 10 Take, my
brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example
of suffering affliction, and of patience. 11 Behold, we count them happy
which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of
the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy".
In 1963 a whole lot happened, the
Judge shows it is He, the Supreme Deity that dwelt in Christ has returned to
reveal all mysteries contained in the seals, and according to Revelation
10:7 and we
see that "time shall no longer be delayed".
The Spirit of Wisdom and
Revelation in the knowledge of Him (God) has come down.
Ephesians 1:15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your
faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16 Cease not to give thanks
for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 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 him: 18 The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And 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, and set him at
his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far aboveall
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 the head over all things
to the church, 23 Which is
his body, the fulness of him that filleth
all in all.
In 1965 we see that the Spiritual Union of the bride and Christ has taken place and the exposing
of what makes a man a false anointed one at the end-time. we are taught that the
anointing may be genuine but their doctrine is wrong.
In this we have learned how
to discern, as the Apostle John said, "Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
And we were taught under the
shout to try all things by the Word. Give everything the word test. Not what we
believe the Word says, but what the Word actually says, because it needs no
interpretation.
Therefore we are in the time
of all things that are hidden being exposed, and that means all motives and
objectives are being exposed before the Glorious Presence right now. Just as the prophet through the sign of Messiah could know the very
thoughta and intents of the heart, so too under the
glorious Light of the Pillar of Fire all men's motives and objectives are being
exposed.
Ephesians 5:13 said,
But all things that are reproved are made
manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
And John said in John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved.
Now, notice it say men will not come to the Light or the current
understanding of the Gospel because their deeds are
evil, but then it says, the ones who come
to the light, to the current understanding of the Word,
they come because their deeds are wrought in God which
means that they have their source in God.
But then he says, 21 But he that doeth truth
cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought
in God.
Now, do you know what the
word deeds was translated from? The same word as Jesus said in John
14:12 and
that word is "ergon".
So in essence the reason
they will not come to the understanding of John 14:12 as brother Branham taught
it (which I believe is the current light), is that their works will not allow
them because as John said, "men loved darkness more than light, because their (ergon),
their works were evil.
That is why they say, "we don't have to have any works? Brother Branham
did all the works, and we are resting on that!" Well, God don't have
grandchildren, he has children.
Didn't we just read from brother Branham
last week where he said in Christ is the Mystery
63-0728 P:212 "Notice,
notice. And the "Father that sent Me" went with Him.
The Jesus that sends us goes in... "A
little while and the world won't see Me no more, yet ye shall see Me, for I (personal pronoun, 'I 'the Person, Jesus) will be with you, even in you to the end of the world. "The works that I do shall you do also." Now, go back and see what He done; then see what
you do, and then compare yourself.?"
Oh, brother how can you get
any more specific than that? But John goes on to say, 21 But he
that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made
manifest, that they are wrought in God,"
Now, this word wrought was
translated from the Greek word ergazomai and come from the root
words ergon which was used in John 14:12 as works, and means to labor or work, and
then we see the word zoe attached to the works, and
we know Zoe means life, or life expressed, and then
we see the suffix mai attached
at the end which means to bring to its fulfillment or consummation.
Thus works, plus life plus
fulfillment make up this word ergazomai. Together it says, 21 But
he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made
manifest, that the works expressed through their life may come to their
consummation or fulfillment in God."
Again as brother Branham
said, "The works that I do shall you do also." Now, go back and see what He done; then see what you do,
and then compare yourself.?"
So we see that there is a
hindrance to the truth in those whose own lives show no consistency with the
life of Christ that is supposed to be living in them, and because they know
they see no Christ life in themselves, they flee the light, or the current
understanding of the Word for the hour.
In other words, since they have not
died to self, and they know their own works are rejected, because they are not
the works of Christ living and abiding in them, and their is no comparison
between what they do and what the Spirit of Christ would do if it was Him
living their life for them, so they
reject this light and turn away from such teaching the Bible says to hide their
own works because their works are evil.
We saw a man who had so died
to self, that we could see jesus
living in him, and yet we know this man was born in sin, shaped in iniquity and
came to the world speaking lies. And even at a young age would have killed
three boys if God had not stepped on the scene and took over not allowing any
of those bullets to fire, until after the boys were out of sight.
So we saw how that God
tempered him, and molded him until the reflection of Christ was so readily seen
in him, and we know he was given a mind change and the mind of Christ was in
him, to complete in the prophet, waiting for the bride to one day catch up. Then
God took His servant off the scene, and just like John decreased so that Christ
might increase, so too in the Omega the same thing had to take place.
We learned under the Shout
which was a part of the great appearing, that Alpha must repeat in Omega, which
brother Vayle later called the Alpha Omega principle. we learned about the
Bible doctrine of Twins, how that every revival produces twins, one being a
spiritual believer while the others coming up under the same revival produce a
carnal believer, but both claim to believe, only the life shows the difference.
