The Process of the Rapture
April
10, 2002
Who is this Melchisedec 50 Being eternal with Him at the beginning... The Eternal Life that you had,
His thought of what you was, only He wanted you to... He wanted me to stand in
the pulpit, say. He wanted you to set in the seat tonight. Then we are serving
His eternal purpose. And the one that left home, only come to the earth to
serve His purpose. Is that right? All right. Then after it's finished, it's
brought back in a glorified state. It's matured and brought back again. No
wonder Paul could say when they was building a block to chop his head off. He
said, "Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory?
But thanks be to God Who gives us the victory." He said, "Death, tell
me where you can make me holler. Grave, tell me, how you going to hold me, for
I am a possessor of Eternal Life." Amen. He recognized it. Death, hell,
grave, nothing could hold him. And nothing can hurt us, got Eternal Life. He
realized he was blessed with Eternal Life. 51
Just like a little dew drop. If I understand it's... I don't know too much
about chemistry, but it must be that it's the congealing of humidity or
atmosphere... And when the night gets cold and dark, it falls from the heavens
and drops upon the ground. It's fell from somewhere. But the next morning
before the sun comes up, it's laying there, the little fellow, shivering, but
just let the sun come up, watch it go to shining. It's happy. Why? The sun is
going to call it right back to where it come from. And that's the way with a Christian. Hallelujah. We know when we walk into the Presence of God, something in us tells us
that we come from somewhere and we're going back again by that power that's
a-pulling us. The little dew drop he glistens and shines and shouts,
because he knows he come from up there, and that sun's going to draw him right
back up again. And a man that's a
attribute of God, borned of God knows (Hallelujah.), when he come in contact
with the Son of God, he's going to be drawed up from here someday.
"For if I be lifted up from the earth, I'll draw all men unto Me."
Amen.
Now what brother Branham is telling us here in his illustration is the process of the Rapture is not just a catching away as though that is one event.
There are actually several events that will take place here not including the actual Presence or Parousia itself.
In 1897, J. B.
Rotherham wrote in his Bible translation called The Emphasized Bible, the following; "In
this edition the word Parousia is uniformly rendered "Presence"
("Coming," as a representative of this word being set aside.)"
He continued "The Parousia,... is still in the future, and may
therefore be enshrouded in a measure of obscurity which only fulfillment
can clear away: It may in fine be both a period, more or less
extended, during which certain things shall happen, an event, coming on and
passing away as one of a series of Divine interposition's, Christ is raised
as a first fruit, that is one event; He returns and vouchsafes His
"Presence," During which time He raises His own, That is another
event, However large and prolonged; and finally comes another cluster of events
constituting "The End." Hence after all, "Presence" may be
the most widely and permanently satisfying translation of the looked for
Parousia of the Son of Man."
The illustration Brother Branham was using here in Who is this Melchisedec is that of a drop of dew being caught up to go back to where it came from and rejoicing in the fact that the Sun (SON of God) will call it forth. Now, this is not just one event here, but it actually constitutes several events as Rotherham noted.
#1) We know that His presence Here is causing a separation between the chaff and the wheat. This too is essential, for without separation Life could never come forth in birth, and if the spiritual is types by the natural then there also must be a separation for the New Birth to become a reality.
Therefore
He is here to separate the chaff from the Wheat.. Matt:
3:11-12, 7: 15-23, 13: 24-30, 36-43, 47-49, 25:1-11, 2 Thes 1: 7 - 12 , 2: 3,
10 - 12, 1 Tim 4: 1, Hebrews 6, 1 John 2: 19 - 21, 28, 2 groups, Luke 17: 26 -
37, 2 Cor 4: 3-6, 11: 1-4, Gal 1: 6, 2 Tim 3: 1 - 9, 4: 3-4, 8
#2) In order for the dew drop to be raised up it
must first be changed from a solid matter to a gaseous state. In other words
there must be a change of the body. Therefore His Presence Here is to bring
forth a change of our Body readying it for a catching away. He is here to
change the living. 1 Thes 4:15-18, I Cor 15: all, 2 John 3: 1 - 3, 2 Cor 3: 18,
Roman 12: 1-2, Col 3: 4, 1 Cor 13: 9 - 12, 2 Thes 1: 7, 10-12, Acts 3: 19-21, 1
Peter 1: 7 -9, 13, 2 Peter 1: 1-4, 10-12, 1 Cor 1: 4 - 10, Matt 24: 30
#3) Then once the body of that dew drop has been changed
it is drawn up into the presence of the SUN as we will be drawn into the
Presence of the Son of God in the Rapture. The dew drop had settled into the
ground, and before it could be raised up it had to be changed in it’s form, and
thus He is here to raise the derad and to raise us into the presence of the
SON. 1 Thes 4: 15 - 18, 1 Cor 15: all Ephesians
1: 17 - 23, Gal 2: 1, Acts 1: 9-11, Matt 27: 51-53, Col 3: 4, Deut 30:3, Luke
20: 36 children of the resurrection, John 11: 24-25, Acts 24: 15, 21, Rom 6: 5,
Phil 3: 10-11, 2 Tim 2: 18, Rev 20: 5 1 Thes 4: 15-18,