WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC #103

The Resurrection and change of the Body No. 2

January 26th, 2002

EPHESIANS 2:1 ¶ And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Now, I want you to notice that Paul is speaking of a people who have been quickened. Now, this statement should be read in the context of chapter one where Paul speaks of a people who are elect and were in Christ before the foundations of the world and who have been predestined to a great plan and purpose of God who wanted to have children, and these children would come in like fashion as His Only begotten Son came. He speaks of this plan calling for a quickening by the baptism of the Spirit, which Paul calls the earnest of our inheritance, or the down payment.

II Cor 5:1 ¶ For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

EPHESIANS 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Now, In a down payment we also call an earnest payment because it shows we have made an earnest or sincere commitment to honor the contract. And when we receive a portion of God's Spirit, by receiving His Word, we receive in us the sincere pledge by God to finish the work that He has begun.

Now, the word quicken that Paul uses here in Ephesians chapter 2 is the Greek word which means to restore again to life, to animate or rather to re-animate. That is why brother Branham could say in the message, FUTURE HOME 64-0802 34-3 "You wasn't saved on any day. You was always saved. Amen. Jesus just come to redeem that, but you was saved from the beginning, because you had Eternal Life to begin with."

In fact the word redeemed means to buy back, and how could it be redeemed or bought back if he did not own it to begin with. And how could your Life and Soul be redeemed if you didn't have it to begin with. You see, what we are here is only a reflection of what we are somewhere else. I believe we are dealing with a dimensional principle that we know so little about. But, brother Branham said those very words.

Q & A 54-0103E 143-191 What you are here... Get this in your mind now. I'm going to close. But what you are here is a sign that you are something else somewhere. You've always wanted to be in perfection, you Christians. There is a perfection, and that perfection is not in this life. But every man and woman here that is a Christian, every person that is a Christian here now is already glorified in the Presence of Jesus Christ. And you've got another body. You won't have some other time; you have right now. Right now there's another body waiting for you if this one should perish. Could you think of that. Study that just a minute.

The Entombment - 57-0420 Our own life is just a pattern. It's just a shadow, and not the real thing. It's the negative side. It takes death to develop the picture, to put us back in the theophany we come from. Then in the resurrection we come in His likeness, a resurrected body, what a beautiful, not only beautiful but it's the real, solemn truth of God's eternal Word, that we'll be like Him.

ROMANS 8:29 ¶ For whom he did (already a done deal) foreknow, he also did (another done deal) predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom he did (done deal) predestinate, them he also called (again it is in the past tense) : and whom he called (past tense), them he also justified (past tense): and whom he justified (past tense), them he also glorified(past tense). Therefore it is finished. It's a done deal. You can't change the outcome, no matter how hard you try.

The problem is you keep looking at the body of this death, this flesh, and that keeps you from really understanding who you really are, preventing you from the victory that is already yours in Christ Jesus Who has already paid the debt. He's paid the price for your sin and mine. He cried, "It is finished!"

I JOHN 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. Notice he said, now we are. Not in the future, but already are sons of God.

EXPLAINING HEALING AND JAIRUS 54-0216 E-37 The devil's just trying to scare you out of something. He's trying to put something off somewhere else, say, "Some of these days you'll be this." You are now. Now, we're sons of God. Now, we're seated together in heavenly places. Now, we have all powers in heavens and the earth. See? Now, we have it. Not in the millennium, we won't need it then. We got it now. We're... Right now we are the sons of God. "It does not appear what we shall be, but we know we'll be like Him." What you are here is a reflection of what you are somewhere else. "Those who He called, He justifies." Is that right? "Those who He justified, He has glorified." Already in the Presence of the Father, we have a glorified body. Whew! Wasn't that deep? All right. We'll find out whether it's right or not. "If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already waiting." Is that right? That's right. So right now, and what we are there, is a reflection. Here, what we are here, is a reflection of what we are somewhere else. So if your deeds are evil, you know where it comes from. You know where your other body's a waiting.

God Rich In Mercy 65-0119 42 Now, if you've got Eternal Life tonight, if we have Eternal Life, then we always were, because there's only one form of Eternal Life. We always were. And the reason we were, because we are a part of God. And God is the only thing that's eternal. And like Melchisedec received tithes from Abraham, and it was 'lotted to his great-grandson, Levi, who was yet in the loins of Abraham; paid tithes, for he was yet in the loins of Abraham when he met Melchisedec. I want to speak on that over at the other place, one morning: Who Is This Melchisedec? Now, notice that. Way back, God knew this boy coming down. He knowed all things. Now, we are a part of God. You always was. You don't remember it, because you were only an attribute in God. You were only in His thinking. Your very name, if it ever was on the Book of Life, it was put there before the foundation of the world. He knew what you were. 45 I'm only saying this, not to mix up doctrine, but to straighten it out, that we might get away from this fear and scare: you don't know who you are. You are not going to be, but now you are the sons of God. See, you always were the sons of God. See? For when God had you in His thinking at the beginning, you have to be, some part of you, your Life that's in you now, had to be with God before there... Well, when you--before you even become material here on earth, before there was anything, but God, you were one of His attributes. He knowed what your name would be. He knowed the color of hair you'd have. He knowed all about you. The only thing happened is when you, being a sinner...

