Masterpiece 75
The Pillar of Fire
brings Life
July 23th, 2006
Pastor, Brian Kocourek
This morning we will examine paragraph 150 of Brother
Branham’s sermon “The Masterpiece” and we will
exam the thoughts that brother Branham lays out for us in this paragraph and we
shall again take them to the Word of God to show you just how perfectly they
are with scripture.
THE
MASTERPIECE 64-0705 150 Like
in
Now, I want you to notice what brother Branham is
telling us here.
Number 1) He is telling us
that “everywhere
that Pillar of Fire went was Life;”
Now, let’s begin this
morning by looking at point number 1. everywhere that Pillar of
Fire went was Life.
Now we find in the Book of
Genesis which is the Book of beginnings, The Seed Book of the Bible that the
very first thing that happened when God spoke is that the pillar of Fire come
forth, and God divided the light from darkness. The next time God spoke, he
divided the waters from above from the waters from below.
GENESIS
1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth. So there is no doubt about
it, God did the creating, for God is the Creator. 2 And
the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the
deep.
Notice the scripture tells us the earth was without
form. That means it had no form. The Hebrew word that the word form was
translated from is “tohuw” and is pronounced to'-hoo. It means 1) formlessness,
unreality, or emptiness. It also means nothingness,
or empty space and that which is empty or unreal. So this tells us that in the
beginning when God created the Heavens and the earth and the earth was without
form, that the world in this condition was still not material substance but
rather in God’s thinking. It was Logos, word expressed. But still at this point
it was not real in the sense that the word real means something that can be
seen, tasted, felt, or heard. In other words, substance. It was not of
substance at this point.
And notice right after Moses wrote said the earth was
without form, he added the words, he scripture backs this up by using the
saying without
form, and void; Now the
word void was translated from the Hebrew word
bohuw {bo'-hoo} and it means
emptiness.. So the earth was tohuw and bohuw. In other words it was not there
in the physical sense as we think being there. But in God’s mind it was there
because the thoughts of God are more real than the three dimensions we live in.
Paul Told us in Hebrews 11: 1 Now
faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
So even though it was
not yet seen, it was “tohuw” and “bohuw”, yet it was the substance of things
hoped for, because God hoped for it. Now, if you and I hope for something our
hope can be misguided, but God’s hope is a reality because when God earnestly
expects something, (that is what Hope is, earnest expectation) and when God has
an earnest expectation, that means He thought it, he said it, and it shall come
to pass. Like the song that Christians sing, “God said, I believe it, that
settles it for
And now to this point God has thought out His great
plan to have a heaven and earth and to bring forth an expression of Himself in
the creation of it.
Now, we have just read that the earth was “tohuw” and “bohuw”.
It was not visible yet, it was not real yet, it was empty, without any form,
and then the next thing he writes, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. “And the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Now, this would seem a contradiction of scripture that
the earth was without any form, and was simply an invisible place, not yet a
reality and yet there were waters there. So a closer examination of this is a must.
So we read, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Now,
this word darkness was translated from a Hebrew word, cho-shek which means
obscurity. Obscurity means 1. Deficiency or absence of light; darkness. 2.
a. The quality or condition of being unknown:
So we see that there was an absence of Light at this
time, the Logos had not yet come forth at this time. There was only a condition
of that which is not yet known. As Jesus said concerning the Second Coming, “No man knoweth the
day or hour, not even the son, but the Father only.” So we see here that only God knew what was
going on here, because to this point in the Creation process, God was bringing
about His creation in the way God always does everything, By His own purpose
and plan which means His Own thoughts. God to this point was laying out His
plan how that He would create the heavens and the earth. That is why when we
read in verse 1, In
the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Moses then went
on to tell us how God created the Heaven’ and the earth. So we see in the
following verses, the purpose of God and the plan of god, and how God unfolded
his plan from thought to reality, from word, to expression and manifestation. And
remember to this point we had not yet seen any evidence of light. No light yet.
Only emptiness and obscurity which is absence of light.
We read, , and darkness (this emptiness and obscurity or
absence of light) was upon the face of the deep.. and this word deep was
translated from the Hebrew word, means abyss,
or Sheol. Now, the definition that we get from the dictionary concerning the
word sheol is an Old Testament word that speaks of a place where the dead go.
So it is speaking of another dimension that the living are not in. The word
abyss means . An unfathomable chasm; a yawning gulf. 2. An
immeasurably profound depth or void: a. The primeval chaos out of which
it was believed that the earth and sky were formed.
So this deep was not the ocean as some would call it
the deep, but rather it speaks of a place, a dimension, an immeasurable place
where no space or time can measure it. A void, an empty place, or nothingness.
