Preparation #3 (The Prophet-Judge)
Sunday February 14th,
1999
Wednesday night we examined
the message “Preparation” again
which brother Branham preached in 1953.
Now, with these things in mind, we began to look at
the office of a prophet and we began to see the sovereignty of God and God’s
direct involvement in vindicating His Prophets.
Deuteronomy 18:15 ¶ The LORD thy God will
raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto
me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Now, this is not just some
sort of take it or leave it proposition that God is speaking of here. God tells
them through Moses that there is coming a Prophet like Moses that the people
had better take notice of and pay close attention to what He has to tell them.
He says that you had better hearken to this prophet and this word hearken is
the Hebrew word, shama' {shaw-mah'} and means 1)
to hear, listen to, obey and give heed.
Now, what do we infer when
we say that you need to pay heed to something. What does the word heed mean
anyway? It means to pay close attention, careful attention to, and it has a
reward associated with it. Can anyone tell me what reward is associated with
tasking heed? The answer is your
protection.
Now why do you suppose the
lord said that the people had better take heed to what this prophet speaks to
them? We find the answer in verse 18.
In verse 18 we read, “I
will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and [I] will
put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I
shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words
which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.
In other words, When I send
this prophet, he is coming to cause the people to have make a choice. They will
be put to the test, and they will have to make a decision. In other words, they
are going to have to judge whether they want to or not. And with what judgment
they make, they will either be saved or destroyed.
Jesus said, Matthew 12:37 For by thy words thou shalt be
justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Romans
2:13 For it is not
those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who
obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the
law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves,
even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the
law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and
their thoughts now accusing, now
even defending them.) 16 This
will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus
Christ, as my gospel declares.
That is why I believe what
has taken place in the past few days is so important to the judgment of God to
come forth against this nation. Our Government has consented by it’s actions to
call good evil and evil good. To allow a man like Mr. Clinton to stay in office
while being found without question to be guilty shows that our nation no longer
pays heed to the laws of God, but they pay more attention to the laws of
politics which are the laws of man. And I think it is ironic that the head of
the Senate is named Lot, and his first words after the mock trial was finished
and Mr. Clinton went free without even a stern rebuke, Mr. Lot had the audacity
to say, “Now that this is past, let us look to the future.”
Mr. Lot, don’t think that
your words were not heard in heaven, “For
by thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” And since you took away righteous judgment, so shall God take away
your future. Watch now for things to unravel quickly, for the hand writing is
now on the wall. Judgment has been proclaimed. God sent His Prophet with a
Message and that message has been rejected. This nation will soon feel the
effects of it’s turning down the Voice of God. A Vindicated prophet has already
pronounced judgment upon her, and she will soon feel the pains of the judgment.
And isn’t it ironic that Mr.
Lot heads up the group of men who have denied Truth and have favored the praise
of men more than the praise of God. And why did they push through this farce as
a trial? Because they wanted to take their vacation. They wanted to get w\away
from the Sodom of Washington. And as it was in the days of Who? Will the Son of
Man be revealed?
Luke 17:28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they
planted, they builded; 29 But the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven,
and destroyed [them] all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the
Son of man is revealed.
Notice, even thus shall it
be in the days when the Son of Man is Revealed. That’s about as plain as it
gets. He tells you right here, in the days when Lot is sitting in the gate as a
judge, a senator, they will be concerned, not with the truth, nor with the Word
of God, but their concern will be about planting
and building. And why do you plant and build? For the future. And in that
day, the Son of Man will be revealed and they will be so focused on business as
usual, they will reject the Word afresh, and put it to an open shame.
Mr. Clinton speaks of
feeling your pain, but it is the people who will bear his shame. And they don’t even understand that God is
in this event.
Amos 3:5 Can a bird fall in a trap upon the earth, where no snare [has been set]
for him? shall [one] place a snare in the earth, where there is nothing at all
to catch? 6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be
afraid? shall there be disaster in a city, and the LORD hath not done
[it]? 7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets.
8 The lion hath roared, who
will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
When God sends you a
prophet, it is because God wants you to know something. This is the man that
you must listen to. And He gives you a
choice, you either listen and be saved, or if you choose not to listen, you will be destroyed. Not much of a choice,
but I like it that way. Strait to the point.
He said, “this is the way, walk ye in it.”
Isaiah 30:18 ¶ And therefore will the LORD
wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that
he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD [is] a God of judgment: blessed [are] all they that wait for him.
And when God sends His
prophets it usually has a two fold reason for this coming. One, to prepare
God’s children, to make them ready, to warn them first and then to bring forth
judgment. Warning then judgment. The prophet is a judge to bring forth warning
first. Then when the warning is not headed, God takes away His Prophet and then
sends judgment.
