The Masterpiece
93
The
Alpha has become Omega
October 29th, 2006
This morning we will examine
paragraph 170 and 171 from The Masterpiece
where Brother Branham makes the famous statement, that “the Alpha has become Omega.”
The Masterpiece 64-0705 170 The Word has become
flesh, exactly like He promised in Luke
17, and Malachi 4, and all. See?
That's right. Revelation...
Then he says, “All true Life that was in the stalk, tassel, and husk is now gathering in the Seed, ready for the
resurrection, ready for the harvest. The
Alpha has become Omega. The first become last; and the last is the first.
The Seed that went in has come through a process and become the Seed again. The
seed that fell in the garden of Eden and died there, come back from that
imperfect seed that died there, come back to the perfect Seed--the Second
Adam.”
Now, there are two subjects
that I see in this paragraph and we will take each one in a separate message. Number
one he says, All true Life, … is now gathering in the Seed, ready for the
resurrection, ready for the harvest
So we want to look at this
Life that is true that is gathering in the Seed and ready for the Resurrection
and Harvest which is the catching away. The Alpha has become Omega. The first become last; and the last is the
first.
Now, since this has to do
with the resurrection and since the order of the Resurrection is that “the first shall be
last and the last shall be first,” therefore we will look at
this second thought first and then next week we shall look at this first
thought.
Therefore this morning we
shall look at this thought of The Alpha has become Omega. The first
become last; and the last is the first.
Now, this phrase that speaks
of an alpha and omega comes from the Book of Revelations chapter 1.
REVELATION 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was,
and which is to come, the Almighty. 9
¶ I John, who also am your
brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and
heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11 Saying, I am Alpha and
Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send
[it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna,
and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea.
Therefore this one who is the
first is also the one who is the last. And that is Malachi 3:6 For I am the
LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. And, Hebrews
13:8
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
The next time we see the alpha
and omega spoken of is in the book of Revelation
21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the
water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will
be his God, and he shall be my son.
And the last time we see
this phrase is in Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to
give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14 Blessed [are] they
that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may
The Bible Doctrine that
deals with the "Alpha and Omega" principle
is purely the most important revelation we can receive from God. In fact in the Message Patmos Vision we hear
brother Branham make several points which we shall consider.
First of all he says "It is the Greatest of all revelations"
because it teaches us the Supreme Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is important to understand because
brother Branham said the Body was not deity but deity dwelt in the body. So it
is the understanding of this One who dwelt in that Body, that He is God, He is
deity and there are no other Gods beside him.
Brother Branham also said, "it is the first
thing you have to know," because it concerns the Supreme Deity
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "I'm Alpha
and Omega, the first of all revelations." You must know Who He
is so that you might recognize His voice when you hear it.
And finally he quotes The
Lord Jesus Christ saying to John, , "I am
the Beginning and the End. I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last." Therefore, what He did at the first he
must do at the last, for He can not change.
Now, let’s read this quote
from the PATMOS
VISION 69-130 60-1204E
143 076 "In the Spirit on the Lord's
day..." Now, we hear it. Now, what? And what was he done? He was
transferred from the isle now, in the Spirit, over into the Lord's day. And as
soon as he got over into the Lord's day, he heard a trumpet. What is it? It's
Somebody approaching. A great One's approaching. Trumpet sounds, Somebody's
coming. He looked. Hallelujah. ... trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last:... (Hm. Not announcement of the second party, or
the third party, but the only party. "I'm both Alpha and Omega; before
I show you anything, I want to let you know Who I am." Amen.) The greatest
of all the revelations is the Deity, the Supreme Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You can't get to first base until you believe that, walk out... That's what
Peter said, "Repent, and then see the Deity. Be baptized in the Name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and then you're ready to go in the
Spirit." The first thing you have to know is the Deity of Christ.
"I am Alpha and Omega. I'm from A to Z; there's no more but Me. I was at
the beginning; I'll be at the end. I'm He that was, which is, and shall
come, the Almighty." Think of it. That's what the trumpet said.
