Desperation
no 47
Resurrection
no 4 The Time and season
August 24, 2016
Brian
Kocourek, Pastor
This morning I
would like to continue our examination of the resurrection, and this time we
will make our examination concerning the Time and season. for our text we shall
read from 1 Thessalonians 4.
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 Parousia of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
Notice
the Apostle Paul is speaking of those people who are living at the time where
God does three things when His presence comes down in a very certain and
peculiar way. Paul calls this the time of the Parousia of Christ which Parousia
or presence of Christ entails three things which God does while He is present here
among us. We believe this Parousia of Christ is a period of time wherein
many things constituting the end-time ministry of Christ takes place. The King
James version erred in translating this word Parousia as into the English
word coming, and this mistranslation has caused a very big misinterpretation of
this Scriptural verse in 1 Thessalonians 4.
In 1897,
J. B. Rotherham of Cincinnati,
Ohio, wrote a Bible translation he called The Emphasized Bible.
In his translation he noted the following , "In this edition the word Parousia
is uniformly rendered "Presence" ("Coming," as a
representative of this word being set aside.)" He continued "The Parousia,...
is still in the future, and may therefore be enshrouded in a measure of
obscurity which only fulfillment can clear away:
Now, that is what brother Branham also taught. he
said that "God
interprets His own Word by bringing it to pass" which is
exactly what J. B. Rotherham said concerning the Parousia of Christ.
He continued, "It may in fine be both a
period, more or less extended, during which certain things shall happen, an
event, coming on and passing away as one of a series of Divine interposition's, Christ is
raised as a first fruit, that is one event; He returns and vouchsafes (vindicates)
His "Presence,"
During which time He raises His own,
That is another event, However large and prolonged; and finally comes another
cluster of events constituting "The End." Hence after all, "Presence"
may be the most widely and permanently satisfying translation of the looked for
Parousia of the
Son of Man."
Another
author, Israel P. Warren DD of Portland Maine, wrote 16 years earlier in 1879 concerning this Parousia of Christ that the Apostle Paul
speaks of in 1
Thessalonians 4, in his book was called The Parousia and in paragraph's 12 through 15 he said, "We often speak of the second advent, the
second coming, etc., but the Scriptures never speak of a second Parousia..
Whatever was to be its nature, it was something peculiar, having never
occurred before and being never to occur again. It was to be a
Presence differing from
and superior to all other manifestations of Himself to men, so
that It's designation should properly stand by Itself, without any qualifying
Epithet other than the article, "The Presence".
"From
this view of the word it is evident, I think, that neither the English word coming,
nor the Latin Advent,
is the best representative of the word. They
do not conform to Its etymology; (in Common English, that means coming and advent do
not conform to the derivation (the
deriving) of the word.) they do not
correspond to the idea of the verb from which It is derived; nor could they
appropriately be substituted for the more exact
word, "Presence".
Therefore in essence there is no more accurate word
in the English language to explain or translate the Greek word Parousia
than the English equivalent word "Presence".
He goes on to say, "In the cases where the
translators used the latter, nor is the ratical <root> of them the same.
"Coming" and "Advent"
give most prominently the conception of an approach to us, motion
toward us; "Parousia" however,
that of being with us, without reference as to how it began. The
force of coming or advent ends
with the arrival; but that of Presence begins with the arrival. Coming and advent are words of motion
whereas Presence
shows rest.
The
space of time covered by the action of
coming or advent is limited, it
may be momentary; that of Presence is unlimited. Had our translators done with this
technical word "Parousia"
as they did with "Baptisma" transferring it unchanged, or if
translated using It's exact etymological equivalent, "Presence"
and had It been well understood, as It then would have been, that there is no such thing as a
second "Presence," I believe that the entire doctrine would have
been different from what it now is. The phrases, "second
advent," and "Second coming," would never have been heard. The
church would have been taught to speak of the "Presence" of the Lord,
as that from which It's hopes were to be realized,
whether in the future or at the remotest period, that under which the world was
to be made new, A resurrection both Spiritual and corporeal should be attained,
and justice and everlasting awards administered," ....He continued, "The word Parousia became
the official term for a visit of a person of high rank, especially Kings &
Emperors visiting a province."
