Christ is the Mystery no. 113
Chronology of End Time Events part 8
The Final Trump
September 1, 2013
Brian Kocourek
1 Thessalonians 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 of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: 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.
So far in our mini series on
the End Time Chronology of Events, we've looked at the events that took place
from 1906 through 1946, then the events that took place from 1946 through 1963,
then the events that have taken place from 1963 until present. we looked at the process of the Rapture which begins with
the Shout, which is the Message, and then the Voice of the Resurrection. We've
looked at the Judgments that are taking place in the world and we examined the
very first Judgment that God always does and that is abandonment. when man turns from God you can expect God to turn from man.
Then we examined the curses of Deuteronomy 28, and showed how there are 21
blessings but 86 curses of double unto her double. Last Wednesday night we
focused on the Economic judgments which we are watching unfold across the
world, almost daily in the news. we are watching the
Falling apart of the world cosmos, the world systems. Man's systems. Immediately
after this third phase of the Rapture which is the last trump or catching away,
we see the plagues take place on the earth. The world has been getting some
small glimpses of these for the past 40 years but increasingly we are seeing
more and more of these strange diseases coming up all over the globe but we
will not see these in full until we see the full impact of the economic plague
doing it's damage. These plagues are set to come right
after the last trump which is the third part of the rapture process, the trump
or catching away.
This morning we will look at the third phase of the rapture process which
is the last trump which gathers together the living with the dead and then we
are caught up to meet Jesus the son of God.
Now, the resurrection in itself is its own event, it's called "the Voice", but that doesn't end the period of time because under "the Trump" it gathers together the living saints with those which have just been
resurrected.
Now as we already pointed out when we spoke on the Resurrection, there is
an order to the Resurrection. But when the last resurrected saint comes up,
there is a period of time before we begin to see these resurrected saints. Then
something happens. A trump and we are then gathering together the living with the
resurrected ones. So we must look at what takes place during this time.
Now, I am not going to say a whole lot about this except to leave you
with a few quotes to think about.
From his sermon, Jehovah
Jireh 37-72 62-0705 pp. 6 And then, remember, if we go before He comes, we will be
up and in His Presence, or raised before the others are changed. "The
trumpet of the Lord shall sound, the dead in Christ
shall rise first. Then we which alive and remain shall be changed in
a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and be caught up together with
them to meet the Lord in the air." Look at the order of the
resurrection. See, God knows that we long to see our loved ones. And if we got
there to meet Him first, we'd be looking around to see if mother or dad and the
rest of them was there. But see how, the Holy Spirit in His wisdom? We meet one
another first, and then when we get there and sing "Amazing Grace,"
that's--that's when there's going to be a time of worship. You think I act
funny now, watch me up there. It's going to be a wonderful time for me and all
of us that when we get there. ....
And it seems that in
1956 the same year America rejected the Gospel brother Branham spoke about the
tent a whole lot. In fact I have twelve quotes concerning it, but I will not
quote them all this morning, it will take too much time.
In his sermon, Jehovah Jireh 56-0224 P:50 pp. 50 When
we get our big tent up out here somewhere, we'll take plenty
of time and go through them in-between the lines. Watch the resurrection
thing how it moves in there, just beautifully. Just get in love with Him
and He will reveal it to you
Now, he doesn't say here how long he would like
to have this tent set up, he only says, "we'll
take plenty of time and go through them in-between the lines. Watch the resurrection thing how it moves in there. So
how long plenty of time is only one can guess.
But then in many sermons in 1956 he mentions
his wanting to put up a big tent and hold extended length meetings, and he is very
specific about it being about six week. Now I want you to notice, he was not
sure how many people the tent would hold because his estimates are different throughout
the quotes, an so is the location. he
only says, I would like to have it here or over here etc. So those two things
are open as far as I can see. But what seems to be nailed down is that they
would be for an extended time, perhaps 6 weeks which is 42 days give or take a
day or so which places the time as equivalent to the time the first half of the
first resurrection took place which was somewhere between 40 and 50 days.
Door to the heart 58-0316E P:20 I'd like to come one of these places around here, and set up a
tent, and stay about six weeks, so we could just take ministerial
meetings and everything. Thank you.
Testimony 63-1128M P:12 I'd like to get a place sometime,
the Lord willing, when a tent comes on the scene. And I believe that's
soon now, soon I'm going worldwide. I got a worldwide meetings coming now. And I'd
like to get a place where I could set down for about six weeks, and just
take those things and go through them (You see?), back and forth, through the
Scripture. And it's astounding to see the hour that we're living in. It
frightens me. It frightens me, not because... In my heart, the joy bells are
ringing, knowing that the coming of the Lord is so close at hand. But what
frightens me, is to know that so many is unprepared
for the hour that we are facing. That's the bad part.
