The Wedding Supper
January
13th, 2002
ROMANS 8:28 And we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to [his] purpose.
II TIMOTHY 1:12 for I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day.
And again we find in ROMANS 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Wednesday night we spoke on
the first few words in paragraph 106 where brother Branham is speaking of the
life of Jacob, and he called it the Battle for life.
WHO IS THIS
MELCHISEDEC 65-0221E 106 Jacob wrestled all night and
wouldn't turn Him loose until He blessed him. That's right. Battle for life.
And after the battle is over, then God gives you of Himself. That is His
true Communion. The little bread and wafer just represents it. You shouldn't
take it, 'less you've wrestled it out and become part of God. Remember, at this
time the Communion had never been instituted, not until before the death of
Jesus Christ, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years later. But
Melchisedec after His child Abraham had won the victory, Melchisedec met him
and gave him wine and bread, showing that after this earthly battle is over,
we will meet Him in the heavens and take the Communion again; it'll be the
wedding supper. "I will not drink no more of the vine or eat the
fruit, until I eat it and drink it with you anew in My Father's Kingdom."
That right?
Jacob began his flight
because he had cheated Esau out of his birth right, and so he reaped for the
next 20 years being cheated by his father in law 10 times having his wages
changed in the 20 years he worked for Laban. It seemed that Laban thought
nothing of changing Jacob's wages whenever he wished. Laban continuously tried
to cheat Jacob, but God's hand was upon him and God gave him the victory in
every single battle. Jacob had confidence in God even as the Apostle Paul said,
in…
The scene took place in the
book Genesis from Chapter 30 through chapter 33. In these chapters, we see how
Jacob had worked for Laban for 20 years
and during this time Laban changed his wages 10 different times for the worse
each time. And yet through it all, God turned Laban's deceitful treachery to
the good of Jacob each and every time.
Jacob in like manner seemed
to be confident in God to watch over him and protect him, and it seemed every
time that he had another life battle take place, he would just quote back to
God the promise God had made to him.
GENESIS 31:41 41 Thus have I
been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two
daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten
times. 42 Except the God of my father,
the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst
sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my
hands, and rebuked [thee] yesternight.
We saw how Jacob seemed to
move from one battle for life into another. He had run from Laban and his sons
thinking they were not only going to cheat him again, but perhaps do bodily
harm to him. So he fled, only to have Laban catch up to him. Finally God
intervened and Jacob came out ok. However, just as soon as that disaster was
over, another one was beginning. This time Esau was coming with 400 men in what
appeared to be another quick showdown. Jacob knew the last time he had seen his
brother, Esau had threatened to kill him. Now, he is faced with another
showdown, and so Jacob called out to the Lord and recited the promises God had
made to him concerning his Seed. God
appeared then to Jacob and Jacob held onto God until He was sure of the
promise.
I would like to continue on
today with this same paragraph 106 of Brother Branham's Who is This Melchisedec, because there is so much
more to be found in this paragraph.
WHO IS THIS
MELCHISEDEC 65-0221E 106 Jacob wrestled all night and
wouldn't turn Him loose until He blessed him. That's right. Battle for life.
And after the battle is over, then God gives you of Himself. That is
His true Communion. The little bread and wafer just represents it. You
shouldn't take it, 'less you've wrestled it out and become part of God.
Remember, at this time the Communion had never been instituted, not until
before the death of Jesus Christ, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years
later. But Melchisedec after His child Abraham had won the victory, Melchisedec
met him and gave him wine and bread, showing that after this earthly battle
is over, we will meet Him in the heavens and take the Communion again; it'll
be the wedding supper. "I will not drink no more of the vine or
eat the fruit, until I eat it and drink it with you anew in My Father's
Kingdom." That right?
Notice brother Branham is
speaking from the scene where Melchisedec comes to Abraham after the battle is
all over and then breaks bread with him which is a sign of fellowship, and
communing, communicating or communion.
