Christ is the Mystery no 204
Review no 27
Twins no 2 - "Definitions"
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
This morning we will continue in our review of Christ
is the Mystery of God Revealed and our mini series on Twins, and we will look
at the definitions, because unless we have definitions to work with we can not
have any consistency of belief.
And as Brother Vayle quoted Michener, who said, "when language has lost its meaning, there’s nothing
left, in other words br. Vayle also
quoted it this way for emphasis..."corrupt language corrupts people".
"When the language is corrupted everything is gone." And both of those sayings mean the same thing
the second is a paraphrase of the first.
So in order to understand the Bible doctrine of Twins
we must first have an absolute definition for Twins, other wise your idea and
my idea might go in two different directions. Just like the Godhead, many
people had different understandings of what brother Branham said about the
Godhead. Some took him as a Trinitarian and others took him for a Oneness. But what I did when we wrote the study on the
Godhood of God, we took the 8 major statements which brother Branham made
concerning the Godhead and by taking the 8 statements that categorically
defined what brother Branham believed on the Godhead, we now had a standard to
measure all other quotes against.
So we
need a definition of Twins in order to understand the subject. And we will need
several other definitions to understand
Definitions:
In our study of Twins there are four
definitions we must look at to thoroughly understand the Bible doctrine
of Twins. 1. Twins, 2. Election, 3. Foreknowledge, 4. Predestination.
We shall begin this study first examining what the
word "Twins" means:
The word "Twins" is defined as two Children both
having the same mother, and in the Bible the "church" is always represented as a "woman". Now, that is the definition of
twins, two
children having the same mother. It speaks nothing of the
father. There can be one father or there can be two fathers, one for each child, but no more. You
can have twins born of one mother with two actual fathers as there have been
many instances over the years where a woman had relations with her husband in
the morning and her lover later on the same day and Twins were born genetically
different because of the two fathers, but sharing the same mother and her
genes. In some cases the twins have been one white and the other black. I have
several newspaper articles concerning Twins that were born this way, for those
who might find this hard to believe. And
concerning the Spiritual application, brother Branham said in his sermon, ...
Hearing recognizing and Acting 60-0607 E-16 So we find out, that in every revival
that's ever been borned in the world, it produces twins. That's right. Every
revival has twins.
That is Rule number One) Notice brother
Branham makes no exceptions to this law of twins. He said "every revival produces twins". That is rule number one we must
understand.
Therefore, in the alpha ministry there had to be
Twins, and in the Omega ministry of Christ there has to be Twins. Then we can see
how that this Message has born twins as well, and let me add, the revival
around the Presence of Christ (the Parousia of Christ) has born twins as well as
the Revival around the Godhead.
Now, there are no exceptions. When a vindicated
prophet says, "every revival produces twins" he means every revival.
There are no exceptions. That is rule number one: "Every Revival produces
Twins.
Now that we all have established in our minds that
every revival will produce twins, we will need a further definition of what
twins is to understand what it means by saying "every revival produce twins".
And so brother Branham next tells us about these set
of twins that every revival produces.
He says, "They have a
bunch in there that's carnal believers and a bunch of spiritual
believers. Every revival produces that: And that we shall
call
Rule number two: Twins
are made up of Carnal Believers and Spiritual Believers.
Now, can we all say that as well? "Twins are made up of Carnal believers and Spiritual
believers."
So if we are to understand what brother Branham is
telling us here, he is saying, "every
revival", no matter when it is, no
matter where it is, "it will produce twins.
One is a carnal believer while the other is a spiritual believer.
Then brother Branham gives us some Bible examples to
think about.
He says, "an Esau and
Jacob. And as they go along, first thing you know, the carnal begins to
think, "Well, these guys are
getting off of the deep end. I better separate myself from them." They go back to the intellectual part. They
want a pastor that'll speak to them of pleasant things. They don't want that
Spirit-filled pastor, that'll obey the Holy Spirit from the platform, just
preach the Word just like It
is. As John said, "Lay the axe to the root
of the tree and let the chips fall where it will."
Most of the churches today will vote that out of their pulpit. That's right. It'll
come a separation, always does that. It did it in the Methodist age; it did it in the
Baptist age; it did it in the Pentecostal age; it'll do it in every age.
