Faith
no 6
Faith (Revelation)
or Insanity
June 3, 2017
Brian Kocourek, Pastor
This evening I
would like to continue in our study on Faith, and this evening we will look at
the subject of Faith or insanity, because these are the two end time conditions
that the entire world will come under before the Rapture of the Elect.
Let's turn to Luke 6:11 to see the condition of those who
opposed Jesus Christ in the Alpha ministry of Christ in order to better
understand the condition of the world that has turned down the Omega ministry
of Christ in this hour.
"And they were filled with madness; (raging
insanity) and
communed one with another what they might do to Jesus."
And then let's
also read from Luke 18:8 for our text "I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.
Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?
And one more
Scripture for our text, where we will read of just one of the curses that is to
come upon all who will not hearken to the voice of God. And to hearken
means to heed and pay close attention
to. In other words, not only hearing, but recognizing and acting upon
the Voice of the Lord our God. And His voice is His prophets bringing His Word.
Deuteronomy 28:28 The
LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
So before we
go to prayer, look at the contrast when Jesus Christ comes, between those who
hearken to His Word and will have Faith which is revelation, and those who will
not hearken to His Voice, His Word who will come into a condition of madness
which is insanity, blindness and astonishment of heart.
Let 's bow our
hearts in prayer....
To begin our
study this evening let's read from brother Branham's sermon, Influence 63-0803E P:14
where he says, "And if our American people are setting the pace today before
our children of smoking cigarettes, the women and the men drinking, and cards
in the house, and dice, what kind of a people will we have in the next
generation that is to come? It'll be a bunch of neurotics. And which I think the
whole world is just about in that condition now. Then if this race, or
this generation, rather, is like this, what will the next one produce? Then if
there would be another, why, the whole human race, if it keeps going in the
way it is, will become extinct altogether, because we're killing ourselves
and setting examples for others.
Now, what
brother Branham was seeing in his day was neurosis which if not dealt with will
lead to insanity. The word neurosis is defined as a relatively mild
personality disorder typified by excessive anxiety or indecision and a degree
of social or interpersonal maladjustment.
Neurosis according
to Webster is defined as: Any
of various Psychic, or mental, functional disorders characterized by one or
several of the following reactions: anxiety, compulsion, obsession, phobia,
depression, disassociation and conversion.
Notice that there are 7 of these
attributes, and that is the number of completion.
Brother Branham said in his sermon, 18 Christ Revealed In His Own Word I was just talking to a
young minister and his wife in
the room just a few moments ago. And
both of them are nervous just like the rest of the world, rest of the human
beings on earth. I said, "Remember, Satan's got a punch coming at
you." I don't care who you are, God... He's got a right to that one punch.
Which had you rather be, that punch, be blind, or be an arthritic setting in a
chair, or be nervous? See? He's got somewhere he could punch you. He's got a
right to that open place. Now, that's the spot you got to keep covered all the
time. 19 And to
see this nervous age that we're living in... And last week's tapes, I
think, will reveal to you the great hideous things that we're going to speak on
one of these days when we can get a place sufficient, of the opening of those
last plagues to be poured out upon the earth--those Vials, rather, pouring out
of the Vials, and the Seven Thunders... And those hideous sights that's coming
upon the earth... 20 Men now
and people today are in such a neurotic condition, the whole world... , Men now and people today are in such a neurotic condition, the whole world.
So we see
that this neurotic condition is a world-wide mental condition that has come
upon mankind like a trap. Just as we see the Laodicean condition of being
naked, blind and miserable is a universal condition as well.
From his
sermon, Letting off the pressure 62-0513E P:15 We are living in a neurotic age, nervous tension.
Everybody's racing here and going there, and going nowhere. It's just at
that kind of an age. And I know this church would be plagued with it as
every where's plagued with it. Tabernacle's plagued with it, everywhere, the
whole world. It's a day of pressure. Hurry, hurry; hurry, hurry; hurry up
and wait. Drive ninety miles an hour and then to get home for supper and wait
two hours till it gets ready. That's right. It's the time. And in that
rushing and speeding it gets you to a nervous tension; the wife say
something a little contrary, you want to fly off: temper. Husband say something,
you'll pat your foot and tell him to get in the room. See? "Well, now
husband, I don't want no words with you; go out there.""Wife, oh, I'm
so nervous." See? Why? What's the matter? See?