On July 24th,
1963, After the Seals were opened, Brother Branham preached a Message he
called, “WARNING THEN JUDGMENT, GOD
DOESN'T CALL MAN TO JUDGMENT WITHOUT FIRST WARNING HIM’
In this message Brother
Branham said, “God never even brings
judgment upon the earth without first giving the people a warning. God never
does nothing without declaring it first what He's going to do. And He gives
people a choice, and you can do right or wrong. That's His... See, God can
never change His nature. His program can never change from what He started
with, because He's infinite and His program and His ideas are all perfect.”
And we found in the Book of
Deuteronomy that God spoke to Moses and said, He would send them a prophet and
the people had better take heed… We find Peter speak of the same thing in Acts
3:22.
Acts 3:22 22
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God
raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all
things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, [that] every soul, which will not hear that
prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Therefore, God has warned
us, “take
heed to the Message My prophet brings or you will be destroyed.”
Former and Latter Rain 017 Now, God has set,
not man, God has set in the church apostles, prophets,
teachers, pastors and so forth. God set them in the church. If God put them in
there, they're qualified for the job. God wouldn't put a man in a tower, in a
position like that that said, "The days of miracles is past." God
would not put a man into position like that to be a prophet or seer that would
say that Jesus Christ isn't the same yesterday, today, and forever, when the
Bible declares Him to be. God would not put a man in a tower there, that would
preach a wishy-washy Gospel and not tell the truth and warn the people of the
wrath that is to come. He'd put a man in
there that would be bold, that would have the--a spirit that seen the oncoming
judgment; and regardless of what the people said, he'd warn them anyhow, cry
out against it. He doesn't put blind prophets in His tower. He puts prophets, preachers who foresees
the coming judgment and warns the people to flee.
Warning then Judgment The prophet is a special man. A prophet is a
man of whom the Word of the Lord comes to, because the prophet is so designed
life that his subconscious and his first conscious is so close together that he
doesn't go to sleep to dream his dream; he sees it when he's wide awake. See?
Now, that's something God has to do. See, he sees what's going. A prophet
foresees way off (See?) the things that is coming. He sees the cup of God's
wrath, full, before it is filled. See? He can say, "THUS SAITH THE LORD.
God will destroy this city except you repent." Why? He's an eagle. He
rides way in yonder. See? And he looks way off there, and he sees that cup of
wrath poured out. That's what the prophets look at. He ain't looking what's
going on here; he's looking yonder. He's saying, "It's a-coming." He
can go so high till he can see that shade. He said, "The world will
be...?... darkness and gross darkness." He's up high enough, the sun's
shining now, but he sees that shade coming, and he's--he's--he's saying what
he's looking at. It ain't here yet, but it'll sure be here. That's right. It's
going to be here, gross darkness upon the people. He knows it's coming, years
away, yet he sees it.
Laodicean Church Age 60-1211E
66 037 Now, watch, I get back to Malachi the 4th
chapter, again. Now, remember, He said here that before the great and noble,
terrible day of the Lord shall come, "I will send to you Elijah the
prophet." The 5th verse: But I will send unto you... the prophet... I will
send to you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the... [Congregation says, "LORD."--Ed.] Where do we find in the
Lord's day? At the end of the age. That's when the world is going to be burned.
You remember how we took Him with a white wig on, you know, and His breast, and
girded about the paps. You remember that? And we proved by the Bible it wasn't
a sabbath day, neither a Sunday; it was the Lord's day. Is that right? And that's the day that He comes as a Judge,
and will smite the earth with a curse. Is that right? And I will send to
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
LORD:
Now, notice, it is the Judge
who comes to smite the earth with a Curse. Therefore, He has to be present to
do this. He must be here to smite the earth with the Curse. And what curse are
we talking about? The curse God pronounced upon those who will not hearken to
His Voice. Deuteronomy 28.
Poweer of Decision 061 Notice, it wasn't
Moses' rod, that was God's judgment rod.
That's what He brought the judgments on
Egypt with. He brought the judgment. And notice, it was a judgment rod that smote the rock. And it was the judgments of
God, "the day you eat of it, that day you die," that smote
Christ. Death, smote Christ, God's judgment, and brought life to the perishing
people. How beautiful, don't forget it.
Power of Decision Notice, they came to Kadesh Barnea and Kadesh Barnea was, one time, the
judgment seat of the world. The place had great big well, big springs. And
there was many little springs out from it, a palm grove like, in the desert.