Now, that is point number three, and
thus rule number three: It'll come a
separation, because these
two can not help to separate as light separates from darkness, and as evil
separates from good. For the Bible warns us "how can two walk together lest they be agreed."
We read in Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be
agreed? Now we have a saying that
says, birds of a feather will flock together. Why?
It's their nature to do so. And that is what Amos is saying here. How can two
walk together unless they be agreed as to where to
walk?
And then he says, 4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey?
Now, think about what he is saying here. he is talking about the nature of the lion. A lion by nature
roars when he has found his prey. before he has found
it he is very quiet and sneaky, because he is looking for it, and if he roars
before he finds his prey, he will frighten off the prey. So his nature teaches
him to shut his mouth until he has found his prey. Then once he has captured
his prey, he roars, that's his nature.
The Amos says, will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? You see? Look at his nature. if he has not found any prey what is there to brag or roar
about?
Then Amos continues,
by saying, 5 Can a bird fall into a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? He's looking at the nature of
the bird. he says, if there is no food in the snare
the bird is not going to go into the snare out of curiosity? he's
not going to go into that snare just because its there? So if you are going to snare a bird you must
place gin, grain, or
what we would call bait, to entice him in.
Then he says, shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken
nothing at all? In other words, if the snare has not captured the
prey, then why would you remove it. Let is be until it
does what it is supposed to do. Let nature take it's course
before you take yours.
Now, Amos is not just
saying these things to talk about nature. he is giving
us example in the natural so we can understand a principle he is going to lay
on us in the spiritual. because then he says, 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and
the people not be afraid? Maybe I can
put this into twentieth century words for you. Shall
the tornado sirens
go off in the city and the people won't be afraid? In other
words the tornado warning sirens go off when a tornado has been spotted. And
they go off with the puirpose of warning the people
of a tornado.
And then Amos says something quite starling. He says, "shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?" Now, these words, "done it" here actually means "permitted
it"? shall there be
evil in a city, and the LORD hath not permitted it?
And then he adds a
qualifier as to why the Lord permits the evil to come upon the city, and he
says, 7 "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing,
but he reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets." Now, remember, he is still talking about the nature of
things here, and in this verse he is talking about the nature of God. He says, God always gives a warning through a
prophet before he does anything , especially
destruction. Notice Amos in the next
verse goes right back to his talk about the Lion, and he says,
...
8 The
lion hath roared, who will not fear? and then
he tells us what lion, or what King he is talking about, and says, The Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
So we see that God has set in all living things or
seeds a specific nature and all seeds and things can not operate outside of the
nature that is set within them by God. ad that law of life is found in Genesis
1:11. Every Seed must bring forth after its kind or nature.
Then seeing that every seed has a certain nature, then
it is necessary for us to understand that in the nature of the Two Vines or
twins, they also must operate or perform or manifest or express what nature
they have within them, and they can not deviate from that innate nature no
matter what Revival they may belong to. Oh, this is beautiful.
That is why no matter how much you have heard the
Gospel, no matter how many times you have been anointed by the spirit of the
living God, whatever nature you have in the soul to begin with is the nature
that will be expressed under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told us the rain
falls on the wheat and the tares, the just and the unjust.
And
brother Branham told us in his message Leadership
65-1207 P:57 The choice of your conduct, you could... You can't mix it
now. You're either for God or against God, and the outward
expressions shows exactly what's on the inside. See? The cocklebur,
many of you think, "I got the baptism of the Holy Ghost; I'm going to
heaven." That don't mean one thing that you're going to heaven.
No, sir. You can have the baptism of the Holy Ghost
every hour in your life and still be lost and go to hell. The Bible says
so. See? It's exactly right.
You
see, it is that gene seed by predestination and election that counts. Either
you were in Him and a part of His thinking before the foundations of the
world or you weren't. And it matters not what revival you are born under, if
that gene seed was not in to
begin with, you can be the greatest proponent of blessing God for the rain that falls on you, and yet that
rain could never make you into what you are not already by the gene seed that
is in you. The rain can only produce what is already in you by election and
predestination. You all know that.