Confirmation of the
commission 62-0122 P:108 All the world
quivering and shaking, little nations everywhere with missiles that'll blow
a hole in the ground a hundred and fifty feet deep for two hundred and
fifty and three hundred miles square... Three of them at one time would sink
the whole earth. The whole world's in neurotic condition. The churches has gone away from the Word;
Now, the
question is what has produced this neurotic condition and what does it ordained
to produce in the people?
Well to begin
with let's see what causes this condition to begin with. If we turn to the book
of Deuteronomy we will find out that this condition of neurosis which leads to
total insanity is caused when people lack faith in the voice of the Lord God
and will no longer pay close attention to it. And remember we read for our text
this morning that Jesus said, Nevertheless
when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Deuteronomy 28:15 But it
shall come to pass, (So he is talking about a future time,
some day it will come to pass...) if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and
his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: (which over take means to take over)16 Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and
cursed shalt thou be
in the field.
17 Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, (that speaks of your children) and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19 Cursed
shalt thou be when
thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (that's upon your travel) And who is going to do this to you? 20 The LORD shall send
upon thee cursing, vexation, (this word
means: confusion or uproar:--destruction,
discomfiture, trouble, tumult),and rebuke,
in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby
thou hast forsaken me. (So God is a jealous God whether you think that is right or not, it
doesn't change who He is.) 21 The LORD shall make the pestilence
cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou
goest to possess it. 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a
fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the
sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is
under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee,
until thou be destroyed. 25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies:
thou shalt go out one way against them,
and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms
of the earth.
26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the
air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. 27 The LORD will smite thee with the botch of
Egypt, (that's burning inflammation and boils) and with the emerods, (inflammation
of the ..., hemmorhoids) and with the scab, (from incessant itching as he
adds next) and
with the itch, whereof thou canst not
be healed. (He is talking about incurable
irritating conditions here. Now the next verse is where I want to get to this
morning in our study, because these conditions have to do with the metal state
of the people.) 28 The LORD shall smite thee with (1)madness, and (2)blindness, and (3)astonishment
of heart: 29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind
gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be
only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no
man shall save thee. And that
includes Donald Trump.
Now, this word
"madness"
was translated from the Hebrew word "shigga'own"
and was translated as "madness" having it's root from the word
"shagga"
which means "to
rave through insanity".
So we see the curse will result in the
people becoming raving lunatics, completely insane in their ranting. And we are
seeing that condition everyday in the news.
Now, let's combine that with the other
words he uses here which was "blindness and astonishment
of heart." The Hebrew word "timmahown"
which
speaks of consternation which means a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay. And the English word
the translators used was "astonishment"
which means overpowering
wonder or surprise; amazement: Stupify.
This
shows the people will lose their mental capabilities of knowing right from
wrong, and will as a result come to the place where they cannot even take responsibility
for their own actions because they have become blinded to the link between
their own actions and the penalty for such actions they will incur.
As an example
all we have to do is to look at the mental breakdown of that woman who just this
past week got a lot of publicity for holding a fake bloody head of the
President of the United States. When the President's wife said this disturbed
her 11 year old son who was watching the news and saw the picture, and he ran
to her side crying because he thought they had killed his daddy. The woman
responded by saying those were bullying words.
This woman did
this intentionally to hurt the President's 11 year old boy. That's insanity.
Here is what
she said before doing that stunt.
The USA TODAY
reported the reaction of the trump family which I thought was a very good reply
to such a wicked stunt as what this woman did.
"As
a mother, a wife, and a human being, that photo is very disturbing," the first lady said in a
statement issued by her press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, in response to a
reporter's question late Wednesday morning. "When you consider some of the atrocities happening in the world
today, a photo opportunity like this is simply wrong and makes you wonder about
the mental health of the person who did it."
And the President tweeted: "Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of
herself. My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a
hard time with this. Sick!"
