WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC #25
November 26, , 2000
Brian Kocourek
We haven't spoken from Who
is this Melchisedec for a month now as we have taken a series on the Marriage Covenant
in between. This morning I wish to continue with paragraph 50 of brother
Branham's sermon on Who is this Melchisedec and cover a particular thought
which brother Branham expressed concerning the sovereignty of God in bringing
forth the revelation of Himself.
WHO IS THIS
MELCHISEDEC 65-0221E 50 And
remember, you, your eyes, your statue, whatever you was, you were in His
thinking at the beginning. And the only thing that you are is the expression
word. After He thought it, He spoke it, and here you are. If it isn't, if you
wasn't in His thinking, there's no way at all for you ever to be there, for
He's the One that gives Eternal Life. You remember how we read the Scriptures,
"Not him that willeth, or him that runneth, but God..." And that His
predestination might stand true, He could choose before anytime who... God's
sovereign in His choosing, did you know that? God's sovereign. Who was back
yonder to tell Him a better way to make the world? Who would dare to tell Him
He was running His business wrong? Even the very--the very Word Itself, very
sovereign... Even the revelation is sovereign. He reveals to whom He will
reveal. The very revelation itself is sovereign in God. That's how people
pound at things, and jump at things, and hit at things, and not knowing what
they're doing. God is sovereign in His works.
Now, brother Branham is
making a very important statement here when he tells us that even the way God
reveals Himself, and to whom He reveals
Himself, is sovereignly given. He says, Even the
revelation is sovereign. He reveals to whom He will reveal. The very revelation
itself is sovereign in God
Now, let's check this out
for ourselves in the Scriptures. LUKE 10:21 In that hour
Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it
seemed good in thy sight. 22 All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no
man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son,
and [he] to whom the Son will reveal [him]. 23 And he turned him unto
[his] disciples, and said privately, Blessed [are] the eyes which see the
things that ye see: 24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have
desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear
those things which ye hear, and have not heard [them].
Now, notice the words of
Jesus while praying to the Father. There are three very distinct things He
says, that will make our case for what William Branham is teaching here.
#1) Jesus says, thou hast hid these things from… And
then He names a couple specific groups of people that God, His Father hid these
things from, namely the wise and the prudent.
#2) Jesus says, and hast
revealed them unto,… And then He specifically
names a group of people that are allowed to receive these things that were
hidden from the other group. That group is those who he calls babes, and
clarifies which types of babes by saying
Again in MATTHEW 11:25 ¶ At that
time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All
things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the
Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [he] to
whomsoever the Son will reveal [him].
Notice that in both
references of scripture Jesus is speaking of two types of people that God has
hidden these things from, namely the Wise and the prudent.
The first Group are those He
calls wise which comes from the Greek word, sophos {sof-os'} and is commonly referred to as wise. It
means more specifically those who are skilled or expert in letters, those who
have been cultivated, and who are called the learned: such as the Greek
philosophers and orators, or Jewish theologians, or Christian teachers.
The reason for this is that
these men by having been taught and cultivated in their minds, have come to the
place where their pattern of though or thinking is of such a manner that it is
literally impossible for them to change their mindset. These are men who have
trained their minds to think in a certain manner and can not accept anything
outside the way which they have been taught.
The other Group that God
hides his word from are those Jesus called the prudent. These are the sunetos {soon-et'-os} or -- prudent , the so called intelligent ones, the highly trained and
educated ones, those men who have trained their minds to a certain
understanding, and therefore they are called the wise and so learned, the so called experts. But if
their expertise is based on wrong thinking, then what good is their so called
expertise.
I CORINTHIANS 1:18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom
of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where [is] the wise? where [is] the
scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the
world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe.
22
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the
Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser
than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are
called]:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of
the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring
to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his
presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption:
31That, according as it is written, He that
glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
I CORINTHIANS 2:1 ¶ And I, brethren,
when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring
unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing
among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in
fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching [was] not
with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 ¶
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom
of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a
mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto
our glory:
8
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed [them] unto us by
his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no
man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of
the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that
are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the
words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing
spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he
know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all
things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord,
that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Secondly we must ask
ourselves what these things were that were hidden from the wise and prudent? It
would appear by reading Matthew 11 that the things Jesus is speaking of are the
supernatural manifestation which took place in his ministry. We see Jesus tells
us in MATTHEW 11:20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his
mighty works were done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin!
woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes.
