Melchisedec the Person

WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC #43

Melchisedec, The Person

FEBRUARY 21, 2001

Brian Kocourek

This Evening we will turn our thoughts again to the Sermon Who is this Melchisedec that Brother Branham taught us. We will begin our study today beginning with paragraph 29.

Who is this Melchisedec 29 Now, let's get right into the service now quickly, turning now with me if you will to the Book of Hebrews. And another revelation on the Message, we'll speak for just a few moments tonight, the Lord willing. And then while reading the first three verses of Hebrews 7:1-3, and then commenting on this... And we don't know what the Lord will do. We do not know; the only thing we do is just believe, watch, pray (That right?), and believe that He'll make everything work together for good to them that loves Him, because He promised to.

1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; (Let's read a little farther).

3 Without father, without mother, without descent,... neither beginning of days, or end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

Who is this Melchisedec 30 Think of this great Person, of how great this Man must be. And now, the question is: "Who is this Man?" Theologians has had different ideas, but since the opening of the Seven Seals, the mysterious Book that's been mysterious to us... According to Revelations 10:1-7, all the mysteries that's wrote in this Book that's been hid down through the age of the reformers is supposed to be brought out into view by the angel of the last church age. How many knows that's right? That's right. Supposed to be brought... All the mysteries of the mysterious Book is to be revealed to the Laodicea messenger of that age. Seeing there is much dispute about this Person, and this subject, I think it behooves us to break into it to find out Who this is. Now, there's several schools of thought on Him. One of the schools are--claims He's just a myth; He wasn't actually a person. And the others says that it was a priesthood, that was the Melchisedec priesthood. That's the most likely one that hold better to that side than they do to the other, is because they say it was a priesthood. It can't be that, for in the 4th verse it says He was a Person, a Man. So in order to be a person He has to be a personality, a Man, not a order, but a Person.

32 So He was not just a priesthood order, neither was He a myth; He was a Person. And the Person is eternal. If you notice, He had no father, He had no mother, He had no time He ever began, and He had no time He ever ended. And ever Who it was is still alive tonight, because the Bible said here that He had neither father, nor mother, beginning of days or ending of life. So it would have to be an eternal Person (Is that right?), an eternal Person. So it could only be one Person; that's God, 'cause He's the only One that's eternal--God.

For those who do not believe the Godhead as brother Branham taught it, let me say here that if you will notice Brother Branham is calling God a Person. God is not a thing, He is a Person. Now, Noah Webster tells us the root word for person comes from the Latin word persona and literally means an actor's face mask. A Character. A Human being especially as distinguished from a thing or a lower animals. A living Soul represented in a human body.

Now, to me this is very important in developing our understanding of the Godhead, and if we are to come to the place where we understand brother Branham when he is speaking on this subject, and in learning to say what God's prophet said.

He said God was a person and this person of Melchisedec that we are studying is God. Now, most people have some far fetched idea that God is not a person. They want to de-personify God and make Him just a formless mist like a vapor moving about like a glowing light or something. That is complete nonsense.

I would like to point out that God is a Person, period. And if a person, then He must have a personality. Webster tells us that the word personality means the quality or fact of being a particular person showing forth the persons own personal identity. He goes on to say, Personality is made up of the habitual patterns and qualities of behavior of the individual person as expressed by their physical and mental activities and attitudes. Distinctive individual qualities of a person.

Therefore, let me say this for all you dog and cat lovers, your dog or cat is not a person and never will be. Neither can it have a personality because it is not a person. Animals do not have personalities. They might have certain attributes and characteristics that are specific to it's own individual identity, but that does not make it a personality. You can not have a personality without being a person. Maybe another word should be used like doganality or catanality or piganality or cowanality or whatever, I do not care. But personality is not a correct use of the language.

Now, the personality of the person is for all intents and purposes the outward display or manifestation of that person's character. Therefore this person Melchisedec displayed several attributes of His Person by revealing Himself as a Priest and King. What Abraham saw was a person Who was both King and Priest.