Now, to me
that was a mild response to such a sick display of wicked behavior, So how did
this woman react to the President and his family's responses to her evil?
She hired a
lawyer to sue them for "Bullying her"
from BREITBART NEWS we read:
Kathy
Griffin has hired high-powered attorney Lisa Bloom and will hold a press
conference Friday to address the firestorm surrounding the viral image of
herself holding the bloody, decapitated head of President Donald Trump and the
“bullying”
she claims she has endured at the hands of the Trump family as a result.
From TRUNEWS
a Christian publication we read, "Does Kathy Griffin’s meltdown
following her decapitation stunt show that a collective insanity has taken over
the Leftist elite?"
Listen, most
of these so-called celebrities today grew up in a Christian Home or at least a God
fearing home, where the parents were very devoted to church. Kathy Griffin
said "My parents sent me to Catholic
school, which only made me the vehement militant atheist that I am today,"
she told L.A. Magazine in 2005."
Brad Pitt said, "Many people find religion to be
very inspiring," he said. "Myself, I found it very stifling. I grew
up with Christianity and I remember questioning it greatly.
"Katy Perry recently told Vanity Fair that as a
child, her parents, both evangelical pastors, wouldn't read any book to her
other than the Bible and refused to let her listen to non-religious music."I didn't have a
childhood," she said. "Growing up, seeing Planned Parenthood, it was
considered like the abortion clinic." She questioned Christianity from an
early age. "In my faith, you're just supposed to have faith," she
said."
And that is the very problem, because
they called religion Faith when Faith is a Revelation, and they had none.
Remember Jesus said, "Nevertheless when the Son of man
cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
That is why
the Lord says, "I will smite thee with a condition of madness that will cause
a blindness that that they will have no understanding of the ramifications of
even their own actions."
Deuteronomy 28 The LORD shall smite thee with (1)madness, and (2) blindness, and
(3) astonishment of
heart:
Notice God's
prophets taught us that this condition of insanity will be world-wide.
In Jeremiah 51:7 we read, Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the
nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. And he is not
speaking of the nation of Babylon, because Babylon means confusion, and he is
speaking of the end time condition of confusion and insanity brought about at
the end time by the Catholic Church and her daughter churches that is spoken in prophesy in the book of Revelations
chapter 17
and 18.
Revelations 17:1 And
there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with
me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many
waters:(and
never forget a woman represents in the Bible a church, always, either a bride
or a whore who is unfaithful to her vows.)
From his
sermon, Lord just once more 63-0628A P:29 brother Branham taught us, "Woman, in the
Bible, represents "church."
Mark of the beast 54-0513
P:45 What does a woman represent? The church.
It wasn't so from the beginning
61-0411 P:47 Eve was the first one to pervert the human race. She
was the one, the Eve which represents a church. A woman in the Bible always
represents the church. Christ is coming for an espoused virgin.
The old prostitute of the Bible was called "the church setting on the
seven hills," the Roman church. Oh, church... And she had daughters, which
was the others that followed her and come out of her, was born from her in
their same denominational barriers and same thing, same kind of a system. In
them churches, there are fine people. But it's the system that binds them. It's
not the church itself; it's the people in the church. It's the system behind it
that binds them, puts them into a place, breaks out fellowship, won't let them
go on with God. And it's a pitiful thing. But that's what does...That's what
God hates. Not the people in there, but the system that's binding them is
what He hates, is that organization that tells them if they go to another
church they're going to be excommunicated. And the people don't know what to
do. They'll pay for it someday.
Recognizing your day 64-0726M
P:72 Did you notice the fall of the world begin with the immorality of a
woman? Do you know it's to end the same way, immorality of the woman? And the
church represents, is by the woman? The church is a woman, spiritually
speaking. So is the Bride a woman, spiritually speaking. The immorality of
the church, how it's done... Look at the visions, look at the things. See the
visions, even that God gives... And that vision is true. I have my Bible over
my heart, to you people on tape, and the audience can see it. I saw that. God
Almighty knows that's the truth. Never known it till just now. There she
is naked and don't know it. She was just having her a great time. There
you are. But that little Bride come in view, it was different, the Alpha and
Omega.
