Christ is the Mystery no 214
Review no 37 Twins no 12
This evening we will again examine another set of
attributes that separate the True Vine from the false vine. Bother vines are to
be gathered together in this hour to something. What separates the true Vine
from the False vine is the True Vine are gathered to
the Revealed Word for the Hour and gathered together by the Shout which is the
Message. The false Vine are also gathered together,
but to an organizational spirit and not the Word of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we
beseech you, brethren, by the coming (parousia)of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him, 2 That
ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God. 5 Remember ye not, that, when
I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in
his time. 7 For the
mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming: 9 Even
him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That
they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth: 14 Whereunto he
called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore,
brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught,
whether by word, or our epistle. 16 Now our Lord
Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath
given us everlasting consolation and good hope
through grace, 17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
Satan's
Now,
the Lord has to be here in order for us to be gathered together unto Him. And
notice he says, it will be at the time of the great Parousia
of Christ. That's the Appearing. As brother Branham said in his sermon, God has a provided way 62-0728 P:81
Even the disciples said, "Why does the scribes say Elias must first come?" Said, "Elias has already
come and you didn't know it." Goes over
your head and you don't know it. Don't miss it. The Holy Spirit, Christ is
here. Now, remember
these two words before I leave you: the appearing of Christ and the coming of
Christ is two different things. Christ is now appearing in the
fullness of His power. His coming will be afterwards: His appearing
before His coming. God be merciful.
Now,
this may be review for some of you but for others it will be new so just bear
with me as we read a few quotes from brother Branham's Message to help those
who are new to the doctrine better understand what he is saying here, because a
lack of this understand of the appearing and coming as being two different
things and two different events has caused more fanaticism to rise in this
Message more than over other doctrinal error.
But
once you can see that there is to be an appearing before the coming, you will
understand just how close we are to the end and it will balance out everything
that has happened already and those things which are to come. This doctrinal
teaching can be seen in light of Scripture where the word parousia was used in the original but whereas the
translation into English used the word coming which is an error.
As the light started coming back after Martin Luther,
we see in the age of man, various ministries rise up who began to understand
that Christ was to come in the form of the Holy Ghost in the closing hours of
humanity. In 1897, the notable Christian author J. B. Rotherham
of
I
put together a book in 1994 which has been translated into more than 10
languages call the Parousia (Presence) of Christ and it shows plainly the
difference between the appearing and coming as brother Branham spoke so many
times. There are copies in the back if any one here is interested.
From
His sermon, From that time 62-0713 P:102 Brother Branham said, "How many knows there's a difference between the appearing of
Christ and the coming of Christ? It's two different
words. Now's the appearing, the coming will soon be.
He's appearing in the
midst of us, doing the works that He once did, in His church. Now,
you're a part of that church, and by grace you believe. I am a member of that
church. Now, I'm not a preacher. You know I'm not. I have not the education to
do it. Sometimes I feel reluctant standing here by men of God, who's called to
that office. There are apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists.
Not all are apostles, not all are prophets, not all
are teachers, not all evangelists. I'm standing here...But my ministry is a
different ministry from a pastor or teacher. I'm not. And if I say things
wrong, brethren, forgive me. I don't mean it. But this is my ministry (See?) to declare Him, that He's
here.
Now,
we could take more than one sermon just to go into scripture to show you what
he said here. But notice there are two things that made up His ministry. 1. To
Declare Christ and 2. To declare that Christ is Here.
Again
from his sermon, Be not afraid 62-0620 P:66 Brother Branham said, "There's a different word used. The appearing of Christ
and the coming of Christ (See?), it's
two different words altogether. See? Now, Christ is appearing in these last days in His
church, bringing His church together in unity, and faith, and power in the
Word, all together; that when He returns He will find the same church.
What the palmerworm left the caterpillar eaten; what the caterpillar left the
locust eaten; on down to the cankerworm. But God said... "I will restore," saith God. Romanism,
and so forth, eat that beautiful bride tree of Christ down till it become a
stump. But God brought right back out of that stump, right up through the
Lutheran age, right up through the Wesley age, through the Pentecostal age. And
now it's in the evening Light. "I will
restore, saith the Lord, all the years that the cankerworm, caterpillar... I
will restore again that church in her beauty, that church in her power."