But with a careful reading
of Matthew 11 we see that it wasn't the actual mighty work but the hidden
meaning behind that work, namely that God was there on the scene vindicating
the Message, and as such by recognizing this they would automatically come to a
place of repentance.
As the Catholic priest said
in reference to the supernatural events that took place at Fatima. He said,
when God does anything in the supernatural by way of catching the eye of the
people and therefore their attention, it is not that God does so to put on a
show, but rather to cause the people to shut up and listen.
Brother Branham posted
across the front of the platform in big
bold letters and very obscure scripture that said, "Be still and know that I am God.".
But a closer reading of that
Scripture gives us a much better picture of what that very sign really meant to
say,… PSALMS 46:10 Be still, and know that I [am] God (Why?, Because)
I will be
exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11The LORD of hosts [is] with us; the God of
Jacob [is] our refuge. Selah. In other words, if you are very still
you will see and then you will know. Therefore it is God's intent not to do
things just to entertain you, but he does things to catch your attention that
you might KNOW. Therefore it is most imperative that we listen carefully to
what God has for us that we might not continue on in our error, but that we
might have an understanding.
He said, if Sodom and
Gomorrah had seen what you have seen, they would have known what to do with it,
and they would have repented. But you people are so dull of hearing and seeing
that these things could happen before your very eyes and you will never
understand what it is all about.
And yet Jesus tells us in
Matthew 13 that God purposely hides the Revelation from all who are not
ordained to know and to understand it.
MATTHEW 13:10 And the disciples
came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? NOTICE, "unto them,"
this then speaks of another group of people, not those in the inner
circle, not those in his presence, but it speaks of others who also heard the
things that Jesus said,) Now, let's contrast this with the same scene as
witnessed by Mark in the Gospel of Mark.
MARK 4:10 And when he was
alone, (Notice
here that He did not just blurt this out in public, but He was very careful to
speak only to those who were ordained to hear this). And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of
him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the
mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these]
things are done in parables:
Notice again the words of
Jesus, I speak a certain way to you but to those on the outside, I speak in a
way which purposely hides what I am trying to get across to you.
Verse 11 He
answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. In other words, it is given
to you as a gift to know, but to others it is not given to them as a gift to
know. The word given here is a Greek word
didomi {did'-o-mee} and it
means to give of grant, of one's own accord to give one something, to his
advantage; to bestow a gift. Notice then that the thing that Jesus is telling
them is that these things He is telling them is for their advantage. It is for
their benefit but it is not for the benefit of
those on the outside.
12 For whosoever
hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever
hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Now the word hath here is a
Greek word ECHO and it means to hold and possess. And yet it comes from the
very word echo which also means to be able to reflect back. Therefore we see a
principle that God gives to those who He has built in such a way as to be able
to give back, reflect back, or offer back what He gives to us. And those who
can not and are not built in such a way as to be able to offer back to God what
God gives to them, even those things that they think they have He will take
from them.
And what does Jesus mean by
saying they can not echo? He is speaking about their understanding and ability
to comprehend and therefore apply that which He gives them. That is why Brother
Branham said,
THE TOKEN 63-0901M 19-8
I don't care. You might've cast out devils; you might've healed the sick
by your prayer of faith. You might've done all these things, but if that
Token's not there, you're under the wrath of God. You might be a believer.
You might stand in the pulpit and preach the Gospel. "Many will come to Me
in that day and say 'Lord, Lord, have not I prophesied in Your Name? preached
in Your Name. Have not I cast out devils in Your Name?' (That's both Methodist,
Baptist and Pentecostals.)" Jesus said, "Depart from Me, you that
work iniquity; I never even knew you. But when see the Token, I'll pass over
you." It's God's requirement of the hour. The evening time message is
to apply the Token.