Now, in 1977 the teaching on the Phaneroo
of the bride was brought forth by Br. vayle so we
would understand how that God came down to manifest in his true character and
that was supposed to cause us to manifest in our true character.
That was the year br. Vayle began to teach on the parousia showing that the great
Appearing of Christ was actually found in the Bible under the word parousia which speaks of a presence as we read last Sunday from the Rotherham Bible cover.
That same year brother Vayle
began to show forth other Greek words to help us understand the Parousia of Christ such as the Epiphnaea or shining forth.
As the teaching ministry of
the Holy Spirit began to focus on the events which are already unfolding around
her, we come to also understand that He comes bringing a certain knowledge or Ginosko which i a knowledge based also upon what we
are experiencing. An experiential knowledge of the one who is
here. As the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit continued to teach,
the bride was finally beginning to understand Who has
come down, what He is and what He is doing in this Hour.
1980's-1990’s we come to focus on the Doxa of God, which are his opinions, his
values, and his judgments. we come to find the more we
focused on them the more those attributes of Christ could be seen manifested in
the believers. The teaching began to be focused on laying
in the presence of the son to ripen, and so the main focus was Him, and in that
we begin to see who it was that actually came down. Thus the Godhead began to
be expounded upon, partially because of the error among some preaching the pasrousia but actually teaching it wrong because they did
not understand the Godhead. So the teaching ministry of the Holy Ghost began to
focus on Who it is that came down, and in doing so, so
very many aspects of Godhead began to be taught and understood by the
believers. The problem was that in the teaching of the Godhead there was
actually more opposition to the truth of the Godhead than there was against the
understanding of the Appearing and Coming or the parousia teaching.
Therefore instead of laying in the presence of the Son to ripen, it seemed more
the teaching was based on proving the doctrine right, and instead of not
entering into the fight, we all rolled up our sleeves, to prove we were right.
Therefore, the laying in the presence to ripen seemed to have lost it's focus and the teaching Doctrine of Godhead seemed to become
the main focus.
Oh, their was great
excitement in the camp of parousia and Godhead but that excitement was
short lived as the battle overtook the joy that should have come from the
presence of the Lord.
But we did see a gathering
together during the 80-90's but it was a gathering to camps and doctrines
instead of to Christ. And so era was filled with we are the gathering over here
and the others who pulled away said we are the gathering, and to all it was a
real time of immaturity and infighting in this Message.
When the 2000’s came around brother vayle
was no longer teaching, br. Colemen
was no longer teaching, and one by one the teachers or those claiming to be The teacher all began to go off the scene. For many years
health problems took the focus of these brothers and while they were focused on
their own health those around them began to fall away from the doctrine and
began to focus on earthly issues.
Instead of
the Bride entering into her Parrhesia (her special rest and
confidence in His Word). She became embroiled in earthly affairs. One camp got so intoxicated
with human wealth that the FBI had to come in and stop the scams they were
pulling to gain access to the retirements of many of their people. Other camps
began falling apart from the shear greed of their leaders, until most of the
camps are either hurting right now, or in complete finality.
But the bride having come
through many of these issues has begun to settle down to why they came to this
Message and that is to become as Christ like as God will allow in these mortal
bodies.
And as she comes to maturity
she begins to understand her own role within the body of Christ and she is
beginning to settle into her role. She now is capable of assessing her own
position in the body, and her response will be towards Him and Him alone for He
is the Word.
We now wait for the change
of the mind to be completed so that the change of he
body will come to the place of obeying our confession.
Then in the mid 2000's the
Lord begin to make a turn and those who were sensitive
to the Holy Spirit began to move with Him. As brother Vayle said at his own
kitchen table, "we are turning a corner but how
many of them will turn that corner with us." we were focusing
our talks at that table to what the Lord is doing right now in each of us, and
as he said, "Hebrews 6, when Paul says let us go on to perfection, he is
saying, quit fussing who is right and who is wrong, and start living the
life."
during those years there were many
issues which had come into the churches which caused those churches to loose
sight of the whole purpose of knowing the relationship between the Father and
son, and that was so that we might become like the son himself and allow him to
live our lives for us.
But those who did not make
the turn continued to pound forth the doctrine as though it alone was the
answer. But a strange thing happened along the way. They who were so hard
against any who did not understand the Godhead as they began to loose sight of
the doctrine of Christ and began to teach strange doctrines of the flesh issues
like eating meat or not eating meat.
Therefore if we had been aware
and some of us were, that that any isue that pops it
head up now, must also have popped its head up back in the alpha, for the Alha must repeat itself in the Omega. And if we were aware
of How it was dealt with in the alpha we would then
know how to deal wit it in the Omega.