GENESIS 14:12 And they took Lot,
Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13¶ And
there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the
plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these
were confederate with Abram. 14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken
captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred
and eighteen, and pursued [them] unto Dan. 15 And he divided himself against
them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto
Hobah, which [is] on the left hand of Damascus. 16 And he brought back all the
goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women
also, and the people. 17 ¶ And the king
of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of
Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that [were] with him, at the valley of Shaveh,
which [is] the king's dale. 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth
bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed
him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and
earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies
into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Now, this meeting where the
god of Heaven came down to break bread and drink of the vine with His child,
Abraham is a type of the Wedding Supper which is the fulfillment of the Great
Communion as brother Branham so aptly stated. "But
Melchisedec after His child Abraham had won the victory, Melchisedec met him
and gave him wine and bread, showing that after this earthly battle is over,
we will meet Him in the heavens and take the Communion again; it'll be the
wedding supper."
Then brother
Branham goes on to quote Jesus saying, "I will
not drink no more of the vine or eat the fruit, until I eat it and drink it
with you anew in My Father's Kingdom." That right?
Back in the early 1980's
when the revelation of "The Presence" was just breaking forth among
the general Message churches, some men were preaching, "if Christ is here, then we should not take
communion any longer". But these men were not only misquoting
the Apostle Paul, but they were also looking at the word come and did not take
it to it's root word erchomai, but
instead thought all words translated "to come,"
had the exact same meaning.
Let's first look at what the
apostle Paul actually said. I CORINTHIANS 11:23¶ For I have received
of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the
[same] night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat:
this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25
After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This
cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in
remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,
ye do shew the Lord's death until he come.
Now, what these men were
preaching was in error because they were not rightly dividing the Word of
Truth. These men thought because Paul said we take the communion until he
comes, that we are supposed to stop when he arrives. And therefore, if He is
here then, we no longer take Communion. The problem is that these men did not
understand that there is an appearing and a coming. And the Coming is not the
Appearing. They associated the coming with the word Parousia, which does not
speak of the Physical coming of the Son of God, but which speaks of the
Presence of the Father of Glory.
Because they didn't understand the doctrine, they went into false
teaching concerning it.
Israel P. Warren wrote in His book [The Parousia] published in 1879, "We often speak of the second advent, the second
coming, etc., but the Scriptures never speak of a second Parousia..
Whatever was to be it's 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 It's etymology; 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". 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"
That of being with us, without reference as to how it began. The
force of coming or advent ends with arrival; 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.
So we see that these men not
only were mistaken in there understanding of the eschatology, and the order of
the events associated with the Appearing and Coming, but they did not even
consider what Jesus Christ Himself said concerning the Communion.
MATTHEW
26:26 ¶ And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and
gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is
my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins. 29 But I say unto you, I
will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I
drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
And again we see the same
scene in the book of MARK 14:24 and we hear jesus say those same words, "And he said
unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. 25
Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until
that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
So we see that Jesus has
made us a promise that one day in the kingdom of God, we will once again sit
with Him and partake in this Blessed Sacrament with Him.
We see this spoken of as the
supper of the Lamb in the Book of revelations.
REVELATION 19:7 Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife
hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in
fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings
of God.
Notice again what he just
said, he was speaking of the Marriage Supper, or what we call the wedding
supper, and He said, Blessed [are] they which are
called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And then He added, And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
Therefore, any other
sayings, any teaching that would be contrary to this is not the True sayings of
God.
Now, Jesus Himself said that
those who do not know the doctrine are also not doing the will of God. JOHN 7:16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but
his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, (out from God) or [whether] I speak of myself. Jesus is letting
you know here that he is not the author of the doctrine, but the doctrine came
out from God, and therefore was not his own, but was God's doctrine.
Therefore if we are to
understand the doctrine of the Wedding supper we had better understand what the
B\voice of God has spoken concerning it.
MATTHEW 22:1 ¶ And Jesus answered and spake unto them again
by parables, and said, 2 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king,
which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them
that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. 4 Again, he sent
forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have
prepared my dinner: my oxen and [my] fatlings [are] killed, and all things
[are] ready: come unto the marriage. 5 But they made light of [it], and went
their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: 6 And the remnant took
his servants, and entreated [them] spitefully, and slew [them]. 7 But when the
king heard [thereof], he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed
those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then saith he to his servants, The
wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
9 Go ye therefore into the highways, and as
many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10 So those servants went out into
the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and
good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. 11 And when the king came in
to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding
garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him
hand and foot, and take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few [are]
chosen.