Brother Branham continues in paragraph 33, saying, Now, in I Timothy 6:15 and 16, if you'd like to read that sometime, I'd like for you to read it. And so before we go on in our reading of Brother Branham's sermon, let's read first from …

I TIMOTHY 6:13 ¶ I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and [before] Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; 14 That thou keep [this] commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, [who is] the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Notice what Paul tells us here. He is speaking of God here, Who quickens all things, and at the Appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will be shown Who it is that is the Only Potentate, Who alone hath immortality, etc.

Now, the word immortal means not mortal. Not able to die. And we know that Jesus Christ the Son of God dies for our sins, so He not only was mortal or capable of death, but He was born with the Sole purpose of dying for our sins. Therefore, if we try to make this Son of God, God the Son, either one of two things must be admitted.

#1) You will have to admit that your God is mortal and thus capable of death.

Or #2) You must believe that Jesus Christ is God and therefore He is Immortal, and not capable of death, and thus He could not die.

In either case you have thrown away your salvation, because true salvation is dependent upon the plan that God so Loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son to die for your sins. And if Jesus is and was God then He could not die, and if you make Him a God who could die, then you have made a God Who is mortal. Anyway you pick and slice it you have thrown away your salvation.

From the Message E-37 FUNDAMENTAL FOUNDATION FOR FAITH brother Branham said, 55-0113 Now, when He was here on earth, He was a perfect example of everything of the godhead. He was the fullness of the godhead bodily. In Christ dwelt God. The body of Jesus was only the tabernacle of God. It's where Almighty God Himself lived and dwelt in a human being. You believe that, don't you? You have to, to be saved. You have to believe that.

And in the message, MANIFESTED SONS OF GOD 60-0518 88 He said, "In the Garden of Gethsemane, the anointing left Him, you know, He had to die as a sinner. He died a sinner, you know that; not His sins, but mine and yours.

Also from, THE RISING OF THE SUN 65-0418 He said, " When God looked down upon the body... (The Spirit left Him in the Garden of Gethsemane; He had to die a man.) Remember friends, He didn't have to do that. That was God. God anointed that flesh, which was human flesh, and He didn't have... If He'd went up there as God, He'd have never died that kind of death; can't kill God.

Now, in getting back to brother Branham's sermon, Who Is This Melchisedec, we pick back up at paragraph 33b… Now, the thing that I contend is, that He was God, because He's the only Person that can be immortal. ( Now, remember, he is talking about Melchisedec). And now, God changing Himself into Person;(Look how specific Brother Branham is here, He does not say God changing Himself into A person, but person. God changing Himself into person. And what about this person God changed Himself into?)Brother Branham continues, that's what He was: no father, no mother, no beginning of life, no ending of days.

34 Now, we find in the Scripture that many people teaches that three personalities in the Godhead. So you cannot have a personality without being a person. It takes a person to make a personality. A Baptist minister a few weeks ago come up and--to my house--and said, "I'd like to straighten you out on the Godhead sometime when you got time," called me up rather. I said, "I got time right now, 'cause I want to be straight, and we lay aside everything else to do it." And he come up; he said, "Brother Branham, you teach that there is just one God." I said, "Yes, sir." He said, "Well," he said, "I believe there's one God, but one God in three persons." I said, "Sir, repeat that again." He said, "One God in three persons." I said, "Where did you go to school at?" See?

And he told me a--a Bible college. I said, "I could believe that. You cannot be a person without being a personality, and if you're a personality, you are one personality to yourself. You're a separate individual being." And he said, "Well, the theologians can't even explain that." Now, what Brother Branham is saying here is right out of Webster's definition of what a personality is. And they called him ignorant. Look whose ignorant.

35 I said, "It's by revelation." And he said, "I can't accept revelation." I said, "Then there's no way for God to ever get to you, because it's hid from the eyes of the wise and prudent and revealed to babes (revealed, revelation) revealed to babes such as will accept it, learn." And I said, "There'd be no way for God to get to you; you close yourself off from Him. The whole Bible is the revelation of God.(Now, here's your key right here. He says, the whole Bible is the Revelation of God. Not the Son of God, but God! And then he says, ) "The whole church is built upon the revelation of God." There's no other way to know God only by revelation: 'To whom the Son will reveal Him,' revelation. Everything is revelation. So to--not to accept the revelation, then you're just a cold theologian, and there's no hope for you."