077 Be
careful John. You've entered into the Spirit. Something's going to be revealed
to you. What is it? A trumpet sound, the first thing, "I'm Alpha
and Omega." The first of all revelations. (Oh, sinner, bow, repent now
before the time's too late.) "I'm Alpha and Omega." That's the
first thing that He let him know Who He was. (Who's this approaching? Is
this King Jesus? King God? King Holy Ghost?) He said, "I'm all of It.
I'm from A to Z. I'm the Beginning and the Ending. I'm the immortal,
eternal One." Just a little later we watch Him in His sevenfold Personage,
watch what He is then. See? "I am the Beginning and the End. I am Alpha
and Omega, the First and the Last. I was before there was a first; and after
there's no more last, I'll still be there," in other words, "The
First and the Last." ... and, What thou seest, write in a book, and
send... to the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, Smyrna,
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
078 All right, the first of all revelations is
the Supreme Deity of Jesus Christ. You must know Who He is when you hear
the voice (All right.), the same voice that sounded on Mount Sinai,
the same voice that sounded on
Now, why would brother
Branham tell us that the Alpha and Omega principle is the most important
principle for us to Know. We have
already seen that this principle deals with the very essence of the Lord Jesus
Christ and Who He really is. And knowing
that He is the same yesterday, today and forever,
and as we read in Malachi 3:6 "I am the Lord, and I change not." And as
brother Branham said, we won't know what to do with
His Voice if we do not recognize who He really is. Therefore, #1) in order to understand the day and hour in which
we live, and #2) in order to be able to
recognize what is being done in the hour which we live, #3) we must know Him. And He described Himself to John on the Isle
of Patmos with the words, "I am Alpha and
Omega, the beginning and the end." Notice he never said he was the in-between, He
said he was the first and the last.
MASTERPIECE
THE 64-0705 170
The Alpha has become Omega.
The first become last; and the last is the first. The Seed that went in
has come through a process and become the Seed again. The seed that fell in the
garden of Eden and died there, come back from that imperfect seed that died
there, come back to the perfect Seed--the Second Adam. 172 The first Eve that
fell, and was used in the second reformation--second coming, as bringing forth
a child, now has become true Bride again, the Seed, right back with the
original Word again. The Alpha and Omega is the same. He said, "I am
Alpha and Omega. "He never said anything in between, "I'm Alpha and Omega, the First and
the Last." That's it. The first ministry and the last ministry is the same. The first
Message and the last Message is the same thing. "I was in Alpha; I'm in Omega." "There'll be a day that won't be
called day nor night, but in the evening time it shall be Light." See?
Alpha and Omega; it's become the first and the last. Oh, my, brethren, we
could stay hours on that.
Again notice how brother
Branham points out that He was the first and the last, but not the in
between. He said, the Alpha has become
Omega. Then he said the first Message and the last Message must be the same. This
is because Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday,
today and forever. And if the Message is the Revelation of Jesus Christ,
then it is the revelation of Who He is, and if He has changed, then the first
and last Message would have to be different. Also, this let's us know that
since the first and last Message are the same, and that Message was a revealing
of Who was in our midst, then we must surely know that the last Message must
also be a declaration of the One Who is here. And if He is here, then He must
perform the same way and do the same things that He did back there. Again in the next quote we will hear brother
Branham reaffirm this same thought that the ministry must repeat in this hour.
Queen
Of Sheba 61-0119E E-58 Now, what kind of a light would it give?
If that was the first sunlight that shined on the eastern people, which is
S-o-n of God, and He did the things He did there on that day on Alpha, He
does the same thing at Omega.
Here, we see brother Branham tell us that what God
did in the first age He must repeat in the last. Now, why would God do the same
at the first and the last? Because if He is the unchanging God. He can not
change. Then, if God can not change,
what He did back then at the first, He must do again at the last.