Jesus is talking of a time
that will come when the message or declaration or invitation will go forth but
the people will be so busy with their own life that they will not take up the
invitation. We see this spoken of also in Matthew 25, the parable of the 10
virgins which we will get to in just a moment. But first, I want to share
something Brother Branham said about this parable of the wedding garment.
INDICTMENT THE
63-0707 32-1 Remember last night, or the other time I preached here,
"The Wedding Supper", How He
said, "I've made a great feast and so forth, and all these men, I've
bid them; and each one had an excuse". "I can't do it because it would ruin our creeds."
"I can't come, because I have I've married a wife; she won't let me
come." "My, I got married to a church down here. My mother was
Methodist, or Baptist, or a Catholic, or, I just can't stand for that." He
said, "And you won't come, and you won't taste My supper, but get out
there and compel prostitutes, and harlots, and drunkards, and whatever there
is. Bring them in, and I'll straighten them up. I've made My supper, and My
guests, My table's set; and there's going to be somebody there." They
didn't come; it's condemning them Jews. What about today? "I belong to the
Presbyterian." "I can't... to the Lutheran." "I'm a
oneness." "I'm a twoness." "I'm a this; I
can't..." There you are. "You won't be there then."
That's exactly what He said. All right.
So we see then that if you
have heard the invitation, and yet don't respond to that invitation, you won't
be there.
IS YOUR LIFE
WORTHY 63-0630E 38 They made excuses in the days of Moses. They made
excuses in the days of Elijah. They made excuses in the days of Christ, and
they make excuses today. Now, Him speaking directly to Israel, the ones that
was called to the feast, that I would also apply today to men, the church, who
has been bidden to come to the feast and won't do it, the spiritual feast of
the Lord, And they won't do it; they don't want to do it. They've got other
things to do. They find excuses. Now, if Israel two thousand years ago
would accepted the invitation that they were given, they wouldn't be as they
are today. Two thousand years ago Israel turned down the invitation to come
to the wedding supper. And they turned it down and went into judgment. But
as Jesus said, they stoned and killed the prophets that was sent to them by
making excuses.
Notice that brother Branham
is speaking of a people who should know better, because they have heard the
Voice. These are people who have heard the invitation, and yet still will not
come. This Message is filled with people like that. "I don't need to come
to church, I have the tapes." Let me just tell you something, the tapes
don't have a soul. The tapes can't look you in the eye and pierce down into the
soul. God does not preach with a machine, he could have used the rocks to cry
our, He could have chosen to speak through the Heavens, but god uses men,
whether you like it or not, because He hides in simplicity, and it is very easy
to hide the word in a human veil.
We hear him speak of the
sleeping virgin not making it. Well let's just examine what takes place in
Matthew 25.
MATTHEW 25:1
¶ Then shall the kingdom of heaven be
likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the
bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish. 3 They that [were]
foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in
their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and
trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil;
for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, [Not so]; lest
there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy
for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they
that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But
he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the
day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
BREACH THE
63-0317E 106-3 {262} But you see, that sleeping
virgin ain't receiving nothing anyhow. That's right. And remember, while
they went to try to buy oil... You remember the Scriptures doesn't say they got
it. But while they were out trying to buy it, there come a sound. What
happened? All those virgins that slept rose, and trimmed their lamps, and went
in to the supper (Is that right?), and the rest was left for the tribulation
period (Right.), weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. That's the church, not
the Bride, the church. The Bride went in. There's a whole difference between
the church and the Bride. Yes, sir. Went in to the wedding supper... Oh,
notice, boys.
QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 64-0823E 1033-176
Now, this is a striking
thing. Please don't take it as a doctrine, but do you understand what the
Scriptures said would take place when that did? Time was over. For look, there
was ten virgins went out to meet the Bridegroom, and half of them had oil in
their lamp, half of them didn't. That's the part of the body that's dead and
the part that's alive. The five's wise, when the cry come, "Behold the
Bridegroom..." they all trimmed--woke and trimmed their lamps to go into
the wedding supper. But when the foolish virgin said, "Give us some of
your oil, our lamps is gone out. (See?) Give us of your oil," they said,
"Not so, we just got enough for our self. Go buy it." And
while they went to buy it, the Bridegroom came.