MATTHEW 11:27 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].

LUKE 10:22 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].

Now, we just got done reading what brother Branham said about this. "The whole church is built upon the revelation of God." There's no other way to know God only by revelation: 'To whom the Son will reveal Him,' revelation. Everything is revelation. So to--not to accept the revelation, then you're just a cold theologian, and there's no hope for you."

He continues in paragraph 38 Now, now, we find out that this Person had no father, no mother, no beginning of days or ending of life. It was God "En morphe". Now, the world--the word comes--the Greek word means "change," was used, changing Himself, "En morphe", from one person to... One person... The Greek word there, "En morphe," means... It was taken from the stage act, "that one person is changing his mask to make him some other character."

Now, remember what we said Noah Webster writes about the word person, he said, the root word for person comes from the Latin word persona and literally means an actor's face mask. A Character. A Human being especially as distinguished from a thing or a lower animals. A living Soul represented in a human body.

And notice, what brother Branham is saying, "En morphe," means... It was taken from the stage act, "that one person is changing his mask to make him some other character."

37 Like in--in school just recently--I believe, Rebekah, just before she graduated, they had one of Shakespeare's plays. And one young man had to change his clothes several times, because he played two or three different parts, but the same person. He'd come out; one time he was the villain. And when he come out next time, he was another character.

40 And now the Greek word "En morphe" mean that he changed His mask. And that's what God did. It's the same God all the time. God in the form of the Father, the--the Spirit, the Pillar of Fire, the same God was made flesh and dwelt among us: "En morphe," brought out so He could be seen. And now, that same God is the Holy Ghost. Father, Son, Holy--not three Gods, three offices, three acts of the one God.

41 The Bible said there's one God, not three. But that's how that they couldn't... You can't get this straightened out and have three gods. You'd never sell a Jew that; I tell you that, one who knows better; he knows there's only one God.

42 Notice, like the sculptor, he hides with a--a mask over it. That's what God's done to this age. It's been hid. All these things has been hid, and is supposed to be revealed in this age. Now, the Bible says they would be revealed in the latter times. It's like a sculptor keeping his--his piece of work all covered over until the time he takes the mask off of it and there it is. And that's what the Bible has been. It has been a work of God that's been covered up. And it's been hid since the foundation of the world, and its sevenfold mystery, and God promised in this day, at the age of this Laodicea church, He would take the mask off the whole thing and we could see it.

43 What a glorious thing, God, "En morphe", masked in a Pillar of Fire, God, "En morphe" in a Man called Jesus, God, "En morphe" in His church: God above us, God with us, God in us, the condescending of God. Up there holy, no one could touch Him; He settled upon the mountain, and even if a animal touched the mountain, had to die. And then God come down and changed His tent, and He come down and lived with us, become one of us, and we held Him. The Bible said, I Timothy 3:16, "Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, for God was manifested in the flesh," handled with hands. God eat meat. God drank water. God slept. God cried. He was one of us: beautiful, typed in the Bible. That was God above us, God with us; now it's God in us, the Holy Spirit, not the third person, the same Person.

44 God came down and become flesh and died the death in Christ so that He could clean the church in order to get into it for fellowship. God loves fellowship. That's what He made the man at the first time for, was for fellowship. God dwells alone with Cherubims.

Now, let's stop here just for a moment because if you have not to this point taken in what Brother Branham has already said, then you will want to make the one who dies on the Cross God, but that is not what he is saying here. He says that God came into Jesus, the man. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.

II CORINTHIANS 5:18 And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

I TIMOTHY 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

When Jesus died on the cross he cried out, MATTHEW 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And the word forsaken here is a Greek word which means to forsake or abandon.

Therefore without understanding the 8 principle definitions brother Branham laid out for us concerning God and His Son, we could never fully comprehend and know the saving Grace of our Lord in this hour.