So
notice this church John is writing about says in verse 2 With whom the kings of the earth have
committed fornication, and the inhabitants
of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (notice
drunkenness is a mental disorder brought on by excessive alcohol that perverts
judgment.) 3 So he carried me away in the spirit into
the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and
decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken (intoxicated,
mentally disoriented) with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great
admiration. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.... 9 And here is the mind
which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman
sitteth. ...18 And the woman
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the
earth.
Now, is woman
is a church and she is also a city that reigns over the kings of the earth,
there is only one city state that is also a church and that is the Vatican
city. And it says he brings on this mental disorder by her idolatrous
relationship with the kings of the earth.
From his
sermon, Invisible union of the bride 65-1125 P:51 Brother
branham warned, "The complete total insanity this world will go into right away.
It's almost there now. Why, you can see the footsteps of it.
There it is. It's marching right out on the street, right down the church pew: total
insanity, do things that a human being wouldn't think of
doing and being civilized. Look what Hollywood's done to the woman.
Look how it's robbed the sacred virtues of the woman. On and on we could
go. See, all this she lost. How did she do it? Because there was a subtle
instrument called the
church, like there was in the garden of Eden. A subtle person, the devil,
walked into the
church just like he did in the garden of Eden and deceived her into
it. She's deceived.
The woman thinks... She don't mean to be wrong. Eve didn't mean to do wrong. It wasn't willfully.
but she... The Bible said in I Timothy 3, she
was deceived. And deceived is not when you willfully do it,
it's when you are deceived into doing it."
Now, notice
that when the Lord comes, he will be looking for faith, Revelation, but what he
will see is a condition of insanity instead, and this insanity is caused
because the church has left the Word of God.
Revelations 3:14 And
unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans
write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the
beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: (in other words they are just
indifferent, they could take it or leave it and it wouldn't matter to them
which way they go. But God says,) I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So
then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold
nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (and His
Mouth is the Word, where Faith comes by hearing what? The word. So when God
spews them out of His Word, that means the light is taken from them, and they
must go into darkness, which is insanity. Their minds are darkened.) 17 Because thou sayest,
I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Brother Branham taught that is a
condition of insanity. It is a condition of the mind, or mental deficiency, it is "madness". And he tells us it is because they have
left the Word of God and the delusion they have been received by
brings on madness or insanity.
Satan's Eden 65-0829 P:15 Now, remember, He's speaking to the
church of this age: wretched,
blind, naked, and don't know it. That last phrase, that last word is what makes it so
striking. They think that they are well filled with the Spirit.
They're all ready... The Laodicean Church Age is the Pentecostal church age,
'cause it is the last church age.
Now, notice he
said That last phrase, that last word is
what makes it so striking. It's not the fact that they are wretched, blind,
naked, but the last part said, and
don't know it.
Laodicean church age 60-1211E
P:93 All right, I noticed another thing, said, "They are naked, naked, and don't know it. Sure. Oh, naked and don't know it? Now, that
person is in a miserable fix. If a man is wretched, blind, miserable, naked, now, if
he knows it, he'll help himself; but if he don't know it, the poor fellow's mentally gone. Is
that right? Whew. That was kinda strong. Mentally gone, he doesn't know enough to
help himself. If you seen somebody coming down the street, poor, miserable, blind, wretched, and
naked, and you say, "Brother, you are naked.
"Oh, am I? Oh, oh, brother, help me in somewhere; help me to get
clothed."
But notice the
condition of Laodicea, it is miserable, blind and naked, yet he doesn't even
know what condition they are in. That's insanity. That's the story of "the emperors new clothes". He was
insane and everyone was afraid to tell him, and he walked around undressed
thinking he had some great fashion that made him so proud, but one day and
little boy blurted out the question, Why is the emperor naked?
And that is
the condition not only of the world but the Laodicean Church Age itself. And
notice that brother Branham brings to our attention that this world wide
insanity will be brought on by the deception that Satan has brought to and
thorugh the church. But God has combated this deception with his Word and with
a faithful ministry to handle the word of God.