And
why is that? Because the visit of a King entails many things that the King
wishes to be done while He is physically present. He doesn't just come and go,
but while he is there many events take place.
Notice
that first of all
Also
And it
most certainly does exactly that. Warren also said, "the church
would have been taught to speak of the "Presence"
of the Lord, as that from which Its hopes were to be realized.
From
his message called [Unrecognized
Presence] 6 - 18 - 64, Brother Branham said, "Working for this one purpose; for you to
recognize the Presence of Jesus Christ, See? If He is present then, why
everything is settled. He made the Word, He's here to confirm it." And
then he said in the same message, "If we
could realize He is Appearing to us in these
meetings for one purpose
and that's to release
our desires that we have in Him to us. But we've got to recognize
His presence. And how you
recognize His presence, is when the promised Word for this age is made manifest."
As the
church moved closer to the fulfillment of the Parousia ministry of Christ, we
see in 1909 that
Scofield wrote in His Bible edition
that the Word Parousia
speaks of Christ's Personal Presence. (see page
1212).
Also
we find in any other Greek Lexicon
the same definition.
Brother
Branham used the word "Presence"
himself quite often in referring to this great Appearing of
Christ in this last hour.
But as
always, there are some who would throw off and say this "Presence" is only some doctrine. But it
should not be looked upon as merely a doctrine as it deals with the very
Personal presence or person of Christ Himself. It should be referred to as
a doctrine only in the same way we would say that "Jesus is the Doctrine". You cannot say
that Jesus is only a doctrine, anymore than you could say "His
Presence" is only a doctrine?
The
fact is, God Himself has come down in
this last hour in a very special way in which He has not been here for
2,000 years. Br. Branham said in [C.O.D.] 54-0103 pg. 102-263, "Just think, the very Lord Jesus that was back in the days of
the Apostles is right here now. And It's just winding up the end of the
Gentiles. A great move is going on amongst the Supernatural believers because
we believe that God
is here."
You
might ask, "How was He here in the days of the Apostles?" People
tend to misunderstand Brother Branham in this area the
most. Their thoughts go back immediately to Jesus in His
flesh walking the shores of
Now
remember, brother Branham did not say "in the days when Jesus walked upon earth in His flesh."
But he said, " in the days of
the Apostles."
People
have a tendency to read the Word with their minds already
made up by previous learning. Brother Branham is not saying that Jesus is
here in His Corporal body. In fact from The Message of Grace PP. 176 Brother
Branham said, "There's only one
thing different in Him being here this morning than He was amongst the people
at
In
fact he said in, Spiritual
Food In Due Season pp. 167 "Now, if He Appeared here as a physical body, looked just exactly like
Hoffman's head of Christ at 33, and blood running out his hand, and so forth,
nail scars all over Him, I
wouldn't accept it." He
goes on to say, "we don't believe these
cults and clans. We believe God is the Word." So This presence
does not have to do with the physical body of the Lord Jesus Christ, but all to
do with the presence of God who is the Word.
Again
from his message entitled The
Trial 4-27-64, brother Branham said, "We don't look for nail scars, we look for the Word made
manifest." He continued, "The Life of Christ
returns in the form of the Holy Ghost, not a nail
scar. The corporal Body's sitting at the right hand of God to make
intercession. But the Holy
Ghost has come to carry on His Work."
In fact, from his sermon We would see Jesus 58-0612 P:55 brother Branham said,
"Look. When He was here on earth, how many knows that that was the
Pillar of Fire that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness, that It
was Christ, the Angel of the covenant? All right. And how many knows
that that was Jesus in Jesus, that same Spirit? Look, when they
questioned Him, Saint John 6, calling your attention to it.