And
from It is I be not afraid 62-0611 P:81 he said, You
know, there's a difference between the appearing of Christ and the coming of
Christ. That's two different words altogether. He's appearing now in His church. We see Him; we
know it's Him. It's the Holy Spirit. See? We know it is. Now. We
believe that the Holy Spirit is God. All of us know that.
Notice
then we come to the understanding that the Father of Glory must come before the
actual return of the Son. It is shown in the Bible all the way through from
genesis to Revelations. Father before the son, like when God Himself, Elohim
came to Abraham the prophet before the promised son could arrive. Because the
One who comes to give the promise is the same one who Comes
to confirm the promise like he did to Abraham in the tent.
From
his sermon, Letting off the pressure 62-0609E P:58 brother Branham said, Unbelief is sin. "He that believeth not is condemned
already." See? That's just a attribute of unbelief.But
if you can beat all that away from you, say, "Lord God, I believe just
exactly what Your Word says, and I believe (as we preached last night), that the
appearing of the Lord comes before the coming of the Lord," for
it's just two different words altogether. See? Now's the appearing, as He promised in the last days
that He'd be with us. And what a Refuge, and what a consolation it
is, Christians, that we can stand here tonight in the Presence of God in the
face of His Word, and the impossibilities that He's promised in here, we
can see manifested right before us. What a wonderful thing. If that isn't a
Refuge, if that isn't a haven of rest, I don't know what would be, to see
Jesus, Who said, "The works that I do shall you do also." Oh,
what a promise that is. Now, how many believe that that's the truth? All right.
Perseverance 62-0608 P:95 Did you know that the Bible
speaks of the appearing of the Lord, and also the coming of the Lord, and it's
two different works? Search it and find out if that's right. The appearing and the coming is
two different things. The appearing of the Lord is now.
He's appearing amongst His people. We see Him in His same works, the appearing,
His Holy Spirit. But His coming will be in a physical being. It'll be to
catch the church up. But see, we've been down through the Word, justification,
sanctification, baptism of the Holy Ghost. And now the church is getting in such a condition, ready,
waiting. And the offices of the church is
coming into its place. The teachers are placing the places. The gifts are
manifesting themselves. Oh, there's a lot of
impersonations. That's right. We expect that. But there's real too. Before
there can be a bogus dollar there has to be a real one for it to be made off
of. That's right. We have all those carnal comparisons, but that don't take
away from the real. It only makes the real shine out.
End time evangelism 62-0603 P:30 Same thing today, when you see His work. Now, we have already seen and
are witnessing the appearing of the Lord. Now remember, appearing
and coming is two different words: to appear and then to come. Now is the appearing; He's
already appeared in these last days, right here with us in the last few years.
Now, it's a sign of His coming. He's appearing in His Church in the
form of the Holy Spirit, showing that it's Him, 'cause people cannot do these
things that you see the Holy Spirit doing; so that's the appearing of the Lord.
Now, you remember, it spoke both places,
"appearing" and "coming."
Convinced and then concerned 62-0521 P:31 Now, John was so sure that he was going to
see the Messiah, till he said, "He's in our midst now." Now, watch. Notice.
There's a great big difference in the sign of Jesus appearing, and then
Jesus coming. There's two different words, means two
different things: the appearing of the Lord, and the coming
of the Lord. Now, the
appearing of the Lord is now, when He's appearing in His
people, His Spirit working among them, proving that it's Him with them, getting
them ready for the rapture, for the coming of the Lord to catch away His Bride
(See?): the appearing and the coming. All right. Now. Now, the thing we have to do if we can believe it, and be concerned about
it, first we've got to be convinced that it is God. Then when we're convinced,
then we are concerned. I like that. All right.
Therefore when brother Branham preached his sermon on
the Rapture he explained that in 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18 That this is the order of the rapture, it
takes place in three stages, or three major events which all are strategic and epichal.
Let's read what the apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 "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.
From PP. 290 of God's Only Provided Place of Worship brother
branham said, in, "We
see every other thing moving right up to this time. We see the Scripture being
vindicated, proved. And ( just as ) we see that, Lord,
You with our own eyes (being made manifest), some day there will be a Rapture
and we will see the manifestation of that Word, "For the Son of man shall come in the clouds of glory, with
His holy angels with Him, and we will be caught up to meet Him in the air." It will then be..., We hear
of it now, then we will see it with our own eyes.