Another Ephesians…God
Who is Rich in Mercy 65-0119 29
Now, if many of you like to just mark down Scriptures that a minister
reads... And I would like for you to tonight, if you would, to turn to
Ephesians. And I was speaking last
Sunday on the Ephesians, how that the Book of Joshua was the Ephesians of the
Old Testament, and how it was a Book of redemption. And redemption has two
different parts: "come out of" and "entering into." First,
you have to come out. Some people wants to bring the world in with them;
but you got to come out of the world to enter into Christ. You have to come out
of unbelief to enter into faith. There cannot be one thing in your way. To
really have genuine faith, you must absolutely leave everything that's contrary
to the Word of God behind to enter into faith, And that was the Book of the
Ephesians of the Old Testament: Joshua. Where, Moses represented the law, could
not save no one, but grace could, and here "Joshua" is the same word
like Jesus, "Jehovah-Saviour." And now then, we find out that we
have come to another Ephesians, another
Paradox
65-0117 89 But we're promised, according to Revelations 10, and
according to Malachi 4, and Saint Luke 22:17, and so forth, that there is got
to come a--an Ephesians to this. There is promised it, friends. There must come an Ephesians, that
these sevenfold mysteries of the Word of God must be unfolded. And it's in the
Laodicean age that this takes place. I believe that we're--we're there.
I believe we're right in the shadows of the coming of the Son of God. And as
Joshua, just before the Ephesians raised up, so did John the Baptist raise up
just before the next Ephesians. And we're promised another, another
Ephesians. It's predicted here in the Scripture; therefore, I think that we are
living in the Ephesians again. Back again to... We are promised that what
was left off during those seven ages...
We
would See Jesus
57-0516 E-11 And that's been my theme through the
years. I read that same Scripture when I was here before. And I hope to read it
until death shall take me from the earth. Because, I do solemnly believe that
with all my heart, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
He's called in the Bible, "The Alpha and Omega; He that Was, Which is,
and Shall Come." That makes Him the same yesterday, today, and
forever. "He that Was, He that Is, and Shall come," just the same. He
never changes. We change; time change; but God never changes.
Questions
and Answers 64-0823E 1021-119 And Jesus cannot come until a church, a body of believers
and the ministry that He once (were in...?)... will have to be the same as it was then to...
And then, that brings... "Them without us is not made perfect," Paul
said, Hebrews 11. "Without us they cannot be perfected." They must
have this ministry to raise up the Lutheran, Wesley's, and all them down
through their ages.
The importance then, of
understanding this Alpha-Omega principle, is that if God performed in a certain
way or did a certain thing at the first, then He must repeat that certain way
or do that same thing in the last. And
this is the key to understanding Brother Branham's ministry and the identification
of the pillar of Fire which vindicated that ministry just as He vindicated the
Apostle Paul's.
Angel of the Lord 51-0502
E-17 And we're living in the Laodicean age, the
last. And He was standing with His hands out to look upon. And there, one
hand like this was Alpha, the other one as Omega. As the lights went out, on up
to the dark ages and come down; just as they come in, so will they go out, the
same kind of Church, same kind of signs, same kind of people, Alpha and Omega.
This quote shows the
importance of the Omega ministry in this hour. Not only did God come down again
as He did at the first, but He again hid Himself in a veil of flesh to minister
as He did in the body of His Only Begotten Son. And if Jesus ministry had a
certain effect upon the saints in that day, then His presence should once again
have the same effect upon the church in this day.
Christ
Outside The Door 58-0330E E-13 And in this text
tonight, it is addressing the Laodicean church age, which is the last church
age. And did you notice according to Scripture... This might not agree with
many people's theology, and that's all right; I could be wrong. Many times I'm
wrong, no doubt. But just as what I believe--that the last church age, we're
now living in it. If you'll watch how--how the church ages come. One was a
bright one, the other a little farther, a little darker, then the fifteen
hundred years of dark ages, then Luther, then Wesley, then Pentecost. And He
was standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, which represented
the seven church ages, with His hands out, and to look upon as Alpha and Omega,
first and last. The highest candlestick was the darkest, of course. And in
this last church age, is supposed to receive the same light that they had in
the first--alpha to omega. But the pitiful part, in the Scriptures we are
learned here that he said, "Because you say, I am rich and am increased in
goods..." You see the condition of the church today?