They said, "You
say you're greater than Abraham?" And said, that, "Why, you're only fifty years old, yet." He said, "Before Abraham was, I AM." I AM was in the burning
bush. Is that right? A Pillar of Fire... When He was here on earth,
He said, "I came from God, and I go to
God." Did He
say it? And then, if He came from the Pillar of Fire, He returned back to it
again. After His death, burial, and resurrection, Saint Paul was on his
road down to Damascus and big bright Light struck in his face and blinded him.
None of the rest of them saw It. Paul saw It. It blinded him; he fell on the
ground. What is this Pillar of Fire, again? "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
Me?" "Who are You, Lord?" "I'm Jesus." Is that right?
So we
see the same one that led Israel through the wilderness in the form of the
Pillar of fire, then went into the son of God, and then appeared again after
Jesus was Crucified, The same pillar of fire appeared to Paul on his road to
Damascus, and that same Pillar of fire has appeared in this day, and even had
its picture taken.
Brother
Branham even quoted people who were looking for Jesus to come in bodily
form and in Hebrews
chptr 3, 57-0901m, pp. 99-73 he said, "I thought He was a man, has scarred hands; that they claim
is Appearing in meetings now, with nail scars in His hands and His head.' No,
No, not that Body, not in that body. See? He's now a light. Saul, when he was here on earth, He said, I come from God I go back to God. He was the Angel that led the children of
He returned back to that same Light, and Paul saw it out of the Old
Testament. He said, 'I am Jesus, the Angel of the covenant.'
Now,
let's go back to our text for this morning and pick up at verse 16.
16 For the Lord Himself (and remember, there is only
One Lord and One Faith, and that One Lord is God Himself.
So Paul is telling us that it
will be God Himself that "shall descend from
heaven with a shout, (And
brother Branham taught us in his sermon called the Rapture that "The Shout is The Message")
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.
So we see that one of the three
things that God does is to bring down a Message, and there must be a prophet on
the scene for that message to be brought forth.
Then we continue to read what the
Apostle Paul tells us in the second event that will take place during the time
of the Parousia of Christ, and he says For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, (that's the first event,
and we know that event took place over a 33 year period, and then the second
event of the Parousia will be) with the voice of the archangel, (which
is the resurrection).
Rapture the 65-1204 P:89 A shout, a
voice, a trumpet. ... The next thing is a resurrection of the sleeping Bride,
the one that's died back in the other ages.
And then Paul mentions the third
event "and with the trump of God:" (which is the gathering together
of the saints that are raised up and those which are still alive, gathered to
go and meet the Lord in the air or other dimension)
Rapture the 65-1204 P:93 Therefore, the
Message calls the Bride together. See? The shout and the trumpet, the same
morning with a loud voice He screamed out with that voice and woke Lazarus. With
a loud voice He cried, "Lazarus, come forth." See? And the voice wakes up the
sleeping Bride, the sleeping dead. And the trumpet, with the sound of the
trumpet, and when it does, it calls... Always a trumpet called Israel to the
Feast of the Trumpets (See?), which was the Pentecostal feast, the great
feast in the sky and the Feast of the Trumpets... And now, a trumpet
denounced a calling together, calling to the feast. And now that is the Lamb's supper in the
sky (Now, watch.,)the assembling together in the Bride, the Feast
of the Trumpets, the Wedding Supper. We have seen it in types.
And then Paul says, "and the dead in Christ
shall rise first:" (we know that is the order of the
resurrection) 17
Then (after
the dead in Christ are raised up) 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."
Now, Paul spells out the order of the
resurrection so plain I do not know how anyone could misunderstand that. And how
can words be of any comfort to us if we don't understand those words. Therefore these words are not for the unbeliever but for they were given for the
believer only. And they are not for the so called Christian world in general
but they were given for those who follow the Pillar of Fire in this hour. For
these Words speak of The
Lord Himself, God Almighty coming
down with a Shout which brother Branham called the Message. And this Shout is
to gather together or unite an elect people to a Message that will get them
ready for the Voice of the Resurrection.