Ephesians 4:11 And he
gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some,
pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, (that means for
the equipping and maturing of the saints.) for the work of the ministry, for the edifying (building
up) of the body
of Christ:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, (That's the
revelation of Jesus Christ) and of the knowledge of the Son of God, (And you
can not have a unity of The Faith without understanding the relationship that
the son of God had to His Father, God. And this unifying of The Faith, The Revelation of Christ, and the knowledge of the son of God is supposed
to bring us to the place) unto a perfect
man, (a fully mature stable son of God) unto the measure of the stature of Christ, the
stature of the fullness of Christ: (In other words this ministry by
handling the Word of God with an anointing upon them is to bring the people
into the very stature of Christ, which is the very character of Christ. and
that for the purpose) 14 That we henceforth
be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive;
So right there Paul is speaking of
twins. You have a God ordained True Five-Fold ministry and then you have a
false ministry endowed by Satan to deceive. And he says of them they lie in
wait to deceive, so their entire purpose is deception.
From his
sermon, Fellowship 62-0519 P:49 brother
Branham said, "At a certain big Bible college the other day,
we was coming up, going fishing, and went down to a place for afternoon
fishing. Come back up, I never heard such a noise in my life: young
girls out of this famous college, and young boys, shorts on down there. Oh, my,
and talk you never heard, letting off the steam. And I guess they
thought that was the way to do it. What's the ministers there hatch out? What's the next generation going
to be? If it's full of Rickys and Elvises now, what in the world would it be in
another generation? What's it going to be? There you are. Oh,
brother, that just, something gets in me; I can't help it.
Notice he blames it on the ministers and
so he should. That is why america has fallen, because they forsook the Message,
when God visited this nation and did what he did, and the churches and pulpits
fall away from that? No wonder this millennial generation is so lost in sin.
As I mentioned in number 3 in this
series on Faith, In this hour you will either receive Faith or you will receive
a delusion, You will either receive and enter into the Revelation of Jesus
Christ or you will enter into a deception. And it all depends on whether you
hear, recognize and act upon the Word of God or not.
Then Paul says
of the true Five-Fold ministry and what they are to produce in the children of
God, 15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ: Not growing up
unto as though he is one and you are next to him, but he said that you may grow up into Him. This word into was
translated as such from the Greek word eis which
(indicates the point reached or entered into), of place, time.
In other words we enter into Christ by
putting on Christ as He also said in Galatians 3:27 For as many of you
as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ.
And again in Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
16 From
whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every
joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Let's continue with what Paul was
teaching us because he points out that there are a true five-fold ministry and
a false ministry as we read a little further on.
17 This I say therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18 Having the
understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of their heart:
19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But ye have not so learned Christ;
Notice the
progression Paul speaks of that zaps the life right out of the people. He calls it the vanity of their minds. Now,
these word the
vanity of their minds that Paul speaks of here comes from a
Greek word "mataiotes" which
speaks of emptiness and moral depravity. And this is cause he says because
of "Having the
understanding darkened, and that is caused because of their being
alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of their heart:
So it all comes down to the condition of
the heart or mind. and in the blindness of their heart, they are ignorant of
the life of God and thus become alienated or separated from the life of God
which comes from His Word.
Now, the apostle
Peter says tells us how that the Word of God is what brings us into the very
nature of God Life. 2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus
our Lord, 3 According as his divine power (and the Apostle
Paul tells us in Romans 1:18 that the power of God is
the Word of God. So we read on) 3 According as his divine power (The Word of
God) hath given
unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, (that
means God-Likeness) through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Notice, "through the knowledge of him that hath
called us to glory (Doxa,
God's opinions, values, and judgments) and virtue:
(which is fully grown manhood. That's adoption talk).
Then Peter
continues, 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises: that by these ye
might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And
beside this, giving all diligence, add
to your faith (add
to your revelation of Jesus Christy) virtue;(Fully
grown manhood, adoption readiness) and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge
temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to god-like-ness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you,
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 9 But
he that lacketh these things is blind, and
cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten (Has lost his mind) that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:
for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For
so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
So in all
these cases, and in all these quotes and Scriptures we see an end time
condition where your either receiving the Word will bring you into the
revelation of Jesus Christ where you will put on Christ, or by not receiving
the Word of God, you will enter into deception blindness and completely enter
into a state of insanity. And we are looking at the last church age and the
fact that Jesus said, "When the Son of Man shall come, shall he find Faith?
