Christ is the Mystery no 163

Hearing and not understanding, seeing and not believing

Brian Kocourek

 

This evening we will pick up where we left off in our study of Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed and at pp. 260 where brother Branham says,  "Wesley was a man of God, but what followed him? Fallen angels got into it. What was the angels first? Created beings of God that fell for Lucifer's wisdom, fell for Luther--Lucifer's wisdom.

 

I would like to point out here that brother Branham  called them "created beings". He never called them sons. He never called them begotten ones, but created beings, and therefore it is impossible for them to come forth after the likeness of the Creator, and receive the DNA of God and thus the Life of God, and the nature of God etc. Created beings, and they fell.

 

And you see what they become? Fallen angels. And organizations from man of God who's went forth to establish truths in the earth, before that truth could go along and proclamate and get on to the real revelation of Christ, fallen angels come in and took it over and made denominations out of it. That's the reason the revelation of the Seven Seal mystery had to be unfolded. Now, you see it? What they left off... If Luther would've went on, it'd been here. If Wesley would've went on, if Pentecost would've went on, what would they'd done?

 

Now if he says each time God sent forth a Message this thing takes place, then why would this time be any different. There are many following the Message now who believe in the Presence of Christ which some identify as the Parousia, but some are offended by this word, and believe differently concerning Who it is that came down in this hour. They say the Lamb has come, but then that would make the Appearing the Second Coming, because the second coming is when the lamb comes down. The reason they do not understand who came down is because they do not understand the Godhead. And if you do not understand the Godhead, how are you really going to know Who came down?

 

I mean if you do not understand the difference between the Father and His Son, then how will you ever understand this Message? And then how can you understand Who came down?


In reality, what it boils down to is what the Apostle Peter warned us about in 2 Peter 2: 1-3. where men would enter the message as teachers, but they would bring into the message destructive heresies that would deny the Son of God. They brought a Oneness mindset into the Message and they have taken over the Message because they are in the majority. And that is exactly what br. Vayle told me personally, he said, "Brian, the Make-Believers have taken over this Message."

 

Now, if they are going to bring into the Message destructive heresies, then they had to get it from somewhere else outside the Message in the first place and brought it in with them.

 

The Wuest Translation of 2 Peter 2: 1 says it this way.  "But as there arose false prophets also among the people, even as also among you there shall be false teachers who will be of such as to bring in alongside of true doctrine destructive heresies even denying the Lord who purchased them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
2 And many shall follow their licentious conduct to its consumation; on account of whom the way of truth will be reviled.

 

In other words, these men will come into the Message and give a wrong understanding of the Word of God and the people will be caught up into what these men say as evil interpreters of the Word of Truth. 

 

3 And in the sphere of covetousness with fabricated words they will exploit you, from whom: for whom from ancient times their judgment has not been idle.

 

Covetousness, greed, and in order to exploit you they will make up (fabricating words) and make up doctrines or making up things as they go.

 

And we know before brother Branham left there was already by that time 17 different versions of the Message.

 

Some believe there is no Son of God, and the Father was actually the Son in disguise. Others believe there is a son of God but He only became the Son of God after the birth in Bethlehem. They do not believe in the pre-incarnate Son. Others believe the body which they believe was the son, not a full man of body soul and spirit, but just a house that God dwelt in as though the son had no soul but the soul of God. And thus when he died that body went back to the gases.

 

And so as for the Appearing and Coming, many taught they are the same thing even though brother Branham said they are two different words and mean two different things.

 

Still others came in and taught a Jehovah Witnesses understanding of the Parousia. I know because back in the 80's I did my research in writing the books and I talked to the Best known teacher of Jehovah Witness doctrine in this entire region, and he confirmed to my suspicion that some in this Message were teaching exactly how they taught it. And that is because they had no clue on  Who came down, because they did not understand Godhead.

 

So you can see that although God sent down a Message to clear up the mysteries, because men add their own thinking to what the prophet taught, much confusion was brought into the Message. And so people are more confused than ever. But William Branham was not confused. And if we say what he said the way he said it, then we won't be confused either.

 

And brother Branham tells us in pp. 261 Now, there's only one thing can happen. There has to be a message at the end time when there is nothing else can follow It. And now the ecumenical world has set up such a regime that there can be no denomination or no not nothing else follow it. You're either in it or you're not in it.

 

So what he's telling us here is that you are either in this Message or you are not. Because everything else is organized and denominated.

They've all held to their own opinions against the opinion of God. They've all decided to hold to their own values rather than the values of God. And if Jesus said our oneness with God was based upon receiving His Glory which is His Opinions, values, and judgments, then there is no other way to become one with God than the provided way that Jesus set forth in John 17.