The problem is that our pattern
is Christ and we should approach all issues of life as he did.
Turning northward P:30
[61-0129] 30 Don't fight one another. As
long as the devil's got you fighting one another, he don't
have to fight at all. He will set back and has a picnic, watching you fight one
another, and laugh at you professing to have the Holy Ghost, and fighting one
another.
And he also said in his sermon Identifications
63-0123, 40 Now, Jesus
gave us the Example of what we ought to be looking at, when He reflected
His Life to us through the Word, what we should see. When we look into God's
mirror, we should see ourself identified with Him.
That is a perfect Example. 41 Now, but we find out that, as we go along through
life, that our character molds the image that we are.
Each one knows that. You, as you live, so is your character, molds you to what
you are. Now, you have seen people that you just love to be around, yet they
might not exactly be in—in your bracket of society. And, again, they might be
of a different race, the colored, or the brown, or the yellow. But there just something about that character, that you just love
to be in their presence. Because each person is a—a little dynamo of
their own, and you—you put out an atmosphere. 42 And
then you see people that were noble people, but yet you were always glad to get
away from them. It's just they create such an atmosphere around where you are.
Nothing against them, they're nice people, but you just don't like that atmosphere,
they're in. And their character creates whatever they are, makes them what they
are. 58 You cannot, no way, ever produce a
Character like that; only, accepting that Character in you. A church
cannot do that. A creed cannot do that. A denomination cannot do that. An
education cannot do that. It must be a Birth. It's got to be a dying out, and
let God in, by the grace of Christ, mold this type of character in you, that
you become Him, and your life and His is the same, then you are sons and
daughters of God.
Then he tells you how you will know
when Christ's character is reflecting in you. he says.
70 Now,
with our Message, can we stand by the looking glass of God's Word and see
Christ reflect in our own lives then? Can we bear such, and the reproach of
the Message that we're standing for here? Someone can say something about It, and yet you just don't open your mouth and say nothing
about it. He was example, because God was reflecting His character in Him.
And then if we're sons and daughters of God, God reflects His character in
us, then we become like Him. That's my heart's desire. I think that's every
believer's desire, is to become more like Him. 106 Oh, no other nature could do
this. No. Cause, He was the molded perfect character of God.
And we found brother Branham
saying, in pp 212 Notice. And the "Father that sent Me"
went with Him. The Jesus that sends us goes in... "A little while and the
world won't see Me no more, yet ye shall see Me, for I
(personal pronoun, 'I 'the Person, Jesus) will be with you, even in you to the
end of the world". "The works that I do shall you do also." Now,
go back and see what He done; then see what you do, and then compare
yourself."
So find in our Bibles in Romans
chapter 14 and I will read this for you from the New International Version,
because the wording is just so appropriate for what took place in this hour. and how did the apostle Paul handle it, because that is the
way we should handle it.
The Apostle Paul said, Romans 14: 1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on
disputable matters. So The Apostle Paul is
telling us here that he is going to speak on how to handle such matters of
disputation. 2 One man's faith allows him
to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
Now, this is where we are at
today. One says only vegetables, and the other says anything goes. And the
problem is that both sides of this issue are passionate about what they
believe. But notice where Paul takes this argument. He
does not take sides with one or the other, but rather he cautions the believers
to be careful how they handle their own
personal feelings on these issues. So he says, 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who
does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who
does, for God has accepted him.
So we had two opposing views on
the subject of eating meat in the early church. But Paul’s warning is not that
they should eat or not eat. His warning is what are you doing with what you
believe, and how is it affecting the operation of the Holy Spirit in your midst.
Now, remember the Holy Spirit
came down as a Dove and would only come down upon a lamb’s nature, because the
dove and the lamb have the same nature. So this is where Paul takes this issue
and really any other issue that would separate the church. Years ago in 1979 brother Vayle told me about
a Baptist church that split because one part said you must eat only honey and
no sugar at all. The others said no, sugar is ok, so the church ended up
splitting over such a simple issue. And if the devil can get a church to split
over that it shows they have already left The Faith. Now, when an issue can affect
a group of people like that it shows they are not focused on the doctrine and
have deviated from the Truth.
Notice what Paul says here to
those who are judging and condemning or those who are looking down their nose
on the others. 4 Who are you to judge someone
else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is
able to make him stand. 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another;
another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. And that
is just it. You must be fully convinced in your own mind.
6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat,
eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the
Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the
Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died
and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
You see the church had left
Christ out of the picture all together and had left their first love.