Hear ye Him 57-0125 P:9 The Lord willing, I wish to have a great big tent one of these days for
the American people to set up in a little pasture for a few weeks, six
or eight weeks at a time.
Now, remember, he said "watch the resurrection in there", so if Alpha is to
repeat in Omega then we are looking for a time when the resurrected saints and the
living saints will come together. And a trumpet always designates a gathering
together.
Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all
things in Christ, both which are in heaven, (That's the saint which have gone on) and which are on
earth; (the ones that are) even in him:
Mark 13:27 And then shall he send his
angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the
uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
Questions and answers COD
64-0830M P:142 365.
Brother Branham, would you please explain Mark 13:27? ... "And then shall he send his angels, and... gather together his elect from
the four winds, and the utmost parts of the earth to
the uttermost parts of heaven". That's
talking of the resurrection, the translation, going up. He'll send forth
His angels to gather. Did you ever think what the angels are? Huh? Messengers. Uh-huh. He'll gather them together,
congregate them together (See?), bringing them, bind them together from
the utmost parts of the earth to the utmost parts of heaven, the Word that was
been made manifest on earth. See? Get it? The Word's been spoken; here It's
manifested. See?
Brother Branham said in his sermon, The Rapture 65-1204 P:74 Now, I want you to notice a great thing taken place here now. Don't
miss this. See? Now, notice, the Word says here in II Thessalonians that there's three things... Notice, from the 13th to the 16th verse there's three things that has to happen before the Lord Himself appears. (Quickly now so we can close. See?) The first thing
happened, notice: a shout, a voice, a trumpet. Let's read
it now and see if that's right. See? For the Lord himself...
(16th verse)... shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with a voice of the
archangel, and... the trump of God:...
Then in paragraph 88 he says, "Getting
the Bride together, and then the resurrection of the dead (See?), to be
caught up with it. Now, watch the three things take place."
And again in paragraph 98 "for the trumpet of God shall sound first,
and the dead in Christ shall rise. (See?) And we which
are alive and remain shall caught up together with them."
Now, in paragraph The Rapture 65-1204 P:89 Brother Branham is more specific with us on
what the trump is. He says, "The next is what?
was a trumpet. A shout, a
voice, a trumpet. Now, the third thing is a trumpet,
which always at the Feast of Trumpets is calling the people to the feast;
and that'll be the Bride's supper, the Lamb's supper with the Bride
in the sky. See, the first things comes forth is His Message calling
the Bride together. The next thing is a resurrection of the sleeping Bride, the
one that's died back in the other ages. They're caught together, and the
trumpet, the feast in the heavens, in the sky. Why, that's the thing that
takes place, friends. We're right there ready now. The only thing,
the church coming out has got to lay before the sun to
ripen. The great combine will come by after while. The wheat will be
burned, the stalks, but the grain will be gathered into it's
garner. See?
Then in paragraph 93 of The Rapture 65-1204 he says, "Therefore, the Message calls the Bride together. See?
The shout and the trumpet, the same morning with a loud voice He screamed out
with that shout, and voice and woke Lazarus. With a loud voice He cried,
"Lazarus, come forth." See? And the voice wakes up the sleeping
Bride, the sleeping dead. And the trumpet, with the sound of the
trumpet, and when it does, it calls... Always a trumpet called Israel to
the Feast of the Trumpets (See?), which was the Pentecostal feast,
the great feast in the sky and the Feast of the Trumpets... And now, a
trumpet denounced a calling together, calling to the feast. And
now that is the Lamb's supper in the sky (Now, watch.,)
the assembling together in the Bride, the Feast of the Trumpets, the
Wedding Supper. We have seen it in types. Now, watch just a moment before we
close.
Notice the gathering
begins first with we which are alive, the shout
gathers us, and then once we are gathered to Christ, then God continues His
gathering from beyond the curtain of time, then those that have slept are
gathered together with the living, then the trumpet which calls us into an action.
It calls us to a feast, the wedding supper.
Now, this trumpet in 1 Thessalonians is not the seven trumpets
of Revelations 7 and 8 because those seven trumpets are to the
Jews. That is what brother Branham said.