20-1 Satan's throwed all kinds of counterfeits of shaking hands and
evidences and everything like that. Forget it. The hour has arrived that the Token
Itself, not some counterfeit, make-believe substitutionary, anything; the
hour is here when the Token Himself is identifying Himself right among us
and proving that He's the same Jesus yesterday, today, and forever, and He's
right with the Word. It's got to be applied. A man that says
that he's got the Token, deny this Word, then what about it? See, you can't do
it. The Token's got to be there. When I... "The Blood shall be a Token
unto you." Now, the Holy Spirit, the Life that was in the Blood is a
Token unto you. (Get to it in a moment. See?) The Holy Ghost is the
Token. The case is closed. Yes, sir.
Now, before we go further, I
want you to notice that brother Branham is making a fine distinction between
The Token and a token. The Token is The Holy Ghost Himself, identifying Himself
right among us, and proving or vindicating that He is the Same and He changes
not. But he also speaks of a token
which he calls the life that was in the blood but is now in the believer. But
what must be displayed is the Question? And the answer is this, You can not display The Token, because He
alone can display Himself. But what you must display is the evidence that the
very Life that was in the Blood has come into you and this will be evidenced in
your life by your response to the Personal Presence of THE TOKEN In your midst.
Notice the fashion in which
brother Branham rightly divides the thought here of a token and The Token. He
uses the article "THE" to refer to the Person of the Holy Spirit
Himself, and he uses the letter "a" to refer to the attributes of the
Life of God in the believer. We find this same article The used in the
scriptures as well in referring to the difference between THE Holy Spirit in
contradistinction to those attributes of Life that are imparted to the
Believer.
JOHN 3:6 That which is born
of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Notice
the way this Scripture is written. The Spirit speaks of God Who is Spirit and
Life and notice that it is preceded with the article THE and has a capital
letter "S" designating the person of the Holy Spirit. Then notice the
last two words, "is spirit". This
speaks of the Pneuma or life of God which is in you by the new birth,
but it is not speaking of God Himself,
and it is not a capital "s" but rather a small "s". And we
know that brother Branham pointed out that when the word angel is spelled with
a capital "A", it refers to heavenly angels, and with a small case
"a" it refers to men who are messengers.
QA HEBREWS
PART 3 57-1006 334-787 Where Angels are concerned, of
heavenly Angels, it's a big "A," capital "A." Where it's a
little "a," it's men, angels.
Brother Branham goes on to say, 20-4 Now, remember,
and, doesn't matter what you are, how good you are, how many times you jumped
up and down, how many churches you've joined, how many good things you've done;
it won't mean one thing to you, if the Token isn't applied. This is the evening
time. That worked all right in the days of Luther. That worked all right in the
days of Wesley. But it don't work now. No. Yeah, keeping up the lamb was all
right then. Those who died then before the lamb was applied, the blood, it was
different. Yes, sir. They went on because of good conscience. They'd be judged
whether they--they were... If they were predestinated, it struck them. If it
didn't, it don't. That's all. It's just God. He--He justifies who He will, have
mercy on who He will, and He condemn who He will. He's God. That's all. He has
mercy on whom He has mercy and condemns who He wants to condemn.
Now in getting back to Matthew 13:13 Therefore
speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of
Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and
seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15For this people's heart is waxed
gross, ( remember the heart always refers to their understanding,
and therefore if their heart has waxed gross it means their understanding has
hardened or thickened, or crystallized and they can not learn anything more
than what they already know, like Lot's wife who also crystallized and stopped
right in her footsteps and could go no further. And when you stop learning, you
become stupid, and that is exactly what the Greek definition says. 1) to make thick, to make fat, fatten; metaph. to make
stupid (to render the soul dull or callous) And Jesus continues by
saying, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes they have closed; (hey close them, therefore this
ignorance is a willful ignorance) lest at any time they should see with [their]
eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and
should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed [are] your eyes,
for they see: and your ears, for they hear.17 For verily I say unto you, That
many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye
see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have
not heard [them].