And if the Resurrection has a Voice, then we
must be preparing to hear from that Voice. Therefore, as the shout took a
period of time to go forth, the resurrection must also consist of a period of
time as well, or God is not consistent. Now, it doesn't have to be as long a
period, but it will be an extended period as Rotherham, and Israel P. Warren
had pointed out.
That is why I believe in a resurrection Ministry
where we will have the Tent, and we will assemble there under that tent or as
Paul said, " we shall be caught up together with them ".
Letting off the pressure
62-0518 P:55 He taught that there was a resurrection of the dead,
and one day He would come and would judge the whole world. And one day He went
down to the Jordan of death, crossed over the Jordan, come back on the third
day bringing the evidence that there is a resurrection of the dead.
Hallelujah. He stood and eat fish and bread. He was with them for forty days,
showing Himself alive.
Greatest news flash in
history 61-0424 P:4 I marveled at those great, outstanding, glorious, forty days that our Lord was on
earth appearing to His disciples and others after His
resurrection.
Absolute an 63-1201M P:25 Jesus, when He
was on earth, anointed with that that they saw, notice, He said, "I come from God
(the Spirit, the Light, the Pillar of Fire), and I return to God." And He
was made flesh in order to die for our sins. Then after His death, burial,
resurrection, and ascension, after He ascended up; on the forty days, he
ascended up; and on the
fiftieth day He returned back in a form of a Pillar of Fire among the people,...
Now, in three
of these quotes we see that there was forty days of resurrection ministry that
Jesus participated in with his chosen ones. That was the Alpha resurrection
ministry of Christ. And this Alpha Resurrection ministry of Jesus Christ was
not for the outsiders, it was not for the world. It was only for those who were
His predestined chosen few.
And I believe
that the Omega Resurrection ministry of Christ in our days, through His prophet
William Branham will be the same although I believe the number may be somewhat
greater than those days, because brother Branham believed it would be 1 in a
million. And with the 2016 world Christian population at 2.2
billion people that would mean perhaps 2,200 people in that tent.
Leadership 65-1207 P:108 While we have
our heads bowed, our eyes closed, and please bow your heart at the same time,
will you? I want to ask you a question. Do you really look at yourself to God?
And do you feel that you're not where you ought to be at this hour? 'Cause the
rapture could come at any time. See, it'll come. There'd only be, if that
statement I made awhile ago is true, there'll only be about five hundred
people in the rapture, that's living will be changed. Why, taking all
Christendom together, Catholic and all, there's only five hundred million
people (See?) claims Christianity. And one out of a million, be five hundred
people. There's that many people missing every day across the world, that
we can't even account for them. See, it'll come, and you won't even know it.
People'll go on preaching, and saying... See, and it'll all be past.
Now,
fortunately for us the population of the world has increased more than double,
and the number of Christians in the world has increased to 2.2 billion people
claiming to be Christians by 2010. I am not sure what 2016 brings. So if one in
a million holds fast, then we are looking at only 2,200 people in the rapture. Now,
that does not count all those who have followed this message that have already
passed over, but 2,200 is still a very small number considering I've personally
taught more than 3,500 ministers the doctrine of Christ all over this earth.
But I'm certain there are not that many who received it and are walking in the
Light as He is in the light. So press in my brothers and sisters because Jesus
said in Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Jesus also
said in Matthew 20:16 So the
last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. And again Jesus said in Matthew 22:14 For many are called (invited), but few are
chosen. (Elect)
So we are
looking at the timing for the time and the season for the resurrection, and we
have seen by Scripture that it will be during the time of the Parousia of
Christ. And since the Shout which is the first event of the Parousia of Christ
has already taken place we then must wait for the Voice Itself that follows the
Shout, and we know that the voice is the next event to take place which will be
the resurrection. And we are living in that generation where it must come to
pass.
Now, we know
the Time and Season for the resurrection to take place is during the Parousia
Presence of Christ. But I am sure we would all like to know more specifically from
the Bible if there is more definitive information in the Bible that will hone us
in more specifically what part of that season we are now in, and how soon it will
take place.