There are eight major statements Brother Branham made concerning the Godhead that if those who claim to believe Him as God's end-time Messenger Prophet would only let go of their Oneness doctrine, and look at these statements, they would have to change their doctrine concerning the Revelation of Jesus Christ. I will list these eight statements up front in this study and we shall examine them in more detail as this study progresses. These eight statements are as follows:

FACT #1) Branham never claimed to be a Oneness. In fact he outright denies being Oneness.

Godhead Explained, E-74 Many of you people listening to this would say, "Brother Branham is a Oneness." I am not. I think you're both wrong, both oneness and trinity. Not to be different, but it's always the middle of the road."

FACT #2) Brother Branham said that God is not ONE like your finger is ONE.

E-96 SHOW US THE FATHER 53-0907.1A There's only one God. And I differ and disagree with the organization of Pentecost that calls the Oneness like your finger is one. That's wrong. Absolutely, it's wrong.

FACT #3) Brother Branham said that Jesus could not be His Own Father.

128 HEBREWS CPT. 4 141-126 -- 57-0901.2E Now the Oneness took it, the oneness group of people, and try to make Father, Son and Holy Ghost, just one office and one place, and like your finger, one. That's wrong. God could not... Jesus could not been His own father. If He was, then He was a... Well, how could He been His own father?

FACT #4) Brother Branham tells us the only difference between the Father and the Son is that Sons have beginnings.

25 HEBREWS Chapter 7, Part 1HEB 292-25 -- 57-0915.2E Now, the reason that there's a difference between God and Jesus: Jesus had a beginning, God had no beginning; Melchisedec had no beginning, and Jesus had a beginning. But Jesus was made liken unto Him.

FACT #5) Brother Branham speaks of God not even being in Jesus until He was baptized in the Jordan river. And then God leaves Him in Gethsemane to die as a mortal.

282 PARADOX -- 64-0206.1M, And this little Boy, twelve-year-old Child, no wisdom at all, why, but just a twelve-year-old Boy. The Father didn't dwell in Him at that time; because He come on the day when He baptized Him, "He saw the Spirit of God coming down, see, and went in Him." But, look, this little twelve-year-old Boy, being the Word; He was born the anointed One, see, to be the anointed. And here He was. "Know ye not that I must be about My Father's business?"

Notice Brother Branham tells us that the Father did not yet indwell Jesus at this time. He tells us that God entered the Son at the river Jordan when he was baptized.

In the Message, ELISHA THE PROPHET 56-1002.2E E-21, brother Branham said, "And Jesus, the baptism He had was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was in Him, that come on Him at the river Jordan after He was baptized in water. John bare record; he seen the Spirit of God like a dove coming upon Him. And notice. Then when he went up, he sent back the same robe that he was wrapped in: the Holy Ghost upon the Church.

E-40 TESTIMONY WILLIAM BRANHAM 60-0210 Brethren and sisters, we're men and women, got to die, but the Spirit of God that's among us, is the same God that met Moses in the wilderness, was in Jesus Christ on earth, because the life of It proves It's the same Spirit. It's doing the same thing. It's a promise of Christ. Oh, how... There's just no place to stop.

FACT #6) Brother Branham tells us the Body was not deity but Deity dwelt in the Body.

GOD'S GIFTS ALWAYS FIND PLACE 63-1222 93 The man, the body was not Deity, but Deity was in the body.

E-37 FUNDAMENTAL FOUNDATION FOR FAITH 55-0113 Now, when He was here on earth, He was a perfect example of everything of the godhead. He was the fullness of the godhead bodily. In Christ dwelt God. The body of Jesus was only the tabernacle of God. It's where Almighty God Himself lived and dwelt in a human being. You believe that, don't you? You have to, to be saved. You have to believe that.

FACT #7) Brother Branham tells us that when God birthed forth Jesus, there were two beings involved. One who is God and One who is the Son of God.

ATTITUDE AND WHO IS GOD? 50-0815 018 There He puts the first Bible. Oh, back in the days of--ancient days, they looked at those things. Today, He's got His Bible wrote here. But He wrote It in the heavens, that man would look up and realize that Jehovah the Creator lived above. And then I can see Him, He looked at that...I can see Him speak to this world hanging there as an icicle, whatever it was, way away. And He moved it over here. I can see this little Light go out. Now, WE GOT TWO NOW. The Father, and out of the Father came the Light, the Son. And I can see that Light moving over here and pulled the earth over near the sun to dry it off. And begin to...?... raise the water up, separating the land, earth from the water, and so forth.