We see also the same
thoughts witnessed to by Mark in the Gospel of Mark but this time with a
slightly better understanding of the scene in which Jesus was speaking these
things to the Apostles.
12 That seeing
they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven
them.
This is the time of
Laodicea, the time of the peoples rights, where they will fight toothe and nail
to make sure their ballet is counted even though they are to stupid to follow
proper directions. And as it is in the natural, so is it in the spiritual. Too
stupid to follow directions, to stupid to follow the One Who came down to lead
us into Glory.
347-3
LAODICEAN CHURCH AGE - CHURCH AGE BOOK Chptr 9 "You are
blind and naked." Now this is really desperate. How can anyone be blind
and naked and not know it? Yet it says that they are blind and naked and can't
perceive it. The answer is, they are spiritually blind, and spiritually naked.
Do you remember when Elisha and Gehazi were surrounded by the army of the
Syrians? You recall that Elisha smote them blind by the power of God. Yet their
eyes were wide open and they could see where they were going. The blindness was
peculiar in that they could see certain things, but other certain things such
as Elisha and the servant and the camp of Israel they could not see. What this
army could see did not avail for them. What they did not see brought on their
captivity. Now what does this mean to us? It means exactly what it meant back
there in the earthly ministry of Jesus. He tried to teach them truth, but they
would not listen.
John 9:40-41. "And some
of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, Are
we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin:
but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."
The attitude
of this age is exactly what it was then. People have it all. They know it all.
They cannot be taught. If a point of truth from the Word
comes up and a man tries to explain his view to one with an opposing view, the
listener is not at all listening that he might learn, but is listening only to
refute what is being said. Now I want to ask a fair question. Can Scripture
fight Scripture? Does the Bible contradict the Bible? Can there be two
doctrines of truth in the Word that say the opposite or oppose the other? NO.
IT CANNOT BE SO. Yet how many of God's people have their eyes open to that
truth? Not even one percent, as far as I know, have learned that ALL Scripture
is given by God and ALL is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, etc.
If all Scripture is thusly given, then every verse will dovetail if given a
chance. But how many believe in predestination unto election and reprobation
unto destruction? Those who don't, will they listen? No, they will not. Yet
both are in the Word, and nothing will change it. But to learn about it and
reconcile the truth of those doctrines with other truths that seem to oppose,
they will not take the time. But they stop their ears, and gnash with their
teeth, and they lose out. At the end of this age a prophet will come, but they
will be blind to all that he is doing and saying. They are so sure they are right,
and in their blindness they will lose it all.
348-1 Now God says they are naked as well as
blind. I cannot imagine anything as tragic as a man who is blind and naked and
does not know it. There is only one answer--he is out of his mind. He is already
deep in oblivion. His faculties are gone, spiritual amnesia has set in. What
else can it mean? Can it mean that the Holy Spirit has taken His leave of this
last day church? Can it mean that men have put God out of their minds to such
an extent that it is happening even as stated in Romans 1:28. "And even as
they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a
reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."
It surely
appears that something like that has happened. Here is a people who say that
they are of God and know God and have His Holy Spirit, and yet they are naked
and blind and don't know it. They are ALREADY DECEIVED. THEY HAVE THE WRONG
SPIRIT. THE ELECT CANNOT BE DECEIVED, BUT IT IS EVIDENT THAT THESE OTHERS ARE.
These are they who have become blind because they refused the Word of God.
These are they who have stripped themselves naked by leaving God's care and
protection and sought to build their own way of salvation, their own tower of
Babel by organization. Oh, how lovely and beautiful dressed they appear in
their own eyes as they formed their general assembles, and their councils, etc.
But now God is stripping it all away and they are naked, for these
organizations have but led them into the camp of antichrist, into the field of
tares, right up to their binding and burning. Objects of pity indeed they are.
Yes, pity them, warn them, beseech them, and still they go their way headlong
to destruction, wrathfully turning away any and all attempts to save them as
brands from the burning. Miserable indeed they are, yet they know it not.
Calloused and beyond hope, they glory in what is actually their shame. Defiant
against the Word, yet one day they shall be judged by it and pay the price of
its awful indictments.