Now, I cannot
tell you the day or the hour, because God said in His Word that no man would know
the day or the hour. But the Bible doesn't say anything about not knowing the
week, the month or year.
And I believe
there is Bible enough that we can get close to knowing the precise month if not
the very week when the resurrection will begin to take place.
Five junctions of time
56-0122 P:32 And all churches, in a measure, wants to say that
they're a part of Pentecost, because there's where it began. And the word
"Pentecost" is the
word "fifty," where
the outgoing of the first-fruits of the harvest is brought together. It was
a feast time of the early harvest, means "fifty," which was after the cleansing
of the sanctuary. And in forty days then they had Pentecost. And many of you Bible
scholars wouldn't have to tear that down, because you understand it. And as
Christians, perhaps, have heard your well-trained pastors preach those things.
Well, after this great thing had happened... It had happened in a way that they
didn't understand it. They couldn't understand it. They was all looking for
the coming of the Christ. We're aware of that. But the way He come was so
different from the way they had figured out, till it just turned them around.
They didn't know. God usually does that at every junction station of His
time. He's did that.
Revelation chapter 4 pt 1
60-1231 P:88 John, called and summoned by the Lord Jesus,
promised by God back there that he'd see the coming of the Son of man. Peter,
James, and John, and them standing present, when Jesus spoke to them and
said, "There's some standing here will not taste of death
until they see the Son of man coming." He didn't say "all"
that was standing there, but "some." And they went a few days after
that, and saw the order of the resurrection rehearsed, and the coming
of the Lord. Moses represented the dead saints, and being resurrected. Elijah
represented the translated. But remember, Moses was first,
and then Elijah. Elijah was to be the messenger of the last day,
that with him and his group would come the resurrection; would come the...
Well, it would come the rapture, I mean. Moses brought in the
resurrection, and Elijah brought in the raptured group. And there,
both of them was represented right there.
Ok, so we see
that we have already been shown the order of the resurrection, the dead saints
come up first as Moses was seen first with Jesus, then those which are part of
the end-time followers of the Elijah prophet are to be the Raptured saints, who
receive their change while living. Now, I am sure that many of you have already
understood this order, but it is nice to know that God already previewed it for
us. Then we know we have the right interpretation.
So let's turn in
our Bibles to Matthew
17:1 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother,
and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And
was trans-figured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And,
behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah
talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter,
and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make
here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold
a voice out of the cloud, which said, "This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased; hear ye him." 6 And
when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face,
and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came
and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when
they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until
the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And
his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first
come? 11 And Jesus answered and
said unto them, Elijah
truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you,
That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever
they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them
of John the Baptist.
Now, let's go to
brother Branham's sermon Uncertain sound 60-1218
P:152 to see what God's vindicated prophet had to say about what we just
read in this Scripture.
"Well, what did He do here when He
was transfigured? The Greek says, "He changed His fashion." Oh, look at the order of the
resurrection. That's what struck me just then. Notice. What appeared first? He,
back over here in the next chapter, the 16th chapter, He told them, "Some standing
there should not die until they seen the Kingdom of God coming in power." In other
words, what would they do, they'd see the foretaste of the Kingdom of God,
they'd know the order of the resurrection and the coming of God. See, in
the 16th chapter. Now,
here He goes up there, and He... What happened, His fashion was changed.
In other words, He was revealed in another way. Do you follow me? 153
What did we find the revelation was the other night in the apocalypse, the
apocalypse means? A sculptor, it was done down here, making something; and then
what he does, he just takes the curtain out, said, "There it is."What
was He redoing here? He was revealing Himself in another fashion? What was He
in? A glorified, transfigured condition, His coming, the way He's
coming: a glorified Christ, transformed. His raiment shined like the sun.
My. Oh, He stood in the cloud; and He's coming in the clouds of glory.