Therefore darkness, obscurity, this lack of Light was in there and then God did
something to change that scene.
3
¶ And God said, Let there be light: and
there was light. 4 And God saw the
light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Now, let’s look at what Brother Branham, vindicated
Prophet of God said concerning this Light,
From his sermon called, Attitude and who is
God? 50-0815 P:13 Now, let's look Who God is, just a little
bit. I'm feeling for something tonight. I've asked God something. And I believe
He's going to grant it to me. I believe it with all my heart. Now, you be in
prayer. I can't speak until He speaks. Let's just take back and find out just a
minute Who God is. Let's look back at the beginning of time. this is a little picture I want to draw so
you can get some conception of Who this Being is in our midst tonight, that's moving among us. If you could
only realize Who that is, healing would be a secondarily or minor thing to you.
If you could just see Who He is.
Now, catch what he is
saying here. He is saying that if you could only recognize that the God who
created the universe is here, then you would have such a faith that nothing
could stand in the way of your prayers. I don’t care what it is for. For your
healing, as brother Branham says here, or for your Children to be saved and filled
with the Holy Ghost. If you could only recognize Who is here, then You would
have faith for a Rapture and change of your own body.
And from His sermon Presence of God
unrecognized 64-0618 P:1 (you know that is quite a title for a
sermon, and in this sermon he says, ) 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 is here to confirm It. He proves that He'll
confirm It.
And again from his sermon My Redeemer liveth 55-0410S P:13 Did
you ever stop to think this morning, as far as returning, that is, to become
visible? He's already here with us now.
Now, today just imagine that His Presence being here today. The Lord Jesus is in another world, or
another dimension, right here today in form of Spirit. His Spirit is blending in with our spirit. Our eyes can't see Him,
because that they're physical yet, unless there would something happen that we
could see vision. But He is here just as visible, just as real as He was the
day that He spoke to Mary at the grave, or He met Cleopas on his road to
Emmaus. His Presence is here. It can be
feeled with that, felt with that inner charge that's on the inside of the human
body, called the new birth. The soul has been magnetized unto Him. And once
in a while, when you let your mind be concentrated on Him, believing on Him,
after while something, a reality,
you can feel something sweep over your being. That's the vindication of His
resurrection. It's not a "guess so." It's not "I hope so."
But to every person that's born again,
it's a "know so." You know
it.
And so as we continue
with some things he said concerning this one that is in our midst he said, this is a little picture I want to draw so you can get some
conception of Who this Being is in our midst tonight, that's moving among us. If you could
only realize Who that is, healing would be a secondarily or minor thing to you.
If you could just see Who He is.
14 Now,
let's take back a hundred billion years ago, and then take back a hundred
billion years before that. And just keep on going back. Here not long ago, I
was in
Now, let’s pick up at paragraph 15 And
there, that great space where no one can
fathom in their mind beyond that, that space, eternity. Now,
that is what I was explaining earlier, that great void, without form, where
there was not place or time. That great space or whatever you can call it where
God dwelt alone, brother Branham says, …
That's Jehovah God out there.
And we're taught in the beginning, that the Logos, or the Son of God went out
of God. Now, I do not believe in eternal sonship. That's even radical to even
mention such a thing, eternal sonship. How He had an eternal sonship? No way
it's even eternal sonship, how could He be a Son? He had to have a beginning.
See?
16 So He first was God, Jehovah. And out of
Him... Let's just picture now as a little drama so you can get it. Let's see
coming out of space where there's nothing, let's make it a little white Light, like a mystic Light, like a Halo. And that was
the Logos that went out of God in the beginning. That was the Son of God that
came out of the bosom of the Father. That was what was in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was
made flesh and dwelled among us. In the
beginning was God. And then out of God came the Logos, a part of God that went
out of God. Let's notice this. Now, I
have to make this before going back into it, just like a little picture drama
here for you a moment, in order to get one point to you, Who... What is in our midst tonight.
17 And
in there... Now, see, this is just like a child playing before the door. It was the Son of God, the Logos. And
I can see Him out there, and He spake, and said, "Let there be
light." And there was nothing. But there was something happened, and an
atom turned there, there begin to whirl around this a way. The sun begin to
come into existence, because He said, "Let there be." There's the
authority. Where did He make it from? I don't know. There was nothing to make
it from. But He believed His own Word, and there was light. I can see a piece
fly off of that; it's a meteor. After a few million years, or a hundred
billions of years, if you want to call it, and it circled way out. I see Him
standing there watching it. And it falls down in here. He stops it after falls a
few million years, and let it hang there in orbit. Here's another one flying
off the sun. It goes over here and hangs down, stops it there.