Feast of the trumpets 64-0719M P:59 This calling of the Feast of the
Trumpets, the approaching of something... Notice Revelations 8 and 7, if
you want to write it down. We notice the first trumpet there scattered hail,
blood, fire upon the earth. Just exactly with Exodus, when God was calling His
people out of the exodus. Now, the reason that these Seven Trumpets does not
apply to this church and this age is because it's to Israel only. It's
the calling of, the gathering of the people. And now, there's only one
significance in here, that I want you to get to in a few minutes, is where you'll
see why this doesn't apply to this age that we're living in, the Seven Trumpets.
Notice every trumpet
sounds under the sixth seal, the one trumpet to gather the gentile bride and
the seven trumpets to the Jews.
Now, I know there are
ministers all around the world who are teaching that the millennium is on right
now, but they are badly mistaken.
From his sermon, QA on the seals 63-0324M
P:173 A man running up here the other
day from North Carolina, just before we left, he said, "Glory to God.
Can you tell me where some great somebody was?" And I said,
"No." "Oh, yes, sir," said, "this guy's got the..."
Said, "This guy is the president of the Auto Mission." I said,
"The what?" He said, "Auto Mission." I said, "I don't
understand." And he said, "Oh," said, "this guy's the
president." I said, "What'd you say his name was?" He said,
"Branham, I believe, something like that, Brown or Branham." I said,
"Well, my name is Branham." He said, "Are you the president of
the Auto Mission?" I said, "No, sir." He said, "Well,
where's the millennium at?" I said, "I don't know." He said,
"Why, you're... You mean it's going on right here and you don't know
it?" And I said, "No, sir, I don't." And he said,
"Well, glory to God," said, "I got some friends that come, told
me," and said, "I quit work;" still had his work clothes
on. Said, "Brother, I want the millennium." And I said, "Well, I
believe you're just a little bit confused, aren't you, brother? About that time
a car drove up, a taxi cab. She said, "Hold it, hold it, hold it." A little woman come up there, she said,
"Now, you're going to pray for my husband." I said, "Yes, ma'am,
what about it?" She said, "Well, I understand you have to wait a
month on an interview (See?), to get prayed for." And I said,
"What?" And she said, "Yes, sir," said, "but I'm
desperate. You got to pray for my husband." I said, "Sure, where is
he at? Bring him on." This guy standing, looking on, said, "Do you
pray for the sick too?" I said, "Yes, sir." Said, "What did... You say your name was, Branham?" I said,... "And you don't know nothing
about the millennium?" I said, "Well, I... No, I don't." I said,
"I don't understand it just right in the Bible." He said, "No,
it's right now. People's come from
everywhere." I said, "Where's it at?" He said, "Jeffersonville,
Indiana, right under the bridge." "Sir, you've got me
bested." And I said, "I don't know nothing
about it." I said, "Let's go in and set down. Maybe we can talk this
thing over." We did. See? Don't You see, friends,
don't you never desire a ministry. You be happy you're just where you are..
Now, for those who do
teach that the millennium is on, brother Branham said that is a Catholic
teaching. From his sermon, The Thyatirean Church Age 60-1208 P:8 And that's when the
post-millennium people come into existence, right there, 'cause they thought
the church was in the millennium right there (See?), 'cause they was rich,
had need of nothing, state and church all together. "Millennium is on,"
is still a Catholic teaching till this day. See? Now, the Millennium
on, well, we know that that's wrong. The millennium: the second coming
of Christ brings the millennium. That's right. The earth is groaning,
crying for that day of sweet release, When our Lord
shall come back to earth again.
Now, what he is
saying here is that some think this is the time of the Millennium, and some
think that when the resurrection takes place immediately the millennium is on,
but that is wrong.
The shout is this
side of the millennium, and so is the resurrection which we've already shown
you is a series of events and then the trump, when the
dead in Christ gather together with us to receive what we have received in this
hour. You see, they without us can not be made perfect.
I've had people write
me and curse me out because I don't believe that we are in the Millennium. I've
had to deal with this question all over the world in ministers meetings, because
people just won't read their Bibles.
The Bible tells us in the millennium the lion will lay down with the
lamb and they will not hurt nor destroy.
He that is in you 63-1110E P:93 In the millennium, the wolf and
the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock and
shall lay down with the bullock. They'll not hurt or destroy in the millennium.
The Devil will be gone. It's the Devil that makes wild beasts tear, and rip and
eat, and things like that, the way they do. It's Satan that does that.
And the Bible tells us Satan will be bound for a thousand years, because
there will be no one that he can get a hold of to use.
Questions and answers COD 64-0830M P:83 340. And Satan is bound for a
little season, a thousand years, 'cause his subjects is
all in hell, and his... The church that's on earth is redeemed and right in the
Presence of Christ, so he has nothing he can work on. So it's not a chain, as I
said, a log chain; it's a chain of circumstance; he has nothing he can do. He's
helpless and hopeless, just waiting for the resurrection of the subjects; then
they're separated as the sheep from the goats.