Philadelphia
Church Age 60-1210 135 Now, that's what He revealed at the very
first church age. Now, watch. As John saw him standing, the seven golden
candlesticks, He was standing with His hands out. Here's the first candlestick,
second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, with His hands out in the form of
the cross. He said, "I am Alpha and Omega." In other words, "I'll
be supreme in the first; I'll be supreme in the last." The Lights
rises in the east and sets in the west. It's been a dismal, dark time, but
"It shall be Light in the evening time." The same Gospel power
that raised up here on the one hand at the east, has shined over and now in the
other hand at the west, "Alpha and Omega, I'm A and I am Z." In
His hand... You get it?
Therefore we can see the
significance of the Omega ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ to this last church
age. He said the ministry that He once
had must repeat again to raise up the dead and perfect the Bride.
And remember, brother
Branham said the importance of understanding the principle of Alpha and Omega
is that we might understand Who He is. And the purpose of that is that we might
know His Voice and recognize Him. And how could we recognize Him when he comes
if he was a changing God. Therefore, it is the very unchanging nature of God
that allows us to recognize him when he comes. As brother Branham preached, "God is identified by His
Characteristics."
The
Token 64-0208 235 Just think, the great Holy Spirit
coming, identifying Jesus Christ alive after two thousand years. See, the
very nature of Him doing the same thing as He promised it would be
done. That's right.
Great
Warrior Joshua 55-0119 E-44. And He's here tonight, the great
supernatural Lord Jesus Christ, the great I AM, the great Alpha, Omega, the
Beginning and the End. Why? The land belongs to us. "All that comes to
me I'll give him Everlasting Life and will raise him up at the last day."
Amen. We got the evidence of it here.
Rising of the Sun
65-0418M 45-3 He is the One Who opened those Seals; He is
those Seals. For the whole Word of God is Christ, and Christ is the Seals that
was open. What is the opening of those Seals then? Revealing Christ. And the
very seven Angels which represented the Seven churches was all completed, and
we couldn't even see It. They did--they took the picture, not us. And there
He is standing there, Supreme Judge, showing that He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. What identification. Quickening Power did
that to us. Quickening Power lets us see His coming.
What Is The Attraction? 65-0725E
142 And the other day, standing there, turned
the picture to the right, and there's Jesus as He was in the Seven church Ages,
the white wig on, showing Supreme Deity. He's Alpha and Omega; He's the
First and the Last; He is the Supreme Judge of all eternity, standing there, confirmed the Message of
this hour. And
there shall be Light about the evening time! What's it all about? What was it?
Unveiling
of God 64-0614M 370 How many sees Him standing the Mighty
Conqueror, the Word made flesh, unveiled before us, the Alpha, the Omega,
He that Was, Which Is, and Shall Come, the Root and the Offspring of David; was
the Son of man, the Son of God, Son of man, and will be Son of David? You
believe It with all your hearts? Unveiling Himself in each age, brought it to
the believer, veiling Himself in human flesh from the unbeliever. He's hid
behind a veil. May God break every veil and we see Him as He is.
We
Would See Jesus 62-0627 E-106 O God of heaven, forgive our unbelief. We know
that's the only sin there is, the sin of unbelief. And may the Holy Spirit come
so upon each person just now that they'll no more disbelieve because of the
Presence of Christ tonight, showing Himself alive after two thousand years, the
Word Himself standing here among us, in us, making His Word manifest.
Voice
of the Sign 64-0313 E-68 Now He's here. Now each one, in the way you
pray at your own church--if it's to yourself, loud, whatever it is. You pray
for the person you got your hands on, 'cause they're praying for you. And now,
look up. And in the
Presence of the Messiah, the
Christ, the
resurrected One still alive after two thousand years, how can we be so numb in the spirit? That ought to set this nation on fire.
That ought to make
Queen
of the South 60-1127E E-46 The Bible said they would get a sign. What
kind of a sign would it be? The sign of the resurrection. Hallelujah. We have
it. Amen. It's here now. Jesus Christ has raised from the dead, and
is alive after two thousand years, showing Himself among us.