 

John 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18  As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22  And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

 

Then brother Branham says, The fruit is in the top of the tree, and the Light is shining on that predestinated fruit, and she's ripening into Christ-like fruit, bringing forth the same mellowness and sweetness and the same Spirit that He had in Him. Hope you see it. See, I try to put too much in one day. I wear you out.


262 So look, they sold out to reasoning's, sold out to reasoning's of denomination. "If I can just belong to this. The mayor goes to this church." See? "If I can be a Methodist or a Presbyterian..." Just look where they've gone. I've just explained them limbs are pruned off; they're dead. They're not connected with Christ anymore; (or) they'd be bringing the same life. They're not connected with it, but they're like a citrus fruit. Any citrus fruit will live on a citrus tree, but it'll bring its own fruit. You put a grapefruit in a orange tree, it'll live by the orange tree, but it'll bring forth grapefruit. You put a lemon in there, it's a citrus fruit, it'll bring forth an old sour lemon, but it's living off of the life. And that's what denominations are doing by, under the name of the Church. It's the Bride that's the original Tree, the original Spirit. The revelation comes from Christ, not the denomination: Christ.

 

Notice he said, they come into this Message, they join to it, they are grafted into it, but since they are not born into it, they are joined into it. And since they were not born into it, they will live off the life of The Message, but they will bring forth their own fruit, their own thinking and their own manifestation of their fruit, not Christ's fruit.


51-1 Patmos Vision - Church Age Book  2 In John 15, Jesus said, "I am the Vine, ye are the branches." He is the main Vine, that which comes out of the original root from the original seed that has the life in it. Now the vine does not bear fruit; it is the branches that do that. Now watch this: You can take a citrus tree such as an orange tree, and graft into it a grapefruit limb, a lemon limb, a tangelo limb, and other kinds of that variety, and all those limbs will grow. But those grafted limbs will not bear oranges. No sir. The lemon limb will bear lemons, and the grapefruit limb will bear grapefruit and so on. Yet those limbs will be thriving off the life in the tree. But if that tree ever puts forth another branch of itself it will be an orange branch and bear oranges. Why? Because the life in the limb and the life in the trunk are identical whereas it wasn't so with the grafted limbs. Those grafted branches had their sources in other kinds of life from other trees, from other roots, from other seeds. Oh, they will bear fruit all right, but they won't bear oranges. They cannot because they are not the original. 51-2 That's the way the church is. The vine has been split and limbs have been grafted in. They have grafted in Baptist limbs, Methodist limbs, Presbyterian limbs, and Pentecostal limbs. And those limbs are bearing Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and Presbyterian fruit. (Denominational seeds from which they produce their fruit.) But if the vine ever brings forth another branch of itself, that branch will be exactly like the vine itself. It will be the same kind of a branch that was brought forth at Pentecost. It will speak in tongues, prophesy, and have the power and signs of the resurrected Jesus Christ in it. Why? Because it's thriving on the natural resources of the vine itself. You see, it wasn't grafted into the vine; it was BORN in the vine. When those other branches were grafted in, all they could do was bear their own fruit for they were not born of that vine. They don't know about that original life and original fruit. They cannot know for they were not born of it. But if they had been born of it, that same life that was in the original stem (Jesus) would have come through them and manifested through them. John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father."

 

So that ought to tell you right there, that unless you are born of this Word, and the same Life that was in Jesus is in you, you will never come to John 14;12.

 

69-1 Ephesian Church Age - Church Age Book  3 Now out of this first key that we have received of the Lord, there comes another and slightly less wonderful truth. I said that the True Church would always try to be like it was in the Book of Acts. That is exactly right. But we have discovered that the Word also teaches an invasion of error until there is a complete blackout of truth in the last day when the Lord is about to appear. The question now arises in our minds; does God forsake His own and let them fall into a state of complete deception? On no account, for the Scripture says very clearly in Matthew 24:24, that "the 'Elect CANNOT be deceived. "For there shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, they shall deceive the very elect." What then? The answer is clear before us. There is a True Church and a false church. There is a True Vine and a false vine. But of course that false church, false vine body, will always try to usurp the position of the True Church and contend that she, and not the Elect, are the real and authentic. The false will try to kill the True. That is how it was in the Book of Acts, that is how it is set forth in the seven ages, and that is how it is declared in the various Epistles. That is how it has been. That is how it is now. That is how it will be. It can't change.

 

Now, back to Christ is the Mystery of God Revealed and we will read several paragraphs before we stop to comment.