Jesus
said in Matthew
We see the same thing spoken by Paul in Hebrews 6:4 For it is
impossible for those who were once for all enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers (companions)
of the Holy Ghost, (in other words these were made aware of His presence
and even for a time walked with him in it) 5 And these have tasted the good word of God, (the
Message of God) and the powers of the world to come, (that's the
millennial power. They saw a man speak to bees and the bees turned around, he
spoke to a killer bull and the bull went and sat down.) 6 But
If these who have witnessed all this shall fall away, it will be impossible for
them to renew themselves again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him
to an open shame. (now
here it is, catch this) 7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that cometh often
upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that
which bears thorns and briers is also watered by
the same rain but is rejected, and is
nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
So the same rain that falls on the just falls also on
the unjust. The same rain that falls on the wheat also falls on the tares. and they both lift up their hands to bless God for sending the
rain, yet one is blessed by God while the other is cursed. Why? because of what gene seed they have to begin with. The
notice what Paul says next...
9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better
things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. 10 For
God is not unrighteous to forget your work and
labor of love, which ye have shown toward his name, in that ye have ministered
to the saints, and do minister. 11 And
we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full
assurance of hope unto the end: 12 That ye be not
slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the
promises.
So
it all comes down to gene seed attributes and characteristics that are in you
by predestination. Now, I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here, but
notice brother Branham said in his message The Rapture
65-1204 P:85 Don't the Bible say in the
last days there shall come false christs, not false
Jesus now, false christs, anointed ones, falsely
anointed to the Word. Denominational anointed but not to the Word, for the
Word will bear record of Itself. It don't need nothing else; It'll bear record to Itself. And there
will come false anointed ones. You got my tape on that. And that anoint... Oh,
if you'd call one and say, "Oh you--are you a Jesus?", "Oh,
certainly not." They wouldn't stand for that. But when it comes to an,
"Oh glory, I got the anointing..." And it's a genuine
anointing. Remember, Caiaphas had it too and prophesied. So did
Balaam have it and prophesied, but that don't have nothing to do with
this inside. Unless that was God's seed, His gene from the beginning,
predestinated, you're finished. I don't care how much you shout, speak with tongues, run, shout; that has nothing to
do with it. A cocklebur can count just as much as any of the rest of them. I've
seen heathens raise, and shout, and speak in tongues, and
drink blood out of a human skull, and call on the devil. See? So you don't...
Any of them sensations and things, forget it. It's your heart in that
Word, and that's Christ. Bring it in there, and watch It make Itself known just as It opens up like any other seed
and declares Itself for the age It's living in.
Therefore, I hope you are beginning to see that the
Bible doctrine of Twins has all to do with the predestination and election of
God. For either He predestined you to His Glory, His values and opinions or he
did not.
Ephesian
Church Age 60-1205 90 Did you
notice that every revival... Now, minister brethren, you check this. Every
revival produces twins, just as Isaac and Rebekah
produced twins: Esau and Jacob. Their father was holy; the mother
was holy; but they had two boys born: Esau and Jacob. Now, both of
them was religious. But
Esau, when it come to works
and deeds, as a good legalist, he was probably a better boy all the way around
than Jacob was. Did you know that?
Now, the next attribute we look at here is that both
of the twins share a common attribute. They are both religious.
And again from Ephesian
Church Age 60-1205 113 Now,
as I said to begin, 'fore we start off on this again, every revival produces
a pair of twins. One is a spiritual man; the other one is a
natural man of the earth, "I
joined the church; I'm just as good as anybody." And that's what this revival produced.
Notice what brother Branham just said here. "And that's what this revival produced." He's
talking about this revival which he by God's grace had spearheaded, the
Message.
And then he adds, "That's
what, every revival. That's what Luther's produced; that's
what Irenaeus' produced; that's what Saint Martin's produced;
that's what Columba's produced; that's what Wesley's produced;
and that's what Pentecost produced. Just
exactly. You see how they've gone to seed,...
Now the term "gone to seed" is when the
seeds have grown up and produced more seeds just like themselves. And when that
happens is when the plant comes into full manifestation of the life that lays within it.