UNITING TIME AND
SIGN 63-0818 127 What a great thing
it is today, Lord, to know that now we are united as one Spirit. One Spirit, the
Holy Spirit, has got the Word in His grip, comes in us. And what a great thing
it is, what a privilege to cut loose from all the world to unite ourself in
Jesus Christ. And to think that someday in a physical form, with a body
like His own glorious body, we will set down at the table at the wedding
supper and there be united and wed in marriage to Him, to live as Bride and
Bridegroom through all times that is to come, through a ceaseless eternity.
Lord God, may this not be just a mythical thought to the people, but may it
become such a reality, till such hunger and thirst will set into the people
that they'll reading their newspapers, looking upon--listening at the radio and
the news, and seeing it's uniting time. The signs are flashing.
HOW CAN I OVERCOME 63-0825M
183 Paul preached
this Word and wrote this Word, the same Word that we're trying to follow,
because he took the Old Testament, and patterned it, and showed that it was a
type, that all of the Old Testament was a perfect type of the New. O Lord, may
we follow that example. We see our Lord, what He did, and we realize that those
Old Testament saints, this morning, we find out that they did go. When Jesus
raised, they went with Him. And, Lord, we believe that we'll go when He sounds
the trumpet. We believe it, that the Bride will go forth at that day, and
will join with the Hebrew group of It, and together there'll be a wedding
supper in glory. Those are waiting. We pray now Your mercy and grace upon
us.
Notice he said, the Hebrew
Group, that's those old Testament saint will joint together wit the living
Elect, for they without us can not be made perfect or complete. That's Hebrews 11 and who is Paul speaking
of in Hebrews 11? He's talking about the Old Testament saints. Now, I know
there are some who teach that the Old Testament saints are not in the Bride.
Yet Paul devotes a whole chapter to them and then sums it all up by saying that
they are waiting on us for together we shall be made or complete. The body is
not complete without hands and legs and a body and a neck and etc. This is the
eye age, not the hand and leg age. The bride is not just some head with One big
eye like the monster incorporated dolls. The Bride Is a whole complete body,
that's what Paul's talking about.
UNITING TIME AND
SIGN 63-0818 123 All right. We
find that now the time comes when the Trumpet sounds, and those sleeping saints
back there that could not be made perfect without us... There's many of those,
Hebrew 11, and when they come together, they unite with the living ones.
The Church uniting with the Word, then the Church and the Word uniting
together, being come one. The dead saints with the living saints uniting
together to be one, and all going together to unite with Christ yonder for the
wedding supper of the Lamb.
PERFECT
FAITH 63-0825E 155
And now, we become anointed with that same Spirit, anointed
messiahs, messiahs of the last day to shine forth the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, to show that He is not dead; but in the form of the Holy Ghost He's in
His people, moving among His Bride with a love affair to Her, pouring out into
Her, Himself. They are becoming one for the wedding supper; and the same
signs, promised by the same God, in the same Word, is making His same
manifestation. There's nothing left for us to do but believe It, and
"believe it" is the substance, and that creates a perfect faith.
Just think how numb we are; just think of that just a minute, now.
WHAT SHALL WE DO
WITH JESUS 64-0126 75 All's written in the Book will escape it. Now, we find out the
little flock is ready for the Dynamics to move It up into the skies to escape
all this tribulation. Someone said the other day when I was talking, said,
"Brother Branham, you don't believe then the church will go through the tribulation?"
I said, "I believe the church will, but not the Bride." The church
will go through the tribulation (Yes, sir.), but the Bride's free from it.
She'll go in the rapture, in a moment in a twinkling of an eye she'll be
caught up to meet her Lord in the air for the Wedding Supper. She has nothing
to go through any tribulation about; her Lord has paid her price. We're so
thankful for that. Yes, sir.
Unveiling Of God
64-0614 359 So will it be sometime when the trumpet of the Lord shall be
sounded out, time shall be no more. Those who have been looked at and made fun
of, that stood there before the open veil and seen the Word of God
manifested... Others will scream for It, but as You said, "It'll be
too late then." They went into the wedding supper, and they were left out
where there's weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
And how were they dressed?
They were dressed in the robes of right-wise-ness, the Word of God. And there
robes had been washed white by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and by walking in the
light as he is in the Light.