Overshadowed by a
cloud; not a little white thunderhead up yonder, but the cloud that He comes in
is a cloud of glory, all these Angels with Him. Hallelujah. My, that's the way He's coming,
coming in a cloud of glory. 154 Now, notice, when they seen Him standing there. And before that,
there appeared to Him, Moses and Elijah. Watch that. What did Moses meant? Moses
represented the ones that had died and was sleeping in the grave, 'cause
Moses died and was buried; nobody know where he was buried at. But he represented
the ones that were asleep when He come. And Elijah represented the
translated ones, who didn't have to die. See? There you are. And Peter,
James, and John represented that remnant of Israel standing there saying,
"Lo, that's our God Whom we believed on." There's your hundred and
forty-four thousand. (Where you at, Brother Wood? That's it.) See, there
you are; Peter, James, and John: three, a witness to give when He returns back.
155 What was the first thing? The resurrection, Moses
and (conjunction) Elijah
appeared to Him. See, the resurrection of the dead, and the ones
that don't have to die was changed, and was standing there in His
Presence.
And I would
like to add, notice they were standing there in His Presence, There's your
Parousia.
"Oh, my. And there He stood,
glorified. And there was Peter, James, and John; the remnant of
the Jews, looking, saying, "That's Him. That's Him." That's
the order of the coming of the Lord. See it? There it is, the
resurrection. There they was. Oh, isn't it wonderful? 156 Now notice, only thing
He done, He took off His mask of humanity and become in a glorified state.
See, He changed His fashion....
Now, one other
thing. Brother Branham said Christ will come in a cloud of glory, and from
brother Branham's sermon Seven church ages 54-0512
P:37 His
great, glorious
Presence shall strike the earth. (Let me just add, that
His Great Parousia Presence) "He
cometh in clouds." Oh, I love that. "Clouds," there
will be wave after wave of His glory will come across the earth, and the
resurrection of the saints shall come. When that blessed Holy Spirit that's
lived in their hearts, and they died with their corpses laying there, and the
tear stains over their cheeks, and things like that, they're placed out here in
a graveyard. A great wave of that same Spirit, and a
"whoossh," wave after wave."He that was last will be first, and he that was first will be
last." How can it be that way? That's the order of the
resurrection. I won't know nobody in the generation before
me or the generation after me. I'll know those in the generation
of this. And every
generation will come successfully, right as it went down. "They which were last
will be first." Sure, it has to be.
See? I'll know my
people. The next fellow, my dad will know his people; his
grandfather, his people, on down like that. Wave after wave, after wave,
after wave, and the saints arising from everywhere, won't that be
wonderful. Amen. That makes the old people feel young again. Yes. Now, notice
closely. All right.... comes
in the clouds; and every eye shall see him... (No matter how far back they died; they'll
still see him.)... and they also which pierced
Him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Notice, he
comes in clouds, and the Apostle Paul tells us what those clouds are.
In Hebrews 12:1 Paul says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and
let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
And as brother
Branham said those witnesses were as brother Branham said, "Oh, He stood in
the cloud; and He's coming in the clouds of glory. Overshadowed
by a cloud; not a little white thunderhead up yonder, but the cloud that He
comes in is a cloud of glory, all these Angels with Him. Hallelujah. My, that's
the way He's coming, coming in a cloud of glory.
And we have the picture of His personal Presence in
the clouds of Glory where His head has hair like snow, and his Head is surrounded by the
angels making up his hair. And you know what Paul called the hair on your heads
sisters? He calls it your glory. 1 Corinthians 11:15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is
given her for a covering.
Now, your long hair represents your
glory, because it shows outwardly your obedience to the Glory of God, his Doxa,
His values, His opinions, His judgments.
And you are wearing your open subjection
to his values and opinions righ on your head as your crown, in fact it
represents your crown of glory.
Proverbs 16:31 The hoary
head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. In other words,
the white haired old person who is righteous or rightly wise his white hair
crowns his head, and it is a crown of glory if it is upon a mind that is
righteous. So we see the association
here again with the hair and the crown of glory.