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 His Presence
among us now, for if you see His Word for this hour manifesting, then you will
also see the Word made manifests for that promise as well." And
as we know, The Lord does Three things 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 literal Rapture. So if it is the Lord who is doing these three things, then
you have got to see the Lord Who is doing them.
And so, then if you see
Him in the Shout, then you will also See Him in the Voice and 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, Voice or 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 Rapture when it takes place. Now that is a comforting thought.
In fact Paul said so as we already read in verse 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:75 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.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:88 The first thing is the sounding or a
shout, and then a voice, and then a trumpet. Shout, a messenger getting
the people ready... The second is a voice of the resurrection. The
same voice that, a loud voice in
So we see there must be a gathering together unto Him,
and that can only take place by God coming down Himself and using a prophet to
do it. Other wise you have every man being his own interpreter of the Word, and
then you would have every man running in every which direction, and there would
be no gathering to Him take place. That
is why there is but one voice to an age, to cut down on the confusion.
Ephesians 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fullness
of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will: 12 That
we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 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,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Matthew 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am
not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he
will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat
into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable
fire.
Luke 3:17 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one
mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose:
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor,
and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will
burn with fire unquenchable.
Mark13:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in the clouds with great power and glory. 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. 28 Now learn a parable
of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like
manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you,
that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall
pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no
man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and
pray: for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a
far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to
every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch ye therefore: for
ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at
Hebrews 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a
new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is
to say, his flesh; 21 And
having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and
our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering; (for he
is faithful that promised;) 24 And
let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling (gathering together) of
ourselves together, as the manner of
some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Matthew 13:28-30 Another parable put he forth unto them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which
sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way. 26 But
when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares
also. 27 So the
servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow
good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it
tares? 28 He
said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou
then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in
the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the
tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Now that we have established by the Word of God and
quotes from God's prophet that we are in the midst of the gathering to Christ
by the Shout, the Message, let's look at the gathering of the false fine for
the next few minutes to show where their focus is and what they are being
gathered to. If you will notice they will be gathered by organization to a false word by false
ministers
2 Corinthians 11: 4-15 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you
with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present
you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I
fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another (allos, a totally different) Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if
ye receive another (heteros) spirit, (which is one of a different nature) which ye have not received, or another (heteros) gospel, (which
is one of a different nature) which ye have not
accepted, why do you put up with it so easily? 5 For I suppose I was not a
whit behind the very chiefest apostles. 6 But though
I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge;
but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.
7 Have
I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I
have preached to you the gospel of God freely? 8 I robbed
other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. 9 And when I was present with you, and
wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the
brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things
I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so
will I keep myself. 10 As the
truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions
of Achaia. 11 Wherefore?
because I love you not? God knoweth. 12 But what
I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire
occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. 13 For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also be
transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to
their works.
Now,
we know that the Rapture sermon, brother Branham preached is all about the
events which constitute the rapture, the Shout, Voice and Trumpet. But notice
those who do not gather together to the Word. Notice what brother Branham says
they gather together unto.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:35 See, try to hold it over. But that's
been the attitude of the church. A revival goes forth, and the first
thing you know, within about three years they start an organization over it.
The denomination starts
a organization. But have you noticed, this
has been sweeping for twenty years now, and there's no organization, and there never will be.
This is the end. The wheat's come back to the wheat again. The wheat's come
back to its grain. The shuck has pulled away from it. And the wheat must lay in the presence of the sun to be ripened.
Rapture the 65-1204 P:80 Now, if God has promised to send us that
again in the last days to bring that Bride out of that ecclesiastical mess, and
it... Only way it can be done. It'll never be done... The church can't receive
Christ. We... The Pentecostals, we can't carry this Message on in the condition
the church is in today. How we going to carry out the end time in the condition
they're in today, when every one against the other, and everything else, and
ecclesiastically? Oh, mercy. It's a mess. It's done gone into denominations. And
any time, I ask any historian to say different. Every time that a message went forth in the earth
and when they organized it, it died right there. And Pentecost done the same thing as they all... The Pentecost
that come out...