Junction of time 56-0115 P:79 We know that we're in the great
day of the last rain, when Satan will be bound and cast in the pit, chained
with a chain of circumstance that he cannot come out and deceive the
nations no more, and a thousand years millennium reign will take place on the
earth, while we're glorifying our Lord Jesus and adoring Him, crowning Him the
King of kings, the Lord of lords.
Questions and answers COD 64-0830M P:83 340. Does the millennium have to
do with the one thousand years? Could it not be a generation? No. A generation
allotted in the Bible is forty years. But the Bible said, "And they lived
and reign with Christ one thousand years." It will be one thousand years
upon the earth, 'cause one thousand years upon the earth is only counted a
time, for parable like to God, as one day. One thousand years upon on the earth
is only one day with God, as God counting time. How
many understands that now? So it's that Sabbath day when the church will no
more labor against sin. And Satan is bound for a little season, a thousand
years, 'cause his subjects is all in hell, and his... The
church that's on earth is redeemed and right in the Presence of Christ, so he
has nothing he can work on. So it's not a chain, as I said, a log chain;
it's a chain of circumstance; he has nothing he can do. He's helpless and
hopeless, just waiting for the resurrection of the subjects; then they're
separated as the sheep from the goats.
Questions and answers COD 64-0823M P:125 Now, there you are, to the
question awhile ago. See? At the judgment seat... Jesus, the church, the Bride,
was raptured, went up into glory, and was up there
and was married, returned back to the earth, and lived a thousand years. At the
end of the thousand years Satan was loosed out of his prison,
that is bound by an Angel with a chain, not a log chain, but a chain of
circumstance; all of his subjects was in hell. All that was resurrected on the
earth was redeemed and Jesus with them. He couldn't work on nothing; but at
the end of the thousand years, the second resurrection... "Blessed and
holy is he that has part in the first resurrection over which the second death
has no power." Now notice, in this second resurrection, when they come up,
then Satan's loosed out of his prison for a little season; then the judgment is
set. Now, watch. Jesus with the Bride, as King and Queen, set at the throne,
white throne judgment; and the books were opened, the books of the sinners. And
another Book was opened, which was the Book of Life; and every man was judged thus
by the Bride. "Know ye not know ye not that the saints shall judge the earth?" See, see? All right.
Questions and answers COD
64-0823E P:112 322. Brother Branham, I would
like to know about the millennium. Is it after the marriage supper, or is it on
earth, all about it. I don't understand about it. Well, brother or sister, it's
hard for me to understand it, myself. But only thing I can say is this: that
the marriage supper comes before the millennium.
From his sermon, The Token, brother Branham said, "The Token, we have talked to the Token all the way
along, but now is the manifestation of the Token. See? 11 Now, we have
sometimes allowed It... The Lutherans allowed It to
accepting the Word, accepting Christ as personal Saviour. The Methodists
said, "When you get happy enough to shout, that's It." The
Pentecostals says, "Speak in tongues, and you got It." And we
find out that all of it was wrong. See? The Token is the Token. It's you and
Christ as persons together. See? It's the Holy Spirit, His Life in you working
His own Life through you. And it's for the rich, the poor, or for
whosoever will receive It.
14 Then the Life that was in
Christ is the Holy Ghost, not the third person, but the same Person in the
form of the Holy Spirit, coming upon you as a Token that your life and your
fare is paid. You have been accepted. Until that Token comes, you're not
permitted on the highway.
Desperation 63-0901E P:17 17
And the devil can impersonate any of those things. But he cannot be the Holy
Ghost. See? He can impersonate these gifts, but he can't be the Holy
Ghost. And the Holy Ghost is the Token that the Blood's been applied,
because It follows the Blood all the way from the Book of Redemption. See it?
That was the purpose of Him coming. That's what He followed in every age. Every
age He's followed that to see that It's brought forth.
And they could not be made perfect without us. And now, the entire
Holy Spirit visits the church making God in human flesh as He did before Sodom,
the burning there, which was a type. Then Abraham, He appeared to him. And
all the things that He hasn't done down through the ages, in the church ages, He
is now doing. Back to the Word, because the messages, and
the messages, and the messages has to wind up in the entire Word. And in
the last days, the Seven Seals being open, was to pick up every straggle that's
been left off in it and make the whole thing in one great big body of the
Bride, that them who lived back there was not perfect until this church be
perfected, the Bride group in the last days, to bring them in and all
together be taken up. See?