Proverbs 4:9 7 Wisdom is
the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and
with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her,
and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost
embrace her. She shall give to thine
head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory
shall she deliver to thee.
Again we see
that the white hair is associated with wisdom, and a crown of glory.
Isaiah 62:3 1 For
Zion's sake (and brother
Branham said when you read in the Scripture about Zion, it speaks of the
Bride.) will I
not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a
lamp that burneth. 2 And
the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou
shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. 3 Thou
shalt also be a crown of glory in
the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Future home 64-0802 P:177 Listen, let's
just read it. Look here. And in that day seven women shall take ahold of one
man saying, We'll eat our own bread,... wear our own apparel: only let us be
called by thy name, to take away our reproach... (That's the end time where we're
living now: marriage, divorce, and prostitution, and whatevermore.) In that day
shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious,... the fruit of the
earth shall be excellent and comely... them that... escaped of Israel... (How that you
escaped all that damnation. See?) And it shall came to pass, that he that is
left in Zion, and he that's a remnant in Jerusalem, shall... (Let's
see.)... in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one
that is written among the living in Jerusalem: (See?)Wherein the Lord shall have washed away
the filth of the daughter of Zion,... (Remember that's always the Bride.
See?)... and shall have purified the blood of Jerusalem... (That's
the remnant of the Jews plus the Bride. See?)... and in the midst
thereof with the spirit of judgment,... (Fire, that's always God's judgment. When
He makes His final judgment, calls you, justifies you, and brings you to
redemption, then His judgment breaks forth upon you, and the Holy Ghost and
Fire cleanses away the sin. Then you're His. Same thing He does to the earth
when He purges it with fire.)... and by the spirit of burning. (Now look
listen, are you ready?)And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place
of mount Zion, and upon her assembly, a cloud of smoke by day, and a shining
of... fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
Spoken word original seed
62-0318E P:186 Jesus came and had the
Mount Transfiguration showdown. This forerunner of the last days will
sow for the former rain. Jesus will be the showdown between denominations and
creeds (which is His Word). When He comes, the showdown, the rapture of His
Bride... The first was Mount Carmel; the second was Mount Transfiguration; the
third will be Mount Zion. Glory.
So we see the Bible
speaks of Him "coming with clouds
and every eye shall see him". And Paul teaches us in 2 Thessalonians 1 that this is the hour that
"He comes to
be glorified IN his saints".
And so we see
the promise in the book of Isaiah 28:5 In that day (that's this
day, the day of His Parousia) shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of
his people,
And finally in
1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
So sisters, wear your glory with all
humility, for it represents your bringing your body into subjection to Him who
is our glory. And remember, Jesus said we become one with the father as he was
one with the fatehr because he has given us the glory the father gave him, the
doxa, the same opinions and values, and judgments making us one with the Father
even as Jesus the firstborn son was one with the Father.
Now, let me read
a few more quotes about the order of the resurrection before we look closer at
the season. from brother Branham's sermon, Testimony
63-1128M P:4 "The trumpet of God
shall sound; the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are
alive and remain..." Did you notice the order of the
resurrection, "Shall be
caught up together with them." We
meet each other before we meet Him. "Be caught up together to with them, to meet the Lord in the
air. See, He's God, and then when He wants to
be worshipped, that's what His very nature is, is to be worshipped, because
He's God. And He knows if we were there, be looking out of the corner of your
eyes, see if the other one's there, but, and then it wouldn't be the complete
way of free worship. When we stand there, and we know we've met each other
first, and greeted each other, and then to stand by Him Who caused it all,
and sing the songs of redemption.
Jehovah Jireh part 1 62-0705
P:6 And then, remember, if we go before He comes, we will be up and in His
Presence, or raised before the others are changed. "The trumpet of
the Lord shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which alive
and remain shall be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and be
caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." Look at the order of the
resurrection. See, God knows that we long to see our loved ones.