What a beautiful place, a type, the great judgment seat of God in--in heaven
where God's Word is a law book and there judgment at the White Throne of
heaven. And every little spring
represented a church where the judgments of God go forth, preaching judgment.
Sudden Secret Going Away of the Church What we need
is old fashion, God sent, heaven born preachers who'll tell the truth
regardless who it hurts, like John, who said, "The axe is laid to the root
of the tree; and every tree that not bringeth forth good fruits is hewn down
and cast into the fire." We need preachers, prophets like that who'll
bombard and use the judgments of God for
ammunition to tear up and--this wicked condition that we're living in. You
can never rid sin by patting it on the back. You can never rid sin by educating
people. Our programs has become demolished and have failed. There's only one
remedy for sin. And that is, Christ is that remedy. And not Christ through
intellectual confession, but through the baptism of the Holy Ghost to a new
life and a regeneration. That's the only remedy for sin. Only remedy for our
nation, it's the only remedy for our Church; it's the only remedy for the
people.
Now, we know that the
Prophet comes with the Word of the Lord. But we should also know by now that He
also brings the judgment rod of God in his has as well. Even in the Book of
Revelations, we find that God sends forth seven angels which are messengers
with 7 messages. Each has in his had a trumpet, which is to sound and declare a
message, a Gospel trumpet sounding to declare a Message.
The First Seal 63-0318 Here's the plan of it: The first thing happens, there is a--a--an
announcement in the heavens first. What happened? A Seal is opened. What is
that? A mystery is unfolded. See? And when a mystery unfolds, then a trumpet
sounds. It declares a war. Or a plague falls, and a church age opened. See?
What is the war part? The angel of the Church catches the mystery of God, not
fully yet revealed, but when he does, he catches this mystery of God, and then
he goes forth to the people (after the mystery has been given to him), goes
forth to the people. What does he do out there? He begins to proclaim that
message, and what does it start? A war, a spiritual war. 126-5 {65}
034 And then God takes His
messenger with the elect of that age, and lays them away asleep, and then He
drops a plague upon them who rejected it: a temporary judgment. And then, after
that is over, then he goes on, and they denominate, and bring in denominations,
and start off with that man's work like of--of Wesley and all the rest of them,
and then it gets all in a scrapple again; and then another mystery comes forth.
Then what happens? Another messenger arrives on earth for a church age. See?
Then when he arrives, he--the--the trumpet sounds. He declares war. See? And then
what happens? Finally then he's caught away. And then when he's laid away, then
plague falls destroys them. Spiritual death hits the church and she's gone,
that group. Then He goes on to another one. Oh, it's a great plan until it
comes to that last angel. Now, he has no certain mystery, but he gathers up all
that's been lost in them other ages, all the truths that wasn't truly revealed
yet (See?), as the revelation come. Then he reveals those things in his day. If
you want to read it, there it is: A Revelations 10:1 to--1 to about 4. You'll
get it. All right. See?
Man that can Turn on the light 63-1229M See, on the
Sixth Seal, all Seven Trumpets sound right there on that Sixth Seal (See?),
just before the Seventh Seal opens the coming of Christ.
Introduction, Revelation of Jesus Christ CPT 1 Though this volume will concern itself with various major doctrines
(such as the Godhead, Water Baptism, etc.) found in Revelation, chapters One
through Three, its main theme is the setting forth of a detailed study of the
Seven Church Ages. This is necessary in order to study and understand the rest
of the Revelation, for out of the Ages come the Seals, and out of the Seals
come the Trumpets, and out of the Trumpets come the Vials. Like the first burst
of a Roman candle, the Church Ages come forth with a mighty initial
illumination, without which there could be no further light.
Expectations But the only person that has
a right to say, THUS SAITH THE LORD, is an a vindicated prophet. You never seen
anybody judging Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or those people. They were prophets,
foreordained and borned in the world to be prophets. And they foresaw the thing
by a vision, and then said, "THUS SAITH THE LORD," for the Lord had
already said it.
Impersonation of Christianity 57-0120M 020 And now, a gift of knowledge in the Bible
is prophecy which goes up and finds out these things that are to come and
brings them back down, but they must compare with the Bible, with the Book. If
they're out of the Book, then they're not received, because the Judge judges by
the Book. You see it? So it must be on the Word. Then the Word that God has
spoken before the foundation of the world, it isn't that God speaks and says
something to the prophet at that time, it is that the prophet catches what God
has already said. For the Word was before the foundation of the world. God
spoke the Word, and It's laying way out, stretched out in time. And the prophet
goes up and sees the time coming. So it's only a gift of knowledge that he
brings down and puts it on the paper.