Now, we are still talking about the order of the resurrection, but what I want you to see is that you have already been quickened. You have already received a spiritual resurrection which is an earnest of a body change. Them without us can not be made perfect. They've got to have what we have, and that is this message of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

In the message Seven Church Ages - preached May 12, of 1954 brother Branham spoke again about this order of the resurrection, He said,… "Behold He cometh with clouds." Now, let me stop here just a moment. Clouds doesn't mean that He's coming on a big thunderhead as mama, bless her heart - she's sitting here somewhere. I remember her voice, she used to set and tell me, said, He's coming on a great big cloud, gonna raise someday and God's gonna come on. Now the Cloud that He's coming is, if we just had the time to get this back, and get the real background and the whole thing. Now the Cloud He's coming in is not a cloud, like a thunderhead, but it's a Cloud of Glory He's coming in. See? Now, when Jesus was overshadowed by God on Mount Transfiguration, Clouds overshadowed Him and His raiment. See? And when Elijah would come down, a cloud come down and received him up, not a not a thunderhead, but a Cloud of Glory. His great glorious Presence will strike the earth. He cometh in Clouds! Oh, I love that. Clouds, there'll be wave after wave of His Glory will come across the earth - and the resurrection of the saints shall come. That blessed Holy Spirit that's lived in their hearts and they're dried with their corpse laying there and the pierced veins over their cheeks and things like that and they're placed back in the graveyard. A great wave of that same Spirit and a sshhewww, wave after wave - He that was last will be the first. He that was first will be last. I'm kinda see that way...that's the order of the resurrection. I won't know nobody in the generation before me or the generation after me. I'll know those in the generation with me. Every generation will come successfully right as it went down. They which were last will be first. Sure, that's me. See? I'll know my people, the next time my dad and his people, my grandfather and his people, on down like that, wave after wave after wave after wave. And the saints will rise from everywhere. Won't that be wonderful, Amen. That makes the old people feel young again, yes.

Now notice closely, for I come to you in a Cloud, and every eye shall see Him, no matter how far back they died, they'll see Him.

Again in the message IMAGES OF CHRIST 59-0525 E-61brother Branham speaks of the order of the resurrection. " Now, this is the order of the resurrection. "We which are alive and remain shall not prevent them which are dead; for the trumpet of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them..." Meet one another before we meet Him, meet one another before we meet Him... "Be caught up together with him--with them to meet the Lord in the air." All together.

And when he is speaking to the Stadsklev family, a sermon called CONDOLENCES TO STADSKLEV FAMILY 60-0924 E-17 brother Branham again speaks of this order of the resurrection… "If you notice, the order of the resurrection: They which are asleep (and that's dead). Christians don't die, you know. But saying it in our way: dead. "Dead" means "separation." "Death," rather, means "separation." Then them which are asleep shall not prevent those which are awake at the coming of the Lord. "For the trumpet of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And we'll be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." You notice the order of the resurrection? "We which are alive and remain to the coming of the Lord (II Thessalonians, I believe about the 5th chapter) shall not prevent (or hinder) those that are asleep. The trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." And notice the next, "Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them." See, we meet them first. Now, I wonder, how God in His great mercy, when He'd be worshipped perfectly there, and when... He knew that.

He knew that if we got there first to worship Him, and then we'll go to look around, wonder where baby is, and where mother is, and where this one or that one; but (You see?) He lets us meet one another first. So when you go up to worship before the Lord on that day, she'll be with you. See?

UNCERTAIN SOUND 60-1218 382 Well, what did He do here when He was transfigured? The Greek says, "He changed His fashion." Oh, look at the order of the resurrection. That's what struck me just then. Notice. What appeared first? He, back over here in the next chapter, the 16th chapter, He told them, "Some standing there should not die until they seen the Kingdom of God coming in power." In other words, what would they do, they'd see the foretaste of the Kingdom of God, they'd know the order of the resurrection and the coming of God. See, in the 16th chapter. Now, here He goes up there, and He... What happened, His fashion was changed. In other words, He was revealed in another way. Do you follow me? [Congregation says, "Amen."--Ed.]