LEADERSHIP 65-1207
8 Dear God, we are
grateful to You tonight for the privilege of knowing Jesus Christ our Saviour
Your Son, and the free pardoning of our sins, and to know that His Blood is sufficient
that's covered all of our sins and our iniquities. They're so blotted out
and put in the sea of God's forgetfulness and His Bride will stand at the
wedding supper, pure, unadulterated, to marry the Son of God. How we thank
Thee for this all-sufficiency and the faith to know that we do not trust in our
own merits but in His merit alone, for what He did for us. We're so grateful.
FIRST SEAL THE
63-0318 161-3 {301}
Notice, and when this Holy Spirit that we have, becomes
incarnate to us, the One that's in our midst now in the form of the Holy Ghost,
becomes incarnate to us in the Person of Jesus Christ, we'll crown Him King
of king...?... That's right. See?
Future Home
64-0802 68-3 The future home of the Groom and Bride, He's coming back [for you and] me to the wedding supper, it's going to be three and a half
days (YEARS). Then return again in the millennium on our honeymoon, and
then He's going to bring the City into view, like the Bridegroom taking the
Bride to Her surprise. How the little Bride stands there in awe as She looks at
Her future home. And by faith today, Lord, we see it yonder. It'll be right
here on this earth. You promised it. Your church will be completely redeemed
one of these days, and then Your world will be redeemed, the rest of the
particles. But first You have redeemed Your people, their bodies, that's made
up of the world. 70-2 Just a little while and we'll be summoned;
then the rapture will come. Just a little bitty group like Enoch will be taken
up. Then the remnant of the woman's seed that keep the commandments of God
(Jews), have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Gentiles), will be hunted down like
dogs and shall give their life for their testimony. Then one great morning, the
break of the millennium for the honeymoon will start. And then the rest of the
dead lived not till the end of the thousand years. Then at the end of the
thousand years there was a judgment, showing that Ham was in the ark. And Ham
is still there in the remnant. Ones that heard it and rejected it will have
to be judged. Now, grant it, Lord, that we'll not be considered among them,
but will be in the call to the wedding supper, for we do recognize Jesus
among us today. We're going in with Him, out of the world into Him. Let us
walk forth in that City, come out with Him.
DOORS IN
DOOR 65-0206 119 But first we've got to stand criticism. There's where the
littleness of us stands; there's where it shows. He that cannot stand
chastisement is a illegitimate child and not a child of God. No matter how much
he's joined church, and whatever he's done, he's still, if he cannot stand
chastisement, he's a illegitimate, and he's not a real child of God. But a
real, genuine, child of God don't care what the world says; everything else is
secondary. He's got his mind on Christ, and that settles it. Yes. Whatever
Christ says do, he'll do it. Wherever the Lamb goes, they're with Him,
wherever. And then you see His appearing, His Presence, and what He does.
He's always with His people, His Bride. He's courting her. Someday there's
going to be a wedding supper.
PROVING HIS WORD
64-0816 235 Not no more as a
church (See?), not no more; the Bride's called. See? "In that day the Son
of man will be revealed." What? To join the Church to the Head, unite, the
marriage of the Bride. The Bridegroom call will come right through this, when
the Son of man will come down and come in human flesh to unite the two
together. The Church has to be the Word; He is the Word, and the two unites
together, and to do that it'll take the manifestation of the revealing of the
Son of man. Not a clergyman. I don't know, Do you see what I mean? See, it's
Son of man, Jesus Christ, will come down in human flesh among us, and will make
His Word so real that it'll unite the Church and Him as one, the Bride, and
then she'll go Home to the wedding supper. Amen. She's already united
(See?); we go to the wedding supper, not to the marriage. "Fill your
flesh... self, of all the flesh of mighty men, 'cause the marriage of the Lamb
has come." But the rapture is going to the wedding supper. When the
Word here unites with the person, and they two become one, and then what
does it do then? It manifests the Son of man again, not the church theologians,
the Son of man. The Word and the Church becomes one. Whatever the Son of man
done, He was the Word, the Church does the same thing.
Notice, that is exactly
Ephesians chapter 2. EPHESIANS 2:14 ¶ For he is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]; 15 Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained]
in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having
slain the enmity thereby:
Now, why do men want to
believe this for themselves but not for Jesus?