Brother Branham said, Rising of the sun 65-0418M P:31 Now,
the very essence of the Message that was sent that, "He is risen from the dead,"
we, His beneficiaries, we, who share the resurrection with Him, draw
benefits from this by proving to the world that He is alive. We cannot do it
by word only; we cannot do it by some tradition of man; we only reflect
exactly what we're pointing to. I'm afraid today that too many of us are
not getting people to Christ. We're getting them to a church, to a theory,
but we must get them to Christ. He is the only One, and the only One that has
Life. "He that has the Son,
has Life." And if the life of a man
that's dead be projected in you, you will live the same life he lived. If
the blood of a man was a certain type, and you took the blood from one man and
changed the blood of the one man into another, he'd absolutely be that typed
blood. And if your spirit that's in you is reckoned dead, and you are
anointed with the Life that was in Christ is upon you... Romans 8:11 says, "If the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, It'll also
quickens your mortal bodies," that
same Life, them same powers, them same beneficiaries
that He had here on earth from God. He redeemed you, a
seed that was foreknown by God, whose names was put on the Lamb's Book of Life
before the foundation of the world. And that Gospel Light of the resurrection,
the confirmation of the Word... How did we know He was the Christ? Because He proved what He talked about. How will I
know the Message of the hour? God proves what He promised and He talks about
it.
And how does God prove that you've got that
Life? By manifesting it through you during your trials.
That is the admonition to the
Church at Ephesus or in the Ephesian Church Age. They
had left their first love which is the Doctrine of Christ. That
is what Ephesus means. Relaxed and drifting, and so they left their first Love,
the Revelation of Jesus Christ and went to humanistic issues such
as meat or no meat.
Then Paul said, 10 You, then, why do you judge your
brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand
before God's judgment seat. 11 It is written: 'As surely as I live,'
says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess
to God.' 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
You see, Paul is saying, Look
people, get focused and quit looking down on each other and being so judgmental
with each other. Just make sure your motives are right and all will work out in
the long run. Nothing can separate you from the
Love of Christ. And All
things shall work together for those that Love God and are the called
according to His Purpose.
Then he says, 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make
up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your
brother's way. 14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I
am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards
something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your
brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer
acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ
died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.
So it all comes down to Love
doesn’t it? If I do something that is hard for my brothers and sisters to
understand why I would do it, then I will not do it at least in their presence.
Years ago I had to face this issue first hand when I attended a church where
the people were very young and spiritually babies because they were not being
fed the doctrine of Christ. I wore clogs because I liked the way they felt on
my feet. One day the pastors wife came to me and said
she was offended because I was wearing that which she said pertained unto a
woman. I told here that the clogs were originated in Scandinavia and over there
the women’s clogs had a back on them above the heel of the shoe and the men’s
were open like the ones I wore, but I said, never the less, if it offends you
that I wear clogs then I will not wear them and so should our attitude be. You
see it is the weak Christian who can not make room for others being different,
but the mature believer says, God does not look at every detail in your life, He looks at the condition of your heart. And so it
should be with all of us.
Finally Paul says, 17 For the kingdom of God is not a
matter of eating and drinking, but of 1)righteousness, 2) of peace and 3) joy in the Holy Spirit, Now, we could take a complete
sermon on these three things, and perhaps some day we might, but then we see Paul say, 18 because anyone who serves
Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. 19 Let us
therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Now, what does that mean. It means try to do everything that you can do to keep
the peace and be uplifting to all. 20 Do
not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.
Now, Listen!!! He says Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. And what do people think they are doing
when they make food their focus and not the Doctrine of Christ. Can eating meat
or not eating meat give you a body change? Come on brothers and sisters? Paul’s
entire admonition here has one purpose, to keep the peoples focus on Christ.
Then he says, All food is clean, but it
is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
Look, everything is ok to eat as
long as it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. Unless
you eating it causes someone else to loose their faith. You don’t live
to yourself, and you certainly aren’t the only one affected when you die, so begin
to live for others that Christ might live through you.
You know meat was and still is
an issue with some here in the states, but so is eating snake in Congo
Republic. That same spirit came on some of the brothers and they asked me in a
questions and answers session, they said, "Since we have come to the
doctrine of this Message, some are saying it is no longer acceptable for us to
eat snake, and others said, it is ok to seat snake. I could hardly believe what
I was hearing and i had to laugh out loud because the
same childish questions were the main talk back in some of the churches here in
the states. The Apostle Paul went on to say, 21 "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do
anything else that will cause your brother to fall. 22 So whatever you believe about these
things keep it between yourself and God.
Let me repeat that because this
is the attitude that was in Christ. 22 So whatever you believe about these
things keep it between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. Let the mind that was in Christ be in you. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned
if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
In closing let me read once again what our reaction
should be. "Can we bear such, and the reproach
of the Message that we're standing for here? Someone can say something about
It, and yet you just don't open your mouth and say
nothing about it. He was example, because God was reflecting His character
in Him. And then if we're sons and daughters of God, God reflects His
character in us, then we become like Him. That's my heart's desire. I think
that's every believer's desire, is to become more like Him."
let us pray...