385 What did we find the revelation was the other night in the apocalypse, the apocalypse means? A sculptor, it was done down here, making something; and then what he does, he just takes the curtain out, said, "There it is." What was He redoing here? He was revealing Himself in another fashion? What was He in? A glorified, transfigured condition, His coming, the way He's coming: a glorified Christ, transformed. His raiment shined like the sun. My. Oh, He stood in the cloud; and He's coming in the clouds of glory. Overshadowed by a cloud; not a little white thunderhead up yonder, but the cloud that He comes in is a cloud of glory, all these Angels with Him. Hallelujah. My, that's the way He's coming, coming in a cloud of glory.

387Now, notice, when they seen Him standing there. And before that, there appeared to Him, Moses and Elijah. Watch that. What did Moses meant? Moses was, represented the ones that had died and was sleeping in the grave, 'cause Moses died and was buried; nobody know where he was buried at. But he represented the ones that were asleep when He come. And Elijah represented the translated ones, who didn't have to die. See? There you are. And Peter, James, and John represented that remnant of Israel standing there saying, "Lo, that's our God Whom we believed on." There's your hundred and forty-four thousand. (Where you at, Brother Wood? That's it.) See, there you are; Peter, James, and John: three, a witness to give when He returns back.

391 What was the first thing? The resurrection, Moses and (conjunction) Elijah appeared to Him. See, the resurrection of the dead, and the ones that don't have to die was changed, and was standing there in His Presence. Oh, my. And there He stood, glorified. And there was Peter, James, and John; the remnant of the Jews, looking, saying, "That's Him. That's Him." That's the order of the coming of the Lord. See it? There it is, the resurrection. There they was. Oh, isn't it wonderful?

Now, if this cloud of Glory has already come, then how close are we.

BE NOT AFRAID 61-0311 …watch the order of the resurrection. The first thing, we get together, not until we get together will we go together to meet Him. Mothers and fathers will meet one another. Children and loved ones will meet one another, and then be caught up in the air to meet the Lord.

JEHOVAH JIREH PT 1 62-0705 12 And then, remember, if we go before He comes, we will be up and in His Presence, or raised before the others are changed. "The trumpet of the Lord shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which alive and remain shall be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, and be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air." Look at the order of the resurrection. See, God knows that we long to see our loved ones. And if we got there to meet Him first, we'd be looking around to see if mother or dad and the rest of them was there. But see how, the Holy Spirit in His wisdom? We meet one another first, and then when we get there and sing "Amazing Grace," that's when there's going to be a time of worship. You think I act funny now, watch me up there. It's going to be a wonderful time for me and all of us that--when we get there.

TESTIMONY 63-1128M 7 "The trumpet of God shall sound; the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain..." Did you notice the order of the resurrection, "Shall be caught up together with them." We meet each other before we meet Him. "Be caught up together to meet them - with them, to meet the Lord in the air. See, He's God, and then when He wants to be worshipped, that's what His very nature is, is to be worshipped, because He's God. And He knows if we were there, be looking out of the corner of your eyes, see if the other one's there, but, and then it wouldn't be the complete way of free worship. When we stand there, and we know we've met each other first, and greeted each other, and then to stand by Him Who caused it all, and sing the songs of redemption. As Brother Jack has many times made the statement, "When Angels will circle the earth, with bowed heads, not knowing what we're talking about..." See, because they never been redeemed. But we had to be redeemed, and how we'll crown Him the King of kings and Lord of lords...

Uniting Time Sign-63-0818 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 brethren), 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. And to think of us standing, (in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, when the world won't know what's going on), but all of a sudden, you'll see appear before you, your loved ones that's gone on has come to unite with you again. And we'll be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye; and be caught up, together, to meet our Lord in the air.

Mother's Day 59-0510M 86 As that great light begins to spread all - as we begin to look around, and the great circle will be getting and greater and greater; it's all just reflecting the approach of Jesus… …Then as we see Him...and we'll not be as we are now. We'll know how to love Him more. We'll not stand back with a little fear, because we'll be like Him. He'll be more of a relative to us than He is now. We'll understand Him better, because we're so far away in the mortal bodies. Then we'll have a body like His glorious body. We'll know how to worship Him. And when we see what the Presence of His Being has done to us, changed us, the old back young, all the deformed straightened out, oh, we'll understand then why His power healed us.

God In Simplicity - 63-0317 1M 58-5 God just speaks and the Rapture will come. It ain't going out there and them Angels come down and shovel out the grave and get out an old dead carcass here. What is it? It is born of sin to begin with - but a new one made in its likeness. If we have this, we will die again. See? Nobody can say, "The graves will open. The dead shall walk out." That may be true, but not open the way you say open. That's right. See? It won't be like that. It'll be a secret, because He said He would come like a thief in the night. He's already told us this, the Rapture, then judgments will strike - sins, plagues, sickness, and everything. The people will cry for death to take them from the judgment. "Lord, why is this judgment upon us when You said that there would be a Rapture first?" He will say, "It's already come, and you didn't know it." God hiding Himself in simplicity. Oh, my! All right. "It's already happened and you knew it not."