Rapture the 65-1204 P:81 You Assemblies of God, when your
forefathers and mothers come out of them organizations back there in the old
General Council, shouted and praised God and talked against those things; and you
turned like a dog to its vomit and a hog to its wallow and done the same thing
that they did; and now so ecclesiastical you shut up your bowels of compassion,
and you have to have a fellowship card before you can even associate with you
hardly. And you Oneness, God given you a message like that, and instead of you going ahead and
just keeping humble and go ahead, you had to turn loose and organize your group.
And where are you all at? The same bucket. That's
exactly. And God's Spirit moving on. "I the Lord
will plant; I'll water it day and night lest some should..."
Rapture the 65-1204 P:87 When I went
forth into the meetings with you praying for the sick, it was fine, but when I come with a Message... If
any message goes forth, if
it's a true message, if it's a true, genuine miracles
of God, and hangs right in that organization, you know it's not of God;
'cause that thing's already declared. Jesus went forth and
healed the sick in order to catch the eyes of the people, then His Message.
That's right. It has to have something that God's going to introduce. He's
just... Divine Healing is... Miracles like that just catch the eyes of the
people. The main heart of it is the Message. There's what. It's what
comes from in here. He's trying to get the favor of the people so they'll set
and listen to Him. See? For there's some in there that's
ordained to Life. And some of the grain, wheat fell on ground, and the
birds picked it up. And others fell amongst thorns, and some went on prepared
ground, prepared ground, and brought forth.
In other words, there has to be two totally different gaterings take place at the harvest time. A gathering
together unto Him, and a gathering together and
binding of the tares.
Matthew 13:24-30 Another parable put he forth unto them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which
sowed good seed in his field: 25 But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his
way. 26 But
when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares
also. 27 So the
servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow
good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it
tares? 28 He
said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou
then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the
tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in
the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the
tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my
barn.
Matthew 13:36-43, Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went
into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the
parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto
them, He that soweth the good
seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that
sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers
are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The
Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his
kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
Galatians 2:4-21
And that because of false
brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to
spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us
into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an
hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. 6 But of
these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to
me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who
seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing
to me: 7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was
unto Peter; 8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the
apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)
9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who
seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to
me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should
go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. 10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same
which I also was forward to do. 11 But when Peter was come to
Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For
before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when
they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of
the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with
him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14 But
when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel,
I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being
a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not
as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to
live as do the Jews? 15 We who are Jews
by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even
we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by
Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is
therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I
build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
19 For
I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not
frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come
by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Acts
Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the
Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful
to circumcise them, and to command them to keep
the law of Moses.
In closing The Masterpiece
64-0705 138 How many ever seen a seed of wheat start to grow? What's
the first little thing? It's just exactly like the seed, but it's the husk. See
the three stages? Stalk, tassel or the pollen, then
the husk. And then, out of the husk comes the original seed. Not a seed, it was
the Life of the seed growing through this to come to the seed. Amen, amen. Do
you see it? What is it? A resurrection, coming back to a
Masterpiece again, like the one that went in. Pentecost came out of the
Wesley, because Wesley was an organization. Pentecost come
out as no organization and then turned to one. It had to, to make the
husk. The true Word of Life on it was on its way then to the original grain
through these stages: through the stalk, then into the pollen; from the pollen
into the husk; and from the husk it made seed. No... Stalk,
tassel, husk.
Again we find him carrying this
thought of God Life as it comes up through the different stages of the church.
And each stage of this planting of the Lord is identified with a Message that
swept the world. That was the Life of God sweeping up all the predestinated
seeds of God laying out there.
Now in this
next paragraph I do not know how you could make it any more plain than what
brother Branham is telling us here.
140 Living, they
produced in their early revival a holder of a certain portion of the seed Life;
but when they
organized, the Life moved out of it. That's proved by all history.
Never an organization ever done a thing after it organized. It was dead. That's
right. Watch, the life's traveling on now. It's moving on. Notice.
What they have done, all these have done, is proved by history just exactly the
way the church has come, never to be useful to Him again. Organization is laid on the
shelf. There
never has been in all the history of church after it organized, but what it
died. And the organization died and never did raise
again. Can't you see it? Men who are blind,
open your eyes. Nature and the Word coordinating together and proving it right
here that this is the Truth, that it is the Truth: That Life leaves the stalk
to make the tassel; from the tassel it makes the husk; and from the husk it
goes into the original again. Notice, never again to be
useful to Him.