 

263 Notice. What's the denomination trying to do? Exalt itself like Lucifer. They so call themselves the church, the bride, which they are in Revelations 17, as we spoke of, the false bride. Above Christ's little flock, the Bride, Lucifer thinks and exalts himself above the humble Word of God's Truth by the knowledge of the revelation and has placed himself by seminary education and theology, until they have got themselves up, and if you don't belong in their group, then you are a out-wash.

 

264 like Lucifer did in the beginning, saying to the people just exactly what Lucifer said to Eve: "Surely God will receive us; we feed the poor (That's good.). Surely He will receive us; we are a great denominational; we are a beautiful church. Why, look at our great buildings. Look at our great membership. We stand in the millions. Surely God will not turn that group down." The same thing that Cain did, brought in the pretty fruits from the ground that he had tilled, and toiled, and worked, and brought in the fruits and rejected the humble blood of the lamb.


265 God have mercy that men and women will not think I'm saying this to exalt something or some personal revelation or something. I'm only telling you the Truth. Can't you see what they're doing? I speak it loud and harsh, but you got to drive a nail till it clinches if it's going to do any good (See?), so you'll see it. See?


266 Now, saying to the people, "Surely... You mean to tell me that our great Catholic church that's stood all this time, our great Methodist, and our, Look at our forefathers." See? But they broke the Word of the Lord. And Eve was God's, one of His. She was a byproduct of Adam. And because she doubted one word of God's Word, it did it.

267 And here's Lucifer at his job again today. And remember, the antichrist is not communism. The antichrist is so close like the real thing till it'd deceive the very elected if it was possible, Jesus said (Matthew 24)--the elected if it was possible. Lucifer again--Lucifer again is breaking God's unity in man by his limiting the Word of God to his reasoning's, what he thinks is right, and what he thinks, he breaks the Word of God. And the same thing he did in the days of Jesus. And Jesus said, "You by your traditions has made the Word of God of no effect." And the denominations by their organized intellectual reasoning's has made God's Word of no effect upon the people. That's right. They just can't see it. Then they say, "Where is the God of the Bible?" He's right here. He's the Bible, what He is.

 

In other words, he gets the people to the place where all they have is their own opinions, because they have turned down God's opinions, and what they fail to see is that God's opinions are life and power. Because as we brought out Sunday, Revelation is not reasoning. They turn down revelation for reasoning because to them they do not know the difference. But Revelation is the manifestation of Divine truth. In other words there must be an element of the supernatural involved in Revelation or all you have is reasoning and intellect.

 

But when the dictionary tells us the word revelation means Manifestation of Divine truth, and the word manifest means to make something that was hidden clearly seen, then we know there is some form of supernatural involved in the manifestation of Divine truth.

 

Just as Elijah asked God to allow his servant to see the host of angels, so God has allowed us to see the angel of the Lord in this hour through the lens of a camera.

 

Now, let me explain about revelation as being a manifestation of Divine truth by giving an example from Scripture. We all know that there will be a Rapture. But we know the manifestation will be only evident to the Bride, right? Well, we have a prophet who taught us that 1 Thessalonians 4 is the Rapture.

 

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.

 

If the Rapture is the Shout, Voice and Trumpet, then no one who does not see the Shout being the Message will see the Voice which is the resurrection either. What he is saying here, is that if you are meant to see the manifestation of the Rapture when it takes place, you have got to see the manifestation of Presence in that Shout (Message) among us now, for if you see His Word for this hour in manifestation, then you will also see the Word made manifests for the promise of Voice and Trump as well.

 

And as we know, The Lord does all Three things Himself as He descends. A Shout first which is a Message, The Voice next which is the Resurrection, and then the Trump which is the Catching away or what we call the Rapture.

 

So if it is the Lord who is doing these three things, then you've got to see the Lord Who is doing them. Then if you see Him in the Shout, you will also see Him in the Voice and in the Trump.

 

I think what Brother Branham is telling us here is pretty plain and simple. If you see Him, you see Him and it doesn't really matter what stage of the Shout, or the Voice or the Trump He is in. Because we are talking about the Word of God which is alive and actively bringing to pass every detail that it said would happen.

 

So, by seeing the Manifestation of the Presence of God now, we will not miss seeing the manifestation of the Presence of God in the resurrection, or in the Trumpet, which brother Branham called all three phases "the Rapture". Now that is a comforting thought. In fact Paul said, in verse 18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Let me explain it this way.

 

Then what about those who've heard the Shout and they left the Shout which is the Message? Well, there is no denying they heard it, but that doesn't mean they entered into it, believed it and were affected by it.

 

So will they also hear the Voice? No, absolutely not.