Letting off the Pressure 62-0609E
E-60 We know that Thou keepest Thy promise,
Lord. And I pray that You will vindicate Your Presence tonight. And we ask
You, Father, to grant the same things to happen here tonight before the people,
just like it did before Your crucifixion. That they might know after two
thousand years that Jesus is not one day older; He's the same Christ that He
always was. He can never fail or never change.
Redemption
by Power 54-0329 3
There was never One like Him on earth, never will be. He was Emmanuel.
He was Alpha, Omega, the Beginning and the End, He that was, which is, and
shall come, the Root and Offspring of David; the Morning Star. In Him dwelt
Deity. In Him was God. "God was in His Son, in Christ, reconciling the
world to Himself." Jesus said, "It's not me that doeth the works, but
it's My Father that dwelleth in Me. My Father and I are One," God made
manifest in flesh. What a marvelous revelation of God's love to us, He
would unfold Himself and come down and dwell in human flesh in order to take
away sin and sickness from the human race and redeem us back to the Father.
That's wonderful, isn't it? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.] We sure
appreciate that.
QA
Image of the Beast 54-0515 195-291 He's
Alpha, Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the Root and Offspring of
David, the Bright and Morning Star, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. "In Him
dwelled the Fullness of the Godhead bodily," said the Bible. The Fullness
of God was in Him.
Hebrews
Chapter 5 and 6 57-0908M 170-32
But before Paul would accept this experience, knowing that the Angel of
the Lord was the Pillar of Fire, which was Christ, the... Well, He was the
Angel of the Covenant, which was Christ. Moses thought better that--chose
rather to suffer the afflictions with the people of Christ, and to be led by
Christ, than all the treasures of
What
Hearest thou Elijah 59-0412E E-81
How--how many could just almost see the Presence of the Lord Jesus
standing there looking over His audience? The great Jehovah God, the Alpha
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the same
yesterday, today, and forever, He's God.
Palmerworm
Locust Caterpillar 59-0823 138 There's one God. There's only One. He's
Jehovah God, the Great I AM; the Alpha, Omega, the Beginning and the End.
Revelation Chapter One 60-1204M 183
Now, God at the beginning was the great Jehovah that lived in a Pillar of Fire,
hung above
We
Would See Jesus 62-0627 E-106 O God of heaven, forgive our unbelief. We
know that's the only sin there is, the sin of unbelief. And may the Holy Spirit
come so upon each person just now that they'll no more disbelieve because of
the Presence of Christ tonight, showing Himself alive after two thousand years,
the Word Himself standing here among us, in us, making His Word manifest.
Perseverant 62-0719E
E-99 Let
us see You, Lord. One day after the resurrection, Cleopas and his friend was on
the road down to Emmaus. And they talked with Him all day long, and they didn't
know Him. But late that evening, He went in the room with them, and they closed
the doors. And then He did something just the way He did it before His
crucifixion, and they knew that no one else did it that way, and they knew it
was Him. So they hurried back and told the people, after He vanished out of
their sight, that truly the Lord is risen. Father God, we're laid aside our
task of the day. We're here tonight. The room is closed in. Come, Lord. Do
something among us tonight just like You did before Your crucifixion, that we
might lightheartedly, like they were, go back along the road saying, "Did
not our hearts burn within us as He talked to us along the way." Grant it,
Lord. One Word from You will confirm everything that I've said. And if I've
said the truth... And I know, Lord, You'll only confirm truth. You will have nothing
to do with lies and errors. You only confirm the truth. Now, Father, I pray
that You will confirm what's been said to be truth. I commit myself to You with
Your Word, with Your congregation of people, and their faith that they have
accumulated. In the Name of Jesus Christ, we pray that You'll move on the scene
now, and prove to be with us after two thousand years. They... There's no death
to Him. He's alive, forevermore. Grant it, Father, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Presence
Of God Unrecognized 64-0618
138 "A wicked and an adulterous generation
will seek after a sign, notice, and they will receive a sign." What? This
generation. "For as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and
nights, the Son of man must be in the heart of the earth three days and
nights." What sign will that wicked and adulterous generation receive? The
sign of the resurrection. And today, after two thousand years, we still see
Jesus Christ in the power of His resurrection, standing among us, doing the
things that He did then and promised to do. "A wicked and an
adulterous generation will seek after a sign, always wanting to 'show me this,
and if you can do this and do this.' They'll get it, the sign of the
resurrection." He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, the Word made
manifest dwelling among us. How we should thank God for His great sign.