Therefore it must manifest the nature of the life that is within it
already. That's why the rain doesn't change what nature is in the inside, the
rain just helps the life that is already inside to manifest itself or outwardly
express itself. And that is what the
revival rain in every age has done in every age. The Light of the Gospel causes
whatever life is within to manifest itself outwardly. That is why I have always
said, until the ligth strike the seed, the life
within will just lay there dormant. But the more light that pores on the seed,
the more the seed, no matter what life is in it, that life will have to
manifest itself because of the light.
The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians
Mark of the Beast 61-0217 E-31 Now, therefore the great church making
itself ready. We find out that Esau and Jacob, before either child was born,
God said He loved one and hated the other. And remember, they were twins: same mother, same
father. Get it? Twins.
Every revival produces twins. Certainly does. There's twins born in natural man and the
spiritual man. It was back in the garden
of Eden, Cain and Abel, the same thing. Started from there, just keeps coming
on down. And look at the church, Jesus the Pastor, Judas the
treasurer, brothers, out of the same tribe, so forth, right in the same
group, same church. One the Pastor, and
the other one the treasurer. One
a devil and one God. That's the way it goes. Jesus
said, "In the last
days the two spirits would be so close it would deceive the very elected if it
was possible."
Amen. If it was possible, but it isn't. And
it... They'll never do it. All
right.
Now, there is a difference between the words Foreknowledge, Election and Predestination. Many
people today, especially the Fundamentalist and Evangelical differ greatly on
exactly what Election and Predestination are all
about. The main issue however, has not
been whether God predestinates or not, as much as the issue of choice, or
rather whose choice. Men want so bad to
be in control of their own lives that they have placed free moral agency as the
ultimate in a man's experience with God. Men, it seems, would rather have the
ability to choose God, than allow God to do the choosing Himself. Thus, they try to explain away
election by using the foreknowledge of God, as their excuse to
place man's ability to choose above God's Own choice.
Romans
And again we see in I
Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed [them] unto us by
his Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things
of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man,
but the Spirit of God knows. 12 Now we
have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of
God; that we
might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth;
comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness
unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may
instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Thus the Evangelical and Fundamentalist will say
"God being omniscient, and knowing the
end from the beginning, knew who would and who would not and based upon this
foreknowledge, God then elects those to Glory who choose right, and He elects
to condemnation those who do not choose right." In
believing this men place man's ability to choose above God's sovereign will,
and thus they fall into error.
I've attended seminars of some of the so-called
greatest Apologetics this nation has produced and One of their most brilliant
scholars Dr. Norman Geisler placed Predestination
this way; by using a story he said, If you were up on top of a building looking
down and saw two cars heading toward the same intersection, and based upon
their speed and distance from the intersection you knew they were going to
crash, would you be responsible for the crash? Well, he says, that is how predestination
works. God knowing all things,
knows who will and who will not choose Him and so He doesn't shove you through
a tube and then hold you responsible. He just knows your end from the
beginning.
Now, that might give you a warm fuzzy about God, but
it doesn’t hold up in the court of God's Word.
In order to believe this you must be willing to throw out entire
passages of Scripture and you must be willing to believe that man is capable on
his own of making a correct choice.
God knows your end from your beginning because He
pre-destined your end and your beginning. That is what the word predestinate
means. It means to pre-destine, or pre-determine. To mark out before
hand, your destiny. Therefore, predestination is the path you
are destined to take.
Let's turn to the Word now and examine the very
scriptures that must be relegated to the trash heap in order to prove free will
has anything to do with election.
In John
Now, we ought to stop right here and rest our case. Either
this is meant for all believers or it is not. If it is not, then all
believers are not expected to bring forth fruit, and all believers are
not entitled to ask the Father in the name of Jesus and expect to receive what
they ask for. But Jesus is telling us here that we did not choose Him first, He chose us, and our love toward him, and
acceptance of Him, is only in response to His choice.
In I John
In Deuteronomy 7:6 we read, "For thou
art an holy people unto the
LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7 The
LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number
than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and
because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the
LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of
bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the
LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with
them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10
And repays them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be
slack to him that hates him, he will repay him to his face.
Again we see that it was not our choosing but God's
choosing that's involved here.
In Proverbs 14:12, we read, ¶ There
is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death.
This scripture tells us that man will try to choose
what seems right, or the way that he believes to be the right way, but man's
choice will always lead to the way of death. Therefore, even in our choosing,
we need a God who will watch over our choices, and help us to make the right
choice.