And if we got there to meet Him first, we'd be looking around to see if
mother or dad and the rest of them was there. But see how, the Holy Spirit
in His wisdom? We meet one another first, and then when we get there and sing
"Amazing Grace," that's when there's going to be a time of worship. You think
I act funny now, watch
me up there. It's going to be a wonderful time for me and all of
us when we get there.
Be not afraid 61-0311 P:90 We think of
that great day. How You have arranged it. "I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
concerning those that are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others that have
no hope. For if we believe that Christ died and rose again the third day. Even
so, those that sleep in Christ will God bring with Him. For we say this to you
in the commandment of the Lord." That we will not be as hindered. It won't
hinder us when we are sleeping. And we watch the order of the resurrection. The
first thing, we get together, not until we get together will we go
together to meet Him. Mothers and fathers will meet one another.
Children and loved ones will meet one another, and then be caught up in the
air to meet the Lord.
Condolences to Stadsklev
family 60-0924 P:17 Then them which are asleep shall not prevent those
which are awake at the coming of the Lord. "For the trumpet
of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And we'll be
caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." You notice the order of the
resurrection? "We which are alive and remain to the
coming of the Lord (I Thessalonians, I believe
about the 4th chapter) shall not prevent (or hinder) those that are
asleep. The trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ
shall rise first." And notice the next, "Then we which
are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them." See, we
meet them first. Now, I wonder, how God in His great mercy, when He'd be
worshipped perfectly there, and when... He knew that. He knew that if we got
there first to worship Him, and then we'll go to look around, wonder where baby
is, and where mother is, and where this one or that one; but (You see?) He lets us meet one another
first. So when you go up to worship before the Lord on that day,
she'll be with you. See?
Condolences to Stadsklev
family 60-0924 P:16 I know how I felt when I gave up my little girl. Not
long after that, I saw a vision of her. And you who have... You'll read it in
my life story. And I'll be with her again some glorious day when the
family's gathered together. And then together we'll meet, wherever we
are, scattered across the world. If you notice, the order of the resurrection:
They
which are asleep (and that's dead). Christians don't die, you know.
But saying in our way: dead. "Dead" means "separation."
"Death," rather, means "separation."
Now in closing let's look one more time to the
season and may the ord help us to see the Alpha time of the resurrection so we
can get a view as to the Omega time of the resurrection.
Curtain of time 55-0302 P:32 Brother, botany
don't only mean flowers and things, it means resurrection too in that
case. Amen. Just as the springtime, when the Easter flowers are blooming,
everything's so pretty, a very type of nature; resurrection has to come in the spring. That's
the reason the resurrection is in springtime. Resurrection of
everything, and surely the King of nature resurrected, the Creator of nature,
resurrected with the rest of the resurrection of nature.
Recognizing
your day 64-0726M P:18 Now, we noticed last Sunday there was--preaching the
feast days... And there was a feast of Pentecost. And between the
feast of Pentecost and the feast of Trumpets there was a long period of time,
exactly fifty days between Pentecost and the feast of the Trumpets. And
fifty days, which Pentecost means "fifty"; and it was the
sheaf-waving, or the in-gathering, the first-fruits of the
harvest was brought in. And we see that it was in type back there with the
natural first-fruits, representing the first-fruits of the Holy Spirit to be
poured out upon the people. And we find out then that them fifty days was
received by the Gentiles, which God called from the Gentiles a people for His
Name--the feast of the Pentecost. And we have been going through that long feast
of Pentecost. Now, actually from the fifty days would be exactly seven
sabbaths. And seven sabbaths represented the seven church ages to be called in
the time of the Pentecostal--feast of Pentecost, to call a people from the
Gentiles for His Name. Now, at the end of these seven Sabbaths which has been,
there was to be the Day
of Atonement, which was the Seven Trumpets. And the Seven Trumpets
was to call a day of mourning back for the sacrifice or the atonement. And we
find out then that Israel--the Seven Trumpets pertained only to Israel.
Let us pray...