So you see it all began way back when God brought
forth that Light from His Presence, to bring into a reality His very thoughts.
Now, in getting back to our subject, when Brother
Branham said, “everywhere that Pillar of Fire went was
Life;” he is talking about God who is the fountain of Life and
that Pillar of Fire represents His Shekinah Presence, and therefore everywhere that Pillar of Fire went was Life
because that Shekinah Presence is a reflector of Life. God-Life.
And we saw in scripture that there was absolutely
nothing in the beginning. Everything was
obscure and void and without form, and then God began to speak and when He
spoke, the Light of God came forth from His Presence and scattered away
darkness and brought forth Life. Notice the first time God speaks He brings
forth Light. The next time God speaks His Word separates the waters from above
from the waters from below. And Light and water are the essential ingredients
to maintain Life. The third time God speaks in Genesis 1:11 he lays out the law
of Life, or the Law of reproduction and says, “Every seed shall bring forth after its kind.”
So first Light, then water and then Life itself. Now,
what good would it have been for God to speak forth seeds if there was nothing
to sustain that Life. So he brought forth Light, then water and then Life.
And that is the principle property of Light that it
scatters darkness from it’s presence, and once darkness has been scattered,
then life can come forth, because in order for the seed, any seed to manifest
what it is, it needs light. You keep any seed out of light and it will not
germinate. They found some time back seeds that had been placed in the garner
in the times of Joseph. And the garner or silos that he had erected kept out
the Light and those seeds, stayed in seed form for all these thousands of years
but when exposed to the light they were able to germinate. That is the law of
Life and the law of Light which brings life.
Ephesians
5:13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. 14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from
the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
Now the NIV translation
read this way, Ephesians 5:13 But
everything exposed by the light becomes
visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible.
This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and
Christ will shine on you."
Weymouth Ephesians 5:13 But
everything can be tested by the light and thus be shown in its true colors; for
whatever shines of itself is light.
Brother Branham said
in his sermon, Man that can turn on light 63-1229M
P:36 So life is only by the Word of God made
manifest. Life comes only by the Word of
God made manifest. As long as it is just in the Book like this, it still
can be questioned; but when it's made manifest, then you see the product of
what It spoke of being manifested; then that is Light on the Word. See? That's
what brings... The Word said so, and then when
it comes to pass, that is Life in Light, Light bringing Life. Light
brings life. Plant the wheat out here, it'll... You put it in a basement,
cover it all over, and it'll never bring forth anything, because it can't;
there's no light there. But as soon as
light strikes it, then it'll bring forth life if it's a germitized seed. That's the same thing it is in the Word.
See, the Word is God, and when the Light
strikes It, it brings the Word to life again. Every age has always been
that.
Sow e see that it takes the
presence of the Pillar of Fire to bring the Seed of God to life. Why? Because
that seed is God’s word, but as brother Branham said, unless the light strikes
it, it will stay dormant. No life expression as a result. But when the Light
strikes it, that seed can not help but to come alive. Why? Because Light makes
manifest.
Look, when the Pillar
of Fire come into Moses presence, it sparked him to Life. He became a different
man altogether. When the Light of God’s Glorious presence came into the
Presence of the Apostle Paul, he became alive to the Word. And the word seed
came alive in Him. When the Pillar of Fire came into the Presence of William
Branham, what happened? He came alive to the Word, and the word Life came alive
in Him. Up to that point when the pillar of fire came into the presence of
these men, they all three would be murderers. Moses killed a man. Paul killed
and persecuted the Christians, and William Branham had it not been for the
sovereign Grace of God would have killed those three boys when he was beaten by
them as a young child.
And notice until the Pillar
of Fire came into their presence, they were all just men, born in sin, shaped
in iniquity, and come to the world speaking lies. But then the Light struck
them and that predestinated seed that had laid dormant in them became quickened
and made alive. The Apostle Paul said, Ephesians 2: 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins; and this same Apostle
said in Colossians 3: 4 When Christ, who is
our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Notice, When Christ, who is
our life, He is our Life. And brother Branham said in the sermon, My Redeemer liveth 55-0410S P:13 Did you ever stop
to think this morning, as far as returning, that is, to become visible? He's already here with us now. Now,
today just imagine that His Presence being here today. The Lord Jesus is in another world, or another dimension, right here
today in form of Spirit. His Spirit
is blending in with our spirit. Yes,
Christ Who is our Life, His Spirit is blending with our Spirit, and the Spirit and the
bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Let us pray…