RAPTURE THE 65-1204
164 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 shout, and voice and woke Lazarus. With
a loud voice He cried, "Lazarus, come forth." See? And the voice
wakes up--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.
QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS 64-0823E 1033-177
When the proclamation went
out, the decree, "The Bridegroom's coming," everybody wanted to get
right, right quick. Ain't that the hour when the handwriting's on the wall.
"Oh, we want the baptism of the Holy Ghost." "We want this, that
or the other." But while they went to buy It, the Bridegroom came.
The wise went in, and they were left outside where there'll be weeping,
wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I got just beautiful questions in here to go
with that: "Who was the man with the robe on that come in, that didn't
have the wedding garment on?" And all those questions that tie right into
that.
Q & A 64-0830E
1170-Q-411 411. Dear Brother
Branham, please explain St. Matthew chapter 22, verse, when... (We got that
one. See? Remember the other day? I'll--I'll show it to you. I was... See it
right here?) 22... How did this guest get in at the wedding supper, who had on
a garment, but didn't have on one of the wedding garment? Remember, I said... I
kinda pulled a little joke; I said, "A denominational brother who came
by the window and not by the Door." The Door is the Word.
INFLUENCE 63-1114 208
Christ is fixing to unite with His Bride, a wedding supper taking place
in the sky, so it ought to throw the church into action when we see the
signs of His here at hand. Oh, my. All these things are signs to us, everywhere.
Oh...?... we should be in action.
CHRIST IS THE
MYSTERY 63-0728 87-5 Did you notice the Angels that
come down investigated Sodom before Sodom was destroyed? You remember that?
There was a bunch of Them come down: three of Them. One of Them stayed with
Abraham. You remember that? They were Lights from heaven that came down in the
investigating judgment. Ones... Look where they're all found. Around the
Pentagon and things they find them. That's the world judgment, Sodom. And
there's One represented, will be represented amongst the Church--would be
Christ Himself a-vindicating Himself. See? Sights on the--in heavens above and
signs in the earth below. Certainly. Identified... 88-1 Oh, the devil's
howling about this. The manifested truth of the promise of the Word in Her
alone... They don't have the answer. When Jesus come, why didn't those
Pharisees...? He said, "If I cast out devils by the finger of God, who do
you cast them out by?" He stood alone, and His Church stands alone. She's
not hooked with nothing. But He was identified by God, being the body that God
dwelled in, and the Church is identified by His Body doing the same thing. She
is His Body, the manifested Truth of His promised Word for the last days. And
She and She alone stands by it. That's why the devil is howling, these great
organizations set up something to close her up. They'll never do it. She'll be
taken up, not closed up.
88-2
She is now risen and by the power of the vindicated Word promised to
Her. Amen. How a bride holds that promise. "He told me He'd return after
me. I believe it." See? Yes, sir. To meet Her Headship, Her Redeemer, Her
Husband, Her King, Her Lord, Her Lover, Her Saviour in the provided meeting
place... He's got a place to meet them. You know the Bridegroom don't leave out
nothing. He's got the ring, the identification. He's got the robe that She
wears, Her clothing. See? And He's got the provided place to meet Her; that's
in the air. Everything has been all provided. He's got the wedding supper
already set, guests already invited, already chosen. All the Angels are
standing around His servants at attention. Oh. Oh, there's going to be a
meeting in the air, In that sweet, sweet by and by; I'm going to meet you, go
to meet you over there, In that home beyond the sky. Such singing ever heard,
ever heard by mortal ears, It'll be glorious I do declare. And God's own Son,
He will be the leading One, (Full manifestation of God.) At the meeting in
the air. (Oh, my, watch His a-vindications now.) You've heard the--heard story
told of Moses in the bulrush, You have
heard of fearless David and his sling; You have heard the story told of
dreaming Joseph, Of Daniel and the lions we often sing. Oh, there's many, many
others (vindicated) in the Bible, How I
long to meet them all, I do declare. By and by the Lord will let us meet them,
At that meeting in the air. For there's going to be a meeting in the air, In
that sweet, sweet by and by; And I'm going to meet you, greet you over there,
In the home beyond the sky. Such singing every heard, has been heard by mortal
ears, It'll be glorious I do declare, And God's Son will be that leading One,
At that meeting in the air.