In Philippians
In the following scriptures we find God is actively
involved with the choices His elect take.
Psalms 37:23 The
steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Here we find the Hebrew word Kuwn used for "ordered", and means to set up or
establish, to prepare or arrange. Therefore we see the hand of God
actively involved in the steps of a good man or righteous man.
In Proverbs 16:9 we
read, ¶ A man's heart devises his way: but the LORD directs his
steps.
Here we find that although a man may contemplate and even plan
his way, yet God has the ultimate say so and will direct the very footsteps of
that man. Jonah was a classic example of this.
The Lord told Him to do such and such and when Jonah thought
he had a better plan, God just took over the situation
and produced exactly what He intended to produce. Jonah had no choice, or at
least his choice meant nothing to what God wanted done.
In Jeremiah 1:5
we read, Before
I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou came forth out of the
womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah could not get away from it if he
tried. For this very reason he was born.
Also in the book of Acts
If we are to believe this scripture, then we must
acknowledge that all who are ordained to Eternal
Life will believe. Then those who are not ordained to Life will
not believe, and there is your evidence of election.
I Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto
our glory:
Ephesians 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love: 5 Having (past
tense) predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
Now, if God had a Word which He ordained before the
world began, and if that Word was to produce Glory in a chosen people, or a
people of God's choosing, then there had to be a people in God's mind before
the world began who would at the right season believe this predestinated Word,
and receive the glory it was ordained to produce.
Now, just so you understand twins, as there are those
who were ordained to glory and to eternal Life, we also find those who were
ordained to condemnation. Jude 1:4 For there are certain
men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the
only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul shoots the theory that speaks of free
moral agency as the root cause for election to pieces in Romans 9:11
(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth; 12 It was said unto
her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated. 14 ¶What
shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion. 16 So then [it is] not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but of God that sheweth mercy. 17 For the scripture
saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might shew my power in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he
will have mercy, and whom he will he hardens. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who
hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him
that formed it, Why hast thou
made me thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to
make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonor?
Paul makes it very clear that our election is not up
to you or I, but entirely up
to God. He even goes so far to say, "So then it is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth
mercy". Now, if it is not him
that willeth, then your will and my
will have nothing to do with our election at all. It is God who either chooses
to show mercy or not. Therefore, if your will has nothing to do with your being
elect, then neither does your choice for your choice is but a reflection of
your will. You will and then you choose.
Divine healing 54-1219M P:49 Listen.
It's not him that wants to get saved, that's saved. It's him that's saved by
God's choice. Esau wanted to get saved too. He wept bitterly, and couldn't
find no place to repent. He wanted to get
saved. It ain't 'cause you want to get saved. God said, "I've
hardened who I will harden. I have mercy on whom I want to have mercy."
That's right. He said, "Before Esau or Jacob, either was born, not
knowing right and wrong,"
God said, "I love Jacob and hate Esau.'"
And Esau tried to get right with God and couldn't. Pharaoh tried
to get
right with God and couldn't do it. So it's not you, not what you want. It's
what God has ordained for you to do. That's right. Paul said in the 9th
chapter of Romans there, "Hasn't
the potter got power over the clay to make
an honored vessel or a dishonored vessel, to show His glory to those who He has
honored?" You didn't know
that, did you? That's what the Scripture says. Pharaoh tried his best to
repent. He was kindhearted. He said, "Sure, I'll let you go. Go on.” God said, "No, you
ain't. I'm going to harden his heart so you can't do it." 'Cause God's Word has to be
fulfilled. And if we're living in this day when formalities and things
has broken the church down, broke away; why, it's
God's Word being fulfilled. As sure as God said, "These signs would follow them that believe," as sure as God said these churches would be like they
are now, God also said this opposition would meet it. So the same God that ordained signs and wonders, ordained that these
should be persecuting against It. So there you are. If you're on the other side, I feel
sorry. And I want you not to be that way, but maybe
you
can't help it. See? God might've fixed it that way.
I think we will stop here and Wednesday night we will
get into the definitions of Foreknowledge, Election
and Predestination, the order of how they came, and why God uses
them in His purpose and plan of redemption.
let us pray...