Now,
I don't know how brother Branham can be more clear in
telling us right here. Once
a move of God organizes it is NEVER AGAIN USEFUL TO GOD!!! Every
denomination began with some truth, but when they begin to organize that truth that is the minute
the life went out of it. He said, they produced in their early
revival a holder of a certain portion of the seed Life; but when they organized,
the Life moved out of it. I hope you catch what brother Branham
is saying here. Never
try to organize this Message around any doctrine. The minute you do, the Life of
God will move out of what you are trying to organize. Now, what does it mean to organize
the Message? Because that is really what we do not
want to do. I do not believe there is anyone who wishes to organize
themselves right out of the Life of the Word. But they do it any how, not
really understanding what they are doing.
In
order to better understand what it means to organize let's read what the
dictionary tells us:
Organize: 1. To put together into an orderly, functional,
structured whole.
Now, there is nothing wrong with
structure or with order, or with making things functional. Therefore, so far
what we read concerning to organize does not sound like anything that would be
too awful that God would be displeased with it. But let's read on, because the
definitions become a little more definitive.
2. a. To arrange in a coherent form; systematize: organized her
thoughts before speaking.
Now, again there is nothing wrong
with presenting the doctrine of the Message in a coherent fashion. And to do
that you must systematize or place it together in an orderly fashion in order
to make the presentation of it more easily understood.
b. To arrange in a desired pattern or
structure: again there is nothing here that would cause the life of God to take
flight, because even Jesus own Life was ordered a right, and set the pattern
for all other sons to follow. But this next definition begins to give some
clarity on the danger of organizing.
3. To arrange
systematically for harmonious or united action: then it gives some examples of
this organizing to form a union: organize a strike.
4. a. To
establish as an organization: organize a club. b. To induce (employees) to form
or join a labor union. c. To induce the employees of (a business or an
industry) to form or join a union: organize a factory. To
develop into or assume an organic structure.
So what we see here is an evolution from
a harmless attempt to present the Message in an orderly fashion so that people
can better understand it, to a place that where it actually organizes the
people into an harmonious union that at binds the people to a core value of
beliefs and excludes others who do not hold to those beliefs.
That is what
every false doctrine has done that has crept up in any move of God. And that is
what has even happened in this message with movements like the Thunders group,
and the Two Souls Group, the Tapes only group, etc. And notice when they do
that the Life of the word leaves them and they begin to establish among
themselves a hierarchy of men in which if you do not listen to them you are
considered out of it altogether. And when the people reach
that state they are on their way into organization.
That is why brother Vayle said, "you
do not have to hear this from me, but you've got to stand with this
Truth". It does not matter who you hear the doctrine from, but you had
better hear it, for "He that does not have the doctrine of Christ does not
have God."
You do not have
to hear it from brother Vayle, nor do you have to hear it from me or any other
person, but you had better hear it and believe it if you wish to echo God?
So you see there is a real danger anytime
you try to improve on what God has given by inspiration. The danger comes when
people try to organize any move of God. And the reason they organize a move of
God is because they are not satisfied with the way God presented it to begin
with? And they try to then fashion it into what they feel is a better way of
presenting it. They end up taking a Life altering word, and make it into a
works oriented Word.
Just look at
any place where God has had a truly anointed pastor or teacher, and when that
man leaves the scene, the people try to hold to what He brought them, and
pretty soon they begin to organize it into a set of rules taught by the sleight
of man. And then the word becomes to them rule on rule, rule on rule, precept
on precept, precept on precept, a little here and a little there and then they
fall back into what they came out of which was works. And if you think I am wrong
in saying this just read the NIV translation
of Isaiah 28.
ISAIAH 28:8 All the tables are
covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. Now, what is vomit
but food from another day that has become mixed up in man, and then regurgitated. 9 "Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he
explaining his Message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken
from the breast? The Apostle Paul said when you should be teachers you have
need of milk. No, those on milk see things a little differently. Paul said when
I was a child I thought as a Child therefore I spoke as a child and acted in a
childish manner, but when I became a man I must put away childish thinking
which results in childish talk and childish actions. So the word of the Lord to
them becomes, 10
For it is: Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a
little there.
Notice their perception of the Word
reverts to legalism, does and don't.
11 Very well
then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, So
if God will speak to this people, then what they will hear will be "Thus
Saith the Lord", and this is the rest that God has for His Elect. The
elect rests on "Thus Saith the Lord".
Let
us pray