From his
sermon Trial a 64-0427 P:76 brother
Branham said, "But bear me record. The seventh church age, which is
the Laodicea church age... Will we admit that this is the Laodicea age?
Remember, He, the
Word, was
put out of the church. Is that right? Put out of the
church, and He was on the outside trying to get back in: "I stand and knock at the door."And you say that "I'm rich and have need of nothing and...""And
knowest thou not that you're miserable, blind, naked, wretched, and don't know
it?" He was on the outside, the Word. What is
it? Our traditions. Our Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal tradition
has rejected the
Word, and it can have no cooperation nowhere. Everybody's hands
off of it, and want to call it an evil spirit. And do you understand that Jesus
said in the last days before the coming of the end time, that He would be
revealed again as "Son of man," not "Son of God?" And that fulfills Malachi 4, and all these other promises of Abraham? The last sign
that Abraham received, he was waiting for a coming son, and the last sign that
he was to receive was God revealed in a human being. And Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Lot and Sodom, so shall it be in the
coming of the Son of man."
And from his
sermon Jehovah Jireh 3 60-0803 P:44a The
first half of that paragraph he says, "Look to things that
you don't see with your eyes. You don't see with your eye any how, you
see with your heart, and you look with your eye. So then, standing in that door of faith.
Look what Jesus said, here. Let me read here: "Because thou sayest I am rich, and increased in goods." Look at our churches. We used to be down on the
alley. We used to be on the corner with a tambourine. But now, we've got some
of the best buildings there is in the country, sometimes, some of the best
polished scholars in the pulpits. "Because
thou sayest, that I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing,
and knowest thou not that you are poor, wretched, naked, blind, and don't know it?" Now, if I seen a man on the street that was poor, and
he didn't even have any clothes on, and he was blind, and if I could go to him,
and talk to him about, and say, "Sir, do you realize that you're
naked?"..."Oh, am I sir?""Yes, come in here; I'll give you
some clothes." But what if that man is naked, miserable, poor, and
blind, and don't know it? That's a delinquent person. That's a mental deficiency.
And the church has become a spiritual deficiency. They don't realize that God is
shaking every gift before the church, and they don't recognize it: blind, and don't know it.
Think of it: naked, a naked person, a blind
person, poor and miserable and wretched, and don't know it; that's
pathetic. And Jesus said, "The church would be that way in
this Laodicean age, and it's here."I'm so-and-so. I belong to this
denomination. I'm as good as you are."... Now, I will finish reading the rest of
this paragraph in just a minute...
But first,
from his sermon, Christ revealed in His own Word
65-0822M P:22 brother Branham
said, "That
Laodicean church age,
naked, blind, miserable, don't even know it... See, it's not, not anointed, "anointed with the real
Spirit". See that Holy Spirit can fall upon a man in his spirit, but his
soul is his germ. That germ is the Word. See? And how... I don't care how
much you preach, how well you do this, and how much you love... That's one of
the inlets the spirit. You can't love with your body; you love with your
spirit. That's one of the inlets. And you can love and even love God, and still
not be right. You can cast out devils, and preach, and do these things, still
not be right. Jesus said so; said many would come in that day. That Word settles it.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelled among us,...
And from his
sermon Presence of God unrecognized 64-0618 P:80 brother
Branham said, "But when you don't know you're wrong, the Bible said, "Thou art wretched."
In this age, the church would be wretched, miserable,
poor, blind, and naked, and not know it. Just think
if a man or woman was on the street, wretched,
blind, poor, miserable, and naked, and you
could tell them that they were naked, and they would listen to you, but what
if they are naked and they don't believe it? What a mental condition that is. Well,
now, that's what
kind of a spiritual condition it is. People are
spiritually blind, wretched, miserable, naked before God, sinners trying
to cover themselves behind fig leaves of some denomination, and don't know it."