18
The Token, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, is among us. We should
reverence that. We can't humble ourselves enough. Taking
off your shoes or getting on your knees wouldn't expel it, it wouldn't satisfy;
it wouldn't suffice us, but a life that brings forth the fruit of the Spirit...Now,
what is the fruit of the Spirit? See? Love, joy, peace... Remember this
morning? Preparation, sent the messenger with the
message. Next thing He done after He sent the messenger with the message, He
sent the Pillar of Fire for a vindication. Next thing was after that, was consolation.
See? You knew that it was right; you was at peace.
We have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. See?
Melchisedec the great prince 55-0109M P:69 When we rally there with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob, those who were heirs of the promise, looking forward to us
not to fail, for without us they cannot be made perfect... And how they're depending on us this morning. Let's
not fail. Keep your anchor in Christ.
What Holy Ghost was given for 59-1217 P:20 Now, the church has got to a
place, from Luther, Wesley... And the revival's on with the Pentecost. And now
into this age that we're coming now by the same Holy Spirit, just more of It... Now, when them Lutherans back
there got saved, they got a portion of the Holy Spirit. When the
Methodists got sanctified, that was a work of the Holy Spirit. See? It
was a part of the Holy Spirit. "They without us are not made
perfect," says the Scriptures. See? Now, God...
As the Light has begin to shine in the last days, He's expecting us, a great
thing from us, because where there's much given, there's much required. So He's
going to require much more of us than He did of the Lutherans or the
Methodists, because we walk in a greater Light, with a greater power, with a
greater witness than they had. Now, we have a greater witness of the
resurrection. We have things more firmer, more sure
than they had.
Now, we were talking about the time of the Voice and trump of God which
is the gathering together of the living and those who slept, and brother Branham
says in his sermon,
Uniting time and sign 63-0818 P:80 All right. We find that now the
time comes when the Trumpet sounds, and those sleeping saints back there
that could not be made perfect without us... There's
many of those, Hebrew 11, and when they come together, they unite with the
living ones. The Church uniting with the Word, then
the Church and the Word uniting together, being come one. The dead saints with the living saints uniting together to be
one, and all going together to unite with Christ yonder for the wedding supper
of the Lamb.
In Matthew 27:50 we see the scene of the first half
of the first resurrection, Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the
veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth
did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the
graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And
came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy
city, and appeared unto many.
Faith of Abraham 55-1118 P:47 On that morning when He rose from
the dead, the Bible, according to Matthew 27, said, that the bodies of the saints that
slept in the dust arose and came out after His resurrection. He had promised it through Abraham. I can see Abraham and Sarah, coming a down along the street, then beautiful forever,
walking around... The Bible said they appeared to
many. Here's Caiaphas standing there talking to some
of them, say, "Who is that young couple there? Look like I ought to know
them."
Then after the resurrection and
Trump when we go to meet Jesus the Son of God, then we crown him King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. Then we go to a Wedding Supper for 3-1/2 years with him in
Glory while the tribulation rages on down here on earth for those who remain.
First seal the 63-0318 P:135 Notice, and when this Holy Spirit that we have, becomes incarnate to us,
the One that's in our midst now in the form of the Holy Ghost, becomes
incarnate to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, we'll crown Him King of
king...?... That's right. See?
Wuest Translation II Thessalonians 2: 5-7 Do you not remember
that while I was still with you I kept on telling you these things? And now you
know with a positive assurance that which namely, the departure of the church,
the saints being assembled to the Lord, is preventing his being disclosed as to
his true identity, in his strategic, appointed time, for the mystery of the
aforementioned lawlessness is now operating. Only He, the Holy Spirit, who
is holding the lawlessness down, will do so, until He goes out from the midst
of humanity. And then shall the lawless one be disclosed in his true identity..etc.
So we see here that this Scripture speaks
first of the Saints assembling to the Lord and then it speaks of their
departure from the earth. Then, as if in the same breath, Paul also tells
us this will happen when the Holy Spirit departs from the midst of humanity.
Now, the Holy spirit could not depart from the midst
of humanity if He were not here to begin with. And if we are to be gathered
together to Him first, then when he goes up we go up, for nowhere in scripture
does it speak contrary to this. Nowhere in Scripture does it speak of the Lord
leaving at a different time from the earth than the saints leave. He said,
"Lo I will be with you always, even unto the
end."
So, if we are gathered together unto Him first,
then it is He that takes us up from the midst of humanity just like Jesus took
Peter, James and John up into the Mountain.
Let us pray,