Q & A - 59-1223 whenever God's people gets together completely, I believe the resurrection will take place then. There'll be a rapturing time when the Holy Spirit begins to gather it up. It'll be in the minority, of course, but there will be a great gathering. Let's get ready Let's get ready for this midnight cry. It's coming in a hour when you think not. There'll be a cry, not amongst the unbelieving world; it'll be a secret.

Going Beyond The Camp - 64-0719 2E And you know, we'll be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. Think of it! Missing people, they can't see you no more, but you're getting together with the rest of the group. "… "And the trump of God shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, appear to many.." And all at once you happen to stand and look, and "Well, there's a brother..." And you know it ain't long. In a few minutes we'll be changed in a moment in a twinkling of an eye, and together with them be missing on earth, caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

Questions & Answers - 64-0823 1M Now, the first thing happens when we're resurrected ... The ones which are a-living will just still remain ...

The resurrection will set in first, the resurrection of those that are asleep. There'll be a wakening time, and those which are asleep in the dust now ... will be awakened first, and they'll - these corruptible bodies will put on incorruption in the rapturing grace of the Lord. And then we'll all get together. And when they begin to get together, then we which are alive and remain shall be changed. These mortal bodies will not see death, but just of a sudden, there'll be like a sweep go over us, and you're changed. You're turned back like Abraham was, from an old man to a young man, from an old woman to a young woman. What's this sudden change? And after while you're traveling like a thought, and you can see those then who are already resurrected. Oh, what a hour! Then we'll gather with them and then be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. Yes, the Church will all be together, but after, after the resurrection and the rapture has set in.

Questions & Answers - 64-0823 1M The time of the rapture will be the awakening of the dead and the get together with the living, for the rapture to take place. And Jesus can not come until a church, a body of believers and the ministry that He once...?... 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, Wesleys, and all them down through their ages.

Questions & Answers - 64-0823 1M And then shall he send his angels, and ... gather together his elect from the four winds, and the utmost parts of the earth to the uttermost parts of heaven. That's talking of the resurrection, the translation, going up. He will send forth His angels to gather. Did you ever think what the angels are? Huh? Messengers. He will gather them together, congregate them together (see?), bringing them, bind them together from the utmost parts of the earth to the utmost parts of Heaven, the Word that was been made manifest on earth. See? Get it? The Word's been spoken; here It's manifested.

Easter Seal - 65-0410 And now, if that same Spirit that was upon Him to be the Redeemer in that age, that we have accepted... Now, the promise of in this last days what would take place, if you become part of that Word, you are redeemed with Him, because the same Spirit that dwelt in Christ is dwelling in you, quickening your life to this age. And it will also in the end time quicken your mortal bodies, resurrect them, bring them up again. That takes the gloom away when we look at it in that, and that's the truth.

Romans here, Paul has proved it to us. See? "If the Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, it will also quicken your mortal bodies." This is the same Spirit that raised Him up that quickened the true believer to Eternal Life. The Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells into the believer, quickens the believer to Eternal Life.

Rising of the Sun - 65-0418 1M 50-6And now (see?), now you are already resurrected. When God raised Him up, He raised you; the Son is just now on you. And now you're growing into a blossom Life like He was, to be resurrected completely in that last day. Your potentials you have now. Why do you know? Your soul changed, didn't it? Your body come in obedience to It, didn't it? Into obedience to what? A Church? The Word, which is the Life. Then you are now resurrected from the dead. You potentially have the Earnest, the waiting. Now, when you get the Dynamics, you have been quickened from mortal to immortality. It makes the whole body come subject to the Word. It'll make you act different, look different, live different; It'll just make you different.

Then notice, it's just like a little seed laying in the ground. Now, potentially, you are resurrected. You're resurrected when you receive the Holy Spirit in you; you're resurrected right then. Your body's potentially resurrected.

Questions & Answers - 64-0823 remember, I'm saying to you in the name of a prophet (see?) - in the name of a prophet, the resurrection and rapture will be general all over the entire world! No matter where you're at, when that hour comes, you'll be caught up to meet Him! That's all! There's nothing going to stop you, no matter where you are.

Questions & Answers - 64-0823 1M Across the world, they won't be gathered in one place to have things in common. But little groups of them will be scattered all over the earth. I believe, maybe if the Lord permits, this is a little group of It. Maybe another little group in Asia, one down in Germany, one down somewhere else.

Letting Off the Pressure 62-0518 Can't you see we're at the end time? It's all over. The next thing will be a sweep of getting that little group together, and in a month or so she'll be gone - as soon as she's gathered together. We're at the end; there's no hopes left anywhere. Run to Christ, people!