And in his
sermon Jehovah Jireh 2 64-0403 P:74 he said, "And that's the way
we've done the church. We've made it pretty and decorated it with
denominational tinsel. But it ain't got no life in it. It can't produce that Bible
evidence again: can't produce the evidence of the resurrection of Christ.
It's a hybrid affair: better-dressed people, better paid, bigger denominations,
richer of the Laodicean age, exactly. "Rich,
have need of nothing, know not that you're miserable, wretched, blind, and
poor, naked, and don't
know it." If a man knowed
he was naked, you could talk to him. But when he don't know it, that's a miserable shape, pitiful.
Don't scorn the people, but have mercy. What if that was you in that condition?
What if the Word
wasn't revealed to you? What would you do? What else would
matter if your eyes was so blind you couldn't see it? That's a
miserable sight. And just exactly positionally, you can't lay a finger on it.
There it sets, just what He said would take place; these signs would be in
the last days. See where they're setting, just exactly."
So you see how brother Branham places
this condition for the end time, the last days, and he shows us right here that
the difference between having revelation and no revelation is the difference of
being miserable blind and naked and not even knowing it. Revelation produces
Christ in you, and true holiness and a lack of revelation brings blindness to your own wretched,
miserable blind and naked condition. In other words, you will either have
revelation or insanity. That is the end time conditions he is speaking of here.
Notice the remedy in Revelations 3:18 for this end
time condition of the church. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold "Deity-God Life"
tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, (White raiment?
Because we are told to put on Christ, we are told also that we are to be
dressed in the Word, for Christ the one we must put on is The Word.)
Now, the rest
of that quote I promised to read from Jehovah Jireh
3 60-0803 P:44b But brother, He said, "Counsel Me, and buy white raiment." White raiment in the Bible is called the righteousness of saints.
"Buy of Me white raiment. Buy of Me gold
tried in the fire," the fire of
Calvary. "Buy of Me gold," the holy oil of God poured out, buy that kind of
gold. Buy the righteousness of the saints,
that thou may be hid.
And we know righteousness is
right-wise-ness, which means you are rightly wise, which can only come via
Revelation.
So we see in
the end time Laodicean Church Age you are either dressed in white being rightly
wise or you are blind and naked and don't even know it.
Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall
be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the
book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his
angels.
Again back to Revelations 3:18 I counsel thee to
buy of me gold "Deity-God Life" tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich; and white
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that
the shame of thy nakedness do not
appear; (in other words, it is covered, "for we are
dead and lives are hid with Christ in God") and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, (that is Oil which represents the Holy Ghost) that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in
his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches.
So we see the
condition of the Laodicean Church Age is very grim. For it is either blind
miserable and naked, and doesn't know it or it has its heart anointed with the
Revelation of Jesus Christ and has become the
very righteousness of God.
Power of transformation
65-1031M P:115 And the women have to dress themself so immoral to
get out amongst people. And they say, "I'm a good woman." Well,
what's she putting herself out there like that for? She's blinded.
"Well, If one of these sisters here of little age, if your mother or my
mother would've walked out on the street way one of these women, they'd have
put her in the insane institution; she didn't even have enough mind to know to
put on her clothes. Well, if it was insanity then, it's insanity now. It's still
the same type of woman. See? But they've lost all their decency, all their understanding.
They've lost their... And with modern understanding, with culture and
education, "It's healthier to be it." It's sinful and death.
Notice. They are, oh, not like they used to be. When the...
Uncertain sound 61-0415E P:35
it's insanity. And any
young people that can stand in a building with their hands up and all this carrying
on of rock-and-roll and stuff, and beatniks, it's insanity. It's dangerous.
They've gone; the
mental faculties has broke down. Remember, the tree of
knowledge only goes so far and it swings backward.
Now, listen,
either the Holy Ghost is leading you or the devil is deceiving you and the two
spirits will be so close that if possible it would deceive even the very elect.
Tomorrow
morning we will go into some of the deceptions that have led to the end-time
insanity, and we will show you what you need to be careful concerning your own
life that you don't end up in the end-time insanity condition that has already
pulled millions of young Millennial's into it's death hold..
Let us pray...