 

The Apostle Paul told us in Romans 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not all heard? 18 Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

 

So you see the Message, the Shout has gone out as words into all the earth, and all have heard, but not all who hear have entered into what they heard and believed.

 

You see, they never saw the Lord in what took place in the Shout. They might have heard the Shout, but they did not see the Shout. They heard the Word, but did not see or understand it. See means to understand.

 

Hebrews 12:19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the Word should not be spoken to them any more:

 

Notice the Apostle Paul told us that some who hear wish not to hear any more. He did not say how many words they heard before they came to this conclusion, just that some heard and wished not to hear any more what they were hearing.

 

Let me explain, the same Apostle said in Ephesians 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise," So these trusted after they heard. And as a result of trusting what they heard is that they received the Holy Ghost.

 

Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: (Notice both us and them he says heard the Good News) but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. So it comes down to Faith which is revelation. Those who hear with no revelation, no anointing on that Word, hear words only and not being mixed with the anointing, which is revelation, they hear and do not hear, they see and do not see.

 

And that is exactly what Jesus taught us himself as we see Matthew 13:3  And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4  And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5  Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6  And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8  But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9  Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 

Notice in this parable Jesus tells us although the same Seed or Word is sown into many different places, the seed coming to fruition all depends on the preparation of the one it falls upon. Notice as we read on. 10  And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why do you speak unto them in parables? (Notice the words, to them...why do you speak unto them in parables? We see in the book of Mark this same parable reads, "Why do you speak to those on the outside in parables".) 11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

 

Notice he says, it is given unto you to know, but the others it is not given for them to know." And this word to know was translated from the Greek word "ginosko", which has nothing to do with an intellectual understanding, but rather all together to do with a knowledge that comes experientially. In other words, the knowing is based on experience.

 

And then Jesus says, 12 " For whosoever hath, (that word hath was translated from the Greek word echo, so he is saying, whosoever is made in such a way as to be able to echo what they hear) to him shall be given, (this experiential knowing) and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, (whosoever is not made in such a way as to be able to echo) from him shall be taken away even that which he thinks that he hath. (even that which he thinks he is echoing. Just stop for a moment and think of the implications of what we just read here). did not Jesus say in Matthew 7:23 "Many will come to me in that day and say, Lord, Lord did I not preach in your name etc, etc, etc. And he will say depart from me ye which work iniquity, I never knew you. I never had any experience with you

 

Matthew 13:13  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

 

Now there is your key, they hear not even though their ears hear the words, and they see not even tough their eyes see what is taking place, but he says because they do not understand what it is they are hearing and seeing, therefore they do not hear nor see because they do not understand. Isn't that exactly what the next verse tells us?

 

14  And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

 

15  For this people's heart is waxed gross, (their heart is their understanding, they have made up their minds, and refuse to open their hearts to the truth) and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

 

You see, it's all about what effect the Shout, the Message will have upon you. Here he says these are not converted, and the reason they are not converted is because even though they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, yet they understand not what they hear nor do they have any perception of what they are looking at. They are clueless, and thus the Word can not convert them. That is exactly what 1 Corinthians 2 tells us. Because they have not the Spirit of God they can not in any way, shape or form understand the things of God.

 

Then Jesus in the next verse says, 16 " But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

 

So we see quite a difference between those who see and hear and those who see not and hear not even though both groups have seen with their eyes and have heard with their ears.

 

Then Jesus goes on to explain this parable. 18 " Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19  When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21  Yet hath he not root in himself, (no root, no gene seed, no election and predestination) so he endures for a while: but when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. (So what does he do? he drops out.)

 

22  He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word; and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, chokes the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

Now, this is the second group which are taken out because of the deceitfulness of riches.

 23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the Word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

 

Look at the effect the Word has on this group. They produce fruit to show the Life of the Word has taken affect in their lives and is producing fruit continuously.

 

You see, that is what John also said in 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; And we see with the eyes of our heart.

 

This next Scripture lays out best how they can hear the Shout but not enter into it.

 

The Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, (notice he says you received it, you did not reject it, and how do we know they received it? He says, because) ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, (notice then that it all depends on how we hear, and how we receive that which we heard. If we have no clue that this what we heard was actually God's own voice, then we will have to receive it as though it was just a man. This is why many have left this Message, They never understood vindication. For had they known who it was they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. 1 Corinthians 2) Bt then the Apostle Paul after telling us those who received it as the Word of God and not the words of just a man, he said it had an effect upon them. 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, (and he tells us what it does for us. he says) which effectually works also in you that believe.

 

So the difference between those who hear the Shout as mere words of man, or those who hear it as the very Words of God, there is a big difference. Because those who hear it as God speaking, he says it will have an effectual work in you that believe.