Patriarch
Abraham 64-0207 66 After two thousand years have passed, two
thousand years, and still here He is in our midst, the mighty Conqueror
that rent the veil in two, that took every sickness, every disease, everything
upon Himself and bore our infirmities to the cross, and our sickness and our
diseases and triumphed over them, and raised up for our justification, and
stands alive after two thousand years to manifest Himself as the living Jesus
Christ amongst the royal seed of Abraham who are heirs of all things. Oh, my.
Those who after, goes through the test, promise of the Word. If you can believe
the Word, then you are also the seed of Abraham. That's how you come to it.
Greater
Than Solomon 63-0628E 151 And then after two thousand years of Gospel
preaching, and the Holy Spirit pouring out in this last days, upon the people,
the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and promised that this great discernment would
come back into the church again, what will she do to this generation when she
stands there, after her time plus two thousand years of Gospel preaching in
this last days to see gifts, not gift, but gifts of the Holy Spirit? She
surrendered her life to Christ. Why?
152 I have to close, 'cause I
don't... I want--I want to pray for you. Friends... She... They said,
"Show us a sign. We want..." That's what's the matter with the
Pentecostals. You're looking for something, and one of these days it's going to
be too far; it passed right by you, and you didn't know it. Remember, in the
days of Elijah, they didn't know him. In the days of John the Baptist, they
didn't know him. And he was spoke of in the Scripture that he'd be, "I
send My messenger before My face to prepare the way." And even the
disciples come to Him, said, "Why must Elias come?" He said,
"He's already come and you didn't know it."
Greater
Than solomon is Here 62-0628 E-35 The evening lights are shining, and they--this generation is
receiving the sign of Jonas, the Christ that they thought they got rid of.
The church crucified Christ two thousand years ago, and they could not kill Him
no more. He said, "I'm alive forevermore." And here He is after
two thousand years among His people, showing Himself, with the same things He
did back there He's doing right here again. Two thousand years has passed. He's
alive forevermore, and has the keys of death and hell. Amen.
Sirs
we Would see Jesus 64-0304 160 You believe now? Just have faith. All right. That, you know, I
didn't know...?... Come, sister. I don't know you. We're strangers to one
another, I suppose. If that's right, so the audience can see that we're
strangers. See? If the... This is just like where our Lord met a woman one day.
And here we meet again; we meet after two thousand years on His promise, and
here's a man and woman meets in the same way. I never seen you in my life. I
guess we're total strangers, but God knows both of us. Now, if the Holy Spirit,
Christ in here and in you, will reveal what you're standing here for, or
something about you, would you feel enthused like that woman did that day?
The warning we receive with
this principle is that as the Alpha ministry was to the church, so would Christ
repeat that ministry to the Omega or end-time church. However, with that
ministry comes also judgment. And as the church began in the Alpha, so she
would end up in the Omega.
77-1 EPHESIAN CHURCH AGE - CHURCH
AGE BOOK CPT 3 The
very name,
8-2 EPHESIAN CHURCH AGE -
CHURCH AGE BOOK CPT 3 The fervent desire to please God, the passion to know His
Word, the cry for reaching out in the Spirit, all begins to fade and instead of
that church being on fire with the fire of God it has cooled off and become a
bit formal. That is what was happening back there to the Ephesians. They
were getting a bit formal. The abandonment to God was dying out and the people
weren't too careful about what God thought of them as they began to be careful
about what the world thought of them. That second generation coming on was just
like