Now, this in no way makes it two Gods. There is One God and he has a Son. The Scripture calls Him the "Son of God", never does it say he is "God the Son".

QA ON GENESIS13-13 53-0729 007 Well now, if you'll notice close now, in Genesis 1:26, let's get the first part first. God said, "Let us..." Now, "let us," us is a... "Let us make man in our own image." Our, 'course, we realize He's talking to someone; He was speaking to another being. "Let us make man in our own image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the cattles of the field." If you notice in creation, the first thing that was created, of course, was light. You come on down through the creation; the last thing was created was what? A man. And woman was made after man. All right, the first... Last thing that was created of God's creation is mankind.

FACT #8) Brother Branham tells us that Jesus was a dual being, because God was living in Him.

JEHOVAJIREH 56-0429 053 "That's the reason people couldn't understand Him. Sometime it was Christ speaking... or was the Son speaking. Other times it was the Father speaking. He was a dual Person. He was one Man, the Son. God was in, which was tabernacling in Him. But what did He do? Did He go around saying, "I'm the Healer." Very contrary, He said, "I'm not the Healer." He said, "It isn't Me that doth the works; it's My Father that dwelleth in Me." And in Saint John the 19th chapter when He was questioned for passing a whole bunch of crippled, lame, withered, halt, blind people, healed one man laying on a pallet, the Father showed Him to go there and heal. Walked away and left the rest of them laying there, they questioned Him. A man packing his bed on the sabbath. Listen to what He said. Saint John 5:19: "Verily, verily, I say unto you: The Son can do nothing in Himself, but what he sees the Father doing, that doeth the Son likewise." Is that what He said? "I do nothing till the Father shows Me a vision first what to do."

LET US SEE GOD 131 59-1129 …I said, "He was more than... God was in Him. He was a man, but He was a dual Person. One, He was a man; the Spirit in Him was God." I said, "God was in Christ." She said, "Aw, no." I said, "Look, lady, I'll take your own Scripture. He was a man, but He was a God-man. When He went down to the grave of Lazarus, He did weep like a man. That's true. But when He stood there, straightened His little stooped shoulders up, and said, 'Lazarus, come forth,' and a dead man, that'd been dead four days come to life again, that was more than a man. Man couldn't do that. That was God in His Son."

Now, that we have looked at these eight FACTS may we now, enter this study with open hearts to see just why God sent us a vindicated Prophet to restore back to us what was taught by the early church Fathers. In fact if you examine 2 John 3 and 9 you will find John was very specific as to the revelation that there is One God and He had a Son.

II JOHN 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

John is very specific and tells us that if you do not have the doctrine of Christ you do not have God, and then He tells us what the doctrine of Christ is, He says, you must have BOTH the Father and Son. And the word BOTH means TWO, not three, not four, not one, but TWO. And if you do not have TWO in reference to the doctrine of Christ you have not God. TWO beings, but only One is God and that One Who is God dwelt in the One who was not God, for He was the Son of God, not God the Son.

Brother Branham tried to take us back to this wonderful revelation of Christ, but most of his followers think they know more than he did concerning God and His Son. Even Irenaeus used the same definitions when defining the Godhead.

In the writings of IRENAEUS AGAINST HERESIES, BOOK III. Chapter I,.--THE APOSTLES DID NOT COMMENCE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL, OR TO PLACE ANYTHING ON RECORD, UNTIL THEY WERE ENDOWED WITH THE GIFTS AND POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. THEY PREACHED ONE GOD ALONE, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.

In this chapter, Irenaeus after mentioning Paul, Peter, John Mark and Luke, stated "These have all declared to us that there is one God, Creator of heaven and earth, announced by the law and the prophets; and one Christ the Son of God. If any one do not agree to these truths, he despises the companions of the Lord; nay more, he despises Christ Himself the Lord; yea, he despises the Father also, and stands self-condemned, resisting and opposing his own salvation, as is the case with all heretics."