Door to the heart 58-0302 042 Listen America. I say this, not to
individuals, but to America in full: Your hour of judgment is near at hand.
You're just as sure this nation will be judged by God. If it isn't so, I'm a
false prophet and a liar at the pulpit. Just watch for it; it's coming! Mark it
in your books. You say, "Brother Branham said so, in the Name of the
Lord." And you're going to see that it's going to be just that way,
because God's Bible said so. The other
day, I made this statement to you: I said, "If God doesn't judge this
nation for it's sin, He's obligated to raise up Sodom and Gomorrah and
apologize for sinking them." Certainly. God's obligated. He's just, and
He's honest, and He's true, and His judgments are true. And God's no respect of
person. And we've weighed in the balances and found wanting. (I wanted to
preach on that this week, but it just--the week ain't long enough--on:
"Weighed in the balance" and then, "The Handwriting on the
Wall.") We're at the end time and our eyes are blind to it.
Will the Church g through the tribulation? 58-0309E Lot went down and become the mayor of the city. And he was a great man
among sin. I'd rather not be so popular and be right with God. But Lot was very
popular. And he set in the streets in the city gate. He was a judge of what
could come in and what could not come in. And there he was, giving his life
into fornication, and knowing that in his city such things went on. If that
isn't a picture of today and our nation: uncensored programs, all kinds of
folly, meanness, devicity... Oh, they could break it up if they wanted to, but
they don't want to. And they can't do it, because God said it would be this
way. If they could only open their eye and could understand...
PATMOS VISION 60-1204E 089 You believe He's a Judge? Let's read Saint John 5:22, right
quick, we'll see whether He's a Judge or not. Saint John 5:22: For the Father
judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son: That right? He is
the Judge, the Supreme Judge. And John shows that He wasn't in the day of His
prophecy, as a prophet, neither was He plumb out into the days of His kingship,
but He was in the day of the Lord as a Judge. Now, how many knows that the
priest having his girdle, his string around his waistline meant he was in
service? Anyone who reads the Testament, who knows the Old Testament, knows
that. When a priest is girded around here, he's in service; he's a servant. But
He was girded up here: a Judge. 090
Let's read a little farther ....
a golden girdle was about the paps. That's right, up around here, He was the
Judge.
The Token 63-0901M 26-5 086 Notice God's
preparation for that time. Now, as we know that the Bible said, all those
things happened for an examples to us... Notice, when God got ready to judge
Egypt, first He made a preparation. What did He do at the first time? (He never
changes His order.) The first time, when He got--when He made His preparation,
He sent a prophet with a message. First thing He done to His people was send a
prophet with a message. The next thing He done, to identify this prophet He
sent a Pillar of Fire for identification, to identify it. And the third thing
He sent was the Token. That's exactly right. The Token... What was the Token
mean? Assurance. First, His prophet with the message. He identified Himself
among the--with a--with a Pillar of Fire, with His prophet. Then He sent a
Token to get under this Blood, that He'd accepted this substitute death in your
place; then the Blood was a Token that He looked at you that's heard the
message, believed on the Pillar of Fire, and had accepted the substitutionary
that He had provided for you. And you were under the Blood of the very
chemistry of the Life that went out for you.
26-9 087 My, what a perfect--what a perfect thing
that is. See? You're under the Blood. Now, you're under the Spirit, under the
Holy Spirit. See, you believe the message of the day. See? You believe
the--the--the--the power, the--the--the Pillar of Fire. You believe that (See?),
and you do. 27-1 088 Now, now, look, just to believe it, is not
enough--not to--to--to walk around where it's at, isn't enough. See? That's to
make yourself worse. "For he that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to
him it's sin," See? Those borderline believers... Jesus spoke of the same
thing, Hebrews the 6th chapter. "For it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have
tasted of the good Word of God, and the world to come, if they shall fall away,
to renew themselves again to repentance; seeing that they crucify to themselves
the Son of God, and count the covenant of the Blood, wherewith they were
sanctified with (the chemistry there)--sanctified..." It ain't the Token.
27-3 089 The blood's not the Token now, the Life is
the Token. The Life could not be there, 'cause it was an animal. The chemistry
was the Token. You'd have to have literal blood applied on the door; but now,
it's the Holy Spirit. We're coming to it just in a moment to prove that. See?
It's the Life that is the Token. Your life is gone, and you are dead, and your
life is dead. You are hid in God through Christ, and sealed in there by the
Holy Spirit. The mind that was in Christ is in you, and Christ, and the Bible,
and the Word is the same. "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Then you, and the Word, and God, and Christ are the same. "And if ye abide
in Me and My word, you ask what you will, and it'll be done." See?